How Much to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden to Feed a Family

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Finding that balance between having enough food to eat and preserve, while wasting as little as possible to overripeness, frost, and the compost pile, can be tricky.

Over the years, I’ve tracked how much we grow versus how much we eat, and I thought it was worth sharing these numbers with you to ease some of the pre-planting anxiety we all feel when mapping out our garden beds.

5 things to consider before deciding how much food you need to grow

How big is your garden?

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What does your family like to eat?

[{"selector":"#anim-208e4801-fa18-4266-98ef-5a0271f58f0c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-edefa2d1-9d7c-47b2-a0fb-615c6f912b43","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -95.93577%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Be honest and realistic about what your typical meals look like, and how much time you actually have to use or cook what you grow. Learn more

How old is each person in your family? What is that person’s lifestyle like?

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Do you like to eat in season or preserve excess harvests for later use?

[{"selector":"#anim-1afc22a8-46f5-4550-a50b-676227df6ea4","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-10941b1c-3f6d-4580-a8fb-3ea58f994a43","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -95.93577%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] If you plan to preserve any of your fruits and vegetables, you’ll probably want to grow more than what is suggested. Learn more

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