Topic: how much to grow??

[spudsmummy]

hi there  :)
i am new to growing my own veg.  i was wondering how to work out how much stuff to grow.
there is just me and my son but would also like a bit to give away to my family. also would like stuff that will be able to store and last the year iynwim. ;)
just the basics like potatoes, onions, peas, beans and salad stuff. i dont want to waste any but wont to have enough,  ;D

anyone got any good ways of working it all out??

thanks Paula

[the-goodlife]

You can never really work out how much to grow, all i can say is buy a freezer and blanch and get storing or i give some of mine to a local pub in exchange for a few beers lol ;D

[hopalong]

Hard to answer your question.  It depends what you like, how many mouths you want to feed and whether you want to sell or give away any of it.  Personally, I can never have enough potatoes, garlic, onions and greens.

Spread out your sowing. Speaking from recent experience (I got my allotment in December 2006), try to resist the temptation to sow too much at a time. At first,  I did not follow what all the books say about successional sowing, especially for salad crops, and ended with a glut that was too big to use or give away, followed by a shortage.

[Tee Gee]

I agree there is no exact formula to calculate you needs.

To take the items you listed; potatoes, onions, peas, beans and salad stuff.

Maincrop potatoes and onions store well, early potatoes not so well!

Peas and beans can be treated as late and early i.e. two sowings per season and they freeze well.

To do them all at once will give you a glut when they all mature together.

I start half of mine off under glass in pots/cells and at planting out time I sow the second batch and this methods extends my harvesting period.

*(look up peas & beans on my website to see how)

Salad stuff should be eaten after picking so sow at regular intervals to keep a regular supply on the go.

[betula]

Don't overdo the runner beans,when your mates see you with yet another bagfull........they run ;D

[manicscousers]

Don't overdo the runner beans,when your mates see you with yet another bagfull........they run ;D

or the courgettes.. ;D
if you have a shed, you can store stuff, parsnips, carrots, beetroot, celeriac etc in boxes of peat or sand..we're still using parsnips, celeriac and beetroot we stored in autumn  :)

[thifasmom]

Don't overdo the runner beans,when your mates see you with yet another bagfull........they run ;D

or the courgettes.. ;D

ditto about courgettes. my family of five were inundated with courgettes with just 4 plants. so for two one plant would be more than sufficient, but if you want to give away then 2 plants will do.

i also found that six plants of early purple sprouting broccoli was more than we needed my neighbours loved me cause they benefited as well so this time i only grew 4 plants they will start cropping soon so i will know if i hit the right number this time. so i would think 2 of those will be fine then you could harvest one plant one week and the other the next week, untill hey are spent.

9 outdoor tomato plants last year (they were all different varieties) once they started ripening gave us access to ripe toms till the end of November with the last fruits keeping for weeks on the window sill in the kitchen and i also got 6 jars of green tom chutney.

i sow about 24 mangetout peas plants twice during the season which is more than sufficient for us.

i try and sow carrots at least three times, with the plan to use a whole packet by the end of the season. the same for beetroot.

runnerbeans i aim to sow approx 20 plants which do us just fine.

french beans 18 plants done twice during the season.

we aren't big eaters of broadbeans so just 12 plants are sufficient for us.

there are many others, but i would think as a guide think of what you like to eat and what you would normally buy then think of the amounts you would normally buy and let that info be your guide as to how much to sow for storage veges like spuds, garlic, onions, carrots, parsnips etc.

hope this helps :).

[pippy]

A practical approach is to work out how much space you can allocae to each of the things you want to grow!  It's important not to try to cram in more than the space allows so check planting out spacing in and between rows, especially for things like onions and potatoes which need lots of room.

Some things (like runner/climbing  beans and courgettes for example!) will always  end up giving you a glut at some point in July.  I only did 5 runner bean plants last year and had enough to give away as we also had the french climbing ones cropping at the same time.

Those on here with years of experience will be crafty in use of space - undercropping beans and intercropping herbs and salads.  I'm afraid I'm still working on it!

Lastly, Broccoli and cabbages all tend to crop at the same time so if you get/grow a 12 plant module you will get them all in the space of about 4 weeks.  A freezer helps!

[kt.]

Early and late varieties will help you prolong your harvest.  Most allow you 4-8 weeks sowing period.  Potentially you could sow some things monthly for 4 months of the year.  This does not include overwintering crops. 

Don't forget - you may need a permanent bed fixture if you plan to grow things like raspberries and rhubarb.  To save space in the ground for larger crops you may want to grow things such as spring onions,  radish,  carrots,  herbs and rocket in tubs.  They usually perform better this way and will free up ground for other things.

[Borlotti]

I love runner beans, and freeze a lot  and give a lot away.  Courgettes did well and gave a lot away, but got lovely chocs and a bottle of wine in return, which was nice but I didn't do it for that reason.  I don't think you can have too much, freeze or give away, I have a waiting list for my runner beans and people are very grateful.  Trouble is I gave so many away I now have none in the freezer.  Roll on next year.