Homegrown Pantry: A Gardener’s Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting the Perfect Amounts for What You Want to Eat Year-Round, Barbara Pleasant, (Storey Publishing), 2017.
Although I’ve gardened for years, I’ve never really sat down to figure out how much of each vegetable I need to grow to feed my family during the harvest season and how much I need to preserve for the winter. My inexact method has always been to fill up the space in my garden with things I like, with plants that I buy and grow from seed and hope it all works out. Sometimes, I have way too much and other times, not enough.
While on a family vacation last week and away from the constant work of my gardens during this busy time of year, I had the chance to visit to the local library and found some great books to read. About gardening, of course! The Homegrown Pantry peaked my interest because it spells out how many plants you need to grow of each variety to feed each individual in your household. After looking quantities of plants on the list, I understand why many farm kids grew up with such huge gardens — half acre or larger! While I will never have a garden as big at the days of yore, these guidelines are so helpful that I wanted to share them with everyone. And put them in a place I can always reference.
How much to grow
| Plant | Per Person | For preservation and storage | Preparation |
| Asparagus | 15 plants | freeze, pickle, dry | |
| Beans – Bush | 15 row feet per person | freeze, pickle, pressure can, dry | |
| Beans – Pole | 5 row feet per person | ||
| Beets | 5 row feet per person | 20 row feet per person | Place in cold storage, pickle, ferment, can |
| Broccoli | 3 plants per person for fresh eating | 9 plants for freezing | freeze |
| Brussel Sprouts | 4 plants per person | More for storage | freeze |
| Cabbage | 3-4 small heads per person for spring | 5-10 per person for fall crop | ferment, freeze, pickle, dry |
| Carrots | 20 row feet per person | refrigerate, place in cold storage, freeze, pickle | |
| Corn | 50 row feet per person | freeze, can, dry | |
| Cucumbers | 8 plants | pickle | |
| Garlic | 30-50 plants per person | cool storage, dry, pickle | |
| Kale and Collards | 3 plants per person in Spring | 9 plants per person in fall | freeze, dry |
| Kohlradi | 5 row feet per person in spring | 5 row feet per person in fall | freeze, dry, ferment |
| Onions | 40 bulbs per person | cool storage, dry, freeze | |
| Parsnips | 10 row feet per person | cold storage, freeze | |
| Peas – snap | 15 row feet per person | freeze, pickle | |
| Peas – snow peas | 10 row feet per person | freeze, ferment | |
| Peas – shell peas | 20 row feet per person | freeze, ferment | |
| Peppers | 5 sweet pepper, 2 hot per person | freeze, dry, can, ferment | |
| Potatoes | 20 row feet per person | cool storage, dry, can | |
| Pumpkin | 4-6 plants per person | freeze or dry | |
| Radishes | up to 15 row feet | refrigerate, ferment, pickle | |
| Rhubarb | 3 plants | freeze, can, dry | |
| Rutabaga | 10 plants | cold storage, freeze, ferment | |
| Spinach | 5 row feet per person in spring | 10 row feet per person in fall | freeze or ferment |
| Summer Squash | 4 plants per person | dry, freeze, can | |
| Sweet Potato | 12-14 plants per person | cool storage, freeze, dry | |
| Swiss Chard | 4 plants per person in spring | 4 plants per person in fall | freeze |
| Tomatoes | 6 plants per person | freeze, can, dry | |
| Turnips | 12 medium turnips | cold storage, freeze, pickle, ferment | |
| Winter Squash | 4-6 plants per household | cool storage or freeze | |
| Blueberries | 5-6 plants | freeze, can, dry, ferment | |
| Grapes | 3 plants per household | dry, can, freeze, ferment into wine | |
| Raspberries | 6 plants to start | freeze, can, ferment into wine | |
| Strawberries | 25 plants | freeze, can, dry, ferment | |
| Apples | 3-4 dwarf, 2-3 standard | dry, freeze, juice, can, ferment | |
| Cherries | 1 standard tree, 2 dwarf trees | freeze, dry, can | |
| Pears | 1-2 trees | dry, can, freeze | |
| Plums, peaches, nectarines | 2 trees | freeze, can, dry, ferment |
| Vegetable/Fruit | Per Person | For preservation and storage | Preparation |
| Asparagus | 15 plants | freeze, pickle, dry | |
| Beans – Bush | 15 row feet per person | freeze, pickle, pressure can, dry | |
| Beans – Pole | 5 row feet per person | ||
| Beets | 5 row feet per person | 20 row feet per person | Place in cold storage, pickle, ferment, can |
| Broccoli | 3 plants per person for fresh eating | 9 plants for freezing | freeze |
| Brussel Sprouts | 4 plants per person | More for storage | freeze |
| Cabbage | 3-4 small heads per person for spring | 5-10 per person for fall crop | ferment, freeze, pickle, dry |
| Carrots | 20 row feet per person | refrigerate, place in cold storage, freeze, pickle | |
| Corn | 50 row feet per person | freeze, can, dry | |
| Cucumbers | 8 plants | pickle | |
| Garlic | 30-50 plants per person | cool storage, dry, pickle | |
| Kale and Collards | 3 plants per person in Spring | 9 plants per person in fall | freeze, dry |
| Kohlradi | 5 row feet per person in spring | 5 row feet per person in fall | freeze, dry, ferment |
| Onions | 40 bulbs per person | cool storage, dry, freeze | |
| Parsnips | 10 row feet per person | cold storage, freeze | |
| Peas – snap | 15 row feet per person | freeze, pickle | |
| Peas – snow peas | 10 row feet per person | freeze, ferment | |
| Peas – shell peas | 20 row feet per person | freeze, ferment | |
| Peppers | 5 sweet pepper, 2 hot per person | freeze, dry, can, ferment | |
| Potatoes | 20 row feet per person | cool storage, dry, can | |
| Pumpkin | 4-6 plants per person | freeze or dry | |
| Radishes | up to 15 row feet | refrigerate, ferment, pickle | |
| Rhubarb | 3 plants | freeze, can, dry | |
| Rutabaga | 10 plants | cold storage, freeze, ferment | |
| Spinach | 5 row feet per person in spring | 10 row feet per person in fall | freeze or ferment |
| Summer Squash | 4 plants per person | dry, freeze, can | |
| Sweet Potato | 12-14 plants per person | cool storage, freeze, dry | |
| Swiss Chard | 4 plants per person in spring | 4 plants per person in fall | freeze |
| Tomatoes | 6 plants per person | freeze, can, dry | |
| Turnips | 12 medium turnips | cold storage, freeze, pickle, ferment | |
| Winter Squash | 4-6 plants per household | cool storage or freeze | |
| Blueberries | 5-6 plants | freeze, can, dry, ferment | |
| Grapes | 3 plants per household | dry, can, freeze, ferment into wine | |
| Raspberries | 6 plants to start | freeze, can, ferment into wine | |
| Strawberries | 25 plants | freeze, can, dry, ferment | |
| Apples | 3-4 dwarf, 2-3 standard | dry, freeze, juice, can, ferment | |
| Cherries | 1 standard tree, 2 dwarf trees | freeze, dry, can | |
| Pears | 1-2 trees | dry, can, freeze | |
| Plums, peaches, nectarines | 2 trees | freeze, can, dry, ferment |
