Drag vegetables, herbs and flowers into a raised-bed grid and see, before you buy a single seed packet, which neighbors help each other, which clash, and how many plants fit per square foot.
You’ll need
- The size of your bed in feet (most kits are 4×4 or 4×8).
- Your zip code, so the planner can show your USDA zone and hide plants that will not grow there.
- A rough idea of what you want to eat; the planner suggests companions as you go.
How to use it
- Start with the example bed. It is a 4×8 bed with tomatoes, basil, carrots, lettuce and marigolds already placed, every pair a documented good companion. Tap any plant to see why it is there, or tap “Clear” to start empty.
- Add your own bed. Tap “← Yard”, then “Add Bed”; drag it to where it sits in your yard and set its size in feet. Tap the bed twice to open its grid. Each square is one square foot.
- Place plants. On a phone, tap “Plants”, tap a plant, then tap a square; on a computer you can also drag. The number in the square is how many of that plant fit in one square foot. “Undo” takes back your last move.
- Watch the hint under the grid. “Great neighbors” means the pairing helps (pest confusion, shade, shared soil needs); “watch out” means they compete or one harms the other. Move the plant one square and the hint updates.
- Save, share or print. Your layout is saved on this device automatically. “Copy link” gives you a link that opens the same layout on any device; “Print” gives a one-page plan with a legend and plant counts.
How to read your result
The planner uses square-foot spacing, the method popularized by Mel Bartholomew: one tomato per square, four lettuces, nine bush beans, sixteen carrots. Those numbers come from the mature width of the plant, not the row spacing on a seed packet, which is why they look generous. A 4×8 bed is 32 squares, so a bed of only tomatoes holds 32 plants; mixing in basil and carrots is how you get a real harvest out of it.
Companion verdicts are limited to pairings with agricultural evidence: pest confusion (strong-smelling herbs beside brassicas), shading (tall corn over lettuce in summer), and competition for the same nutrients (tomatoes beside cabbage-family crops, which are all heavy feeders). No hint means we found no reliable evidence either way, not that the pairing is bad.
| Hint | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “Great neighbors!” | A documented benefit: one plant deters the other’s pests, shades it in the hot months, or fixes nitrogen it uses. | Keep them adjacent. Repeat the pair along the bed if you have room. |
| “Watch out — … doesn’t like … nearby” | They compete for the same nutrients, one shades the other out, or they share the same pests and diseases. | Move one of them at least one square away; two squares for tall plants that cast shade. |
| No hint | Neutral: no reliable evidence for or against the pairing. | Plant it. Use the space for the crops you actually eat. |
What to do next
- Companion Planting Tool — check a pairing the planner did not cover, with the reason behind the verdict.
- Raised Bed Soil Calculator — how much soil and compost the bed you just planned needs, in bags and cubic yards.
- Frost Date Calculator — when it is safe to put those plants out, from your zip code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the garden planner free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it is free, and there is no account. Your layout is saved in this browser on this device; nothing about you or your garden is sent to us. To move a layout to another device or keep a copy, use “Copy link”: the whole layout is encoded in the link itself.
How many plants fit in one square foot?
It depends on the plant’s mature width. In square-foot spacing one square holds 1 tomato, pepper or cabbage; 4 lettuces, basil or marigolds; 9 spinach, beets or onions; 16 carrots, radishes or chives. The planner shows the number for each plant in the square when you place it.
Does the planner work on a phone?
Yes. Tap “Plants” to open the plant list, tap a plant, then tap a square in the grid. On a computer you can also drag plants onto the grid and between squares. The grid scrolls sideways for beds wider than the screen.
Why does it say two plants don’t like each other?
The planner only flags pairings with agricultural evidence: plants that compete for the same nutrients (tomatoes beside broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower, all heavy feeders), one that shades the other out, or two that share the same pests and diseases. Moving one of them a square or two away is usually enough.
Will it hide plants that won’t grow in my zone?
Yes. Enter your zip code in the bed view and the planner looks up your USDA hardiness zone, then filters the plant list to what grows there. Only the zip code leaves your browser, sent to a public zone-lookup service; nothing else is stored.