Hi everyone,

[Andrewtheface]

I am looking for advise please on the following,

I plan on having 4 beds for my veg out my back all bed are 1 metre x 1.5 metres, so my question is, do you think they are big enough to do the job for the coming season for producing enough veg for my family, 2 x adults and 3 children.


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[TrialAndError]

Who knows, depends on how much veg your family like to eat and what those veg are? Plant them all with French beans and you, your family and all your neighbours will be sick of the site of them!

Try the four beds, select the veg that your family lieks and see what happens. My guess is that you will enjoy the experience, adjust your plans considerably for the next year and probably need a bit more extra space to achieve your aims.

Don't forget fruit as well, kids love them better than cabbages and they are just as good and nutritious.

You will also no doubt find that some veg just don't grow well on your patch even though you like them.

'tis all a bit of compromise.

[veggiechicken]

I don't think in metric but it doesn't sound enough to keep you and your family completely in veg - especially if you want to grow potatoes or veg that are in the ground for a long time like parsnips.
You could grow a lot of fast maturing veggies (like lettuce, radish ) or heavy croppers, like beans. which would increase your yield.
As Trial and Error says ^^^ you should decide what your family like to eat and concentrate on those first.

[WendyC]

A 10 rod plot was the size deemed necessary to feed a family. In new money that's 250m2. Having said that I've a quarter of that and manage quite well for our family of 3 ( sometimes 4).
Focus on the vegetables that are expensive to buy and are just not the same shop bought, runner beans are a prime example.

[Kirk]

You need a lot more then 6 sq meter.
However you can grow the stuff that you either use the most of, so meaning you do not buy as much or the other way round grow what tends to be costly to you and so save on that.

What you are doing is reducing the cost of whatever you eat.

Now to the catch: It depends if what you plant grows well and produces a good crop.

I have tried onions and in simple terms an utter waste of my time
The £2 I spent on the seed onions would have been better on 4kg from Tesco.
One aspect is that when they crop for you they are also likely at their cheapest in the supermarkets.
Potato's have been fair, grown in large pots not the ground. Best potato's have been one's like PFA and Anya.

So even having the beds may not mean 110% success.

You need to plan what you are going to grow and why.

Will say remember large pots, they are good for many things and can sit at the end on a bed and once used the mixture can be added to the bed and you can start again. Useful for potato's and carrots but also when you want to grow a lesser number or just a couple of plants.

I had 3 melons from a plant in a large pot - slightly different - could try squash or courgette in one and take up space in the beds.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I only grow in containers (lots of containers) but the wife and I buy very little veg.

I am fairly sure you won't have enough space with what you have got, but as others have said this could be supplemented by using containers.

Again pick your crops as an example fresh garden peas are great but you get little return for the space used.

Plan what you are going to do so you have follow on plants ready. That way you can reuse the beds at least twice a year with just some fertilizer to sweeten the growing medium in between different crops.

Potty