Vegetable Yield Calculator (expected harvest per row length, 38 crops)

Understanding the vegetable yield calculator — concept and principle

This calculator estimates how much a vegetable garden row will produce, using the expected crop per 100 ft of row from a university extension planting guide, for 38 vegetables. You can also enter the harvest you want to find how much row to plant. Use it to size a garden to your household's needs.

Harvest scales with row length; real yields vary a lot with season and care.

How it is calculated

Expected harvest = guide yield per 100 ft × (row length × rows ÷ 100 ft)

Yield per foot = guide yield ÷ 100

Row length for a target = target harvest ÷ yield per foot

The unit is the guide's own: pounds for most crops, but heads, fruit, bunches or dozen ears for some.
Pounds are also shown in kilograms (1 lb = 0.4536 kg); yield per metre = yield per foot ÷ 0.3048.

The principle

In a home garden, harvest per row length is fairly steady for a given crop and season, so the yield scales directly with how much row you plant. Extension guides publish an expected crop for a normal season per 100 ft, which turns any row into a simple fraction or multiple. Reversing the formula answers the planning question: how many feet do I need for the amount I want to eat or preserve?

Worked example

Default inputs: tomatoes (transplants), US feet, 2 rows of 25 ft, no target.

Total row length = 25 × 2 = 50 ft.
Guide yield for tomatoes = 125 lb per 100 ft.
Expected harvest = 125 × 50 ÷ 100 = 62.5, shown as 63 lb, or 62.5 × 0.4536 = 28.3 kg.
Per 10 ft of row = 1.25 × 10 = 12.5 lb; per metre = 1.25 ÷ 0.3048 = 4.1 lb.

Each point is the calculator re-run with only “Length of each row (ft or m)” changed; the gold point is the default example. Change the inputs above and this chart follows your numbers.

Length of each row (ft or m)	Expected harvest
6.25	16 lb
12.5	31 lb
18.8	47 lb
25	63 lb
31.2	78 lb
37.5	94 lb
50	125 lb

How to read the result

Treat the figure as a planning value for a normal season. Harvests vary widely with variety, soil, watering, pests, weather and how long you keep picking. A first-year garden often yields less than the guide while the soil and the gardener improve. For crops counted in heads or ears, each plant gives one main harvest, so planting in batches a few weeks apart spreads it out.

Common mistakes

Comparing a yield in heads or ears with one in pounds.
Expecting the guide yield in a poor season or in shade.
Forgetting that some crops, such as beans, need regular picking to keep producing.
Planting the whole target in one go and getting a glut.

Keep in mind: Yields are typical figures from a US extension guide, not a promise. Local conditions can raise or lower the harvest a lot.

Frequently asked questions

How many pounds of tomatoes per plant?

The guide gives 125 lb per 100 ft with 35–65 plants, which is roughly 2–3.5 lb per plant.

How many feet of row do I need for 50 lb of potatoes?

Enter 50 as the target with the potato crop selected; the calculator divides by the yield per foot.

Does yield per metre use the same guide?

Yes, it is the same figure divided by 0.3048.

Sources: Mississippi State University Extension, "Planting Guide" (Lawn and Garden: Vegetable Gardens)

Checked 9 Nov 2026. Mississippi State University Extension, “Planting Guide” (Lawn and Garden: Vegetable Gardens), table of seeds or plants, spacing and expected crop per 100 ft of row. 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg (exact).

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