Is it possible to grow 90% of what you eat?

[loopyloo]

I know that there will always be a few things here and there that you need to get from the store. I cant grow wheat for as cheap as I can buy it. I would like to grow as much as I can and not depend on the stores so much though.

How much of your food can you possibly grow and how can you do it?

 

[claudine]

Unfortunately in my case it's impossible to grow 90% of what I eat. First of all, I'm on a gluten-free diet so I need special products and also my garden is way too small. I only grow some of vegetables and fruits. I'd like to grow more though because I like to know that I'm eating something really healthy, without any chemicals.

 

[Jed]

My purchased food outweighs my home grown by 5 to1. I am unable to do much better but am happy that I can provide somewhat to the dinner table.
It requires a lot of hard work and dedication unless you take on the simpler way of living and eat frugally.

 

[maddie]

I have a small space, actually a balcony that has now been converted into a garden. At the most I have fresh herbs almost everyday, sometimes I get some vegetables too. You would really need a lot of space and like Jed says be absolutely dedicated to it.
However, I love the tomatoes and spinach I grow.

 

[lovinglife]

It is amazing how much you can grow in a small space, what t cool challenge!

 

[taskeinc]

You could grow 90% of what you eat but you would need a very large area to do so. My next door neighbor grows beans and greens in her garden but it's a very small garden. When the greens and beans are ready, after cleaning and preparing the veggies she only has enough for a few servings. You almost need to live on a farm, or devote your entire back yard (if it's large enough) to vegetable gardening, in order to continue to grow enough food to eat on a consistent basis.

That's one reason why I'm not big on vegetable gardens but absolutely love plants and flowers, indoor and outdoor flower/plant gardening. I just love the beauty of plants.

 

[Powerflower]

I (attempt) to grow a very good portion of what my family eats. I like that it is organic and I can keep it growing until it has ripened not like grocery store produce. I do have some trouble with some plants that I think is due to the soil in my backyard. But I have neighbours that have better success so we trade, which helps add variety to our meals.

I still spend about $10-15 on produce every week or so, but those are things like bananas or avocados.

For your balcony gardens have you looked into those "upside down" plant hangers? I believe they make them for peppers and tomatoes. I bet that would be a good way to free up some space.

 

[iluvmario]

I agree with taskeinc if you can grow produce at all then it would be easy to grow more if you had more space. I would like to grow 90% of what I eat next summer by planting in the ground as well as container gardening. I could grow indoors under the grow light and in a hydroponic or aeroponic system.

 

[kat74]

I think its possible as long as one has space. You may not grow a 100% buy a good number of products. Vegetables and some cereals can be planted in a small scale farm such that the things you will have will have to buy are things which need large scale farming for manufacturing like sugar.

 

[ChanellG]

I think it depends on what your food needs are and where you live. If you can adapt a small growing space to produce a lot of plants you could probably do it. Then again, you would have to be primarily vegetarian. I don't know about growing wheat, but I read something recently that makes me want to try to grow my own rice, and I think you can grow hops and barley in containers as well.

 

[bellahpereira]

I think it's totally possible depending on where you live and your dedication. Obviously to be able to achieve this you're probably going to have to change your diet a bit, unless your diet is already 90% fruits and vegetables. Depending on your location you need to see how much time you actually have every year to grow. I live in Canada for example, so I'd have to grow most of my food between May and September which would only give me a couple of months to accumulate the majority of what I'm going to be eating until next September - unless I chose to put a small garden inside my house or build a green house. But it's totally possible to grow fruits and veggies to base your diet around. I plan to be doing this as soon as I have a bigger garden

 

[ChanellG]

I think it's totally possible depending on where you live and your dedication. Obviously to be able to achieve this you're probably going to have to change your diet a bit, unless your diet is already 90% fruits and vegetables. Depending on your location you need to see how much time you actually have every year to grow. I live in Canada for example, so I'd have to grow most of my food between May and September which would only give me a couple of months to accumulate the majority of what I'm going to be eating until next September - unless I chose to put a small garden inside my house or build a green house. But it's totally possible to grow fruits and veggies to base your diet around. I plan to be doing this as soon as I have a bigger garden

This brings up an interesting point - without indoor crops or a greenhouse you would have only five months of growing time, which means you would have to grow quite a lot and then dry, freeze, and can quite a lot of your foods in order to have enough supply for the other seven months of the year.

 

[Victor Leigh]

My staple food is rice. So if I really want to grow my own rice, I will need quite a lot of space. So, no, I don't think I can grow 90% of what I eat.

What I can do is to grow a few things which I like to eat fresh. Things like chili. This is, more or less, a mandatory item on my dining table. And they don't keep very well, even in the fridge. Luckily they are not that difficult to grow.

 

[ChanellG]

My staple food is rice. So if I really want to grow my own rice, I will need quite a lot of space. So, no, I don't think I can grow 90% of what I eat.

What I can do is to grow a few things which I like to eat fresh. Things like chili. This is, more or less, a mandatory item on my dining table. And they don't keep very well, even in the fridge. Luckily they are not that difficult to grow.

Victor, if you see my response to your comment in the growing rice thread, you might discover it is completely possible for you to grow your own rice in a tub or in a few buckets. I have set some brown jasmine in a small container with water and soil. If it sprouts, I will find a suitable container to grow my own rice early next year.

 

[jubbly]

This is an interesting question and I am afraid the answer in my case certainly is no. Probably half my food intake is meat.

I think if you are serious about growing most of what you eat then you need a very big garden with constant care or a dedicated allotment.