My garden is about 10ft by 12ft. I grow two varieties of tomatoes on a total of four plants, two varieties of cucumber on a total of fourteen vines, two varieties of zucchini on a total of four plants, two varieties of winter squash on a total of fourteen plants, and I have seven small watermelon vines plus seven cantaloupe vines.
Attention and work to make it happen can depend on a lot of things. I am able to grow so much because I am using as much vertical space as possible. I have six large fence posts supporting two five foot by eight foot heavy wire panels that support my tomatoes and watermelon plus cantaloupe. I have two lighter gauge panels that are four foot by eight foot bent into an “A” shape to support my cucumbers and winter squash. I have some cheap tomato cages to support my zucchini. The ground has been covered with cardboard where all plastic tape and labels have been removed and it’s just the cheap brown stuff without printing. It was a full day worth of work to put everything in but the end result is relatively cheap fresh food and if you continue using the materials and replant seeds you save the cost goes down every year.
For watering I’m using a misting system that sprays water directly onto the planting areas that is controlled with a zigbee hose valve which is controlled by HomeAssistant. I had a couple soil moisture sensors but even though they said they were outdoor rated they all died… so for now I have to manually chose when to turn it on or off.
You will still have to worry about pests but diatomaceous earth (the super fine stuff) helps keep a lot of them at bay along with neem oil plus some dish soap in a sprayer. But you have to reapply after a storm and look for them every couple days.
Remember that your garden will be dependant on your local conditions. And you need to get started ASAP to maximize your growing season, a seed packet will show the minimum days to harvest but you will get food to grow on many plants for a few months. If you buy plants that are already started your time to harvest will be shorter than from seed unless you are able to eat the sprouts but you are not going to get food next week. The caveat is that plants cost more and will often be root bound so you need to get the roots freed up so they can grow.
It’s also worth getting a soil test done because some things need more potassium and phosphorus to produce food. And you may want to add a little fertilizer part way through the season.
My garden is about 10ft by 12ft. I grow two varieties of tomatoes on a total of four plants, two varieties of cucumber on a total of fourteen vines, two varieties of zucchini on a total of four plants, two varieties of winter squash on a total of fourteen plants, and I have seven small watermelon vines plus seven cantaloupe vines.
Attention and work to make it happen can depend on a lot of things. I am able to grow so much because I am using as much vertical space as possible. I have six large fence posts supporting two five foot by eight foot heavy wire panels that support my tomatoes and watermelon plus cantaloupe. I have two lighter gauge panels that are four foot by eight foot bent into an “A” shape to support my cucumbers and winter squash. I have some cheap tomato cages to support my zucchini. The ground has been covered with cardboard where all plastic tape and labels have been removed and it’s just the cheap brown stuff without printing. It was a full day worth of work to put everything in but the end result is relatively cheap fresh food and if you continue using the materials and replant seeds you save the cost goes down every year.
For watering I’m using a misting system that sprays water directly onto the planting areas that is controlled with a zigbee hose valve which is controlled by HomeAssistant. I had a couple soil moisture sensors but even though they said they were outdoor rated they all died… so for now I have to manually chose when to turn it on or off.
You will still have to worry about pests but diatomaceous earth (the super fine stuff) helps keep a lot of them at bay along with neem oil plus some dish soap in a sprayer. But you have to reapply after a storm and look for them every couple days.
Remember that your garden will be dependant on your local conditions. And you need to get started ASAP to maximize your growing season, a seed packet will show the minimum days to harvest but you will get food to grow on many plants for a few months. If you buy plants that are already started your time to harvest will be shorter than from seed unless you are able to eat the sprouts but you are not going to get food next week. The caveat is that plants cost more and will often be root bound so you need to get the roots freed up so they can grow.
It’s also worth getting a soil test done because some things need more potassium and phosphorus to produce food. And you may want to add a little fertilizer part way through the season.