Growing your own vegetables is rewarding, on any scale. But how big should the vegetable garden be? A row of radish, a tub of beans or a trough of lettuce will produce a thrill at any meal. But what size garden is needed for total self-sufficiency?
In the old days a working man needed a 20 pole (a pole is 25 sq meters)
plot to grow all the fruit and vegetables needed for his family. This is
probably a larger area than we would use today. A ‘working man’s
family’ was larger in those days. Also, he did not have the benefit of
our modern vegetable varieties, which are disease resistant and heavier
croppers.
The TopVeg patch keeps a couple supplied with vegetables every day of
the year, with some left over to give away. In July, August & September
it also supplies ample veg for 4 hungry, working men.
The TopVeg kitchen garden is divided into 7 beds. Each bed is 1.8m wide
by 15 m long, giving an area of 27 sq meters – just over 1 pole. So,
with 7 beds we have in excess of 7 poles.
These figures would suggest that 10 poles is an adequate area to grow
enough vegetables for a family of four to be self sufficient. But
this area has to be fully productive, using netting etc to keep insects
off carrots and brassicas, so that they crop to their full potential.
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