how do I know how much to plant?

ruthpend 3/21/2010, 9:54 pm

Hi folks,
How do I know how much to plant?

This feels like a stupid question as I'm writing it, but I thought I remembered seeing a chart in the All New SFG book about how many of what plant you need to supply a family for a season. The only info I've found, in searching the book this evening, is that "each adult needs one, two, or three large boxes of 4 x 4."

I haven't done much veggie gardening in a long time, so I'm really not sure if I need one square, two squares, or more of sugar snap peas, for example.

Input is welcome, though I think my philosophy this year will be to err on the side of having too little rather than too much, and plan to visit one of our wonderful farmer's markets if I need to.

Thanks.

choksaw 3/21/2010, 10:14 pm

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/general-sfg-talk-f5/a-handy-tool-t66.htm?highlight=a+handy+tool

its not 100% accurate but will give you a general guide as to what where and how many follw the seed package as well when it comes to thinning remove the thinning equation and just plant the seeds that far aprt in the sq ft you have

boffer 3/21/2010, 10:19 pm

Hi Ruth,

Welcome to the forum. You have the numbers right, that Mel suggests, but some of us big eaters think his recommendations are on the light side! He also recommends starting on the small side, though some of us didn't and lived to tell about it. I would suggest growing things, if possible, that you usually bring home from the store. That will help give you an idea what it will take the following year at planting time to feed your family. Happy gardening...

Kabaju42 3/21/2010, 11:26 pm

boffer wrote:Hi Ruth,

Welcome to the forum. You have the
numbers right, that Mel suggests, but some of us big eaters think his
recommendations are on the light side! He also recommends starting on
the small side, though some of us didn't and lived to tell about
it.

I was thinking the same thing, you don't want to do too much at once and
burn yourself out. Better to start small, and work your way up.

boffer wrote:I would suggest growing things, if possible, that you
usually bring home from the store. That will help give you an idea what
it will take the following year at planting time to feed your family.
Happy gardening...

How about a mix of things? Maybe you want to grow a few basics that you
use a lot, like tomatoes and lettuce. Then grow some different stuff
for the fun of it. For example, I meet a chef on another forum that
love to use endives (a type of lettuce). I've never tried them before
and when I saw them at the store, they looked expensive. So now I'm
going to try growing them on my own. If they don't work, then that's
okay. I'll still have my normal tomatoes and lettuce.

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