How Many Tomato Plants per Square Foot?
Anywhere from 1 plant per square to 1 plant per 4 squares, depending on which source you read - and the Square Foot Gardening Foundation gives both answers on different pages of its own website. It is not a typo. It is the difference between a vining tomato tied to a trellis and a bush tomato in a cage, and the seed packet or plant tag is where you find out which one you have.
Data reviewed: . Every figure and quote on this page was read from its primary source on this date. Counts are calculated from the same data the planner uses.
The short answer
- Vining (indeterminate) tomatoes: 1 per square, tied to a trellis on the north edge and pruned to stay inside the square.
- Bush (determinate) tomatoes: 1 per 2x2 block (4 squares), in a cage.
- Vining, but you would rather not prune: 1 per 2 squares (every other square), with basil or chives in the gaps.
- Look for the word determinate or indeterminate on the seed packet or plant tag. That one word decides the spacing.
What the published charts say
Plants per square foot, exactly as each chart states it, next to what our planner counts. These are the same three charts we compare for every crop on our spacing comparison page.
Tomato
- SFG Foundation
- 1
- Clemson Extension
- 1, with a cage
- Phipps Conservatory
- 1 per 2ft x 2ft block
- Our planner
- 1
In their own words
Quoted from each source as published, so you can check our reading. Where a source is a table, the row is shown with its columns separated by a bar.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"Square Foot Spacing" (2024)
Extra-large plants are placed 12 inches apart and include broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, eggplant, kale, mustard greens, okra, peppers, sweet potatoes, and vine tomatoes. (1 plant per square)
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"All About Pruning Tomatoes" (2020)
SFG recommends planting one indeterminate tomato per square in the grid. We're assuming you're attaching your trellis to the north end of your raised bed and that the tomato is planted in those adjacent squares.
But speaking of determinate tomatoes, even though they are shorter with more easily managed growth, proper spacing at 1 bush tomato in a 2'x2' square is recommended.
Determinate tomato plants produce their crop in a shorter period of time and are typically "bush" types that grow to about 3' tall.
Indeterminate tomatoes, on the other hand, are "vining" types that can grow up to 20' (or more!) with branches looming out in every direction.
Determinate tomatoes can easily be supported with cages that are only 4' tall.
The usual cages that work for determinate tomato varieties won't be tall enough for indeterminate varieties.
And with Square Foot Gardening, if a plant misbehaves and takes over its space, chances are pretty good that it will take over its neighbor's space, as well.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"Seed Shopping: Tomatoes" (2019)
Basically, determinate tomatoes will all ripen within a few days. These varieties are great if you plan to make large batches of salsa or spaghetti sauce - you want them to all be ready at the same time. The plants are usually bushy and they require about four squares in your SFG.
Indeterminate tomatoes are usually vining-types. These are the ones you want if you plan to grow them vertically in one square of your SFG. If you plan to grow them one per square, you'll want to learn proper pruning and suckering. Suggestion: Even though you can successfully plant tomatoes one per square, we suggest you plant them in every other square and plant a lower plant between them. Great ideas are basil, chives and other herbs that go great when eating your tomatoes.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"Top 10 Tips for Delicious Tomatoes" (2024)
Since tomatoes sprawl, you'll keep them healthier with vertical support.
Bush types can be grown with a cage while vining types can be trellised.
Square Foot Gardening Foundation
"What to Plant in Spring" (2024)
You'll need to wait to plant tender crops like melons, squash, cukes, tomatoes, and peppers until after your last average frost.
Clemson Cooperative Extension
"Small-Scale Gardening" (2022)
Tomato | 1 with cage
If planting a vegetable that climbs, place a trellis at the north side of the raised bed and orient those crops in that location.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
"Square Foot Gardening Guide" (2020)
Tomatoes | 1 per 2'x2' block | Tall
If you're going to use a trellis, mark where it will go. A trellis should go on the north or west side of the bed. Put climbing plants, such as pole beans, cucumbers or peas at the base of the trellis.
Why the sources differ
Growth habit
The Foundation's own pruning article explains the split: determinate tomatoes are typically bush types that grow to about 3 feet tall, while indeterminate tomatoes are vining types that can grow up to 20 feet or more. Tied to a trellis, a vining plant needs little more than its footprint on the ground. A bush plant spreads sideways, which is why the same article gives it a 2x2 square.
Support
Clemson Extension gives every tomato one square, but only "with cage", and does not separate bush from vining types. The Foundation pairs the support with the type instead - bush types in a cage, vining types on a trellis - and warns that the 4-foot cages that suit determinate plants will not be tall enough for indeterminate ones.
Caution
Phipps Conservatory does not split by type at all: every tomato gets a 2x2 block. That makes it the safe figure when you do not know what you are planting, and it is why the Phipps number looks four times as roomy as the others.
Pruning
The Foundation's 2019 seed guide says that if you grow tomatoes one per square you will want to learn pruning and suckering - and then suggests every other square anyway, with a lower plant such as basil or chives in between. Its 2020 pruning article gives the reason in one line: a plant that takes over its space will take over its neighbor's space as well.
Tomato spacing by type
Vining (indeterminate), tied to a trellis
1 per square
North edge, on a trellis
Who gives this figure
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Square Foot Spacing" - vine tomatoes
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "All About Pruning Tomatoes" - indeterminate tomatoes
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Seed Shopping: Tomatoes" - indeterminate tomatoes grown vertically
Vining, every other square with a low herb between
1 per 2 squares (every other square)
North edge, on a trellis
Who gives this figure
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Seed Shopping: Tomatoes" - suggested for indeterminate tomatoes
Bush (determinate), in a cage
1 per 2x2 block (4 squares)
Anywhere in the bed
Who gives this figure
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "All About Pruning Tomatoes" - determinate (bush) tomatoes
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Seed Shopping: Tomatoes" - determinate tomatoes
What we recommend
Check the seed packet or plant tag for the word determinate or indeterminate before you plan anything. If neither appears, ask the seller, or use the roomier figure.
Indeterminate (vining): 1 per square along a trellis on the north edge of the bed, pruned so each plant stays inside its square. If you will not prune, plant every other square instead and fill the gaps with basil or chives.
Determinate (bush): 1 per 2x2 block (4 squares), in a cage. The Foundation's own pruning and seed guides both give a bush tomato that much room.
If you cannot tell which you have, use the roomier figure this season and tighten next year. That is the same rule our spacing comparison gives for every crop the charts disagree on.
In the planner
The planner counts 1 tomato per square, which is right for vining tomatoes. For a bush tomato, plant one square and leave the rest of its 2x2 block empty, so the count and the shopping list come out right.
How many tomatoes fit in your bed
Calculated for every bed size we publish plans for. Tap a bed size to see finished layouts for it.
| Bed | Squares | Vining, along a north-edge trellis1 per square | Vining, every other square1 per 2 squares (every other square) | Bush, in blocks over the whole bed1 per 2x2 block (4 squares) | A tomato in every square1 per square |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2x4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3x3 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 2x8 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| 4x4 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 3x6 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| 4x6 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 24 |
| 5x5 | 25 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 25 |
| 4x8 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
| 4x12 | 48 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 48 |
Counts assume the long side of the bed faces north, so the trellis runs the full length of the bed. The bush column packs the whole bed with 2x2 blocks, which is why a 3-foot-wide bed fits only one row of them.
A bed plan built around tomatoes
Four vining tomatoes on one trellis
4x4 bedThe one-per-square option done properly: a trellis across the north edge, the traditional companions in front, and short crops at the sunny south edge.
What that plants
- Carrot - 2 squares32
- Onion - 2 squares18
- Basil - 2 squares8
- Lettuce - 2 squares8
- Marigold - 2 squares8
- Parsley - 2 squares8
- Tomato - 4 squares4
- Total plants86
Loads every square into the free planner. Change anything, add your frost date for sow dates, then print it or copy a share link. Nothing to sign up for.
Every other square, the roomier way
4x8 bedThe Foundation's own suggestion for vining tomatoes: every other square along the trellis, with basil or chives in the gaps. Peppers and marigolds share the second row.
What that plants
- Carrot - 4 squares64
- Onion - 4 squares36
- Chives - 2 squares32
- Lettuce - 4 squares16
- Marigold - 4 squares16
- Parsley - 4 squares16
- Basil - 2 squares8
- Pepper - 4 squares4
- Tomato - 4 squares4
- Total plants196
Loads every square into the free planner. Change anything, add your frost date for sow dates, then print it or copy a share link. Nothing to sign up for.
Tomato in our other bed plans
Every ready-made plan on this site that already includes tomatoes, and how much room it gives them.
- The salsa bed (4x4 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants; tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
- The family summer bed (4x8 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
- The pizza and pasta bed (4x8 bed)tomato: 4 squares, 4 plants
- The small salsa bed (2x4 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
- The summer mixed bed (3x6 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
- The everyday family bed (4x6 bed)tomato: 3 squares, 3 plants
- The herb and tomato strip (2x8 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
- The full-season family bed (4x12 bed)tomato: 3 squares, 3 plants
- The preserving bed (4x12 bed)tomato: 4 squares, 4 plants
- The nine-square starter (3x3 bed)tomato: 1 square, 1 plant
- The 25-square summer bed (5x5 bed)tomato: 2 squares, 2 plants
Good neighbors, and ones to keep apart
Traditional good neighbors
The planner warns when these touch
These pairings are traditional companion-planting guidance, not settled science. Our companion planting chart says which ones have research behind them.
Read the companion planting chartWhen to plant
- Season
- Warm season, full sun
- Planner sow date
- 6 weeks before your last spring frost
- Days to harvest
- 60-85 days (typical range; check your seed packet)
- Planner note
- Start indoors 6-8 wks before last frost; transplant out 1-2 wks after frost once soil is warm.
The Foundation's spring planting guide agrees on the date that matters most: tender crops, tomatoes included, wait until after your last average frost.
Questions about tomatoes
How many tomato plants per square foot?
Between 1 plant per square and 1 plant per 4 squares, depending on the type. Vining (indeterminate) tomatoes on a trellis get 1 per square in the Foundation's spacing chart and pruning guide. Bush (determinate) tomatoes get 1 per 2x2 block (4 squares) in the Foundation's own pruning and seed guides, and Phipps Conservatory gives every tomato that much room. Clemson Extension gives every tomato one square with a cage.
How many tomato plants fit in a 4x8 raised bed?
Eight vining tomatoes along a trellis on the 8-foot north edge, one per square, or four if you plant every other square. Eight bush tomatoes if you fill the whole bed with 2x2 blocks. Putting a tomato in every square gives 32, which is possible on paper but ignores the north-side placement for tall and climbing crops that Clemson, Phipps and the Foundation's pruning guide all describe.
How many determinate tomato plants per square foot?
Less than one. The Foundation recommends 1 bush tomato in a 2'x2' square in its pruning article, and says determinate plants "require about four squares" in its seed guide - one plant per 4 squares. Phipps gives every tomato the same 2x2 block.
Should tomatoes in a square foot garden have a cage or a trellis?
It depends on the type. The Foundation puts it in one line: "Bush types can be grown with a cage while vining types can be trellised." Its pruning article adds that 4-foot cages suit determinate plants but will not be tall enough for indeterminate ones, which can grow up to 20 feet. Clemson's chart assumes a cage for every tomato. Either way, the support goes on the north side of the bed.
What should I not plant next to tomatoes?
The planner warns when a tomato square touches broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, dill, kale and potato. That comes from traditional companion-planting guidance rather than settled science, so treat it as a nudge, not a rule. The traditional good neighbors in our dataset are basil, marigold, carrot, onion, parsley and lettuce.
Sources
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Square Foot Spacing" (2024). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "All About Pruning Tomatoes" (2020). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Seed Shopping: Tomatoes" (2019). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "Top 10 Tips for Delicious Tomatoes" (2024). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Square Foot Gardening Foundation, "What to Plant in Spring" (2024). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, "Small-Scale Gardening" (2022). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, "Square Foot Gardening Guide" (2020). View the source (read 2026-09-26)
- Every quote on this page was read from the raw text of the source page or PDF, not from a search summary or a secondary blog. Curly quotes and long dashes were straightened to plain characters; nothing else was changed.