Ideal garden size

[dirty hands]

Ive always just looked at what I had access to and looked for the best location for a garden then figured out how to fill it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

how big should a beginners garden be?

In my humble opinion, when you start to have too much to eat fresh as it comes you have crossed the line. Mason jars are a clue.

 

[Meadowlark]

Although I totally disagree with the above humble opinion, it does bring out a point worth discussing.

That is, the garden site and size you decide on does not necessarily have to be planted out 100% or sized as if it were to be planted 100%.

In fact, I make an argument that one should have a site twice as large as what they have planted at any given time. Great garden soil is made/maintained and not generally naturally occurring without continuous replenishment. Rotation, whenever possible, should be part of every gardener's tool chest. These "tools" greatly benefit from a garden that is well oversized in footprint.

A large footprint also can greatly facilitate equipment usage. I have long maintained that I can far more efficiently garden and area like 40 x 80 with equipment than I can an area 1/2 that size or even 1/4 that size without mechanical equipment. A person that has lifelong intentions of gardening would be well served to invest in garden equipment and choosing a site of sufficient size that it can be effectively employed.

Oh yes, small plots without equipment can be far more demanding than large plots with equipment... regardless of your age or experience.

Another aspect of this is that the gardener largely controls the amount of produce and garden size is often not the limiting factor. The amount of produce is largely dependent on how many seeds you plant or how many plants you transplant and when you do all that. By carefully limiting your seeds to the produce amount you can eat, the gardener controls their destiny. By using "stagger" planting, the gardener can precisely manage the amount of produce to what they can manage at any given time. That often requires a larger size site rather than smaller size site.

For example, I am currently growing my 5th corn harvest of this season. Each corn crop has been on 4 rows 12 feet in length stagger planted over the entire growing season. You cannot do that on a "small" site, but at any given time it is not at all overly time consuming or demanding of my resources.

I find it hilarious to see these pictures of hundreds of carrots, or whatever veggie the beginning gardener has grown to excess. The experienced gardener grows what he/she can effectively use...and some do use Mason jars, and some do not.

 

[Sluggy]

With beginners it is all trial and error then you become experienced and it is all still trial and error. You just get better at making mistakes and covering it up. You have a freezer to fall back on if you over plant a crop or friendly neighbours to collect your excess.

 

[Meadowlark]

Another point of disagreement "it is all trail and error".

I sure do not agree. Yes, mistakes are made, we are humans after all, but learning from mistakes is what it is all about.

I know how many ears of corn I can expect from any given planting. I know how many pounds of potatoes I can expect from the number of pounds of seed potatoes I plant. I know how many pounds of tomatoes to expect from each plant. Etc.,etc., etc.

And on, and on, for each veggie I grow whether it is in ground or container. The only things left to chance, with experience, are the environmental elements...and even those can be minimized with experience in any given area.

Gardening is a journey that is made much more enjoyable and productive by learning as you go.

 

[Sluggy]

Opps that should have been trial not trail and learning as you go is just another expression for trial and error.

 

[Meadowlark]

Opps that should have been trial not trail and learning as you go is just another expression for trial and error.

It's not a big deal and in fact may just be in language usage differences but...

The part I disagree with @Sluggy is the statement that even for experienced gardeners " it is all still trial and error". The words "all still" simply do not apply to most experienced gardeners who learn as they go on the journey. The suggestion being we don't learn from our results, but each time is "trial and error" all over again still.

Gardening outcomes are not random, and they are generally repeatable all things being equal. After decades, there are certain things I don't need trial and error for, thankfully. It simply is not all still...

No "all" and "still" are words that most experienced gardeners reject. What has been learned is used not subjected to "trial and error" again and again and again. That is what I call learning. Insanity is what I call doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

 

[Sluggy]

I find the fun in gardening is trying different plantings every year and would find it boring planting the same crops every year. I have been gardening for decades hence the expression trial and error on my disasters.
So I would say to Kentucky Gardener after deciding on the size of your plot just plant what you want the first few seasons and see what happens do not get bogged down with technicalities to begin with.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

Make your garden big enough you don't regret it later, or small enough you don't regret it later idk (i can live with running out of energy but having energy but no where to use it is another story). Fortunately you can do something in the garden every day unless the soil is frozen

I know @Meadowlark does good with staggered corn but as a beginner I'll caution that the cool season is too short in ky to stagger cool-weather crops which are basically everything European and the rainfall will screw you on pretty much everything else. The water shuts off in august. Not to say you shouldn't try but there's an ideal window that if you want to work outside of, it gets very hard

I'll never try everything. theres so much and i love trying new things. I also love being able to count on the "staples", which for you will be corn, beans and squash lol but not maxima squash.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

That is, the garden site and size you decide on does not necessarily have to be planted out 100% or sized as if it were to be planted 100%.

I'll go with this,
I would also say there is a lot of trail and error, okay , not all, but a lot. This can vary, some people are adventurous and try new stuff all the time, others stick to the tried and tested they know aiming to produce a regular flow of staples. Whichever there will still be variables, like the weather, or a paticular pest having a 'good' season, a poor batch of seed, stuff happens, it is not all predictable all the time.

 

[Ruderunner]

I'd say that's a fair assessment. Also, it takes time to learn what does or doesn't do well in one's area. Sure, there's information out there but it's general not specific to any particular plot. There's often even variations from row to row. Depending on where you are you usually only get one crop a year and get to try next year. If it takes 5 or 6 cycles to really get a handle on something that time adds up.

Horseradish is an example for me, information out there indicates it likes loamy soil and lots of sun. I've tried that several ways and went back to where I had best results. In the clay on the shady side of our lean to. About 10 years to figure out doing it wrong is best.

Why does it do so well there? Don't know Don't care. The problem is solved and I have other stuff to focus on.

Last summer we planted 6 chunks of 1 root in a 2x2 area. This fall we plan to dig it up and expect to get enough to plant a 4x20 area. No more mowing or weeding there.