The Cut-and-Come-Again Salad Bed
A 4×4 bed of fast greens and roots that you harvest continuously rather than all at once. Ready in six weeks, productive for months.
The plan
Each square is one square foot; the number is how many plants go in it at recommended spacing. North is the top of the plan — the tallest crops sit there so they don't shade the rest.
No recorded bad pairings between neighbouring squares in this plan.
Why it's arranged this way
Everything here matures in 25–60 days and most of it can be cut repeatedly. It is also the one bed that genuinely prefers partial shade — lettuce, spinach and arugula all bolt in full summer sun, so a spot with afternoon shade extends the season by weeks.
- Sow a quarter of the bed every two weeks rather than all at once — otherwise everything is ready the same Tuesday and bolts the following week.
- Cut leaves from the outside of lettuce and spinach plants rather than pulling them, and they will regrow several times.
- Cilantro bolts fast in heat. Treat it as a spring and autumn crop and let some flower — the blossoms feed hoverflies, which is one of the better-evidenced benefits in the garden.
What's in it, and when to plant
| Crop | Squares | Plants | Start indoors | Plant outside |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lettuce | 4 | 16 | Feb 27 – Mar 13 | Mar 20 – Apr 2 |
| Arugula | 3 | 12 | — | Mar 13 – Mar 26 |
| Spinach | 3 | 27 | Feb 27 – Mar 6 | Mar 20 – Apr 2 |
| Radish | 2 | 32 | — | Mar 20 – Apr 2 |
| Carrot | 2 | 32 | — | Mar 20 – Apr 2 |
| Chives | 1 | 1 | Jan 30 – Feb 13 | Apr 10 – Apr 23 |
| Cilantro / Coriander | 1 | 9 | — | Apr 10 – Apr 23 |
What you'll need
Bill of materialsSoil and equipment
- Raised bed soil, 12 in deep 16 cu ft · 11 bags · 0.593 cu yd
- Soaker hose — these crops split or bolt with uneven water
- Floating row cover
- Straw or leaf mulch
- Deep container if not planting in ground
Seed for this bed
- Lettuce seeds 16 plants · 4 sq
- Arugula seeds 12 plants · 3 sq
- Spinach seeds 27 plants · 3 sq
- Radish seeds 32 plants · 2 sq
- Carrot seeds 32 plants · 2 sq
- Chives seeds 1 plant · 1 sq
- Cilantro / Coriander seeds 9 plants · 1 sq
Soil volume is calculated from this bed's footprint at 12 inches deep — adjust it on the soil calculator. Plant counts come from square-foot density for each crop. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Equipment is listed because the crops in this plan need it, not because it is sponsored.
Other layout plans
The Beginner 4×8 Bed
The standard first raised bed: eight crops that are hard to kill, spaced properly, with nothing planted next to something it fights with.
4 × 4 ftThree Sisters
Corn, beans and squash grown together — the one traditional polyculture with measured evidence that it out-produces the same area grown separately.
6 × 4 ftThe Salsa Bed
Everything for a bowl of salsa in one 4×6 bed: tomatoes, peppers, onions and cilantro, timed so they are ready together.
6 × 4 ftThe Insectary Strip
A 4×6 border of flowering plants chosen for the evidence behind them — sweet alyssum for hoverflies, borage for pollination, calendula and dill for predatory wasps.
4 × 4 ftThe Partial Shade Bed
For the bed that only gets three to five hours of sun. Leafy crops and roots that genuinely prefer it, rather than fruiting crops that will merely survive.