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Companion Planting Spacing Calculator

Enter each crop's spacing and your row length to plan companion planting.

How it is calculated

The tool averages the two crops' recommended spacings and lays plants out at that single distance along the row: spacing = (A + B) ÷ 2 and plants = ⌊row length × 100 ÷ spacing⌋. Both spacings are in centimetres, and the row length is in metres, which the tool converts to centimetres. The count is rounded down to a whole plant, because a partial plant cannot be sown. The result is the number of plants of both crops together at the averaged spacing, not a count per crop, and it does not say how to alternate the two. Everything must be above zero. There is no allowance for end margins, so shorten the row length yourself if the first and last plants need room.

Worked example

Crop A is spaced 25 cm apart and crop B 40 cm apart, in a row 5.5 m long. Average spacing: (25 + 40) ÷ 2 = 32.5 cm. Row length: 5.5 × 100 = 550 cm. Plants: 550 ÷ 32.5 = 16.92, rounded down to 16 plants. The tool also repeats the row as 5.50 m (550 cm). Because the answer is rounded down, the 0.92 plant of leftover length simply stays as spare room at the end.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering the spacings in inches or metres; they are in centimetres, while the row length is in metres, so mixing those up changes the result by 100 times.
  • Reading the answer as the number of plants of each crop; it is the total across the row at the averaged spacing, so you have to split it between the two crops yourself.
  • Using the plants' current size instead of their recommended mature-plant spacing.
  • Treating the average as safe for every pair: if one crop needs a very wide spacing (such as 90 cm) and the other a narrow one, the averaged distance can crowd the larger plant.
  • Forgetting that the number is rounded down and has no end margin; a short row may hold one plant fewer than a quick division suggests.

About this calculator

Companion planting pairs two crops that benefit each other — through pest deterrence, shade sharing, nitrogen fixing, or efficient use of space, as in the classic “three sisters” combination of corn, beans and squash — but each crop still has its own recommended spacing based on its mature size and root spread. When interplanting, a practical rule is to use the average of the two crops’ individual spacing recommendations, giving both plants enough room without wasting bed space on the wider of the two spacings alone.

Once that combined spacing is set, dividing your row length by it tells you how many plants fit along the row, which is exactly the planning gardeners need before starting seeds or transplants for an intercropped bed.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The count is the total for both crops, and the spacing is just the average of the two. If you alternate crop A and crop B along the row, each crop ends up twice that distance from its own kind: with the defaults of 30 and 45 cm the average is 37.5 cm, so plants of the same crop sit 75 cm apart. Check that against what each crop needs. Which pair of crops are you interplanting, and in what pattern?

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