Last Updated on September 13, 2026
3×6 Raised Bed Garden Layout: 18 Squares, 9 Crops, With a Plan
A 3×6 raised bed is 18 square feet, the size that fits along a fence or a driveway, and this layout fills it with nine crops: one tomato on a 2×2 block, one square of onions, one of bush beans, two basil, two squares of lettuce, two of beets, two of carrots, two of spinach and two peppers. That is 1 tomato, 4 onions, 9 beans, 2 basil, 8 lettuce, 18 beets, 32 carrots, 18 spinach and 2 pepper plants.
What goes in each square
| Crop | Squares | Per square | Plants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 4 | 1 per 4 squares | 1, staked or caged |
| Onion | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Beans | 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Basil | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Lettuce | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Beets | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Carrots | 2 | 16 | 32 |
| Spinach | 2 | 9 | 18 |
| Pepper | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Every number comes from the square foot gardening chart; the linked crop pages show the planting pattern for each square.
Why the crops sit where they do
Three feet is the depth you can reach across from one side, which is why this bed works against a fence where you can only get at it from the front. The tomato block sits in the back corner against the fence, the peppers below it, and the two-square runs of roots and greens fill the front where you can thin and pick without stepping in. Basil sits between the tomato and the lettuce because I pick them together.
Eighteen squares is a real bed. It will keep two people in salad and roots from June to frost, with one tomato plant for the sandwiches.
When to plant them, counted from your last frost
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses for every crop in this bed, in weeks from your average last spring frost. Put your date into the seed starting calendar to turn them into dates, or let the planner do it from your zip code.
| Crop | Start indoors | Transplant out | Direct sow | Days to maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 5 to 3 weeks before | 2 to 3 weeks after | n/a | 80 |
| Onion | 12 to 11 weeks before | 4 to 2 weeks before | n/a | 100 |
| Beans | n/a | n/a | 1 to 3 weeks after | 60 |
| Basil | 5 to 4 weeks before | 3 weeks after | n/a | 60 |
| Lettuce | 8 to 6 weeks before | 4 to 3 weeks before | n/a | 45 |
| Beets | n/a | n/a | 8 weeks before to 4 weeks after | 55 |
| Carrots | n/a | n/a | 3 to 2 weeks before | 70 |
| Spinach | n/a | n/a | 8 to 1 weeks before | 40 |
| Pepper | 6 weeks before | 2 to 3 weeks after | n/a | 75 |
Make it your own
Against a sunny south fence, put the tomato at either end instead of the middle so it does not shade the greens. If the fence is on the north side, the layout above is right as it is. Swap the onions for garlic in the fall and the same square will feed you the next summer.
Open this exact plan to see the layout and crop list in the planner, then start your own for free: enter your zip code, draw your bed, pick your crops, and it lays out the squares and gives you the dates.
Where I get seed
Most of what is in this bed I grow from Wood Prairie Family Farm, a certified organic seed farm in Maine. Code PMG5 takes 5% off. Buying through that link supports this site at no cost to you.
Quick questions
How many plants fit in a 3×6 raised bed?
With square foot spacing, 18 squares hold anywhere from 18 large plants to 288 carrots. This mixed layout holds 94 plants across nine crops.
Is a 3×6 raised bed big enough?
For a salad and root bed, yes. Three feet across means you can reach every square from one side, which matters when the bed is against a fence or a wall. Add a second bed before you make this one wider.
Can I fit a tomato in a 3×6 bed?
Yes, one, on a 2×2 block at the back. Caged or staked so it grows up, not out. If you want more tomatoes than that, give them their own bed.
