How much do I need to plant?

[rainnotebook]

I know this is an intense question. I have had gardens for years including vegetable gardens. But I now work for a clinic that wants to have an organic garden. I'm in charge of it and really excited but I've never had a garden this size before. We will be growing vegetables to feed our clients. So my question is to everyone that has grown these vegetables.

How many do I need to plant to get to harvest daily or at least weekly?

Again I know this is an intense question and I hope that you can help me. These are the vegetables that I am curious in (I know I know a long list)

Lettuce
Bok Choy
Spinach
Garlic
Bell Peppers
Jalepenos
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Onion
Cucumbers
Radish
Snow Peas
Tomatoes
Collards
Turnip
Zucchini
Cabbage

I truly appreciate any and all answers and all the hard work you've already done to know this.

Thanks!!

Deborah

 

[vfem]

Well I guess the question is difficult. How many square feet are you working with (have available to work with) in your garden? How many clients are you trying to feed on a daily/weekly basis?

Some of your plants will ripen all at once, and some will ripen fruits over a long period of time. You have many things listed you can grow cool weather for the spring (ex. Spinach), long before you can put in the warm weather plants(ex. Peppers).

Some plants will take only 30-45 days while others can take as long as 75-90 days to mature.

Are you planning on growing some more then others.... like you want 40% green, compared to 20% Onions/Garlic? Or 50% tomatoes?

I guess this is a good place as any to write a mission statement.

Just so you know the greens and radishes should produce for you fairly quickly in large amounts if you have the space, and you can plant those item, plus the cabbage, collards, bok choy, cauliflower andsnow peas, long before most your other items.

 

[digitS']

Deborah, the extension people often tell us that a 30' by 30' garden is about right for a family of 4. So, that would mean that they are suggesting 225 square feet per person.

Here's a 4-page pdf from Montana State University Extension where the expected yield from a 10' row is given for many of the vegetables on your list. (You may need to print it out so as to be able to read the darn thing .)

It doesn't quite answer your question but I'm hoping you will be able to answer Vfem about your space and number of people.

Steve

 

[patandchickens]

Unless you are already a very experienced vegetable gardener and will have some vigorously-working helpers, may I suggest that you size your plans not according to "what would it take to feed..." but according to "how much garden am I actually going to be able to deal with".

This is especially true if it will be the first year with the garden soil and you'll have to deal with extra weeds.

A 15x15' weed-growin' garden is a pretty tall order of work for one person in my opinion unless they have nothing else to do with their time. You could go larger if you have some helpers who will seriously devote some real time to the garden; smaller if you will not have much time yourself to put into it.

So decide on the size first. Then you can worry about how much of what to plant

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'd also suggest the first year keep your goals somewhat limited and only plants a few different things. If you try to take on too much you can burn out and fail, while a smaller scale will be very successful and you can determine how much you want to expand in subsequent years. To me, Pat's 15' x 15' seems very limited but it does depend on how much time you have to devote to it, how much help you will have, what techniques you will use, and what you plant. For example, if you plant things that require a lot of weeding, yes that is quite a bit, but if you plant things you can mulch to prevent weed growth, maintenance becomes much more manageable.

A lot of things can be one-time work. What I mean by this is that once I prepare the ground, plant tomatoes, mulch heavily, and cage them, then there is not much difference after doing that in taking care of 5 plants or 25. True, there is a lot of work in setting it up and if you don't mulch and have to weed then there is a lot of work in weeding. But if you are dragging a drip hose out to irrigate, how much extra work is it to water 25 plants as compared to 5 once you drag the hose out, especially if your hose is long enough to get all 25 at once. What works for you depends on your set-up and techniques.

You might talk to service groups to help out in the one time work intense efforts or talk to the big box stores about possible donations of materials or plants, depending on what type of clinic this is. I believe master gardeners have to contribute a certain number of service hours to maintain that status. You might contact the master gardeners in your area to see if you can get help from them, in free plants or advice if not in actual service hours.

Good luck. Sounds like a worthwhile project.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

It's very encouraging that you're deciding to this great venture.

I agree with the pieces of caution voiced by many. I want to echo especially what Pat and Ridgerunner are both saying in regards to how much can you handle (even with helpers) and how much prep work can you put into the project. This should definitely be the driving force more so than the need.

Also, may I recommend really taking a look at what vegetables or nutrient sources are really required for you clients. For example, tomatoes can be a great multipurpose *vegetable* in that you can make sauces, pastas, eat fresh and cook a multitude of ways. Another may be beans, which can grow relatively easy and quickly with little prep work. Depending on the varieties grown you can then eat fresh, dry them and do a variety of other things with them and they provide great sources of protein.

I don't often recommend books and other resources but one I found particularly helpful sometime back and have used in teaching self-sufficiency classes is Gardening When It Counts Growing Food in Hard Times By Steve Solomon. I know that many people may have differing opinions on the resource but for $10 it's not that much of a stretch.

Hope this helps
Carlos