You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Really.
Estimate your seed needs by determining your planting density*
First, determine planting pattern:
Determine if you are shaping beds and if so, what is bed width
This is often dictated by what equipment you own or have local access to
Typical options are 30”, 40”, 60”, 80”
Decide when you will be planting
Typically dictated by last frost date; harvest and post-harvest plan, equipment, and infrastructure; what is your ultimate saleable product; planting photoperiodic or day-neutral plants; if planting day-neutral are you planning to plant the same ground twice
Decide your in-row spacing
Dictated by planting timing
Square Planting ◼︎
X = in row spacing in inches; Y = between row spacing in inches
Area per Plant (sq. in.) = X × Y
Example: 36” in row spacing with 40” beds (between row spacing)
Area per plant (sq. in.) = 36 inches × 40 inches = 1440 sq. in. / Plant
Triangle Planting ▲
X = in row spacing inches; Y = between row spacing in inches
Area per Plant (sq. in.) = X× [(0.866) × Y ]
Example: 36” in row spacing with 40” beds (between row spacing)
Area per plant (sq. in.) = 36 inches × [(0.866) × 40 inches] = 1247 sq. in. / Plant
Next, how large is your field?
Convert your total acreage to square inches
1 acre = 43,560 sq. ft. = 6,272,640 sq. in.
Area (sq. in.) = (X Acres × 43560 sq. ft.) × 144 sq. in. / sq. ft.
Now determine how many plants you will need for your field.
Total Plants Needed= Area planted (sq. in.) / Planting Area per plant (sq. in.)
Square Planting◼︎
Example: On 10 Acres with 36” in row, and 40” between row spacing how many plants do you need?
36 (in row distance in inches) × 40 (btwn. row distance in inches) = 1440 sq. in. / plant.
Total Area (sq. in) = (10 Acres ×43560 sq. ft.) × 144 sq. in./sq. ft. = 62,726,400 sq. in.
Total # of Plants = 62,726,400 sq. in. / 1400 sq. in. = 44,805 plants needed for 10 acres
Triangle Planting ▲
Example: Same as above, but triangle spacing.
36 (in row distance in inches) × [(0.866) × 40 (btwn. row distance in inches)] = 1247 sq. in. / plant
Total Area (sq. in.) = (10 Acres × 43560 sq. ft.) × 144 sq. in/sq. ft. = 62,726,400 sq. in.
Total # of Plants= 62,726,400 sq. in./1247 sq. in. = 50,302 plants for 10 acres
*These calculations are meant to be used as a tool to estimate number of plants needed for production. Germination rate should be taken into consideration when determination how many transplants need to be germinated to have desired plant count. For direct sowing, stand loss should also be taken into consideration.