How Many Seeds to Buy for a Vegetable Garden
Count plants per person, multiply by people and plantings per year, then add extra seed for thinning and germination. Worked examples for tomatoes, beans,...
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How Many Seeds to Buy for a Vegetable Garden
Work it out in three steps: plants per person, times people, times plantings per year. Then add extra seed for thinning and weak germination. Most home gardens need one packet of each crop. Beans, peas, corn, and big plantings of carrots or lettuce are the usual exceptions.
The Seed Order Planner does this math for 35 crops and saves your list.
Step 1: Plants per Person
Virginia Cooperative Extension gives these amounts per person for each planting:
| Crop | Per person, each planting | Plantings a year (zones 6 to 8) |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | 2 to 4 plants | 2 |
| Peppers | 3 to 5 plants | 2 |
| Bush beans | 10 plants | 4 |
| Cucumbers | 2 to 4 plants | 2 to 3 |
| Summer squash | 1 to 2 plants | 3 |
| Garden peas | 20 to 30 plants | 2 |
| Head lettuce | 5 to 10 plants | 3 spring, 3 fall |
| Carrots | 10 to 30 plants | 1 spring, 2 fall |
| Beets | 10 to 20 plants | 2 spring, 2 fall |
Count a young child as about half a person. In zones 3 to 5, plan fewer plantings of warm crops and few fall plantings.
Step 2: Add Extra Seed
- Transplants (tomatoes, peppers, cabbage family): start about 1.5 seeds per plant you want. Keep the strongest.
- Large seed (beans, peas, corn): sow about 1.5 seeds per plant.
- Squash and melons: sow 2 seeds per plant and thin to the best one.
- Small seed you thin (carrots, spinach, turnips): sow about 3 seeds per plant.
- Old or weak seed: if a germination test shows less than 85 percent, buy or sow more. At 60 percent, sow about 40 percent more.
Worked Examples for a Family of Four
- Tomatoes: 3 plants each x 4 people = 12 plants per planting. Two plantings = 24 plants. At 1.5 seeds each, start 36 seeds. One packet usually holds more than that.
- Bush beans: 10 plants x 4 people = 40 plants per planting. Four plantings = 160 plants. At 1.5 seeds each, buy 240 seeds, about 2.4 oz. That is several packets or a bulk bag.
- Carrots: 20 plants x 4 people = 80 plants. Three plantings = 240 plants. At 3 seeds each, 720 seeds, under 1/16 oz. One packet is plenty.
Check Before You Buy
- Count what you have. Seed stored cool and dry keeps 1 to 5 years depending on the crop. See how long vegetable seeds last.
- Rate last season in the Harvest Log. Grow more of what ran short, less of what went to waste.
- Order start-indoors crops first. See when to order garden seeds.
For seed weights, see the vegetable seeds per ounce chart.
Sources: Virginia Cooperative Extension 426-331, Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide; Kansas State University Research and Extension MF315, Vegetable Garden Planting Guide.