My Edible Garden

I've been gardening for most of my life and have been a devoted fan of organic gardening the whole time. It just makes so much more sense to work in harmony with Mother Nature than to fight her. Besides which it is better for the planet and better for our bodies. Here you can see what I'm planting and harvesting, with gardening hints and resources thrown in for good measure.

Friday, November 11, 2011

HOW MUCH LAND DOES IT TAKE TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD?

Home Grown Goodness
How much land does it take to grow your own food? Well that covers a lot of territory and there are a lot of variables. Are you talking about ALL of your own food? Are you talking about a typical American diet or a strict vegan diet? Are you talking about a 6 month growing season or do you only have 4 months or maybe you are luck and have 9 months.

I give you some general ideas and some resources to check out in my new article: HOW MUCH LAND DOES IT TAKE TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD?

In the meantime I will be working on this question myself, here in my edible garden. It will probably take me a couple of more years to get my soil into the best shape for doing it, but I'm hoping I'll be totally sufficient in vegetables by the end of 2012, at least 50% sufficient in fruit by 2014 and totally and completely sufficient in veggies, fruit, meat, milk and eggs by 2020. So what are your goals for the next few years?
Posted by Mary Hysong at 6:56 AM
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4 comments:

  1. JulieNovember 14, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    I'd love to grow all my own veggies too, but I think I have a long way to go. My current garden is about 950 sq ft and expansion would require cutting down woods. I am hoping to add fruit next year, but it's going to take some years to get producing. My first goal is to keep track of how much my garden is actually producing. Baby steps!

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  2. Bee GirlNovember 14, 2011 at 9:26 PM

    I would love to (and intend to), eventually, grow all of our fruits and veggies! Right now, though, I'm a long way off...my hope this year is that we'll meet the 200 pound mark for veggies grown on a small portion of our 1/8 acre postage stamp! One day, though...one day...we'll grow them all :-)

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  3. Mary HysongNovember 16, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    Just keep at it! And pour on the manure and compost! I think it actually takes about three-five years to really get the soil built up and then watch out,you will be able to grow a lot more than you thought. Also quick sucession planting, always having seedlings standing by in pots ready to pop into a space helps.

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  4. CristyNovember 27, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    I just want to grow enough to put up some veggies! Last year I had my first garden, with all the dreams and hopes of big harvests. I really didn't get much out of it --except a huge learning experience! I am still at it. The fall garden was better and I am hoping next year will be better for me.

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