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Raised bed planting plans

Three proven mixes on two common sizes. Filled by fixed rules: space per plant from square foot gardening, and only plans with no objection on companions or crop rotation.

Raised bed 120 × 80 cm

4 × 2 squares of 30 × 30 cm (12 × 12 in), so 120 × 60 cm. The rest of the bed (120 × 80 cm) is edge.

Tomato bed 120 × 80 cm

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What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Tomato + Basil Good neighbour· BIn garden trials, tomato and basil together out-yielded either crop alone – especially when planted densely.
  • French marigold (tagetes) + Carrot Good neighbour· BIn a field trial, carrots grown with French marigolds had the least carrot fly damage; yield did not drop.
  • Tomato + Butterhead lettuce Good neighbour· CLettuce bolts in heat; in the shade of tall tomatoes it stays tender longer.

Next year in this bed

  • Carrot family (carrot): 4 full years’ break.
  • Nightshade family (tomato): 4 full years’ break.
  • Basil: 3 full years’ break for the same species.
  • Daisy family (French marigold (tagetes) and butterhead lettuce): 3 full years’ break.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the carrot family and nightshade family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example garlic, bush beans, radishes, beetroot and broad beans fit.

Salad bed 120 × 80 cm

416161649416

What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Carrot + Spring onion (scallion) Good neighbour· BCarrots grown with Welsh onions had less carrot fly damage and higher yields in a trial.

Next year in this bed

  • Carrot family (carrot): 4 full years’ break.
  • Cabbage family (radish): 4 full years’ break.
  • Onion family (spring onion (scallion)): 4 full years’ break.
  • Daisy family (butterhead lettuce and loose-leaf lettuce): 3 full years’ break.
  • Beet and spinach family (spinach): 3 full years’ break.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the carrot family, cabbage family and onion family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes and bush beans fit.

Corn, beans, cucumber 120 × 80 cm

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What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Sweetcorn + Bush bean Good neighbour· CBush beans cope with the corn's shade and root at a different depth – little competition.
  • Bush bean + Cucumber Good neighbour· CBeans fix nitrogen, but it is only released once their roots rot in the soil.
  • Cucumber + Butterhead lettuce Good neighbour· CCucumbers only go in mid-May; until then, and along the edge, there is room for lettuce.

Next year in this bed

  • Squash family (cucumber): 4 full years’ break.
  • Legume family (bush bean): 3 full years’ break.
  • Daisy family (butterhead lettuce): 3 full years’ break.
  • Sweetcorn: 3 full years’ break for the same species.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the squash family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example carrots, garlic, radishes, beetroot and Cape gooseberries fit.

Raised bed 200 × 100 cm

6 × 3 squares of 30 × 30 cm (12 × 12 in), so 180 × 90 cm. The rest of the bed (200 × 100 cm) is edge.

Tomato bed 200 × 100 cm

244162441624

What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Tomato + Basil Good neighbour· BIn garden trials, tomato and basil together out-yielded either crop alone – especially when planted densely.
  • French marigold (tagetes) + Tomato Good neighbour· BIn a greenhouse trial, whiteflies built up more slowly on tomatoes next to French marigolds (limonene). Other mixed partners had a similar effect.
  • Carrot + French marigold (tagetes) Good neighbour· BIn a field trial, carrots grown with French marigolds had the least carrot fly damage; yield did not drop.
  • Tomato + Butterhead lettuce Good neighbour· CLettuce bolts in heat; in the shade of tall tomatoes it stays tender longer.
  • Tomato + Carrot Good neighbour· CCarrots dislike heat; tomatoes give them shade.

Next year in this bed

  • Carrot family (carrot): 4 full years’ break.
  • Nightshade family (tomato): 4 full years’ break.
  • Basil: 3 full years’ break for the same species.
  • Daisy family (French marigold (tagetes) and butterhead lettuce): 3 full years’ break.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the carrot family and nightshade family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example garlic, bush beans, radishes, beetroot and broad beans fit.

Salad bed 200 × 100 cm

416161649416161649416161649

What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Carrot + Spring onion (scallion) Good neighbour· BCarrots grown with Welsh onions had less carrot fly damage and higher yields in a trial.

Next year in this bed

  • Carrot family (carrot): 4 full years’ break.
  • Cabbage family (radish): 4 full years’ break.
  • Onion family (spring onion (scallion)): 4 full years’ break.
  • Daisy family (butterhead lettuce and loose-leaf lettuce): 3 full years’ break.
  • Beet and spinach family (spinach): 3 full years’ break.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the carrot family, cabbage family and onion family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes and bush beans fit.

Corn, beans, cucumber 200 × 100 cm

392439243924392439

What goes in

Companions in this plan

  • Sweetcorn + Bush bean Good neighbour· CBush beans cope with the corn's shade and root at a different depth – little competition.
  • Sweetcorn + Cucumber Good neighbour· CSmall pickling cucumbers can climb the corn, saving space.
  • Sweetcorn + Butterhead lettuce Good neighbour· CLettuce grows fast between the corn and gets shade there; it is picked before the corn closes in.
  • Bush bean + Cucumber Good neighbour· CBeans fix nitrogen, but it is only released once their roots rot in the soil.
  • Cucumber + Butterhead lettuce Good neighbour· CCucumbers only go in mid-May; until then, and along the edge, there is room for lettuce.

Next year in this bed

  • Squash family (cucumber): 4 full years’ break.
  • Legume family (bush bean): 3 full years’ break.
  • Daisy family (butterhead lettuce): 3 full years’ break.
  • Sweetcorn: 3 full years’ break for the same species.

If the bed looked like this in 2027, the squash family can go back in from 2032 at the earliest.

The year after, for example carrots, garlic, radishes, beetroot and Cape gooseberries fit.

How the plans are filled

Like the templates in the Beetfox app: each plant of the mix goes onto the first free square in turn, round after round, until nothing else fits.

How many plants fit into a 30 × 30 cm square, or how many squares one plant needs, comes from square foot gardening, with a source for every plant.

A plan only appears if the check finds no warning, nothing disputed and no “said to be bad” afterwards.

Soon with your own measurements in the Beetfox app.

Other sizes or a single plant: plant spacing calculatorHow much soil does your raised bed need?Companion planting chart

Questions and answers

What should I plant in a 120 × 80 cm raised bed?

For example the tomato bed: 1 tomato, 2 basil, 4 French marigolds, 4 butterhead lettuce and 16 carrots. Above are 3 plans for this size, each with no objection on companions or rotation.

What grows well next to tomatoes in a raised bed?

In the tomato bed, sourced as good companions for the tomato: basil (B) and butterhead lettuce (C). The letter shows how good the evidence is.

What should I plant in my raised bed next year?

After the tomato bed: Carrot family (carrot): 4 full years’ break. Nightshade family (tomato): 4 full years’ break. Basil: 3 full years’ break for the same species. Daisy family (French marigold (tagetes) and butterhead lettuce): 3 full years’ break. The year after, for example garlic, bush beans, radishes, beetroot and broad beans fit.

How many squares does a 200 × 100 cm raised bed have?

6 × 3 = 18 squares of 30 × 30 cm. Each plant gets as much space as square foot gardening says, a tomato for example 4 squares.

Where do the plant counts come from?

From square foot gardening: for each plant, a source says how many fit into a 30 × 30 cm square or how many squares one plant needs. The sources are listed below.

Sources

Show 17 sources
  1. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens: Square Foot Gardening Guide (2020)
  2. Phipps Conservatory: Square Foot Gardening (PDF)
  3. UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Tulare-Kings: How to Square Foot Garden
  4. UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Tulare & Kings: Square Foot Gardening Plant & Seed Spacing
  5. NYC Parks GreenThumb: Square Foot Gardening (Growing Veggies in NYC Training)
  6. Bomford 2004: Yield, pest density, and tomato flavor effects of companion planting in garden-scale studies incorporating tomato, basil, and Brussels sprout (Diss., West Virginia University)
  7. Oregon State University Extension: Companion Planting (Guides for beginning gardeners, Juni 2021)
  8. Utah State University Extension (Mohr, Trundle, Hagevik): Creating Sustainable School and Home Gardens – Companion Planting (Juli 2025)
  9. Jankowska, Jędrszczyk, Poniedziałek 2012: Effect of intercropping carrot with French marigold and pot marigold on the occurrence of some pests and quality of carrot yield. Acta Agrobotanica 65(4): 133–138 (Abstract via AGRIS)
  10. Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Anbauplanung im Gemüsegarten (o. J.)
  11. BUND: Mischkultur – Gute und schlechte Nachbarn (August 2026)
  12. Wierzbicka & Majkowska-Gadomska 2012: The effect of biological control of the carrot fly (Psila rosae) on the yield and quality of carrot storage roots. Acta Sci. Pol. Hortorum Cultus 11(2)
  13. RHS (Guy Barter): Three ways to use companion planting
  14. Conboy et al. 2019: Companion planting with French marigolds protects tomato plants from glasshouse whiteflies through the emission of airborne limonene. PLoS ONE 14(3): e0213071
  15. Gartenakademie Rheinland-Pfalz (DLR): Übersicht – Kultur verschiedener Gemüsearten im Hausgarten (o. J.)
  16. Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein: Fruchtfolge im Garten (Gartenmerkblatt, 2020)
  17. Südtiroler Bauernbund: Merkblatt Fruchtfolgen im Gemüsebau (Oktober 2022)

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