Living off of your garden

[gardeniasandhens]

This year I want to be completely self-sustained and live off of my garden. In order to do this for a whole year, what fruits and vegetables would I need to plant and how many of them? Any ideas?

 

[seedcorn]

how many people? How good is your soil? What do you like to eat?

 

[gardeniasandhens]

Theres 4 of us but it would only be me eating it. I really like tomatoes and peas but if thats all I had to eat I'm sure I'd get sick of it
Oh and the soil is red clay

 

[seedcorn]

Are we talking fresh tomatoes, canned, dried? Sauces? Peas--English or snow pea? again perserved or fresh only?

If canning tomatoes, I figure about 30 plants (usually can't stop and end up with many more), plant a few snow peas (about 20' row) but that is for fresh only (2 of us). My garden is 30' X 50' with another sweet corn patch of 30' X 30'. When garden is producing, I have plenty to share with friends plus what we eat. It supplements our food bill in summer, little in winter but by no means do we live off it.

If you were going to grow enough for family of 4 to eat off of all year long (tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, etc), I'd guess close to 1/2 an acre.

 

[gardeniasandhens]

Are we talking fresh tomatoes, canned, dried? Sauces? Peas--English or snow pea? again perserved or fresh only?

If canning tomatoes, I figure about 30 plants (usually can't stop and end up with many more), plant a few snow peas (about 20' row) but that is for fresh only (2 of us). My garden is 30' X 50' with another sweet corn patch of 30' X 30'. When garden is producing, I have plenty to share with friends plus what we eat. It supplements our food bill in summer, little in winter but by no means do we live off it.

If you were going to grow enough for family of 4 to eat off of all year long (tomatoes, potatoes, sweet corn, etc), I'd guess close to 1/2 an acre.

Fresh and canned. We'd just use the canned for the sauces. Snow peas are the besr and probably a little bit of both. I'd want some fresh and then some preserved for later.
We had sweet corn last year and it was great. It really does help with the food bill.

What do I do when it gets cold? :O

 

[vfem]

Well you need to figure out a list of everything you would need to sustain a yearly diet ONLY from your land. You don't want to grow so many snow peas that it all you have to eat for an entire year!

If you are a first timer for planting fruits... ( some on trees.... vines... bramble) these need time to develop. You won't be able to plant any of these and get much, if any of a crop, this year. If your plant is for immediate stocks and supplies you are going to have to go with all annual produce.

You should probably think of putting aside a good bit of land to storage produce as well so you have thing that will do well in a root cellar and still be fresh for use so you don't have to can and freeze EVERYTHING you want to keep. Think many different potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, pumpin, squashes....ect.

Then I would increase whatever amount you come up for a fair amount of food to preserve and sustain you all year, and increase it by 15% to make up for a bad weather season, insect attacks and any unexpected failures!

Though I do think its a good idea to invest in fruit trees, perennial veggies & bramble bushes now, and start your venture 3-4 years from now when you have a healthy stock of fruits and big producers you can count on every year.

 

[boggybranch]

Check this chart out......

http://www.humeseeds.com/seedneed.htm

 

[vfem]

Great link Boggy!

 

[lesa]

Yes, very interesting chart, boggy.... No wonder it seemed like I had a lot of cucumbers, this year!! Maybe 13 plants is too many for 2 people??

 

[wifezilla]

I submit there is no such thing as "too many cucumbers"