Yield calculator for vegetables: calculate area requirements and harvest quantities

Yield calculator - Calculate vegetable yields

What is a yield calculator?

Yield calculators are tools used in agriculture to calculate the yield of vegetables per unit area. The yield is an important parameter for planning and growing plants. Especially if you want to be self-sufficient, you need to calculate in advance how many vegetables and therefore how much space you need for yourself and your loved ones. You can also calculate the exact number of plants and seeds and only grow as many plants as you need. This saves resources and time.

Become self-sufficient: Calculate vegetable and space requirements

To calculate the amount of vegetables and land required for self-sufficiency, you should first answer the following questions:

• How many people should be catered for?
• Do I want to be completely self-sufficient or only partially (e.g. only (certain) vegetables)?
• Which vegetables do I want to grow?
• What are my growing conditions?
• How much space do I have available?

Vegetable requirement per person and year

An average person needs at least 160 to 200 kg of vegetables per year to provide for themselves. So if a family of four wants to be self-sufficient in vegetables, they will need around 600 to 800 kg of vegetables per year. It is very important to note that this is only an estimate. The actual amount of vegetables required varies greatly depending on people's eating habits and preferences. You can start with this average and adjust it to your individual needs over time. Alternatively, you can do the groundwork and write down your requirements for the vegetables you want to grow for a year. Once you know your vegetable requirements, you can use our yield calculator to work out roughly how much space you will need to achieve these harvest quantities. This will give you an initial indication of how much space and time you need to grow your own vegetables. You should also be aware that you can't grow your own food on the side and that it can be a lot of work. You can roughly expect 30 to 40 minutes of work per square meter per year. However, there are clearly also peaks with significantly more work, especially in spring at planting time and in summer for maintenance.

Space requirement per person and year

Depending on the degree of self-sufficiency, you will need different amounts of space. If you only want to be self-sufficient with vegetables, you will need around 50 to 60 square meters per person for this alone (excluding potatoes). This space is further divided into 20 square meters of vegetables for fresh consumption or for preserving. 40 square meters of stored vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and root parsley, because as a self-sufficient person you also need to think about winter. If you also want to be self-sufficient with fruit, you should plan about 100 square meters for this.

Table: Minimum areas per person and type of self-sufficiency

The challenges of self-sufficiency

There are many factors that influence the yield of vegetables. The most important influences include the weather, soil conditions, choice of variety and cultivation and care measures. The weather is probably one of the factors that we as gardeners are at the mercy of. If it is a dry year, a balanced water supply must be ensured, otherwise the harvest will be poor. Most vegetables absolutely need enough moisture for healthy growth. However, too much rain, waterlogging and comparatively few hours of sunshine can also have a negative impact, especially on exotic vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers. They have a long vegetation period and grow relatively slowly. We cannot control rain, wind and sunlight. This makes it all the more important to adapt your cultivation and care measures flexibly to environmental conditions. You can also influence your harvest success with your choice of variety and select resistant varieties. It is also important to grow a wide variety of different plants to cushion any harvest losses.

Planting a self-sufficient garden: tips for a rich harvest

• Choosing the right variety can have a positive influence on yield. Some varieties are particularly resistant or well adapted to a region. So when choosing a variety, consider the requirements of the location and climatic conditions. Old varieties in particular are usually more robust, but often produce a smaller harvest. You have to weigh things up here: Do you often have crop failures due to diseases and pests? If so, it might be worth growing robust varieties.
• Cultivation and care measures such as thinning, watering, fertilizing and pruning are also decisive for the harvest quantity. Regular care and the removal of weeds can promote the growth and development of your plants.
• The soil is also an important factor. The soil should be rich in nutrients and well aerated to promote healthy root growth. A good soil structure and a sufficient supply of nutrients are crucial for a rich harvest. You should therefore always apply good organic fertilizer and organic slow-release and liquid fertilizers. Regular green manuring is also advisable to maintain soil fertility.
• Make good use of your available space and plan mixed crops with pre- and post-crops. On the one hand, this prevents diseases and pests. It also improves the growth of some vegetable plants and sometimes even their taste.
• Staggered sowing increases your harvest window. You also make good use of the space, as the small plants only take up a lot of space when the other crops have already been harvested. Staggered planting allows you to make use of gaps in your bed.

You can find more tips on planning and creating a self-sufficient garden in the article. Here we explain what you should think about if you want to become a self-sufficient gardener. We have also prepared a planting plan for a self-sufficient vegetable garden.

High-yielding vegetable varieties for beginners & professionals

Some vegetables are particularly productive and will give you a rich harvest. These include tomatoes, cucumbers and pumpkins in particular. With sufficient water and enough sun, these plants can produce significantly higher yields than root vegetables such as carrots or radishes. Below is an overview of the harvest weight of some crops. The number of plants per square meter is also listed, making it easier for you to plan your cultivation. This also allows you to calculate your seed requirements and buy seeds in a more targeted manner.

Table: Average yields per square meter for vegetables

These figures are only guidelines and vary depending on the variety and location as well as environmental influences such as weather.

If you have any questions, problems or comments, please write to us at [email protected]. Would you like to receive helpful gardening tips all year round and plan your own beds optimally? Then register here or download the Fryd app for Android or iOS.

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