permaculture + garden

Vegetable Crop Yields, Plants per Person, and Crop Spacing

Vegetable crop yields and the number of vegetable plants to grow for each person in your household will help you estimate the space needed for a home vegetable garden.

Crop yield estimates and consumption predictions are largely base on experience. Keeping a food log and garden record can help you hone your vegetable garden needs and make for smarter planning.

Vegetable crop yields will vary according to garden conditions and variety planted. Weather and growing conditions can change from year to year, and these changes can affect yield.

Here are crop yield estimates, plants-per-person suggestions, and crop spacing requirements to help you estimate your garden space requirements and growing requirements. Use these estimates with your own experience.

Vegetable Crop Yields, Plants per Person, and Crop Spacing:

Artichoke. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 12 buds per plant after the first year. Space plants 4 to 6 feet apart.

Arugula. Grow 5 plants per person. Space plants 6 inches apart.

Asparagus. Grow 30 to 50 roots for a household of 2 to 4 people. Yield 3 to 4 pounds of spears per 10-foot row. Space plants 12 inches apart.

Bean, Dried. Grow 4 to 8 plants per person. Yield in pounds varies per variety. Space plants 1 to 3 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Bean, Fava. Grow 4 to 8 plants per person. Space plants 4 to 5 inches apart in rows 18 to 30 inches apart.

Bean, Garbanzo, Chickpea. Grow 4 to 8 plants per person. Yield 4 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 3 to 6 inches apart in rows 24 to 30 inches apart.

Bean, Lima. Grow 4 to 8 per person. Yield 4 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space bush lima beans 3 to 6 inches apart in rows 24 to 30 inches apart; increase distance for pole limas.

Beans, Snap. Grow 4 to 8 plants total of each variety or several varieties per person. Yield 3 to 5 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 1 to 3 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Beans, Soy. Grow 4 to 8 plants per person. Yield 4 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 2 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Beets. Grow 5 to 10 mature plants per person. Yield 8 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 3 inches apart for roots–1 inch apart for greens.

Broccoli. Grow 2 to 4 plants per person. Yield 4 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart.

Brussels sprouts. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 3 to 5 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart.

Cabbage. Grow 4 to 8 plants per person. Yield 10 to 25 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 24 to 30 inches apart.

Carrots. Grow 30 plants per person. Yield 7 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Thin plants to 1½ to 2 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.

Cauliflower. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 8 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart.

Celery. Grow 5 plants per person. Yield 6 to 8 stalks per plant. Space plants 6 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Chayote. Grow 1 vine for 1 to 4 people. Set vining plants 10 feet apart and train to a sturdy trellis or wire support.

Chicory. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Space plants 6 to 12 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Chinese Cabbage. Grow 6 to 8 heads per person. Space plants 4 inches apart in rows 24 to 30 inches apart.

Collards. Grow 2 to 3 plants per person. Yield 4 to 8 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 15 to 18 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart.

Corn. Grow 12 to 20 plants per person. Yield 1 to 2 ears per plants, 10 to 12 ears per 10-foot row. Space plant 4 to 6 inches apart in rows2 to 3 feet apart.

Cucumber. Grow 6 plants per person. Grow 3 to 4 plants per quart for pickling. Yield 8 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 1 to 3 feet apart in rows 3 to 6 feet apart.

Eggplant. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 8 fruits per Italian oval varieties; yield 10 to 15 fruits per Asian varieties. Space plants 24 to 30 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart.

Endive and Escarole. Grow 2 to 3 plants per person. Yield 3 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 6 to 12 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart.

Garlic. Grow 12 to 16 plants per person. Yield 10 to 30 bulbs per 10-foot row. Space cloves 3 to 6 inches apart in rows 15 inches apart.

Horseradish. Grow 1 plant per person. Space plants 30 to 36 inches apart.

Jicama. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 1 to 6 pound tuber per plant. Space plants 8 to 12 inches apart.

Kale. Grow 4 to 5 plants per person. Yield 4 to 8 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 12 inches apart in rows 12 inches apart.

Kohlrabi. Grow 4 to 5 plants per person. Yield 4 to 8 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart.

Leeks. Grow 12 to 15 plants per person. Yield 4 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 2 to 4 inches apart in rows 6 to 10 inches apart.

Lettuce. Grow 6 to 10 plants per person; plant succession crops with each harvest. Yield 4 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space looseleaf lettuce 4 inches apart and all other types 12 inches apart in rows 16 to 24 inches apart.

Melon. Grow 2 to plants per person. Yield 2 to 3 melons per vine. Space plants 3 to 4 feet apart in rows 3 feet wide.

Mustard. Grow 6 to 10 plants per person. Yield 3 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plant 6 to 12 inches apart in rows 15 to 30 inches apart.

Okra. Grow 6 plants per person. Yield 5 to 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 12 to 18 inches apart in rows 2½ to 4 feet apart.

Onion, Bulb. Yield 7 to 10 pounds of bulbs per 10-foot row. Space onion sets or transplants 4 to 5 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.

Parsnip. Grow 10 plants per person. Yield 10 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 3 to 4 inches apart in rows 24 inches apart.

Peas. Grow 30 plants per person. Yield 2 to 6 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 2 to 4 inches apart in rows2 feet apart for bush peas, 5 feet apart for vining peas.

Pepper. Grow 2 to 3 plants per person. Yield 5 to 18 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 28 to 36 inches apart.

Potato. Grow 1 plant to yield 5 to 10 potatoes. Yield 10 to 20 pounds per 10-foot row. Space seed potatoes 10 to 14 inches apart in trenches 24 to 34 inches apart.

Pumpkin. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 10 to 20 pounds per 10-foot row. Space bush pumpkins 24 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart. Set 2 to 3 vining pumpkins on hills spaced 6 to 8 feet apart.

Radicchio. Grow 5 to 6 plants per person. Space plants 6 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.

Radish. Grow 15 plants per person. Yield 2 to 5 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 1 inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.

Rhubarb. Grow 2 to 3 plants per person. Yield 1 to 5 pounds per plant. Set plants 3 to 6 feet apart.

Rutabaga. Grow 5 to 10 plants per person. Yield 8 to 30 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 4 to 6 inches apart in rows 15 to 36 inches apart.

Salsify. Grow 10 plants per person. Space plants 3 to 4 inches apart in rows 20 to 30 inches apart.

Scallions. Yield 1½ pounds per 10-foot row. Spaces onion sets or plants 2 inches apart for scallions or green onions.

Shallot. Yield 2 to 12 cloves per plant. Space plants 5 to 8 inches apart in rows 2 to 4 feet apart.

Sorrel. Grow 3 plants per person. Space plants 12 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart.

Spinach. Grow 15 plants per person. Yield 4 to 7 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 3 to 4 inches apart in rows 1 to 2 feet apart.

Squash, Summer. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 10 to 80 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 2 to 4 feet apart in rows 5 feet apart.

Squash, Winter. Grow 1 plant per person. Space plants feet apart.

Sunchokes. Grow 5 to 10 plants per person. Space plants 24 inches apart in rows 36 to 40 inches apart.

Sunflower. Grow 1 plant per person. Yield 1 to 2½ pounds of seed per flower. Space plants 8 to 12 inches apart in rows 30to 36 inches apart.

Sweet Potato. Grow 5 plants per person. Yield 8 to 12 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 12 inches apart in rows 3 feet apart.

Swiss Chard. Grow 2 to 3 plants per person. Yield 8 to 12 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 12 inches apart in rows 18 to 30 inches apart.

Tomatillo. Grow 1 to 2 plants per person. Yield 1 to 2 pounds per plant. Space plants 10 inches apart in rows 2 feet apart.

Tomato, Cherry. Grow 1 to 4 plants per person. Space plants 3 feet apart in rows 35 to 45 inches apart.

Tomato, Cooking. Grow 3 to 6 plants of each variety; this will yield 8 to 10 quarts. Space plants 42 inches apart in rows 40 to 50 inches apart.

Tomato, Slicing. Grow 1 to 4 plants per person. Space plants 42 inches apart in rows 40 to 50 inches apart.

Turnip. Grow 5 to 10 plants per person. Yield 8 to 12 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 5 to 8 inches apart in rows in rows 15 to 24 inches apart.

Watermelon. Grow 2 plants per person. Yield 8 to 40 pounds per 10-foot row. Space plants 4 feet apart in rows 4 feet wide and 8 feet apart.

Six talking points to use when debunking the myth that overpopulation is the root of the environmental crisis:

1. Rates of population growth are declining: Between 1950 and 2000, the world population grew at a rate of 1.76%. However, between 2000 and 2050, the rate of growth is expected to decline to 0.77%.

2. Overpopulation is defined by numbers of people, not their behaviors: Industrialized countries, who make up only 20% of the world’s population, are responsible for 80% of the carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere. The United States is the worst offender, with 20 tons of carbon emission per person. Therefore, it is not the amount of people that leads to degradation, but what they are doing. Permaculture design illustrates how humans can have a positive impact on the health of our ecosystems, bringing greater health and equity.

3. Overpopulation justifies the scapegoating and human rights violations of poor people, women, people of color, and immigrant communities: Often times the subtext of “too many people” translates to too many poor people, people of color, and immigrants. This idea has been used to justify such practices as the forced sterilization of 35% of women of childbearing age in 1970′s Puerto Rico, under the control of and with funding from the US government. This is a human and reproductive rights violation. 

4. Overpopulation points the finger at individuals, not systems: This lets the real culprits off the hook. When we look at the true causes of environmental destruction and poverty, it is often social, political and economic systems, not individuals. We see militaries and the toxic legacy of war, corrupt governments, and a capitalist economic system that puts profit over people and the environment.

5. Supports a degenerative mental model of scarcity: Much of this ideology was created by Thomas Robert Malthus, an 19th century English scholar. Malthus gave us the erroneous idea that the reason there is famine is because there are too many mouths to feed. This hides the reality that we have a distribution problem, not a scarcity problem. Malthus’s work has been used as the philosophical bedrock to justify many human rights violations throughout history.

And I would add: 7. the scarcity model passes on the impression that only industrial farming and monocrops can feed the world. When, in reality, food safety and food sovereignty is greatly jeopardized wherever industrial farming displace small-family farming. Not to mention the environmental impacts, such as erosion, droughts and the elimination of biodiversity, that greatly reduce future yeld capacities. Finally, heavy subsidies hide the economic inefficiency of industrial farming. - specially in the USA, EU and China, but also in the developing world. 

Yacouba Sawadogo is an exceptional man – he single-handedly managed to solve a crisis that many scientists and development organizations could not. The simple old farmer’s re-forestation and soil conservation techniques are so effective they’ve helped turn the tide in the fight against the desertification of the harsh lands in northern Burkina Faso.

Over-farming, over-grazing and over population have, over the years, resulted in heavy soil erosion and drying in this landlocked West African nation. Although national and international researchers tried to fix the grave situation, it really didn’t really make much of a difference. Until Yacouba decided to take matters into his own hands in 1980.

Yacouba’s methods were so odd that his fellow farmers ridiculed him. But when his techniques successfully regenerated the forest, they were forced to sit up and take notice. Yacouba revived an ancient African farming practice called ‘zai’, which led to forest growth and increased soil quality.

There’s been a documentary about him, too

Rheum nobile is also known as the glasshouse plant at it’s large translucent leaves trap light and heat near the stem creating better conditions for growth in the extreme cold of the Himalayas. This is why the glasshouse plant is able to grow so tall, making it a striking feature in the mountain landscape.                     

Wild Apple Evaluation (5)

I’m calling this one Pon Farr, so make a note of that if you want to swap scion wood.

Those of you who have been following here for awhile know I have a thing for red- or pink-fleshed apples. I thought I was pushing my luck when I found the pink-streaked “Doctor” Zoidberg apple, but lo-and-behold, these little feral crabapples are as cherry-red on the inside as they are on the outside!

As I always do, I bit right into it and was surprised to find that – while tart – is was also aromatic and quite sweet.

The tree was impressively laden with fruit, and totally without a sign of disease (there was just some insect damage on a few fruits). I’m guessing it has some Malus baccata (Siberian crabapple) parentage, because of the disease-resistance, the vigour, the way the fruits are hanging, and, because that species is commonly grown as an ornamental here (especially Danish-grown cultivars like Brændkjær).

In any case, this one is definitely being grafted on to my tree of red-fleshed apples!

THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF SOIL

“The growth of most plants is impossible without soil. Soil teams up with sun and rain to provide our food and clothing. Besides fish and water cultures, there is no other source of food than the crops grown on soil, and it is obvious that fish and water cultures can provide only a small fraction of the food that people need. Our survival depends on the conservation of the body and the fertility of the soil. We gauge, therefore, the value of the soil by its capacity to produce crops.

A green plant has the ability to combine carbon dioxide and water from the ground into sugar, other carbohydrates and fat by the process called photosynthesis. Light furnishes the energy necessary for this reaction. Nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus are required for the synthesis of proteins along with carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Several other elements are needed for essential plant functions.

A green plant is made up of about 80% water and 20% dry matter. The largest part of the dry matter is composed of the elements hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen which occur in air and water, while the rest consists of a great variety of elements that originate in the soil. In spite of the small amounts of these components, they are absolutely essential and the complete absence of only one of them makes plant growth impossible.

As a medium for plant growth, soil performs four functions:

It serves to anchor the roots.

It supplies water to the plant.

It provides air for the plant roots.

It furnishes the minerals for plant nutrition.

———

Soil consists of solid particles, water, and air and, in addition, contains a teeming population of minute plants and animals. The solids are both mineral and organic. The mineral particles are classified according to their sizes into gravel, sand, silt, and clay. 

The organic matter consists of fresh plant and animal residues, which are readily decomposed, and of more stable humus. These soil particles do not lie disorganized side by side but are usually associated into smaller or larger groups. These aggregates may be small crumbs or large clods.

Of the solids, clay and organic matter are of major importance in the nutrition of plants, since they are chemically active. Gravel, sand and silt are largely inert and contribute little to plant nutrition. Over many years, however, some of these particles weather to release nutrient elements that are held by clay and organic matter.

PORE SPACE

The pore space between the solids is taken up by water and air. The water might more appropriately be called a solution because it contains small quantities of numerous minerals. These serve as nutrients for the plants.

Air takes up that part of pore space not occupied by water. As the water content increases, the air content decreases. The plant roots require oxygen for their normal functions just as the above-ground plant parts do and as animals breathe. In respiration, plant roots use oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. For this reason, soil air usually contains less oxygen and more carbon dioxide than atmospheric air does. A continuous replenishment is necessary to keep the oxygen content sufficiently high. Large pores and an intermediate moisture content are helpful for this.

Millions of microbes live in each ounce of fertile soil. Without them soils would be inactive and soon lose their capacity to support plants. Microbes help to bring plant nutrients into available form and they make soil crumbs stable and resistant to erosion. Creating a hospitable environment for microbes in the soil is an important task of the farmer. 

Yield and composition of crops depend to a large extent on the properties of the soil. Humans, who eat these crops and the meat from the animals raised on these crops, are truly a product of the soil and reflect in their bodies – and minds – the wealth or the poverty of this land.”

“The Patient Gardener” by Visiondivision

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” -Greek Proverb

Swedish architects Visiondivision and a group of students designed the two-storey study retreat, which is currently growing on the Politecnico di Milano campus. A circle of [cherry] trees will frame an hourglass-shaped hut for Milan that won’t be complete for 100 years.

Read more on dezeen.com

SO high-res, in fact, that Tumblr cannot handle them. You should see how detailed these eyes are in full resolution. Super cool.

It’s like Methuselah, the 2000-year old Judean Date Palm seed that germinated into a tree that reproduced.

Living Structures: PLEACHING

A plant is considered to be ‘inosculate’ if it is self-grafting; if the branch of one individual will, as the result of gentle abrasion, form a living bond with the branch of another individual, or with another branch of the same plant. When this grafting is aided or initiated by humans, the process is called ‘pleaching.’

In mediaeval Europe, in areas where annual flooding endangered human settlements, the pleaching of inosculate trees was employed as a solution to what otherwise might have been an insoluble problem. The trees were planted on a grid, like a small orchard. As they grew, branches were pruned and trained along this grid, so that eventually the branch of one tree met that of its neighbour. At that point, an incision was made in the bark of both branches and they were tied together, like blood brothers or sisters. The analogy is deserved, in that not only did these branches grow together to form one member, but their support activities (condition of water/minerals and sap) merged, thereby joining the life processes of the neighbouring trees.

Read more

Diagram: McGill Architecture // Photo: Angus Kirk

Making the best apple cider requires a mix of apple types

Adapted from The Natural Canning Resource Book: A guide to home canning with locally-grown,sustainably-produced and fair-trade foods:

This is one of two quarts left of 2012 apple cider. 2012 was a bumper apple crop year and I canned a lot of cider. Because there were so many apple varieties available around town for urban foraging, my friends and I were able to include a well-rounded mix of apples (unlike this year, in which we had only sweet eating apples to pick and not enough cider for canning). The red color of the 2012 cider is due to large crabapples with pink flesh that we picked; they were so tasty they could be eaten raw.

Cider is best when blended from several different apple varieties with different characteristics. Here is the recommended blend of flavors:

40–60 percent sweet apples for a neutral juice base.

10–20 percent tart varieties.

10–20 percent aromatic varieties (high in essential oils) to provide fragrance.

5–20 percent high-tannin varieties to provide an astringent effect (tannins make your mouth pucker). Good varieties include crab apples that are not too bitter and “wild” apples grown from self-sprouted seeds or suckers from rootstock.