Plant Vegetables for a Family
January 31, 2014
January 31, 2014
A common backyard gardening dilemma – how much should you plant of each vegetable? Garden space, if you have it, is precious. Space allocated to a plant that does not produce an adequate amount to add to meals on a regular basis is a waste. Similarly, ending up with a large glut of one item can be a problem also.
Have you had high hopes for an abundant crop of a new item that you have planted in your vegetable garden and been disappointed?
I have! Many times… It is important to have an understanding of whether your garden space will produce a tiny handful of an item or a large crop that you can use many times a week for months.
As an example: I recently planted cannelloni beans for the first time. They grew beautifully and I harvested stunning looking beans, all according to plan- except the quantity, I needed about ten times the amount I harvested for the planting to be worthwhile. There was little I could do with this little handful of beans that took up space in my garden that could have been allocated to something else.
I recommend that you keep records of what and how much you plant in your vegetable garden, at least for one year. This will assist you to determine what works and what does not in your environment. It allows you to record if you have a surplus of something, or not enough or what you expected of something else.
Over the past few years I have been getting used to my garden space. Weather conditions and attention to ongoing maintenance such as fertilising, mulching and rotation of crops plays an important part, however, my guide below provides a starting point. It will assist you to select a usable quantity of produce for your family dinner table.
Please note: You may not have room for all of the listed items. You may have some favorites that you wish to bump up the number of – for example, I have 33 tomato plants in the ground this year. I aim to eat lots of them fresh, have some to dry, and also make chutney and sauce. Thirty three tomato plants is the greatest number of tomato plants I have ever planted and by a cruel twist of weather craziness they will not reach their full potential this year so such an excess is a dream, even with this many plants. This illustrates that the table below is a guide, it is not a guarantee. Plant in the correct season. There is a mixture of cool and warm season crops listed below.
This is my guide to how much of each vegetable I plant.
Plant Name | Qty to Plant | Notes |
Artichoke | 2 | Large plant that multiples over time |
Basil | 2-4 | |
Beans | 12+ | |
Berries | 6+ | Most berry canes will multiply over time |
Beetroot | 8-12 | Plant every 8 weeks |
Broccoli | 2 | |
Capsicum | 2-3 | |
Carrot | 8-12 | Plant every 8 weeks |
Chilli | 1-2 | |
Chives | 2 | |
Coriander | 2 | Avoid planting in very hot Summer months |
Corn | 12-16 | Requires heavy water.Plant in a block, not a row |
Cucumber | 1 | |
Eggplant | 2-3 | |
Garlic | 24+ | Long growing period required |
Kale | 4+ | |
Lemongrass | 2 | |
Lettuce | 4-6 | Plant every 8 weeks |
Mint | 1 | Plant in a pot. Aggressive spreading plant |
Onions | 36+ | Long growing period required |
Oregano | 1 | |
Parsley | 1 | |
Peas | 18+ | |
Potato | 12-16 | |
Pumpkin | 3+ | Running plant that requires space to creep or climb |
Rhubarb | 2 | |
Rocket | 2-3 | |
Rosemary | 1 | |
Sage | 1 | |
Spinach | 2-3 | |
Tarragon | 1-2 | |
Thyme | 3 | |
Tomatoes | 4-6 | |
Zucchini | 1-2 | Space to spread is required |
If you have a limited area for a vegetable patch, but would like to plant more, try the following:
Many small plants from the nursery contain many more plants in the punnet than I recommend above, similarly if you plant seeds you may have many more germinate than you bargained for. Some of the ways that you can share the seedlings around may include:
For further assistance in the areas of how, and what to plant when you may like to explore the links below:
What has been your most disappointing crop? What has been the vegetable that resulted in a glut that you could not use?
[…] vegetables that we plant across the year by volume. You can find out how much to plant for a family here if you are interested in numbers of […]
[…] wrote this post a while ago about how many plants to add to your vegetable garden for your family. It will require a little tweaking to suit your circumstances as you progress […]
[…] of my regular cycle of maintaining a supply of these items for our kitchen. You can read more about how many of each plant I suggest planting […]
Another excellent post, full of information for keen gardeners and learners! Thanks ever so much!
So many zuchini! They then get huge and go to waste as I can’t keep up with them or give them away fast enough. Next year only 1 plant!