how much land needed to grow enough veg for family of four ?

growingafamily

I am just curious about how much space one would realistically need to grow most if not all of the veg required by a family of two adults and two children ??
Was thinking about it whilst shopping in mr t's and nearly fainting at how much everything has gone up in the last 6 months !

Thanks

Yategirl

I think it is in Mel Bartholemew's book "Square Foot Gardening" I have read what the author reckons is the amount of area that will produce enough to feed a family. IF I remember rightly (and I am hoping someone will back me up on this!!!!) then he states that 3 4ftx4ft squares will provide enough produce for 1 adult and 3 3ftx3ft squares is sufficient for a child (I would personally up this to an adult's "portion" as children grow and some children eat more than an adult!!)

but it all depends on how much fruit and veg you eat, what you grow and whether you eat seasonally.......

does that help at all?

dan1979

That's a really vague question for so many reasons and you have to bear in mind there's little that can be grown for a lot of the year.

I don't think you'll manage everything you need unless you have a huge chunk of land and some polytunnel help but you can definitely make a big dent.

Really it's a case of making the best of what you've got, my garden is full of buckets and patio containers to make use of what modest space I have.

ecoelle

Try checking out the book 'grow your own veg' by Carol Klein it a brilliant book especially if you are just starting out and has an excellent section on growing food in small spaces and about container gardens, i love it, she did a tv programme on it under the same name you could check out if that is available to download or buy. Hope this helps and good luck on the growing it's triring but rewarding!

ormus

to grow most (but not all) your own food for a family, you would need about 1 acre of land. if you include raising/breeding meat you can double that.

as been said though, a large garden will make a big dent in your food bill.

be selective in your growing. no point is using a large space (and time) in growing say spuds, if they are only a fiver a bag at the farm shop.

ceridwen

...and then again...you can visit the website of the Dervaes family and see just how much they grow with 1/10 acre:

www.pathtofreedom.com

kingkano

ormus wrote: »

to grow most (but not all) your own food for a family, you would need about 1 acre of land. if you include raising/breeding meat you can double that.

as been said though, a large garden will make a big dent in your food bill.

be selective in your growing. no point is using a large space (and time) in growing say spuds, if they are only a fiver a bag at the farm shop.

There is if you don't have the fiver!! Time and the land you already have are free by comparison. But you are also thinking too small. A fiver PER BAG = more like £100 a year +. They are one of the easiest things to grow and store as well. But yes only if you have the space.

To be fully self sufficient John Seymour recommends 5 acres. 1-2 acre you could go pretty far. But this does include all grains, meat, firewood, everything.


OP: When I had 2 allotment plots and used my chest freezer/bottling stuff - we didnt tend to buy much in the way of fruit and veg at all. Unless we wanted a special treat in late winter/early spring.

If your asking as you want to start out. Don't try to do everything at the beginning! Start off small with what you can and see how things go

Yategirl

but the OP isn't asking about being self-sufficient.. just to grow enough veg for a family of 4..

If you plan carefully you can grow quite a lot in a small space - you need to think about what you eat on a daily basis - it's no use growing stuff you don't eat or even like! If space is tight then think about growing the more expensive vegetables/fruit you buy rather than the staples - think about supplementing the cheaper basics - this will help to stretch the pennies! Also think about preserving what you don't eat - freeze/can/chutneys etc etc.. don't give away the excess but preserve it for the winter months. Try and make sure you have some veg growing all year round - at the moment I have 2 types of kale to eat now and have sprouting broccoli to come and cabbages growing for a bit later on.. I am now planning the new season - I can't be completely self-sufficient with veg - I can't grow enough potatoes and carrots and onions but I can grow an awful lot and for most of the year I only need to buy granny smith apples for dh!

vfairbrass

Reading Barbara Kingsolver's 'Animal, vegetable, miracle' which details her family's experience of living largely from their own produce would give you lots of ideas. She has some detailed costings (albeit American) which includes keeping hens. Her family did it from principle not from lack of money but I found it an inspirational read. It is written on a month by month basis and it was evident that some months were very difficult, not only dealing with the gluts but also the lack of fresh fruit.

RAS

Bartholomew is useful but also he is an engineer by background so there is lots of soil replacement and sifting. You can get a very good free introductory sheet on foot square gardening of the garden organic web-site , under their schools section

Have a look at John Jeavons

How To Grow More Vegetables (Than You Ever Though Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine),

Produces amazing quantities in small spaces with plans- his basic bed is 25x4 foot, enough to produce a decent range of crops for one adult in the first year. it also takes time to grow the soil, so production is better in later years.

HOWEVER, Dervaes and both the authors above are used to growing in areas with warmer climes than most of us, so their cropping patterns are ambitious in our climate.

Joy Larkcom Growing Vegetables has some very good cropping suggestions for the UK/Irish climate and a list of stuff that can be grown overwinter.

Yes, hit the library or a good bookshop and have a look at them first. Then decide what you want to buy.

Yategirl

RAS wrote: »

Bartholomew is useful but also he is an engineer by background so there is lots of soil replacement and sifting.

but you can actually skip this soil replacement - if you build raised beds on the existing soil/grass and then top up soil level with a mix of top soil, compost and manure - you actually have a very good base for growing. I find his guide useful for ideas, and to help me work out plant spacing in a confined space - remember many books (though not all) still work on the "rows" system which isn't necessarily the right arrangement for a small garden.

The Joy larkom book is good - bit heavy going though when you want a quick read!

Thanks for the info on the other book - I haven't seen that one but will see if my library can get it for me