What you should plant
Choose varieties that do well in your growing climate. Most vegetable crops will grow in most climates, but if you have a short growing season don’t try to grow long-season crops like peanuts or sweet potatoes.- Only grow vegetables that your family will eat, in amounts you can use, preserve, give away, or sell quickly.
- Single crop varieties like lettuce and cauliflower mature all at once, and so must be used quickly. Don’t grow too much!
- Ever-bearing crops like pole beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes mature a few at a time, will feed you for months, and have a high value for the amount of space used, especially if grown vertically.
- To provide for winter emergency preparedness grow vegetables for storage. (Good information on winter storage of vegetables can be found at http://www.vegetableexpert.co.uk/how-dry-store-vegetables-grown.html.) Consider fall potatoes & cabbage, onions, winter squash, and carrots. These crops require cool storage at 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Two crops of many single-crop varieties can often be grown if you grow and transplant healthy seedlings.
- If cared for properly a 10’-long bed or container will produce the following amounts of vegetables in a growing season.
Expected Yield From One Ten Foot-long Soil-bed or Container.
| Variety | Plant Spacing | # Rows | # Crops | # Plants | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beans, bush | 3” | 2 | 2 | 82 X 2 | 50-70# |
| Beans, pole | 2” | 1 | 1 | 122 | 60-100# |
| Cabbage | 12” | 2 | 2 | 22 X 2 | 75-130# |
| Corn | 8” | 2 | 2 | 32 X 2 | 60-75 ears |
| Eggplant | 8” | 1 | 1 | 16 | 80-160# |
| Lettuce, head | 12” | 2 | 2 | 22 X 2 | 75-130# |
| Peppers, sweet | 12” | 2 | 1 | 22 | 60-90# |
| Potatoes | 8” | 2 | 1 | 32 | 50-100# |
| Squash, zucchini | 21” | 1 | 1 | 7 | 75-200# |
| Tomatoes | 8” | 1 | 1 | 16 | 150-300# |
Important Note: In only 500 square feet (just over 1/100th of an acre!), your family can produce between 700# and 1,300# of fresh produce!