[anador]

I stumbled across this chart here: http://www.gardensofeden.org/04%20Crop% ... cation.htm

Which has two charts showing the yield in pounds per acre for an assortment of crops grown organically and in-organically.

I was just wondering if anyone has reported yields that in any way would support these volumes?

i just cannot even imagine what 32,000 pounds of celery looks like.

[anador]

This is all well and good... but does anyone have any insight about vegetable yields?

[Loki]

Those yields look about right. I cross-referenced winter squash, tomatoes, and potatoes with some references I have on my hard drive (mostly extension service publications) and they matched up well.

The organic vegetable farmers I've worked for don't generally think in terms of acres, it's more about row-feet / bed-feet. Afraid I don't have yield data for the farm I work at now, but getting 15,000 lbs of potatoes from an acre wouldn't surprise me.

Note that this is total yield, which doesn't account for culling. Useable yield will be lower, depending on market and pests. Farmer's market and grocery store veg has to look absolutely perfect, veg for home use can look ugly as long as it's edible (i.e., not maggot-ridden).

Also depends on variety. Heirloom tomatoes won't produce nearly as much per acre as hybrid beefsteak, for example.

Maybe a mod can delete the first response, not helpful or relevant.

[anador]

Yeah im really more interested in yield for preservation and home use, so supermarket quality is not something we would really care about.

We have a large piece of family land, a square mile actually, that is only being used for a small quarry operation and some scottish highland cattle grazing.

Most of it is wooded, but the highlands dont mind. We were thinking of putting a little bit into production to experiment. Just was really surprised at those yields.

Probably only an acre, divided down for different crops, and rotating between a couple fallow one-acre meadows.

just to see.

[furrybill]

What really got me was the 7.3 lbs per day for one person. Compare that to

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_poun ... t_each_day

with a figure of 4.7 lbs per day for a person in the U.S., and Americans generally overeat, one wonders if you could feed a family of 4 pretty easily on only 3 acres? Heck, assume you're a pretty bad gardener, lose some to spoilage, canning or freezing accidents, etc and it may be worse case scenario is 1 acre per person.

I wonder if anyone's tried to do just that in the past 25 years and what their experience was? And can it be done in Northern, colder climes?

[anador]

The charts did say only one harvest per year so im guessing it is taking the north into account

You can sure put away alot of food if ur doing it fulltime.

I guess the trick is balancing your nutrients though.

[careinke]

The charts did say only one harvest per year so im guessing it is taking the north into account

You can sure put away alot of food if ur doing it fulltime.

I guess the trick is balancing your nutrients though.

I average 1.7 crops, per plot, per year. I read in the latest Mother Earth News that the nutrition of modern agriculture crops is much less than earlier and or heirloom crops. For instance, heirloom red wheat has 40% more protein than modern wheat. So even though the green revolution raised the total tonnage and calorie output, it has less quality.

[Loki]

This kind of yield data is useful for general planning purposes, but I wouldn't get too caught up in quantification of gardening yields. Useable yield is extremely variable, depending on the skills of the grower, soil conditions, variety, weather, irrigation, pest pressures, management practices, etc. Best way to determine yields is to try out a bunch of crops and figure it out yourself. This will take a few years of experimentation.

For large subsistence garden planning you should think more about what does well in your area, what you want to eat, and what crops you're already good at growing. Then work out a good rotation scheme from there.

An acre is a pretty big subsistence garden, could very well be full-time work for one person depending on experience, crops, and equipment.

[Loki]

The charts did say only one harvest per year so im guessing it is taking the north into account

You can sure put away alot of food if ur doing it fulltime.

I guess the trick is balancing your nutrients though.

The yield data I was comparing it to was for western Oregon, ~45th parallel. Temperate north.

Succession cropping will greatly increase yields per acre. But you should also factor in animal rotations or cover cropping. The farm I worked at last season did 3 seasons in vegetables, 2 seasons in pastured cows. I think this kind of vegetable-animal rotation scheme makes a lot of sense.

[kpeavey]

Oakley's posted image: Since when does 2 data points offer enough of a pattern to draw a conclusion?

Yields: Yup, these yields can be achieved. Organic, chemical, intensive, or whatever growing system you choose can produce high yields. Caveat: Yields are a bit more complex than arithmetic based on land area.

My own results have shown a yield of about a pound per square foot per crop, with 50-75% of this being marketable quality. My growing system is all natural. I employ raised beds, minimal tilling (none whatsoever this year), drip irrigation and pitcher irrigation, coplanting, companion planting, intensive planting, polyculture, continuous crop rotation, open pollenated seed of heirloom cultivars, massive amounts of compost and mulch, and work my ass off. I use no chemical/processed fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. My soil is a quarzipsamment entisol...sugar sand...practically infertile, and has been at Drought Level 1 since August of 2010, and at Drought Level 2 or higher since November 2010.

My growing beds are 4' wide, I can reach the middle without stepping in the bed, and 50' long, the length of a standard section of irrigation hose. This gives me 200 square feet per bed. Paths between beds are 3' wide. This gives me about 50% of land area in cultivation. Being Florida, I can grow crops year round rather than a single crop. I am expanding my operation and expect to be able to flush my job within 2 years.

A single 200 square foot bed, with the planning, effort and amendments in place can fit
-2000 onions
-50 tomato plants
-200 Cabbages
-3200 carrots
-1800 turnips
-so many radishes I would not know what to do with them all.

To feed a person an entirely vegan diet of fresh food every day, about 10 of these beds would do the job, and that includes throwing half of the produce to the hogs or chickens.

While it is true that pumping a genetically modified plant full of chemicals can give you higher yields per unit of area, there is a price paid in terms of quality, flavor, texture, nutrient density per calorie, flavinoid and phytochemical levels. Natural growing methods take longer to produce a tomato, and the labor hours involved are considerably higher, but the result is rich, flavorful, nutritious, wholesome food that won't give your kids diabetes at the age of 20.

Get informed.
Come on down to the forums at Permies.com.

[PrestonSturges]

The charts did say only one harvest per year so im guessing it is taking the north into account
You can sure put away alot of food if ur doing it fulltime.
I guess the trick is balancing your nutrients though.

The yield data I was comparing it to was for western Oregon, ~45th parallel. Temperate north.
Succession cropping will greatly increase yields per acre. But you should also factor in animal rotations or cover cropping. The farm I worked at last season did 3 seasons in vegetables, 2 seasons in pastured cows. I think this kind of vegetable-animal rotation scheme makes a lot of sense.

Pasture rotation also reduces animal parasites by disrupting their life cycle.

[Pops]

Stay on the topic please.

[anador]

Potatoes seem a great long lasting high calorie substitute for grains as well. 400 calories a pound, 15,200 pounds is 6,080,000 calories or 16,600 calories a day

enough raw calories for 5 people for a year... though I get it that its not that simple... its fun to play with numbers and ideals though.

I asked about this before, but since I believe large scale normal wheat is going to be difficult to cultivate due to pathogens, anyone have any insight on Triticale? its resistance to rusts and mold?

Kunstler did a nice job with his depiction of a future where wheat is rare.... but goddam it I want normal bread!

[careinke]

I asked about this before, but since I believe large scale normal wheat is going to be difficult to cultivate due to pathogens, anyone have any insight on Triticale? its resistance to rusts and mold?

Kunstler did a nice job with his depiction of a future where wheat is rare.... but goddam it I want normal bread!

The wheat farmers I know are pretty concerned about when UG99 will hit the US. So far, no good solutions.

I think one of the highest calories per square foot would be honey. Conservatively, raising untreated bees, and no feeding, you should be able to pull off six gallons per hive. 256 tablespoons per gallon at 64 calories per tablespoon works out to 98,304 calories. Divided by four square feet = 24,576 calories per square foot. Or if you want it in pounds it would be 16.5 pounds of honey per square foot. (your mileage may vary)

I'm going to be putting in four top bar hives this year.

[PrestonSturges]

That is an interesting chart. Two tons of fresh figs per acre compares well to other crops and amounts to something like 4000 calories per day.

Some things store well, such as grains and roots; and figs, which can be dried.

Have you seen The World Carrot Museum?

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/cultivation.html

They have a whole section on Victory garden carrots.