Calculating Optimal Plantings per Individual

Calculating Optimal Plantings per Individual

Growing enough produce to feed your loved ones from your garden can be a challenge, but it's an essential task if you're aiming for self-sufficiency. Every year, I strive to improve our garden with dreams of a plentiful harvest. I endeavor to stock our cupboards with canned goods, freezers with frozen veggies, and bins with root vegetables galore.

Though I make progress each year, I often find myself short on some crops and overloaded with others. To help me plan for a better garden next year, I follow a few general guidelines:

Questions to Consider

1. Will it be consumed fresh or preserved? Crops meant for immediate consumption will only last a short time, but if they're also long-term storage candidates, allocate accordingly.
2. Does everyone in the family enjoy it? If only a few family members like something, your planting doesn't need to be as extensive as a loved family favorite.
3. Will you preserve it? We preserve a lot of tomatoes for storage. Consider how much you'll use it in sauces, pastes, or salsas.
4. How often do we use it? Whether fresh or preserved, how frequently you and your family cook the vegetable in question impacts how much you should grow.
5. Do we have the space? Prioritize the most loved and used crops first, ensuring you have enough space to grow them abundantly.

How Much to Plant Per Person for a Year-long Supply

If you're growing your garden seriously, aim to produce enough of at least a few staple crops to feed yourselves for the whole year. Make sure they're favorites you all enjoy eating, but also that their yield is worth your effort.

Once you select the crops you feel confident growing and consuming, use the following rough guide to estimate how much you need to grow per person:

• Asparagus - 5-10 Plants per Person
• Bush Beans - 12-15 Plants per Person
• Pole Beans - 3-4 Plants per Person
• Beets - 20-30 Plants per Person
• Broccoli - 2-4 Plants per Person
• Cucumber - 4-5 Plants per Person
• Carrots - 25-35 Plants per Person
• Corn - 10-15 Plants per Person
• Garlic - 15-20 Plants per Person
• Leaf Lettuce - 4-6 Plants per Person
• Melons - 1-2 Plants per Person
• Onion - 12-20 Sets per Person
• Peas - 15-20 Plants per Person
• Peppers - 3-5 Plants per Person
• Potatoes - 10-15 Plants per Person
• Spinach - 5-6 Plants per Person
• Squash - 1-2 Plants per Person
• Tomato - 2-4 Plants per Person

Remember this is only a guideline to help you plan your garden. Adjust things as needed to accommodate your space.

A Note on Planting

Deciding how much to plant depends heavily on factors such as yield, garden conditions, and your family's eating habits. Some years our tomatoes thrive, while others are disappointing. But these steps can help you estimate your plant count for an improved harvest next year.

For precise plant numbers based on your specific circumstances, check out resources like Virginia Cooperative Extension's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide[1].

For more gardening ideas to reconnect with food, nature, and traditional living, check out The Self Sufficient Life Facebook group[2].

Enrichment Data:

Overall:

To feed one person for a year from a home garden using staple crops, you need to plant a recommended number of plants based on expected yield and consumption patterns. The specific amount varies by crop, gardening preferences, and whether you plan to preserve the harvest (e.g., canning or freezing). However, authoritative guidance from Virginia Cooperative Extension provides a detailed planting guide that estimates how many plants to grow per person.

Key points from the Virginia Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide:

• The number of plants needed per person depends on the vegetable type and its yield.
• Children generally require about half the amount of vegetables as adults.
• Some crops provide continuous harvests over the season, while others have one or two harvests.
• To maintain a steady supply, multiple plantings spaced every 2-3 weeks may be necessary.
• Table 5 of the guide (not reproduced here) gives exact numbers for each vegetable, including spacing and seed counts per 10 feet of row.
• Overall, the guide helps gardeners plan plantings to match their household size, preferences, and harvest use (fresh eating, preservation, etc.)[1].

While exact plant counts vary, common staple crops include:

• Potatoes: Often grown to provide a significant portion of caloric intake.
• Beans and peas: Important protein-rich staples.
• Corn: A major staple for calories.
• Squash and pumpkins: Provide vitamins and bulk.
• Leafy greens and root vegetables: For nutrition and variety.

A rough rule of thumb often cited is about 200–400 square feet of garden space per person devoted to staple vegetables to produce enough food for a year, but this depends heavily on yield per square foot and diet.

Summary:- Use planting guides like Virginia's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide to determine precise plant numbers for each crop per person.- Plan for continuous or multiple staggered plantings.- Adjust amounts for family composition (adults vs. children) and preservation plans.- Expect to devote a significant, but manageable, garden space (a few hundred square feet) per person to staple crops to meet yearly needs from a home garden[1].

No exact universal number exists because of variation in crops, climate, diet, and garden management, but extension guides provide the best personalized recommendations based on these factors.

[1] Virginia Cooperative Extension. (2020). Virginia Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide. Retrieved from https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-015/426-015.html[2] The Self Sufficient Life Facebook Group. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSelfSufficientLife

In my pursuit of self-sufficiency, I aim to plan our home-and-garden to produce a plentiful variety of vegetables. To achieve this, I consider factors such as will it be consumed fresh or preserved, does everyone in the family enjoy it, will I preserve it, how often do we use it, and do we have the space.

For a year-long supply, I aim to grow staple crops such as potatoes, beans and peas, corn, squash, leafy greens, and root vegetables, following rough guidelines of roughly 5-6 plants per person for leaf lettuce, 10-15 plants per person for potatoes, and 2-4 plants per person for tomatoes, among others. However, for precise plant numbers based on specific garden conditions and family's eating habits, I refer to authoritative resources like the Virginia Cooperative Extension's Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide.

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