Thursday, April 10, 2014

How Much Do You Need To Plant to Feed Your Family For a Year?

This is a question I have heard many many times.  It is hard to answer since diets and intake vary for each person.  I have read a lot of articles, and this is what I have come up with:

First, only plant what you eat.  Otherwise, you are wasting space.  Learn to preserve the foods you grow by canning, dehydrating, smoking or freezing.  Canning instructions and recipes are located in the Canning and Preserving Section of my blog.  We will be adding more to these pages in the coming days. It is a waste to grow and let it rot.

From my research, the average amount per person is as follows:

Square Foot gardening space:  200sq ft.

How Much to Plant (for a Family of 4)

Asparagus: about 10-15 plants per person
Beans (Bush): about 15 plants per person
Beans (Pole): 2-4 poles of beans per person (each pole with the four strongest seedlings growing)
Beets: about 36 plants per person.
Broccoli: 3-5 plants per person
Cabbage: 2-3 plants per person
Cantaloupe: figure on about 4 fruits per plant (estimate how much your family would eat)
Carrots: about 100 seeds per person (1/4 oz would be plenty for a family of six)
Cauliflower: 2-3 plants per person
Collards: about 5 plants per person
Corn: start out with 1/2 lb. seeds for the family and adjust as needed
Cucumbers: 3-6 plants per family
Eggplant: 3-6 plants per family
Lettuce: 4-5 plants per person
Okra: 3-4 plants per person
Onions: 12-15 plants per person
Parsnips: 12-15 plants per person
Peas: about 120 plants per person
Peppers: 3-5 plants per person
Spinach: about 15 plants per person
Squash (including Zucchini): about 10 per family
Sweet Potatoes: about 75 plants per family
Tomatoes: about 20 plants per family
Turnips: about 1/4 lb seeds per family
Watermelon: about 1/2 oz. seeds per family

This information was gathered from the below listed website.

http://gardening.about.com/od/vegetable1/a/How-Much-Plant.htm
http://smallfarm.about.com/od/designingandplanning/a/htplangarden.htm
http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2013/07/how-much-should-i-plant/

 

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