Small gardens, complete plans

Bed & Balcony connects a measured growing space to plant positions, quantities, preparation windows, a supply list and a complete seasonal care calendar. Every core plan is free and available without an account.

How the plans are made

Plan text and original diagrams are created with AI assistance. Public university extension references support crop guidance. Deterministic calculations place target positions, reject overlapping zones, add calendar days and deduct inventory before rounding bag purchases.

We choose compact-bed and container parameters rather than claiming every variety has identical needs. Full sun is preferable for herbs; the four-hour herb setting is a trial limit. Root depth, spare seed and frost offsets are planning choices. Use your packet, nursery label and local conditions where they differ.

What to expect

The seasonal calendar follows planting, harvest checks, and clearing for each batch. Dates are estimates, and perennial crops need continuing care after the record closes. Add your first fall frost to check whether the growing season is long enough. The tools do not predict weather, guarantee harvest, diagnose disease or recommend pesticides. Actual garden performance has not been field-tested here.

Crop guides

Source index

UMN Extension: Planting the vegetable garden
Cool and warm season establishment; weather and soil readiness matter. Minnesota month dates are not used as global dates. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Growing vegetables in containers and salad tables
Sun exposure, drainage, growing media and crop-specific minimum volumes; our thresholds are conservative planning settings. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing lettuce
Full-size leaf lettuce plant distance is 10–12 inches. Our 12-inch square cells use an intensive bed layout rather than conventional row aisles. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing beans
Direct sow bush beans in warm soil. Six-inch square cells are our compact-bed setting, not the conventional row spacing in this source. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing carrots and parsnips
Direct sow roots, thin to cultivar size. We use 4-inch cells for short carrots in loose deep soil. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing radishes
Small round radishes need thinning; our 3-inch cells exclude large daikon varieties. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Growing spinach
Cool-season spinach and final thinning distance. Six-inch cells are our selected intensive-bed method. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Growing Swiss chard
Large chard plants need 8–12 inch plant distance. We select 12 inches for leaves and stems. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
Iowa State University Extension: Growing beets in the home garden
Direct seeding and thinning beet clusters; 4-inch cells are the selected small-root bed method. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing herbs
Herb spacing depends on mature size. Our spacing and partial-sun thresholds are compact-cultivar planning choices; full sun is preferable. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
Royal Horticultural Society: Tomato Tiny Tim plant profile
Tiny Tim is a dwarf bush cultivar suited to containers. The plan conservatively uses one nursery plant per 40 L pot and 24-inch bed cells; these are selected planning settings. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Planting for fall harvest
Maturity is a cultivar-dependent estimate; our extra 14-day fall buffer is an explicit planning assumption. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Vegetable succession and companion planting
Plan successive crops around how long each crop occupies its space; use separate spring, summer and fall maps. Our sequences require actual clearance before a successor starts. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Growing leafy greens in a home garden
Kale and pac choi can be direct sown or transplanted; partial shade is possible. Fall planning adds 10–14 days to maturity for shorter days. We select 14 days and compact-cultivar bed cells; dates are conditional. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMD Extension: Salad greens to grow in salad tables or salad boxes
Arugula and kale are among suitable salad greens. Our arugula plan uses individually thinned young-leaf plants, not a dense broadcast seed rate. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing peas in home gardens
Peas are a cool-season crop sown into workable soil. Choose edible sugar snap peas; harvest tender pods. Our compact support spacing is a planning choice. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing onions in home gardens
Bunching onions are grown for green stalks. This crop record excludes mature storage bulbs and their day-length and curing requirements. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing turnips and rutabagas
Turnips suit spring or fall; thin seedlings and harvest tender roots. Heat, oversized roots and water stress can reduce quality. Our 6-inch cells are for small-root turnips, not rutabagas. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing cucumbers in home gardens
Bush cucumbers fit small gardens. Direct sow after frost into soil at least 70°F at one inch depth. Seedless types differ in pollination needs; remove insect covers at flowering for bee-pollinated types. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing peppers
Start pepper seed about eight weeks before outdoor planting, or buy sturdy seedlings. Transplant after nights exceed 50°F. Select compact sweet cultivars and check their maturity label. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.
UMN Extension: Growing tomatoes in home gardens
Start tomato seed indoors five to six weeks before outdoor planting. Gradually acclimate seedlings and wait for frost risk to pass and soil to warm. Tiny Tim identity remains supported by its cultivar reference. Accessed 2026-10-13. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

Changes and corrections

Version 2 · October 13, 2026. Compact container root-spacing choices are recorded separately from bed spacing. Keep a downloaded JSON copy of inputs when updating a plan.