Small gardens, complete plans

Bed & Balcony connects a measured growing space to plant positions, quantities, preparation windows, a supply list and twelve weeks of care. 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 twelve-week plan covers an initial care period. Late tomatoes and perennial herbs need continued care. The tools do not predict weather, guarantee harvest, diagnose disease or recommend pesticides. Actual garden performance has not been field-tested here.

Crop guides

• Leaf lettuce
• Bush snap beans
• Small round radishes
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Short carrots
• Small-root beets
• Compact basil
• Compact parsley
• Chive clumps
• Tiny Tim dwarf tomato

Source index

1. 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 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

2. 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 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

11. 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.

12. UMN Extension: Planting for fall harvest

    Maturity is a cultivar-dependent estimate; our extra 14-day fall buffer is an explicit planning assumption. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

13. UMD Extension: Vegetable succession and companion planting

    Later crops occupy cleared space; rotation is useful but is not a disease-control guarantee in small gardens. Accessed 2026-10-04. Publicly readable, copyright retained by publisher. Facts paraphrased; no photos or complete source text reproduced.

Changes and corrections

Version 1 · October 4, 2026. Compact container root-spacing choices are recorded separately from bed spacing. Keep a downloaded JSON copy of inputs when updating a plan.