How to Figure the Square Footage of a Garden

Knowing the square footage you have to work with is important in planning the garden, planting your seeds, seedlings or bulbs and amending the soil. The square footage will allow you to estimate how many plants of a particular type you can grow, to calculate how much fertilizer you need, and to choose hardscape objects such as benches and fountains that are appropriately sized for your garden.

String
Measuring tape
Ruler
Paper
Pencil
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Mentally divide your garden into simple rectangles, triangles and circles. If it is approximately rectangular, you can treat it as a rectangle. If it is L-shaped, think of it as a large rectangle with a smaller rectangle sticking out of one side. If it has a more complex shape, try to picture it as a collection of simple shapes stuck together. Your shapes don't have to exactly fit the shape of your garden, they just have to be pretty close to allow you to get as near to the square footage as possible.
- 2
  Lay strings across your garden to divide it into the shapes you pictured. If it is L shaped for example, use strings to draw a large rectangle and block off a smaller rectangle sticking out at a right angle at the bottom.
- 3
  Measure two adjacent sides of each rectangle and calculate the area of each by multiplying length x width. For example, if your garden is in the shape of a rectangle which is 12 feet long and 6 feet wide, it is 12 x 6 = 72 square feet.
- 4
  Measure one side of each triangle. This measurement is the base. Then, measure the distance from that side straight to the corner opposite it so that the line the ruler makes is perpendicular to the side. This measure is known as the height. Write down the base and height of each triangle.
- 5
  Calculate the area of each triangle with the formula 1/2 base x height. For example, if your garden has a triangular part with a base of 9 feet and a height of 8 feet, the area is 1/2 x 9 x 8 = 36 square feet.
- 6
  Measure each circle along its widest part. This is known as the diameter. Divide the diameter in half to get the radius. For example, if a circle has a diameter of six, it has a radius of three.
- 7
  Calculate the size of each circle with the formula A = pi x r^2, using the number 3.14 for pi. For example, if your circle has a radius of 2 feet, you get 3.14 x 2^2 = 3.14 x 4 = 12.56 square feet. If your garden is in the shape of a semicircle or half circle, just divide the area of the circle in half after calculating.
- 8
  Add up the square footage of each section in your garden to get the total square footage.

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