How much effort is required...?

Question

I'm interested in growing my own food, to some degree (the more easily maintained vegetables, I'm not going to make my own flour or olive oil obviously..) but I was wondering if anyone knew how much land and time and effort it would take to grow enough food to maintain a vegetable-happy couple throughout the year?

Answer 1

I think you could start off fairly easily with some potted herbs, chillis, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes etc and see how you manage those. Then start to introduce other vegetables as you gain more knowledge as it's probably not a good idea to jump in feet first and then feel like you can't cope with everything.

The more you have growing, the more land, time and effort you're going to need too, which is why it's best to start off small and keep it manageable. Then when it's getting to the point that you're finding it hard work, you can stop at what you have rather than having too much to deal with and having to carry on or risk wasting your seeds and previous time spent on it.

I'd suggest reading up on it too, as you can gain infinite knowledge from the internet on this topic. I don't know your area/country so it's hard for me to post any links to you as things can change from country to country and even from the north to south of England so it may be best for you to have a little search on google or even let us know on here so we can have a look for you too.

Answer 2

Effort is only half the game.  A big part is time.  It takes a long while to figure out what works when growing things, and what doesn't.  Since you can only measure what has worked by a complete growing season, we're talking years of trial and error.

We do a community garden.  On an acre of land, we have 32 plots that seem to be sufficient for most people.

Answer 3

It would take a couple of acres to fully feed two people for a year and more time, during the busy season, than you probably have.

Answer 4

That would depend a whole lot on the climate you live in.  I grow my own vegetables in season.  I live in the city and am on a normal city lot.  My garden is about 200 square feet and I can grow about half of my produce needs during the summer and fall.  I end up with lots of extra lettuce, zucchini and tomatoes which I give away or trade with my neighbors for peaches and other things they have.  But, I still have to buy plenty; I just don't have room for corn, for example, and bell peppers take a long time to mature.  In the winter, I keep some greens going, but the rest doesn't winter over well here.

It doesn't really take a lot of effort.  The biggest time commitment is weeding, prepping and planting in spring.  After that, it's mostly light weeding and watering.

Answer 5

at first it will require all your time but once you get it going it is self maintained and all you need to do is crop it and water it.  :)