There are as many types of gardening as there are gardeners. When I started out, I was very much a hobbyist. I had three small raised beds, and grew the most basic plants that nearly every book recommends: tomatoes, squash, green beans, and basil. It wasn’t a bad season at all, and I had a lot of fun learning how to grow things. Most of them were from “starts,” or established plants purchased from a nursery. That’s a rather expensive way to garden, but it’s simple and *almost* foolproof. Once I started getting more serious, though, I realized that wasn’t an efficient way to produce food. So I dug into dozens of library books and internet articles for advice on how to grow food easily while also being affordable.
You may be thinking, why are we talking about this right now? It’s cold and gross and nothing grows in the winter. Yet January is the best time to get your plan together and start working on your spring garden! I find the best way to plan is in steps. Here’s my usual method:
Step 1 – Grow What You Eat
Identify what your family actually eats, as opposed to what the seed catalogs tempt you with. I made a running list throughout the year of things I used in my recipes each week, so I could figure out exactly what I wanted to grow in the upcoming season. For my family, that means tomatoes, asparagus, okra, bell peppers, spicy peppers, onions, garlic, lots of different herbs, leeks, artichokes, green beans, and way too many more plants to list here. Last season I grew about 60 different plant varieties, and I’m hoping to add even more fruit trees and berry bushes this year so I can add even more to our home list.
Step 2 – Calculate How Much You Need
This is where it gets a bit tricky. I’ve seen numbers that say adults eat about 10 pounds a day, not all of which is produce. I tracked my eating for a few days to get a good estimate, and I’m preparing about 2-4 pounds of vegetables and fruits a day for my family of 1 adult and 2 pre-schoolers. So my estimate is we’ll need to grow about 750-1300 pounds to be completely self-sufficient. I’m nowhere near that amount. This past season, I grew 100 pounds in my garden and 30 pounds in my aquaponics system. I know my land is capable of much much more, but it’s unrealistic to think I can achieve complete self-sufficiency. However, I can make a big dent in what we have to buy just by planning out what to plant. Here is a good guide:
- Artichokes: 1 plant per person
- Asparagus: about 10-15 plants per person
- Beans (Bush): about 15 plants per person
- Beans (Pole): 2-4 poles of beans per person (each pole with the four strongest seedlings growing)
- Beets: about 36 plants per person.
- Broccoli: 3-5 plants per person
- Brussels Sprouts: 2-8 plants per person
- Cabbage: 2-3 plants per person
- Cantaloupe: figure on about 4 fruits per plant (estimate how much your family would eat)
- Carrots: about 100 seeds per person (1/4 oz would be plenty for a family of six)
- Cauliflower: 2-3 plants per person
- Celeriac: 2-5 plants per person
- Collards: about 5 plants per person
- Corn: start out with 1/2 lb. seeds for the family and adjust as needed
- Cucumbers: 3-6 plants per family
- Eggplant: 3-6 plants per family
- Kale: 1 5′ row per person
- Lettuce: 4-5 plants per person
- Melons: 2-6 plants per person
- Okra: 3-4 plants per person
- Onions: 12-15 plants per person
- Parsnips: 12-15 plants per person
- Peas: about 120 plants per person
- Peppers: 3-5 plants per person
- Potatoes: 10-30 plants per person
- Spinach: about 15 plants per person
- Squash (including Zucchini): about 10 per family
- Sweet Potatoes: about 75 plants per family
- Tomatoes: about 20 plants per family
- Turnips: about 1/4 lb seeds per family
- Watermelon: about 1/2 oz. seeds per family
Step 3 – Choose a Seed Company
I have a few requirements when choosing seeds. For one, I try to find an independent company that isn’t owned by one of the major powerhouses buying up small seed companies to monopolize the market. I also prefer to avoid GMOs and hybrids because I like the option of saving seeds from year to year. I try to get organic whenever possible, because I choose to garden organically and prefer my seeds to be free of pesticides so I can grow organic plants from them. One thing to remember is even though many companies boast that they’re “GMO Free!” they often use conventional pesticides which can be an issue. Here are a few of my favorite companies:
You can browse and buy seeds online or sign up for catalogues. I really enjoy leafing through the pages and circling the plants I want to order each season; it’s like a kid at Christmas!
Step 4 – Pick Your Plot
If you have a yard to use, choose the most open, sunny spot. Where I’m located the soil is mostly clay and filled with millions of rocks. Literally. Sometimes I joke that I could be a rock farmer. So in my case, I built raised beds out of cinder blocks and filled them with purchased garden soil and compost. I amend it every season with more compost and some liquid seaweed and molasses, as well as cornmeal to improve the microbial content as well as nourish the plants. Personally I prefer raised beds because the soil doesn’t get compacted, meaning better root development, and it’s a bit easier on the back. I can sit and rest on a block and lean over to weed or harvest. I started out with wooden beds that fell apart after several months, but cinder blocks are great because they last forever, don’t break down, and easily hold in the weight of the soil. For best results you can double stack them, but it’s difficult to dump a wheelbarrow full of dirt when they’re that tall, so single blocks were my choice. I also have some galvanized water troughs that I added drainage to that work as deeper raised beds for things like potatoes and onions. Check out your local Craigslist to see if anyone is getting rid of cinder blocks, but they’re also pretty cheap at hardware stores. It’s the material I recommend most for new gardeners since it’s pretty much maintenance free and easy to assemble with zero tools or skills.
Step 5 – Plan Your Layout
This is where it gets fun, at least for me. I use graph paper so it’s easy to draw things to scale, then use a number and chart system to navigate what goes where. I used an online generator for a while, but it didn’t account for interplanting, which is crucial for maximum efficiency and pest control. You can do things like the old Native American system called the Three Sisters and plant corn with beans at the bases to climb up them and squash to shade out any weeds below. I used that method with sunflowers (the fire ants had the gall to eat all the kernels from my corn!) with great success. I use one square in the graph for each hole in a cinder block. Those are usually planted with herbs or bush beans, but this year they have garlic and onions as it’s time to cycle them out. The bigger numbers signify larger plants that need more space like tomatillos or broccoli, and the smaller numbers are for smaller plants. I like to keep as detailed records as possible because as soon as I put seeds in the ground, I forget what I put where! I’m excited to get graphing for this year and put the plants-per-person chart into action to see if we can up the garden production from about 20% to 40% of our food source.
Once you have your plan in place, it’s time to get started! I used several books and online charts to determine when to start planting. Personally I’m not a seed starter, it takes work and planning and somehow I look up and it’s late April and I haven’t planted anything yet! Normally I just throw seeds in the ground and let them do their thing, even tomatoes. But our Texas climate gives me that luxury, because I can get my main crop of tomatoes in November before we even pretend at getting a frost.
I could go on forever about how and when to plant, natural solutions for pests and weeds, and everything in between. But if I did that this post would be five pages long, and you can find all that in books anyway. I hope this helps give you the confidence to try out a garden this year, even if it’s just a few pots on the balcony! It’s so satisfying to eat the literal fruits of your labor. Happy growing!
pomelo / 5866 posts
Yes! Thanks so much for all of the details! We’ve had a budding garden for years and actually have lots of room to expand but we never got ‘growing’. DH has a definite interest but I need to be wind beneath his wings. (Actually just being an armchair gardener from the swing while I read my Kindle might not be good enough). I ordered a catalog from Seed Exchange last week and are going to give it a shot. We’ve had worms for vermicast so that should help a lot. I’m getting excited to invest more time this year!
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
I just made my garden plan yesterday! I think another tip is to realise not only what you will eat, but when. I love fresh tomatoes and like to can few, so for me that means 8 tomato plants. Same with potatoes. I like new baby potatoes, but I can buy the big ones in the store. So that means only around 10 plants. It takes some trial and error to figure out how much you need.
apricot / 287 posts
I love your approach of thinking about what you actually eat and planning specific how many plants you will need per person for the year.
One question about your raised beds, did do anything to your rocky soil underneath before building the raised beds? The soil of my current garden plot is filled with rocks, it must have been part of the original landscaping design but when we moved in it was a big plot of weeds and rocks. We originally dug down a few feet and sifted all the rocks out but as you can imagine it was A LOT of work and took a long time. We’ve gotten through about half of the area but still have another 12×12 area to clear out.
I’m wondering if I could build raised beds on top of the current soil, how tall do you think the raised beds would have to be to allow for root growth?
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@Veggiemama: no, it would have taken literal years to clear out all the rocks from my plot. I’m not exaggerating at all. When I had fence post holes dug, I had to call a fencing company with an auger. And to dig the trench for my utility lines I had to rent this gigantic ride-on rock saw, and still broke EVERY tooth on the wheel! So, all that to say, they grow just fine in the raised beds. The ideal depth is 11 inches, but I make do with the 8″ of the blocks. I’ve seen some very lovely ones made with native rocks mortared into beds. I use the galvanized troughs for plants that need more depth, like root vegetables or really big tomato vines. But my okra variety, Hill Country Red, grows to over 6 feet tall, and had no issues in my 8″ dirt. So you could easily get away with one cinder block depth, though 2 would be ideal for growing conditions.
Right now I have weed cloth below the entire garden, which was covered in crushed red granite. Unfortunately that’s a perfect medium for grass to invade, so now my garden is mostly trampled celebration sod that I hopefully killed at least a little over the winter with 20% vinegar and lots of cardboard.
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@Grace: I don’t think any gardener will be satisfied with a plan, we’re always fine tuning them! I didn’t want to quite enter into growing for food storage yet, or else my post would be even longer than it already is. But it’s definitely something to write about later on! I use a dehydrator over a canner so I can preserve low-acid foods more safely. I can get 5 year storage out of things like carrots and beans without freaking out over botulism. I’ve tried pressure canning and don’t mind it, but still, I get concerned.
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@808love: Now is the time to plan! Enjoy your seed catalogue. You can also join local gardening groups on Facebook and see what grows best in your area, or even call your local ag extension office. I joined several seed swapping groups now that I save seeds, and it’s really fun to exchange what you have tons of (for me it’s okra seeds) for things you can’t really find online.
apricot / 287 posts
@Mrs. Octopus: Thank you, this is so helpful! Since we’ve cleared out half of the garden I think I’ll keep the tomatoes and root vegetables there and plant everything else on the other side in raised beds. I am so excited, building raised beds will be so much easier (and more fun!) than trying to dig up all those rocks!
Oh and thank you for the list of seed companies, I was familiar with Seed Savers but not the others.
GOLD / apricot / 341 posts
This is super interesting! My eldest and I tried to get a veggie garden going this summer at my parents’ place in the country. It was more of a failure than a success – we got some carrots, beets, radishes and sallad, but had a hard time with the rest. In a few months we’ll be moving from a flat in the city (with a shady balcony) to a house with a small yard in the suburbs, and we’re excited to give it another go. We won’t have a ton of space, and our climate is less helpful than yours, but I hope we can manage a small kitchen garden this summer! Thanks for the info and inspiration!
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
This is really helpful! I am looking to expand my garden this year!
Any chance you could do a post about composting chicken poop and using it in the garden
I am currently trying to figure this out, since we just got some chickens a couple weeks ago! 
pear / 1986 posts
DH and I love gardening and we are already planning for this year, too. I’d love to expand to this kind of size, but we’re working with some small raised beds for now.
blogger / pear / 1509 posts
Thank you! I love this. We had dreams of a garden like this when we first bought our place. We have about 1/4 acre between our house and the road that is relatively flat and in full sun. I pictured a beautiful garden out there, but so far we’ve had more pest problems than we can handle. I’d love to hear more about your natural pest control methods. We are fighting with ground squirrels and a variety of bugs. We have tomato horn worms that are 4-5 inches long. Even our chickens are afraid of them. I think our problem is that we are surrounded, literally up to our fence, with ag land. Most of it is not organic. So our property, with no poison, is like a bug paradise!
guest
thank you so much for this!! I am generally a silent troll on this site but I am in the midst of making my first attempt at gardening and feeling utterly overwhelmed. Any chance you can provide a few of your favorite sources? Thank you, and please keep these excellent ‘Homesteading’ posts coming! You are an inspiration.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
This is extremely helpful!! We used to have a pretty sizeable garden in our old house but have yet to have time to start one in our new home. Last summer we did container gardening just to get us through the season. But DH plans to start building the raised beds indoor this winter. We had already staked out the perimeter in the early fall. Very interesting tip about the cornmeal.
@Mrs. Octopus: we also have very rocky and clay filled soil. Do you aerate the soil before building the bed? Did you put down plastic to prevent weeds from coming up? If so, is there an issue with plants that need deeper roots finding the room to root?
Our biggest struggle with our garden is finding the time to water 2x a day. We both WOH FT and it is really hard to find the time in the mornings. Short of putting in an irrigation system are there any other tips? DH is hoping to put in a spigot on the side of the house where the garden is, so that should help immensely.
guest
Thank you! I’m interested in as much as you’re able to share about your gardening. I’m in Boston and we’re planning our first garden next year!
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@regberadaisy: Woah, 2 times a DAY?! Is that a usual requirement? I’ve never heard of watering that much, especially in the evening, which isn’t usually recommended as it can promote fungal growth. In the beginning, I signed up for a website that would email me watering reminders for each plant. It recommended watering one time a WEEK for most, adding an inch of water. During drought I would water with a watering can each morning. Now I have drip irrigation installed, and I water plants three times a week in high summer, once a week in fall or spring if it hasn’t rained. It’s been such a rainy winter that I haven’t watered since October. If you have a hose hookup, I would very very highly recommend looking into drip irrigation. Lowes and Home Depot have pretty affordable kits. I was lucky enough that someone offered my dad a “really long hose full of holes” and I expected this old beat up thing, but it was brand new irrigation hose! So I spent less than $50 on connections using about 300′ of hose to water my large garden. It has vastly improved not only my efficiency, but the health of my plants. Overhead watering isn’t really recommended if you can help it, and now that I have drip it’s shown an amazing difference.
As far as the soil, I had professional landscaping done around my new build home and told them where I wanted my garden and how large. They laid down weed cloth plastic and covered it in crushed red granite. The granite is now overgrown with grass (I came to find out it’s an excellent medium for grass, whoops!) but the cloth helps keep most of the native weeds that were in my yard out of the garden. It would be best if I were to add another stack of cinder blocks so my plants had more soil to dig into, but so far it hasn’t been enough of an issue to warrant the trouble. However if you don’t have much of a weed issue, it would be easiest to leave out the cloth and just have one row of cinder blocks and the deeper rooted plants can stretch their legs, so to speak. No need to till it up, they’ll get the nutrients and air they need in that top layer and help aerate the lower section over time.
Happy gardening!
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@Danielle the library is hands down my favorite source. You can go to the gardening section and find books that appeal to you. I really loved Groundbreaking Food Gardens, a book just on all sorts of different food garden designs in all sorts of settings. There are even more books that give you details on how to grow each plant, what grows best in your area, etc.
I also joined several facebook groups about seed saving, homesteading, and gardening. The Mary Jane’s Farm forums are also a great place to go for happy, helpful advice. Magazines like Mother Earth News, Hobby Farms, Rodale’s Organic Life, and more are excellent for “bite sized advice” if the books are too overwhelming to start. Oh, and my favorite of all, The Backyard Homestead, can help you get started no matter what size yard or patio you have to work with!
blogger / grape / 92 posts
@Mrs. Turtle: for hornworms and grubs, I take a proactive approach. I use beneficial nematodes and treat my entire yard every late winter. I’m about to go buy a few boxes this week to get started. These little critters will eat all the larvae stored in the dirt over winter and will help crush your bug issues.
I had a big fire ant problem last year, these are native biting ants that can totally kill a garden. People don’t always believe me, but these ants will do anything for water. They ate all the kernels off my corn, tore into my beans, and will eat the roots and leaves of plants. They also will “farm” aphids by drinking their secretion and moving them around to different parts of plants for optimal juice production. It’s amazing! And obnoxious. So, to prep for them, I am drenching the soil with molasses, which improves good microbial growth and makes the soil less hospitable for pests. I’ll also work in some cornmeal and sprinkle diatemaceous earth onto the soil. It kills ants on contact by piercing their exoskeletons and dehydrating them. In the summer I use an organic mound drench or bait.
I had to give up on my squash last year due to vine borers, but this year I’m going to try again and cover the stems with foil to see if I can thwart the buggars. As far as hornworms in the summer I will check the plants daily and pick them off by hand, er, scissors, because #gross. I use a foliar spray of diluted castile soap for aphids, and one with cayenne and soap for other pests. Worst case means I break out the neem oil. But for the most part, I don’t have a big problem, because my chicken run surrounds the garden and they can pick off most of the problem before it gets there
guest
Wow, I wish I could just hire you to come help me with my garden! Our soil isn’t the best for planting so I started a straw bale garden this past summer. It was great since it was it’s own container and self composts as the season goes along. You can garden on all sides to really utilize the space.