How Much To Grow?

I was actually looking for implements to attach to the garden tractor when I ran across this pdf. It's really a decent guide to how much to plant and of what.

Amount To Grow

It's set up for a family of five but all you have to do is adjust it to suit your family size, the quality of the soil (good means less planted, poor means more planted), and your growing season.

I'm putting a whole field in corn this year that won't be harvested. It will be left to feed the wildlife. The rest of what I plant will be preserved and seeds saved from the best for the following year.

Plant double what you need, expect loss.
If in the end you get much more than you expected, can some and make some neighbors happy.
If not, you planted double and should be better off.

You should try to plant as much as you can eat and store. If you have silos, you should be set as long as they do not get water inside. As for trading, you could do that as well, that would open up a number of options for you.

What a great resource you found! Thanks for posting this.

I have 3 friends who decided to start gardens this year and they all asked me advice. My first suggestion is to make sure you are growing plants from heirloom seed that will produce viable seed for next year unlike the hybrid varieties.

There are some ethical issues with feeding wildlife that you may want to consider; you are replacing their natural food sources with an abundant unnatural source which encourages more of the same behavior with respect to other peoples gardens. Extra food will encourage animals to breed more readily and have bigger litters. What you plant may not be healthy for them to eat in quantity. If you do this over a period of years these same animals will become dependent upon what you plant - what happens if you don't plant?
If you're planting corn you will be lucky if any of it grows taller than 6' if you have lots of deer around, they love to eat the young corn seedlings.

Just a few thoughts you may want to consider aside from your own survival.

reply to post by Asktheanimals

Our chickens, guineas, ducks and pheasants already scrounge the garden leftovers. It's mostly for them. We have deer who come in and eat as well, and I don't mind sharing. We're in a HIGH hunting area and completely surrounded by hunt clubs, so overpopulation isn't going to be an issue, trust me.

I don't have a silo or crib, though I guess a crib isn't all that hard to build. I'd still like to leave some for the wildlife to keep them from coming up to my poultry/fowl feeders in broad daylight and eating all their food.

We also have coyotes. The neighbor spotted a male about half a mile from the house that he said was nearly as big as one of my Danes, so that, too, controls the deer population.

Originally posted by SeenMyShare
I was actually looking for implements to attach to the garden tractor when I ran across this pdf. It's really a decent guide to how much to plant and of what.

Amount To Grow

It's set up for a family of five but all you have to do is adjust it to suit your family size, the quality of the soil (good means less planted, poor means more planted), and your growing season.

I'm putting a whole field in corn this year that won't be harvested. It will be left to feed the wildlife. The rest of what I plant will be preserved and seeds saved from the best for the following year.

edit on 21/2/2012 by SeenMyShare because: (no reason given)

Great thread and article S+F!

I like you mentioned "what" to plant. I've been studying Permaculture and I'll go one step further and ask, what to plant WITH what? Plants all have natural plant and/or insect and/or animal beneficiaries. To get rid of pests you might just plant something that one bug eats, that plant has a flower, and the bugs also, attract a bird that gets rid of all other pests, and so on.

Instead of tilling your land and fighting nature, you simply plant edibles that benefit from their certain surroundings. Also look at trees and hedgerows as opportunities to plant more edibles (nut trees, berry bushes) and make as much of your structure work benefitting you, either by bearing edibles, or by some other 2nd duty (homes pest controllers, creates unique enviro for edible mushrooms etc).

How much to plant? As much as you have the energy to plant, there is NO such thing as too much food when you are doing it yourself in a healthy fashion. Think of this, you create 10x more corn than you needed or are able to eat. You can 1) give it away/barter to those neighbors you've been meaning to meet. 2) dry it and save it as seed and/or feed for goats/chickens/cow 3) Grind it up as masa or corn flour and sell/trade/gift it to people, I'm sure everyone would appreciate it, or you might make a comfortable side business that's fun and rewarding

My main focus is to ALWAYS work with heirloom varieties of seeds, and to openly share them with others who grow, since this encourages a healthy sharing environment. People are engaged and talking to their friends and neighbors about intelligent, healthy ideas that can actually fix some of our major problems.

Soil health is another thing I've recently become curious about as well. I saw a theory that basically says since we are growing in the same soil for hundreds upon thousands of years, it has become VERY non nutritional, lacking in tons of what it once had. Things like ash and natural compost are essential, and don't til your soil, that upper layer is crucial, just weed out what you don't like (or mulch over with straw). If you have a rural setup I'd suggest setting up a 'grey water' outhouse urinal for the boys, just uphill from the compost heap. Urine is a highly overlooked (and if you eat healthy) a much more rich and natural fertilizer than the petroleum-based stuff the farmers use. Growing particular plants that benefit the soil and put nutrients back is key (like beans put back nitrogen, work well near fruit trees, etc). Also for smaller urban farming you can just make 3-5 small 8'x8' raised beds, then make a lightweight 7'x7' open-bottom chicken coop (with 2-4 chickens) and "park" it on top of whichever bed has just been harvested, and just keep moving it every 4-5 months as growing seasons determines. The chickens both fertilize, eat of remaining vegetation/roots, and eat off all the bad bugs in an attempt to get at a few worms.

If I can't find a thread discussing sound farming techniques and/or permaculture, someone ought to start one.

Originally posted by SeenMyShare
reply to post by Asktheanimals

 

Our chickens, guineas, ducks and pheasants already scrounge the garden leftovers. It's mostly for them. We have deer who come in and eat as well, and I don't mind sharing. We're in a HIGH hunting area and completely surrounded by hunt clubs, so overpopulation isn't going to be an issue, trust me.

Depending on your area, there are natural plant species the deer prefer, the puzzle is to figure out what that plant is and make a patch of it just for the deers away from your garden (and preferably next their natural trail, ask a hunter where that trail is i guess? He will benefit from it too, and tell him that). Bill Mollison had an episode that talked about deers and how to get rid of them this way.

If coyotes ever get your chickens, i'd suggest getting a pig or a goose. Get them as babies and raise them with the chickens and they become natural guardians, no expensive fencing required. Even better I've heard are Llamas and Alpacas, but they are REALLY mean to strangers.

reply to post by Aliquandro

You should start that thread. Many could benefit from your research!

reply to post by SeenMyShare


Here we go, this is this years garden starter.

See just enough for 2 people....well and alot of happy neighbors and friends and...Etc.
Got some princess pumpkins in here I'm hoping to get some pumpkin pies out of

If your inclined to do the garden thing.....you should hedge your bets.

Choose a good quality fertilizer that contains all of the micronutrients needed for growth. Then you can grow food in styrofoam peanuts or hay or sand as long as you have PH control. (really dont use styrofoam I was kidding)

One of the best of these types of fertilizers is Jake's 20-20-20. You use one very tiny measure per gallon of water.
If your smart you will drip feed it to make it last. alternating with water= F>W>W>F>W>W>F

Jake's also makes a good bloom but I dont know the numbers and garden plants do fine on 20-20-20 for the whole season.

5 pounds should last for 5 years.