garden
A simple guide to spacing plants in a productive raised bed
A raised bed can look productive in spring, then become a tangle of shaded leaves by midsummer. Leave room for mature growth, light and airflow to keep plants manageable.
Use the recommended distance between mature plants as your starting point. In a raised bed, arrange plants in a grid or staggered pattern rather than defaulting to long rows.
Seed packets may list both thinning distance and row spacing. Thinning distance is the gap between the plants you keep; row spacing allows room between lines for access or cultivation.
If a packet calls for carrots 2 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart, sow a band and thin seedlings to the final 2-inch spacing. Narrow rows can fit across a raised bed.
Carrots and radishes commonly need 2–3 inches between plants. Compact crops can grow close together, while tomatoes, squash and other large plants need more room.
Close planting suits crops harvested young, such as baby spinach and leaf lettuce, and can shade soil. Still allow enough light and airflow for healthy growth.
Instead of squeezing every crop into the first planting, sow a quick-growing crop after an earlier one is harvested. Succession planting makes better use of a small bed.
Count plants at their intended spacing before buying seedlings. In a 4-by-4-foot bed, tomatoes spaced 24 inches apart may fit four, but vigorous varieties or humid weather can call for fewer.
Spacing gives roots room to develop and leaves access to light. A trellis reduces a cucumber’s horizontal spread, but does not remove every spacing need; adjust for variety and conditions.
Avoid confusing row gaps with plant spacing, and thin seedlings to their final distance. Most recommendations measure from one plant’s center to the next; check the label for exceptions.
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