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Free vegetable bed planner

Plan a vegetable bed that fits before you plant it.

Measure your bed and choose your crops. You will see where every plant goes, what does not fit, and how much soil to buy. Free, with no account.

Plan a bedHow the planner works
crop presets, each with a cited source
18
guides and worked examples
10
accounts or sign-ups
0

Published by Little Plot Works · Updated

Try it: change the size and watch the plan

Try the bed planner with your measurements

Unallocated8 ft4 ft
Head lettuce 8Carrot 16Pepper 4Vacant placeUnallocated
Units

28 of 28 plants fit at published block spacing.

New and updated

Latest guides and worked examples.

  1. Reference guideHow many plants fit in a 4 × 8 raised bedPlant counts for 18 vegetables in a 4 × 8 ft raised bed, measured inside and outside, in blocks and rows, plus two worked mixed-bed examples.5 min read
  2. Reference guideRaised bed sizes comparedSix common raised bed sizes compared by plant capacity and soil volume, with Extension guidance on width, depth and path spacing.3 min read
  3. Reference chartRaised bed soil chartSoil volume in cubic feet, cubic yards and litres, and whole bags of 1.5 ft³, 2 ft³ and 50 L, for six bed sizes at five depths.3 min read
  4. Worked examplesThree 4 × 4 raised bed layoutsThree 4 × 4 ft raised bed layouts worked out with the bed planner: a salad square, a tomato bed and an overfilled list, with what fits and what to change.2 min read
  5. Practical guideReading a bed planWhat each number in a bed plan means, why strips leave gaps, why crop order decides who loses space, and what to change when plants do not fit.3 min read
  6. Practical guideMarking out a bed planHow to transfer a printed bed plan into a real bed: the reference corner, strip strings, first plant centres, a spacing stick and the coordinate list.3 min read

All guides and examples

Start here

Pick the question you have today.

New to raised beds

Planning this season

Building and filling

The tools

One featured planner. Two tools for the details.

Start here

Bed planner

Several crops in one rectangular bed. The planner draws each crop in its own measured strip and counts what fits. It tells you what did not fit and how much space is left, then lists the distances you need to mark the plan out.

  • Placed, unmet, unallocated and vacant, crop by crop
  • Bed size that would fit every plant you asked for
  • Marking-out distances, a printable sheet and a CSV of positions
  • Soil for the same bed, and a link that reopens the plan
Open the bed planner
One cropPlant spacing calculatorCount planting positions for one crop, with a clear allowance at every edge.Count positions Prepare the bedSoil calculatorNew fills and top-ups for up to 20 bed sizes, in cubic feet, yards, litres and whole bags.Work out soil

How the planner thinks

Three rules, applied the same way every time.

  1. Crops are placed in list order. Each crop gets a strip across the full length of the bed, starting at the back edge. The next crop starts where the last one ends.
  2. Every plant keeps its spacing zone. Rows start half a spacing from the edges, and any leftover length is shared equally between the two ends.
  3. Nothing is squeezed. Spacing is never reduced to make more fit. Plants that do not fit are reported as unmet, never dropped silently.
size 50 in7spacing 1212127 min. edge 6 in
positions = floor((size − 2 × edge) ÷ spacing) + 1A 50 in row at 12 in spacing: floor((50 − 12) ÷ 12) + 1 = 4 plants. The 2 in left over is shared, so the end plants sit 7 in from each end.

Read the full methodology

Soil

Measure only the layer you are adding.

Volume is length × width × the depth you add. For an 8 × 4 ft bed filled to 12 in, that is 32 ft³: 1.19 yd³, about 906 litres, or 22 bags of 1.5 ft³. Bags are rounded up once, after all beds are added together.

Topping up an established bed? Measure only the gap between the current surface and where you want it. A 2 in top-up is 5.33 ft³, or 4 bags.

Any extra you add for settling is your choice. The calculator shows it separately and does not predict it.

Open the soil calculator Guide: filling a raised bed

Worked examples

Four plans worked through, start to finish.

Illustrative plans worked out with the same code as the tools. Each one shows the inputs, the result and what to change, and opens in the tool.

  1. 96plants placedA 4 × 8 ft bed of salad and rootsEverything fits, with a 12 in strip to spare.
  2. 20 of 30peas on the trellisPeas along a trellis edgeOne trellis row: a longer bed helps, a wider one does not.
  3. 26 vs 4plants placedBlocks or traditional rowsThe same crops and bed under the two spacing methods.
  4. 21bags of 1.5 ft³Soil for four bedsOne combined order saves a bag over buying bed by bed.

All worked examples

Methodology

Open workings, cited starting points.

All distances are converted to inches. Positions are counted with one axis formula, applied to length and width. Soil is length × width × added depth. The three tools share this code, so the same bed gives the same numbers everywhere.

Crop presets come from published university Extension guidance: 18 crops from 3 sources, each linked from the tool. Any spacing you enter replaces the preset.

Methods, formulas and sources

What the tool does not know

Your garden is more than a rectangle.

  • Your climate, frost dates and when to sow
  • How vigorous your particular variety is
  • Shade, wind and where the sun falls
  • Soil quality, drainage and nutrients
  • Paths, access and reach across the bed
  • Which crops grow well together
  • Irregular or curved beds
  • How much you will harvest

Check your seed packet and your local Extension service before relying on a result.

FAQ

Questions people ask first.

Is Little Plot Works free?

Yes. There are no accounts, subscriptions or paid features. The tools run in your browser.

Does it work for in-ground beds?

Yes, for any rectangular growing area. Enter the plantable length and width, without the paths.

Why did the planner leave plants out?

Because they did not fit at the spacing you set. The planner never reduces spacing. It reports the unmet plants by crop and shows the bed size that would fit them all.

What is the difference between vacant and unallocated?

Vacant places are open positions inside a crop’s strip, such as a part-filled row. Unallocated space is the strip at the front edge that no crop uses at all.

Can I use metric units?

Yes. Bed sizes can be feet, inches, metres or centimetres, and spacing can be inches or centimetres. Soil results include litres and cubic metres.

How do I save or share a plan?

Print the plan sheet or save it as a PDF, download the plant positions as a CSV, or copy a plan link. The link holds your inputs in the address, after the “#”.

Guides, examples and reference

Everything the tools are built on.

All guides and examples

About this site

Independent, and open about how it works.

No accounts, no sign-ups. Your measurements stay in your browser unless you choose to copy a plan link.

Sources cited. Each crop preset links to the Extension guidance it comes from. Source attribution does not imply endorsement.

Corrections welcome. If a number looks wrong, send the plan link to [email protected].

No products for sale. No affiliate links or sponsored placements. The site intends to use Google AdSense, subject to approval. Advertising does not influence the tools.

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