We made a table that shows how much vegetable plants you need to seed or plant to supply your family with vegetables.
In general, multiply the number of plants per person by 3 or 4 for a family-sized planting. We’ve done the work for you in adjusting the numbers of these plants in the chart so at harvest you aren’t overwhelmed with too many delicious veggies.
Don’t forget to add enough to put in your freezer or pickled, so you can enjoy them in the winter as well. This way you’ll save a lot of money too.
And in case you want to start growing from seeds indoors we have a 10 easy step guide, the seeds and vegetable transplants.
| Crop (number of plants per ft. of row) | Number of plants per person | Number of plants for a family of 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Asparagus (1 plant/ft. of row) | 5-10 plants | 25 plants |
| Bush beans (2 plants/ft. of row) | 12-15 plants | 45 plants |
| Beets (Thin to 3 plants/ft. of row) | 15-30 plants | 90 plants |
| Cucumber (1 plant/2 ft. of row) | 1 vine, 2 bushes | 2 vines, 4 bushes |
| Carrots (Thin to 12 plants/ft. of row) | 48 plants | 144 plants |
| Sweet Corn (1 plant/ft. of row) | 10-15 plants | 40 plants (plant in blocks for best pollination) |
| Eggplant (1 plant/2 ft. of row) | 2-3 plants | 7 plants |
| Kale (10/10 ft. of row) | 2-7 plants | 40 plants |
| Lettuce (Thin to 3 plants/ft. of row) | 24 plants | 78 plants |
| Melon (1 plant/6 ft. of row) | 1-2 plants | 4 plants |
| Onion (4 sets/ft. of row) | 12-20 sets | 80-100 sets |
| Peas (6 plants/ft. of row) | 15-20 plants | 70 plants |
| Pepper (1 plant/ft. of row) | 3-5 plants | 8-10 plants |
| Potato (1 plant/ft. of row) | 10 plants | 40 plants |
| Radish (thin to 12 plants/ft. of row) | 10-15 plants | 60 plants |
| Spinach (Thin to 6 plants/ft. of row) | 30-60 plants | 180 plants |
| Squash (1 plant/6 ft. of row) | 1-2 plants | 3 plants |
| Tomato (1 plant/2 ft. of row) | 2-4 plants | 4-6 plants |
| Zucchini (1 plant/3 ft. of row) | 1-2 plants | 4 plants |
On the internet are several sources about growing vegetables. Below we give you some links you may want to visit to inform yourself about growing, harvesting and cooking.
- Harvest to Table: great how to grow guides, harvest information and recipes;
- GrowVeg; brief growing information with plant and harvesting calendar and related diseases;
- Gardening Know How; very informative posts with information about growing and diseases.
