How Many Vegetables to Plant (for Food)

How many tomato plants or potato plants or squash plants do you need to feed your family? Gardener Scott discusses how to determine the number of food plants to grow in your garden and offers suggested quantities for typical gardeners. (Video #432)

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[sameskdc]

I need 10 jalapeno plants. So naturally I have 50 growing in the basement.

[Gordie]

Like a drunken sailor I continue to buy seeds, so far I’ve planted 50 in trays but that’s such a small number, I need more. I did go out in the garden and stare at the snow today.

[inelouw]

To be honest, people often ask "how many plants do I need to grow?" but I'm more interested in how much a given plant YIELDS. This is something that experienced gardeners probably know, but that information is VERY hard to come by. I mean, one carrot plant grows one carrot, that's pretty easy. But how many zucchini can you expect to get from an average plant? How many potatoes? How many strawberries? I know it depends on climate and variety, but just having a RANGE would already be helpful. It's much more convenient for me to know that an average indeterminate tomato plant yields about 20 lbs or whatever of tomatoes, than someone telling me I need 5 tomato plants to feed a family.

[elaines]

Have to give them away? Plan to grow some to give away. food banks will need them this year. Shortages are likely this year as well so supplementing from the store will be less sure.

[TJtheHAWK]

Great topic and ideas Scott. If anything these recommended numbers make it sound like my family eats a ton of veggies. I grew 300 onions last year for a family of 4 and we were finished with them in just 5 months. I must've grown over 200 carrots as well and they are gone too.

[wormulous]

As you know I'm trying new things at scale this year. Idk why I'll need 50 parsley plants, but I might end up with that many.

I wanted to try indeterminate tomatoes so 48 seedlings sounds ab but it right.

I dont know anyone that would need 24 cabbages, but we might just end up with that many.

All the while I'll end up succession sowing things as time.goes by. Itll be a race of time, patience, care, and room to store and eat harvests.

All I can say is you can't eat the grass so if some more of it has to go, it has to go. Heck idk if I even like turnips, but I want an early harvest of those bad boys as well.

All of this is a super experiment. If I start 1 plant I might as well plant 6, and if I'm starting 6 might as well be 12.... or 24.

[kburkes]

I pretty much grow a "salsa garden". Tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions. I usually seed more than I need and give the rest away.

[umiluv]

I’m focusing on availability for my needs (the closest Asian market is 50+ miles away), growing things organically that aren’t available at my local market, and flavor.

I don’t have enough beds to feed my family just off the garden. But I moved from Los Angeles to rural TN and a lot of the produce and foods I’m used to just don’t exist out here. So I have to grow my own and make many of the dishes myself to enjoy them.

So I’m growing stuff like a variety of Asian and SW chili peppers, Thai basil, lemongrass, perilla, Chinese leeks.

And then I’m also growing organic versions of veg that I don’t see at the market - napa cabbage, basil, thyme, oregano, sage, cilantro, parsley, ginger, chives, leeks, garlic, baby bok choy, broccoli rapini, lettuce, mustard.

Then I’m growing stuff that is really expensive at the market like organic strawberries and organic kale that our family enjoys all the time.

I’m experimenting with growing celery, cabbage, and a wide variety of tomatoes. My son loves cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden so of course I’ve decided to grow 3 different kinds for him lol. Husband loves tomato sauce with his pasta so I’m growing 4 different paste tomatoes. I’m growing 2 slicing tomatoes for fun and flavor.

I’m hoping to try out potatoes and purple sweet potatoes again this year. Failed miserably last year.

Very excited for the year!

[debbierhode]

I always grow more than I need, and my neighbor does too, and we swap. One year, I took the excess down to our High School Volleyball team and they loved it!

[alizaterrell]

I grew 68 tomato plants last year, and that was not enough for my world. Putting in 112; this year, based on last year's averages, that should cover us.

[leahness]

I will need more beets and carrots.😉👍❤

[j.b.]

I dont think its possible to grow everything my family eats in my backyard garden. But it is possible to supplement what we eat and eat healthier. I also focus on what we eat. I do like to grow something new and see if it will be something we like to eat, but I am limiting that in favor of what we really eat.

[eliandkate]

Oh perfect timing for this advice.
I just admitted that I’ve grown 200 onion seedlings than I have space for in my raised bed. 😂

[amymorales]

When I have more slicing tomatoes than what I can use fresh, I dehydrate them. To do that, I just slice them a little thinner than I would for sandwiches, I salt them on both sides, and arrange them on the trays of the dehydrator. Then I dehydrate them until they are crispy. These "tomato chips" make the most amazing snack.

[sliceableuser]

I need to grow as much as I can because it's fun

[heidiweinert]

I love freezing gallon bags of cherry tomatoes for sauce. Just my preference.

[lauriecampbell]

I'm thinking of really cutting back on the amount of squash I plant, simply because squash bugs are so bad here. I think that space would be better used for something else.

[elaines]

Answer far more than you need, to accommodate the unexpected. Like a child plowing through the middle of your garden out of control on his bicycle.

[FrozEnbyWolf]

I always have to grow way more than I think I need, because of all the pest pressure and unpredictable weather we have around here. I'd rather deal with having too many plants and too big a harvest, than have to deal with the alternative.

[SERGIO-cruy]

Something you didn't take in consideration is that not all veggies will grow. Some may have diseases, get bug infested or simply die. Meaning it's better to plant twice as much what we need, then discart.

Also if possible not plant everything at once. For example plant 6x cabbages now, 6x cabages 6 weeks later, etc.
That will prevent abundance in a short period.

I know, all depends on what kinda climate we have and how much available space we have. Gardening is a learning process.