Do you all plan the amounts of each vegetable you're going to sow/use?

Hi everyone, this will be my third year growing vegetables & I want to plan my garden a little differently so I only sow what will be eaten. Previously I've had to bombard my friends and neighbours with excess of almost everything whether they wanted it or not & worse even have to throw perfectly good veg away :o So I was just wondering if all of you more experienced growers establish how much you are going to use before sowing?

 

I try to overcome the problem by growing things I can store for year round use. Be that growing things that freeze well, broad beans, peas, soft fruit, or things that can be pickled, or just store naturaly well carotts onions and spuds. Also grow delicacies like asparagus that take up a fair bit of space all year round but are expensive to buy.
Although I dont use one there are lots of good planners to help organise yourself (im sure another member can direct you) but most of hose (I imagine) are geared at getting the most from your space is which isnt neccasarily what you want.

I think growing things to store (or finding ways to store and preserve what you grow) is the way forward.

 

When I had a large vegetable plot, I tended to grow whole rows of each veg, because it was simpler that way and it also looked better. Trouble was, it tended to produce gluts and all the wasted effort that entails.

I now have a much smaller garden and my veg is restricted to two small raised beds. Having only a restricted growing area creates a very strict discipline and I calculate the exact number of plants that I need to grow very carefully. Last year, I had absolutely no waste from over production.

Also like Plantsman, I like to grow some veg that can be stored (like onions) or can stand ready for a long period (like leeks).

 

We tend to do our growing based on (a) What we can eat fresh. (b) What we can preserve. and (c) What we can store.
As far as we can we always have something growing fresh, particularly brasiccas and salad crops. Right now we've carrots, parsnips sprouts and leeks that can be picked, and spring cabbage, winter lettuce and spinnach coming on. In a "normal" winter we also have red cabbage over winter, but this year the frost has got to them.
When planning the summer crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers we always grow a couple extra just in case of failure/bugs/disease. Surplus courgettes (despite reducing 3 plants a year to two we still have more than we need) and cucs (we pickle some) are given to a neighbour to feed her chooks and she gives us eggs. Surplus toms get dehydrated and keep us going in cooking toms until the next summer. We've reduced the quantity of peas and beans we grow, but still get a surplus which gets dehydrated for winter use. We've also cut back the number of leeks (used to be a bit over 100 but now about 70 ) but will still have a few left by the time I want to start clearing the bed for the next rotational crop. Any that I dig up and can't use will be dehydrated for use in summer.

Getting planting down to precise numbers isn't really feasible unless you can have 100% control over the growing environment. So I suppose the bottom line is, sow and plant for what you'll eat (or store) and then add a bit more to compensate for the losses that may or may not occur.And if you still have a surplus - sharing it with friends and neighbours is quite a rewarding thing to be able to do :thumb:

 

Thanks everyone, you've reminded me of a book my friend bought me last year, 'grow your own, eat your own' by Bob Flowerdew where there is detailed descriptions on how to store and preserve any excess amounts of fruit and veg. I'll refer to it as I go along & try to make the most of everything I grow without wasting & you're right Dave W, sharing some is a rewarding thing to do :D

 

Wow, that's great shiney :thmb: What a lovely thing to do! Sadly my gardening skills aren't quite at the stage where many people would pay good money for the produce!