Feed Family of 5 for 50 a Week

Growing Plenty Food to Feed a Family

A common question we are asked hither at the Garden Planner is "How much of the food we eat equally a family can nosotros grow ourselves?" This depends on a number of factors, so here are the fundamental things you lot demand to consider…

How much space do you have?

The biggest gene that volition make up one's mind how much you tin grow is how much land you have. There are many means to maximize the crops you can grow in any given space, but quite only, the more than land you have, the more than crops yous tin grow. So how much state is enough for a family to grow everything they demand for a year?

Research in the 1970s by John Jeavons and the Environmental Action Organisation establish that 4000 foursquare feet (about 370 square metres) of growing space was enough country to sustain one person on a vegetarian nutrition for a year, with about another 4000 square feet (370 square meters) for access paths and storage – so that's a plot around 80 feet x 100 feet (24m x 30m).

How much yous can grow in this space will depend on your climate, weather condition and soil and, crucially, how much time you have. Tending to 4000 foursquare feet, particularly at the height of the growing flavor, will take many hours a week.

What would you lot abound and how many plants of each vegetable would you need per person?

Choose to grow plants that yous already like to eat – it's not worth putting the time and try into growing asparagus if no i in your family is very keen on it.

Your grocery bills or a trip to a local farmer's market are good places to get-go working out how much you need to grow. Create a listing of plants, and note how much yous eat per week – so if yous eat 5lbs (about 2kg) of potatoes a week, that's 20lbs (9kg) a calendar month and 240lbs (109kg) a yr. You'll need to abound this amount at least, plus a little more to brand upwards for any lost to disease, pests and other problems.

How much you want to harvest will dictate how many plants you demand to grow and how much infinite you'll demand to grow them in. Some crops, such as tomatoes, produce many vegetables or fruits per institute, so you'll demand fewer of these plants to obtain a big harvest. Others such equally carrots produce just one vegetable per plant and crave correspondingly more to exist sown. Here are our suggestions for some of the well-nigh common crops, remembering that yield will vary depending on your season length, soil, watering and the varieties you lot choose to abound:

Potatoes

• Harvest per person required: 75-200lbs (34-91kg) per person
• Yield per 10 foot (3m) row: 10-20lbs (4.five-9kg)
• Row length needed: 75-100 feet (23-30m), which is about 85 plants

Carrots

• Harvest per person required: 7-20lbs (iii-9kg) should be suitable for one person
• Yield per 10 pes (3m) row: 7-10lbs (3-4.5kg)
• Row length needed: x-20 feet (3-6m) which is about 30-sixty plants

Tomatoes

• Harvest per person required: fifteen-65lbs (7-29kgs) per person
• Yield per 10 foot (3m) row: 15-45lbs (7-20kg)
• Row length needed: 10-15 anxiety (three-5m), which is 6-10 plants

The Garden Planner makes information technology easy to work out the row length required for a sure number of plants, then for other crops just continue this process of working out how much you'll eat, researching how much each institute yields, and how long the row volition need to be.

How to go the most from your infinite

There are some tried and tested growing techniques which assistance you to get the nigh from any garden, no thing how big or how small.

Employ different varieties.

Where possible, institute early, mid and late varieties of your crops. This will provide a steady menstruation of produce spread throughout the flavour, and can as well assist to reduce losses due to pests and diseases as your plants will exist in dissimilar stages of growth at different times.

For instance, if y'all're growing potatoes you could cull 3 different varieties –one each of first early, second early and maincrop varieties. Many other crops have seasonal varieties as well, including peas, beans, apples, onions and corn.

Succession found

Succession planting is all most maximizing the space you have bachelor, ensuring that there is ever something growing in the ground. Equally yous harvest your showtime early on potatoes in June, you could and then plant a quick growing crop such every bit some beets. The Garden Planner tin help to keep rail of this – prepare the dates that crops volition be in the footing and select a specific month to run across what space will be available, then pop in a few rows of your called succession ingather.

Extend your flavor and protect your crops.

Use greenhouses, common cold frames or a hoop firm to add an extra few weeks at the start and end of the growing season. In cooler climates this volition ensure you are much more successful with tender crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and melons. They volition also help to protect your crops from unseasonal weather condition such as wet summers and from some pests such as birds, small-scale mammals and deer.  Plus, it'south always welcome to be able to harvest fresh produce early in the season.

Abound calorie crops

Calorie crops are those which have a high calorie content per weight of crop. If you're growing lots of your ain nutrient, you lot'll want to include the top 5 of potatoes, corn, beans, winter squash and possibly grains such as wheat. These crops fill you up, are generally much less work than other crops and are very versatile – they store well, for long periods and are endlessly useful in the kitchen.

Growing whatsoever fresh food in your garden is a great fashion to feed your family – it doesn't have to be about being totally self-sufficient. Whether you have a few containers by your back door or take a two acre plot you'll be able to add fresh ingredients to your meals and reduce your grocery bills, and if you garden organically and sustainably yous'll be reducing your ecology impact too.

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Source: https://www.growveg.com/guides/growing-enough-food-to-feed-a-family/