Last Updated on September 17, 2026
How Many Arugula Plants per Square Foot?
4 arugula plants per square foot, spaced 6 inches apart, for full-size plants you cut and let regrow. Sow it for baby leaf instead and a square fits 9 to 16 plants, spaced 3 to 4 inches apart, for a denser planting you cut small and often.
Baby leaf vs full-size, and what fits in a bed
| Type | Spacing | Per square | 4×4 bed (16 squares) | 4×8 bed (32 squares) | 3×6 bed (18 squares) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size, cut-and-come-again | 6 inches apart | 4 | up to 64 | up to 128 | up to 72 |
| Baby leaf sowing | 3 to 4 inches apart | 9 to 16 | 144 to 256 | 288 to 512 | 162 to 288 |
These are grid maximums, not a planting plan. 4 per square is the number on my square foot gardening chart, and the Plan My Garden planner spaces arugula the same way, 4 plants to each 1×1 foot cell. For a bed size not shown here, the square foot garden calculator does the multiplication for you.
Why the spacing ranges from 3 to 9 inches
| How you grow it | Extension spacing | In a square |
|---|---|---|
| Dense baby leaf, cut small and often | 2 to 4 inches (University of Maryland Extension, for leafy Brassica greens) | 16 per square (3 in) to 9 (4 in) |
| Thinned to one plant per spot, full-size | 6 inches (Cornell Cooperative Extension; also NC State Extension), to 9 inches in a market row (Oregon State University Extension) | 4 per square (6 in); past 6 in, no exact grid match |
The chart’s 4 per square sits right at the Cornell and NC State thinning distance, and is still inside Oregon State’s wider row spacing for market plantings. University of Wisconsin Extension covers both ends at once: thin seedlings to 3 to 6 inches apart for individual plants, or leave the planting denser for cutting and regrowing.
Cutting and regrowth
University of Wisconsin Extension describes two ways to pick arugula: take individual young leaves from the rosette as you need them, or cut the whole plant an inch or two above the ground in as little as 3 to 4 weeks and keep harvesting the regrowth in sequential cuts. Leaves can be cut as soon as they are a couple of inches long, and regular cutting of the small leaves is what keeps the plant from going to seed. Cornell Cooperative Extension sows thickly on purpose, an inch apart or broadcast, then gradually thins to a 6 inch spacing, using every thinning as a salad green rather than discarding it.
Bolting in heat
Arugula is a cool-season crop, and every extension source here agrees heat ends the harvest. NC State Extension’s Plant Toolbox says it tends to bolt and flower in hot weather, changing the flavor and stopping leaf growth, and that some shade can help discourage bolting in hot climates. University of Wisconsin Extension says the plant quickly sends up a flower stalk under long days, high heat, or dry soil, and that light shade in the hottest weeks can slow it down. UF/IFAS Extension in Leon County, Florida puts a number on it: arugula grows best between 50 and 65°F, and afternoon shade above 85°F helps discourage early bolting.
I run into the same thing in my own hoop house. I hold the temperature around 40 to 64°F in there for spinach, arugula, and other cool-weather crops in late winter and early spring, because big temperature swings stress those crops and push them to bolt, and once a planting bolts you lose the harvest.
Planting the square
- Sow seed about 1/4 inch deep, the depth Cornell Cooperative Extension uses.
- For full-size plants, sow or thin to 4 evenly spaced spots per square, 6 inches apart in each direction.
- For baby leaf, sow much more thickly, broadcast or in rows an inch apart, then thin to 9 to 16 per square as seedlings crowd each other. Cornell Cooperative Extension uses every thinning as a salad green instead of throwing it out.
- Make a new planting every 2 to 3 weeks for a steady supply, matching Cornell and Wisconsin Extension; NC State Extension says a 1 to 2 week gap works in a home garden.
- Check the square often near the planner’s 40 day mark. Cutting on schedule, before leaves turn old and bitter, is what University of Wisconsin Extension credits for holding off bolting longest.
When to plant arugula
These are the windows the Plan My Garden planner uses, counted from your average last spring frost. Turn the weeks into dates with the seed starting calendar, or enter your zip code on Plan My Garden to find your frost dates.
| Start indoors | No separate week. Arugula is direct sown in the planner. |
|---|---|
| Direct sow | 8 weeks before to 4 weeks after your last frost, one of the widest windows on my seed starting calendar |
| Days to maturity | 40 days for a full-size plant, close to the 40 to 50 days NC State and Oregon State University Extension give, on my vegetable days to maturity chart. For baby leaf, Cornell and Wisconsin Extension both say you can start cutting in as little as 3 to 4 weeks. |
| Frost tolerance | Hardy on my vegetable frost tolerance chart. University of Wisconsin Extension, NC State Extension and Oregon State University Extension all describe it the same way: it tolerates light frosts, so it goes in the ground before your last frost. |
That wide window matches what I do myself. As soon as the soil is workable I’m out sowing arugula seeds, and they sprout even at 40°F. Young plants shrug off a light frost and grow best at 45 to 60°F, and I usually have a fresh batch in about six to eight weeks. In my own beds, a spring round of radishes and a follow-up planting of beans clears space in time for a late summer arugula harvest.
Seed and further reading
Wood Prairie’s organic specialty greens seed includes an organic arugula packet, an old-fashioned type at 55 days to maturity, on the slower end for full-size heads and well past baby leaf timing. Code PMG5 takes 5 percent off. Radishes share arugula’s wide direct sow window, and bush beans make a good warm-season follow-up once a planting finishes.
Quick questions
How many arugula plants fit in a 4×8 raised bed?
Up to 128 full-size plants at 4 per square, 6 inches apart. Sow it for baby leaf instead and the same bed fits 288 to 512 plants, 3 to 4 inches apart.
What is arugula spacing in square foot gardening?
4 plants per square, 6 inches apart, for full-size plants you cut and let regrow. The Plan My Garden planner spaces arugula the same way.
How close can you sow arugula for baby leaf?
University of Maryland Extension says spacing leafy greens 2 to 4 inches apart produces a higher population of small plants for repeated harvest, which works out to 9 to 16 per square foot.
Why does arugula bolt in hot weather?
Long days, high heat, and dry soil push it to flower, University of Wisconsin Extension says. UF/IFAS Extension in Leon County, Florida adds that once afternoon temperatures pass 85°F, afternoon shade helps discourage early bolting.
Let the planner place them
Plan My Garden is free to start: enter your zip code, draw your beds, pick arugula and everything else you want to grow, and it places each plant at square-foot spacing and builds a planting schedule from your frost dates.
Related: Square Foot Gardening Chart · Seed Starting Calendar · 10 Crops You Can Direct Sow Before Your Last Frost · How Many Radish Plants per Square Foot?
