I'm looking for a good book that will give me some idea how much I need to plant for my family. I know there are a lot of variables and I'll have to do some experimenting, but I'd like to find a "good place to start."
Thanks :-)
Need a good reference book
Your county extension agent has free publications on this subject. I would plant more than the recommendations though because you never know what the weather, insects and other pestilence will do. Plus your neighbors and compost pile are always ready to accept the extras.
I would plant, plant, plant, plant, and ............... plant. use of the land of course needs to be efficient. using cold frames extends growing seasons.
first grow what you know will be eaten then grow other crops for cooking and mixing in recipes. I am planning for the future to do the same thing. I figure, personally, that having 2-3 sets of planting beds would help with everything. grow in one prepare another and let the 3rd one sit for pest management. doing this I have read helps efficiency for 2-3 harvests in one year. cold frames, mentioned earlier, extends the fall harvest and allows for an earlier spring start. Calculations, I have read, stated that figuring what you will consume on average in 1 week multiplied by 3 or 4. This helps to account for pests and soil amending and harvest. Also, stagger plantings. Don't plant all at one time. plant seeds one week then plant again the next week and then again the next week. This staggers the growth giving a prolonged harvest over many weeks. What is not used is saved for canning, pickling and jellies for winter.
hope I could have helped,
calvin
Thanks for the thoughts nivlac. :-) I'm taking any info I can get!!!
There is an old book out there called "Five Acres and Independence" that was my jumping off point. It is old, but the principles still apply to most issues about homesteading. It is a good read for generating your own ideas. There was a chapter or so that touched on how much food per person, etc.
the books in e bay
Steve Solomon's "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" has general guidelines appropriate to our gardening climate. If you haven't read it yet, it's a great book with tons of practical material. I can't recommend it enough. If you're in the Olympia area, Black Lake Organics stocks it.