How big is your garden/how large is your family?

[the4heathernsmom]

I think I way underestimated my plan this year in the garden so I am looking for comparisons from other folks. My garden is about 30x60 on a slight slope in the front not fenced with our mini orchard at the end of it......second year garden although not much work has been done due to my breaking my leg and ankle the soil still needs work it is a finer sandy mix with lots of organic content but still needs more.....ok it is a major work in progress but making do until I have full time and energy to devote to it. It is part of my therapy to motivate me to be more mobile. Back onto subject I have a large family of six (seems large to me anyways) and my plan was to have fresh veggies through summer and harvesting as well as have enough to share and can, freeze, prepare, and put up until next summer. I thought yea sure 13 tomato plants will be plenty well now I am not thinking that so much. Ok for salsa and stews and sides I figured two rows of peppers yes surely well now maybe not!!! I need a plan to figure out how much to plant to have more than enough rather than not even enough to put up. In addition to the garden we have a small seperate watermelon patch (14 plants) which is fenced, wild blackberries if we fight off the snakes in the back of property behind pasture area, 5 grown peach trees that were here when we came, one plum tree which was loaded last year with huge purple plums, and last year we planted 2 apple and 2 more plum trees in our orchard but they have years yet to grow. Any suggestions or comparisons anyone?

 

[Wildsky]

Mine is minute! I used a space about 20x20 last year, but with weeds and gophers we got almost nothing out of it.

This year hubby and I built 2 raised beds (6x3) and I am going for another one or two if I can. (one 4x2 or so for strawberries)

Anyhoo - I'm going small this year, in the hope of getting MORE, and starting seeds by the week, each week 2 broccoli, 2 cauliflower, 16 carrots, 4 lettuce - etc.. I just planted 24 pea's, and will be planting beans next week - I have also some bok choy, cucumber and radish in the garden but the kids don't go for that so much...
By my calculations, I'm going to run out of space to plant my starts in about 3 or 4 weeks...

Edit to add - we're a family of 4. (two young kids)

 

[simple life]

Hi and Welcome!

Sorry to hear about your leg.
I hope you are back on your feet soon so you can enjoy the beautiful summer weather.

So for comparisons. We are a family of 9, the girls will be home from college this summer so I will have all 7 kids full time to feed.
I have a couple of different gardens, one out back, one on the side of the house and one in the middle of the yard.
I realized the same thing, I needed more room to plant enough to fill the root cellar and get us through the winter without having to buy the junky produce at the store.

I planted 20 fruit trees this year, apples, pears, apricots, peaches, plums, persimmons, jujube and nectarines.
I planted 8 blueberry shrubs, 3 grape vines, 4 kiwi and about 20 raspberry and blackberry canes.
I planted 100 or so strawberries last year and they are just exploding with growth.
We also keep chickens and turkeys, laying hens for eggs and meatbirds for well.. meat.
The turkeys are heritage breeds and will be kept for a sustainable flock and the extras will be used to "sustain" us.
I have goats for pets but we also like the milk we get from them and I make yogurt and kefir with it and am learning how to make cheese.

Now, I only have an average sized backyard or I would have really gone crazy with it.
The kids are getting older and the youngest ones only seem to play in one area of the yard so I utilized the rest.
People always compliment me on how I use my space so I know anyone can do it if I can.
You have a nice size garden to work with so you should be able to grow quite alot.

I do alot of square foot gardening and I also practice companion planting at the same time to get more bang for my buck.
I planted 22 tomato plants so far but I haven't put in the heirlooms that I plan to so there will be more.
I have gone much heavier on the winter squash, particularly anything described as a good keeper.
Squash can last for months and you aren't having to hurry and use it up before it goes bad like some vegetables.

I also planted several times more garlic and onions last fall and they are looking really good.
I make alot of jams and sauce but I think I will do more freezing this year so I have veggies on hand for dinners.
I planted 60 pole beans and I think 40 bush beans and I honestly don't know how many carrots since those seeds are so darn tiny but I planted alot of them, my kids like all the different colored ones. Those I plant every two weeks.

Its the same with the beets and radishes, I planted a slew of seeds and I will do them in succession.
I planted several types of summer squash as well, something I didn't do last year, not that it would have mattered with the year we had but I am glad I hadn't bothered to plant alot of them.

I planted parsnips this year as well.

I planted around 15 pepper plants but I think that will do us okay.
I only have 3 eggplants right now, I would like to get a few more and I also need more corn.

Everything else I planted is more or less for fresh eating, nothing that you can really preserve for any length of time or that we just eat all summer and don't have enough to keep around, lots of salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, cabbage and brussel sprouts.

Here is the thing, don't drive yourself nuts worrying about it, if you have the seeds or plants and have the room then go for it.
You can plant veggies just about anywhere there is good drainage and sun.
Think edible landscaping, many people are planting veggies right in their flower gardens, I just put some veggies in my bee garden and pole beans on my lampost.
I have no qualms about sticking in some seeds or plants just about anywhere to be able to grow enough of what I need.
Since you are hurt right now you may want to plant things that will be fine to sit around a while until you get around to using them or putting them up.

They have charts online that tell you how much to plant of each vegetable per person but that can vary alot from family to family depending on how much you like something.

You can check out one of those charts and then double their recommendations since your goal is to preserve alot of it.

Good luck, hope you find your answers.

 

[the4heathernsmom]

ok that sounds great!!! I too did 3 eggplants they are not a favorite...I picked up 9 more tomato plants today i am trying to stick with heirlooms this year.

I am mobile had surgery in feb but walking mostly with a boot so I can maneuver a bit but squatting and bending take a toll on me I am getting there I just have to tkae breaks lol!!!

I made my front flower garden my herb garden forgot to mention that.....I have basil, oregano, dill, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, all in with my azaleas in the front beds. The azaleas are very small bushes and it looked empty so the herbs fill it in nicely dual purpose there.

I only did 14 strawberries knowing that they will not produce much this year but hoping next year they will spread and be fruitful for me.

Your orchard sounds huge!!!! I am waiting to see what happens this year before I do any more fruit trees.

I make mexican green sauce, several varieties that I can so I have eight tomatilla plants 7 are verde tomatillos and one big one on the front porch is some other variety but already loaded !!!!

Salsa and tomato sauces, diced tomatoes, I buy like crazy and last year's canning was gone in a month 8 jars lol. So I know I need the extra tomatoes this year.

I have to have peppers, sweet, bell, hot, mild, my husband eats peppers with everything and I spend a fortune on them so I want to can and pickle some then have some for salsa, sauces, etc.

I only did about 15 pole bean plants but I have two full rows of purple hulls which I can replant they are a definate main stay around here lol, and then I am trying for the first time bush snap beans and have 2 half rows of them but I also read you can do a second planting in my area so going to try that.

the corn didn't come up well but still watering and hoping with my fingers crossed......we decided where the pigs are (about a 1/4 acre penned area .....we will till over winter and let it sit and next year try to grow only corn in that whole pen ......uhmmmm if the pigs go to slaughter this summer/fall.

we have chickens too....I have been a member of byc for long while then I just became member here. We have 30 plus non laying hens lol looonnngggg story and a few roos which are great if they are laying!!!

I could not imagine feeding 7 kids wow!!! You definately deserve a mother's day break lol!!!!

Thanks for sharing .... I welcome the thoughts and ideas.

 

[seedcorn]

Was family of 4, soon to be family of 2. My garden hasn't changed in size.

garden 1-20' X 30' horseradish, sweet corn, sometimes a few winter squash.

garden 2-35' X 50'; oregano, rhubarb, asparagus, strawberries for borders, not part of "official" garden.

Usually plant, 20+ peppers, 35+ tomatoes, 2 rows of peas, 2 rows of green beans, 2 rows of okra, 12 cabbage, 4 hills each of zucchini, cucumbers, butternut, 4 eggplants with basil, cilantro, dill, lettuce or anything else that suits me in what ever spot becomes available.

Both gardens are heavily mulched w/straw, foliar feed as I see fit.

Then I have 2 tractor tires and an old row boat w/gourds, pumpkins, blackberries and strawberries.

Yes, I have extra, but make sure no one at church does w/out.

 

[the4heathernsmom]

Wow !!!!!

 

[journey11]

Hi the4heathernsmom, !

We are a family of 3 (one toddler). My garden is 15x19 yds (about 2565 sq. ft). I can/freeze and share a lot of what I get out of it. We try to grow/butcher/forage about 80% of our own food and hope to one day do even more.

I would say, in effort to encourage you, that whatever you can manage to grow and put up for your family, every bite counts! And you are making a difference in your healthy (and much more tasty!) eating, even if you do not reach your optimal goals for your harvest.


I am a stay-at-home-mom, so I joke that my husband is the bread winner and I am the veggie winner!

You mention you have health issues. For anyone, I think it is wise to keep your garden something managable. You don't want to get too big for what your time and ability allow and end up stressing yourself out. I find gardening to be the best stress relief and therapy for me. (I love pulling weeds when I'm mad or at the end of my rope, it really takes the tension out of me! Weird, I know! )

For how much you can fit into your space, a lot will come down to--what do you guys like to eat? Some things take up much more space, like melons, pumpkins and corn. Some things occupy the space longer than others, and somethings can be run in several rotations maxing out available space. Then there's raised beds which sound small, but with rich soil and good use of space can hold much more than a traditional row garden. It's fun also to think outside the box with landscape plantings, growing vertically as possible, container plantings and such. This year I am growing my beans and cukes in my front yard on my fence line to free up room in my garden.

One thing I would recommend if you do canning, freezing, cold storage, drying, etc. is to inventory what you put up for the year and keep notes on when you ran out of it or if you had too much. This can help you tweek your planting list for following years and make the most of the time, effort and garden space you have.

Good luck in your 2010 garden endeavors, the4heathernsmom. We look forward to chatting with you and hope you'll post pics of your harvests. I really enjoy this community here on TEG and have learned so many neat tips and tricks from everyone and so many other cool things. Hope you have fun!
:happy_flower

ETA: Glad to hear you are on the mend. I sprained both ankles last May while out walking my dogs (I am so clumsy), so I know what you mean about trying to get around in the garden!

 

[Rosalind]

Family of 2, and I give lots away to folks at work. Many have never eaten real food before, only take-away type food, microwave meals and junk!

Garden is 60x60', orchard has 30 trees, 80 linear feet of raspberry bushes, 60 linear feet of blueberries, a few gooseberries, lingonberries, and highbush cranberries here and there, big mulberry tree. Some blackberries in the corners.

A good portion of the garden, maybe 1/3, is shaded though--in that portion I keep some perennial herbs that tolerate shade, logs and wood chips inoculated with mushroom spawn, rhubarb, asparagus that is up before the trees grow in their leaves much.

I have a rotation such that the amount of each thing I plant every year varies. There's also an 80x80' pasture area that I move a poultry pen around--I keep turkeys in there. There's about 75-80 square feet of strawberries in the garden too.

That sounds like a lot, but it doesn't come close to feeding us year-round exclusively. I buy baking supplies and oats in bulk twice a year from a mill that I think has pretty good quality, store it in canisters in the cellar. We have a local dairy that delivers milk, ice cream and butter to our door, and I make cheese & yogurt out of it. About once a year, someone in the family goes hunting for venison, I fish when I get a chance. I do grow grain, but don't have nearly enough to feed my poultry, so I spend a good bit at the feed store.

In my area we have a lot of unpredictable weather, so I can never be sure that if I plant X amount of something, I will get Y amount of it at harvest. It's more like, some years I will get 10X as much as anticipated vs. other years not a single thing from a dozen contrary plants. I guess I'd say, be prepared for a lot of whining from other family members who can't stand to eat another freakin' canned peach...

 

[the4heathernsmom]

Ok I am going to do that !!!! I joined the community deal on here to keep track of expenditure an harvest so I will have this year to start from to do comparisons. Yall have some great ideas and sounds like a lot of time has gone into your garden plans. I hope I can be somewhat productive and learn from everyone else's plans!!! Thanks so much for sharing!