How Much Should I Plant?

Every once in a while I wonder how much food I would need to plant in the garden every year if my family depended on that alone to feed us.   It's an interesting question and one I'm very glad I don't have to answer definitively.    We like the grocery store.

However, I thought you'd find it interesting and helpful to have a few of these lists handy for reference, in case you ever want to know just how much garden we're talking about.  As you read through the lists, notice the large differences.

In the end, just like everything else in life, the answer to How much should I plant? is  .....it depends.  

Note:   I don't grow nearly this amount of food and if you're just starting out, don't be overwhelmed.   Remember, two tomato plants is better than no garden at all.   Gardening is about learning growing skills just as much as it is about final yields.  

Start small and build.

Some of these sites plan for rows, but many are adaptable for square foot gardening.

• The Well Fed Homestead has a good list here.
• Here's a list from New Life on a Homestead. 
• About.com has a list that suggests significantly smaller amounts of plants. 
• Here's a site all about planning the veg garden.