Posted in Homestead Garden and Farm
The numbers below come from the Ball Blue Book – The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing. Now, I know when you start to digest some of these facts, you are going to get a little discouraged. Many of you who are just beginning to get your feet wet in the area of growing and preserving your own fruits and vegetables might be tempted to just chuck it altogether, feeling you’ll never be able to achieve such yields from your tiny plot, with your limited knowledge.
But, I truly want to encourage and inspire you with this information. I have been growing food for over 20 years, and have yet to achieve these kinds of results. I have managed to pick and preserve enough blackberry jam that I made it all the way to the next harvest without having to buy any. I’ve come pretty close with peas and green beans, but I don’t think we eat as much as this chart assumes. I’ve definitely grown enough pumpkins, carrots and lettuce to last us. That’s pretty easy.
When I read figures like this, I get inspired all over again to try harder this season. I usually set myself the goal of becoming self-sufficient in at least one fruit or vegetable each year. I may succeed, I may not. Every year is different in the garden. The point is to persevere and give it your best effort. That way, even if you don’t manage to harvest 40 pounds of carrots or whatever, you will still probably have yourself a pretty decent garden. J
For a family of six, you’d need to harvest:
40 lbs. of Spinach – That’s one 90 ft. row, three 30 ft. rows or six 15 ft. rows. You’d need to freeze almost 80 of those little square packages.
40 lbs. of carrots – One 75 ft. row or three 25 ft. rows. You’d need to succession plant (plant your seed every few weeks) in the spring and late summer.
48 lbs. of sweet potato – That’s one 80 ft. row, two 40 ft. rows or four 20 ft. rows. You’d need to can 48 pint jars or 24 quart jars.
40 lbs. of winter squash (including pumpkin) – Thankfully, since winter squash is usually large, this will only require a 10 foot row. Winter squash also keeps well (hence the name “winter squash”) so you might not need to do quite as much canning or freezing. No wonder our forebears relied on this vegetable to get them through the winter months.
120 lbs. of tomato (whole) – One 100 ft. row (which is way too long for most gardens). Break it down to five 20 ft. rows. You’d need to can 60 quarts.
48 lbs. of peas – This would require you to plant 300 feet of rows! That’s fifteen 20 foot rows. Wow. I’ve never managed that particular feat. You’d need to freeze 24 two pound bags.
120 lbs. of green beans – That’s a 200 foot row, or ten 20 foot rows. Who eats that many green beans? You’d need to can 120 quart jars or freeze 60 two pound bags.
72 lbs. of sweet corn – Another 200 foot row, or ten 20 foot rows. You’d need to can 36 quarts or freeze 18 two pound bags.
