Lisa's Garden Adventure: February 2014

I had way too many tomatoes last summer. Too many to eat fresh. Too many to can. Too many to give away. I love tomatoes, but I just planted way too many! But, green beans... I could have used double the harvest. Part of that was due to a nearly complete crop failure in one of my garden boxes.

If you ever wondered, "How many should I plant?" I put together this list of common home garden vegetables that I like to help both of us! Remember, if you love, love, love a variety, plant more of it! These figures are based on the gardener wanting a harvest a few times per week for fresh eating, not canning.

Beans (green) - 8 plants per person. I grew mostly pole beans last year, but am planting only bush beans this year. I find they are more reliable in my yard. They can also be tucked into most any empty space in the garden. I like to grow them in the holes in my cinder block beds! Just make sure to water them more frequently than if they were in a bed. I will be devoting an entire 4x8 raised bed to bush beans, for eating, and freezing.

Jade bush bean growing in cinder block hole - July 2013

Carrots - 30 plants per person. Sounds like a lot, but plant them in succession, every 3 weeks is good, so you don't have 90 carrots ready to harvest all at once for a family of three! Remember you can eat the small carrots you pull when you thin them. I found a terrific new recipe the other day for teeny carrots, which includes the tops!
Celery - 5 plants per person. Harvest an average of 6 stalks per plant. I have never tried growing celery, but plan to give it a go in a container.
Chard -5 plants should be sufficient for a family of 4. Harvest the outer leaves and let the others keep growing, you'll have chard all season.
Corn - 15-20 plants per person. You can replant every 10 days for a continuous harvest. I love corn! But, corn is not cost affective for me to grow. When I can buy it 10/$1.00 at the peak of the season, why bother to grow my own? Did you know that you only get 1 ear per corn plant? ONE! Not worth my time or garden space, but suit yourself!
Cucumbers - 4-6 plants per person. I grow lemon cucumbers on a trellis. I plant 6 for the two family members who like them, and always have plenty.

lemon cucumbers - -August -2013

Eggplant - 1-2 plants per person. Unless you plan on cooking many eggplant dishes over the summer, you won't need a lot of plants. My one plant would ripen 3 fruits at a time, with 4 harvests over the summer.

Dusky eggplant - July 2013

Lettuce - This is a hard one! Do you like a lot of salads, or just want a leaf or two for sandwiches? I suggest you plant 4 plants per person, and plant 4 more in succession every 2 weeks. I love the mixed lettuces, and pull up the baby plants to make a colorful salad.

mixed lettuce - April 2013

Melons - 1 or 2 plants per person. Most melons produce 2 or 3 fruits per plant. I won't be growing melons this year.
Peas - The more the merrier in my family! Plant lots, 30 per person isn't excessive. I plant only Cascadia snap peas. We eat the small pods, as well as letting some mature for shell peas. I will be planting my peas later today, in a 4x4 raised bed.

Cascadia pea - May 2013

Peppers - 2 plants per person. I like California Wonder. I don't use a lot of peppers, so I will be planting 2 for my family.
Pumpkins - 1 or 2 plants per person should be fine. Ask yourself what you will be using the pumpkins for when you choose a variety. Cinderella is wonderful for eating/freezing, but not so suitable for carving into Jack-o-lanterns. Cinderella seeds cost more, but the walls are thick so there is more food value to them.

Cinderella pumpkins - September 2012 (grown in manure bags)

Spinach - 10 plants per person, plant every week for a continuous harvest. I do not have success with spinach!
Squash (summer or winter) - 1 -2 plants per person. Plant more winter squash if you plan to store it for winter use. My family does not like summer squash, so I do not grow it. I grow winter squash only to use in pumpkin recipes. Last year my squash were all volunteers in the compost heap! I have high hopes for the same this year.

acorn squash - August 2013

Tomatoes - for fresh, slicing use plant 1 plant per person. Of course, if you can plant many more of a suitable canning variety. I will be planting a Sungold cherry, an Ace, and a Yellow Brandywine (keeping my fingers crossed I can find one). Those three are the ones I have found to be the most productive, and most importantly, the most flavorful.

Sungold cherry tomato - July 2013

Planting the right number of plants is rather like The Three Bears. "Too much!" "Too little!" Hopefully this year I have figured out just how many plants will be "Just right!"