Becoming self sufficient

[baileyknollfarm]

My top new years resolution was to become self sufficient. Unfortunately, I don't know how. If you guys could give me some pointers on how to do this, I would appreciate it so much. My biggest issues are:
1. I don't know how much I need to plant for a whole year
2. I don't know if I should try to keep the garden going through the winter or if I should preserve everything
3. I don't know how to preserve anything

I am in high school so I live with my mom and dad and little brother. They will not be living off the land. They support my decision but it's not for them.
P.S.
I will not kill my animals for food

 

[BarredBuff]

Another young'un! Welcome! Your questions are understandable but not clear. What is it you wish to grow to eat? That will have an effect how you preserve, how much to plant, etc. You can keep some things growing in the winter like lettuce, spinach, carrots under a cold frame or hoop house. But most of your stuff will require preservation. This also depends on your resources. I prefer canning to freezing, drying, pickling, or fermenting. We use it to can our veggies, fruits, and meals in a jars. We freeze our homegrown meats. Canned products are more ready to use. But canning can be expensive. Will you be raising animals, if so what kinds? We raise chickens for eggs and meat, ducks for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat and soon we will have turkeys for meat and a milk cow. I cant wait!

 

[baileyknollfarm]

Another young'un! Welcome! Your questions are understandable but not clear. What is it you wish to grow to eat? That will have an effect how you preserve, how much to plant, etc. You can keep some things growing in the winter like lettuce, spinach, carrots under a cold frame or hoop house. But most of your stuff will require preservation. This also depends on your resources. I prefer canning to freezing, drying, pickling, or fermenting. We use it to can our veggies, fruits, and meals in a jars. We freeze our homegrown meats. Canned products are more ready to use. But canning can be expensive. Will you be raising animals, if so what kinds? We raise chickens for eggs and meat, ducks for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat and soon we will have turkeys for meat and a milk cow. I cant wait!

Thank you! Sorry about that. Oh jeez. Potatoes, tomatoes, greens, peppers, squash, melons, beans, eggplant, radishes, beets, etc. Just about all the veggies you can think of. We already have several fruit trees. The only thing I know how to do is can. I guess I should become MORE self sufficient first instead of going all in right away.

 

[BarredBuff]

Another young'un! Welcome! Your questions are understandable but not clear. What is it you wish to grow to eat? That will have an effect how you preserve, how much to plant, etc. You can keep some things growing in the winter like lettuce, spinach, carrots under a cold frame or hoop house. But most of your stuff will require preservation. This also depends on your resources. I prefer canning to freezing, drying, pickling, or fermenting. We use it to can our veggies, fruits, and meals in a jars. We freeze our homegrown meats. Canned products are more ready to use. But canning can be expensive. Will you be raising animals, if so what kinds? We raise chickens for eggs and meat, ducks for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat and soon we will have turkeys for meat and a milk cow. I cant wait!

Thank you! Sorry about that. Oh jeez. Potatoes, tomatoes, greens, peppers, squash, melons, beans, eggplant, radishes, beets, etc. Just about all the veggies you can think of. We already have several fruit trees. The only thing I know how to do is can. I guess I should become MORE self sufficient first instead of going all in right away.

How big is your plot to plant in?

Since you will be doing a lot planting and lots of veggies. Make concentrated areas. Such as:

3 Sisters Gardening- Beans and Squash/Melons run up the corn. Although you really should leave the beans out in order to harvest your sweet corn. It can be a pain to harvest that way.

Salad Bed- All of your salad ingredients go here, your lettuces, spinach, then your carrotts interplanted with radishes.

Interplant tomatoes and peppers.

Those are a few space savers, IF you are pressed for space. And if your not they make space for other things And if like you said this your idea and they support you. START SMALL. A big, productive garden can be an hour to two hours daily to work in.

Its impossible to just start all at once with everything going at once, you must ease yourself into. My easing is almost over! Just a few more dabs of paint and the portrait shall be complete!

 

[Denim Deb]

Another thing to take into consideration is where do you live. If you live in Alaska, you won't have the same growing season as someone living in the Florida Keys.

I'd say to start small. This is going to be a learning experience for you, and if you try to do too much at first, you'll be overwhelmed.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Another young'un! Welcome! Your questions are understandable but not clear. What is it you wish to grow to eat? That will have an effect how you preserve, how much to plant, etc. You can keep some things growing in the winter like lettuce, spinach, carrots under a cold frame or hoop house. But most of your stuff will require preservation. This also depends on your resources. I prefer canning to freezing, drying, pickling, or fermenting. We use it to can our veggies, fruits, and meals in a jars. We freeze our homegrown meats. Canned products are more ready to use. But canning can be expensive. Will you be raising animals, if so what kinds? We raise chickens for eggs and meat, ducks for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat and soon we will have turkeys for meat and a milk cow. I cant wait!

Thank you! Sorry about that. Oh jeez. Potatoes, tomatoes, greens, peppers, squash, melons, beans, eggplant, radishes, beets, etc. Just about all the veggies you can think of. We already have several fruit trees. The only thing I know how to do is can. I guess I should become MORE self sufficient first instead of going all in right away.

You're never "all in".

There is always more you can do. Buff and Deb have already asked a few good questions to get the brain cells started.

The LDS have a online calculator for food storage for a year: online calc

Canning is a good start, but there is also drying, fermenting, and other storage options.

If you have animals, think about how are you planning to feed them.

There are a large number of variables that feed into the choices we make. Climate, soil, diet preferences, and even the size and age of your family. All things to consider.

The destination is not the important part, it's the journey!

 

[tamlynn]

Welcome! You have lots of details to consider, but it sounds like its going to be a great year for you. It sounds to me like you are really trying to feed yourself for one year, or eat only what you grow, forage, or your animals produce. "Living off the land" to eat is not the same as being self-sufficient. I'm assuming you are still going to rely on your parents for housing, clothing, medical care, transportation, internet access, electricity, etc.

Make a more specific goal, like "my goal is to get at least 50% of all my food for the year from my own property," for instance.

Then figure out what climate zone you are in and what your growing season is. Assess what you have already: What animals do you already have? What fruit/nut trees do you have? etc. What food preserving equipment (freezer, dryer, canner, etc.) do you have?

I hope you have a lot of fun and learn a ton!

 

[Theo]

Get the "Ball Blue Book" for canning if you don't already have it. Among other things, it has a "garden planning guide", telling how many plants you need to plant in order to can enough food for a family of 6. You can do the math and scale that to your family size. For instance: Tomatoes--need to raise 120 pounds to make 60 quarts of preserves, so plant 100 row feet (50 plants). If you are feeding a family of three, that would be 60 lbs. of tomatoes to get 30 quarts of preserves. Are these figures accurate? I don't know, but it is a place to start. Give it a try this year, make notes on your results, and try it again next year.

On the internet, you will find other garden planning guides from various extension agencies. Find the extension office for your area and see what kind of information they have. It will be specific to your growing climate.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Dawn419]

Welcome to the forum, baileyknollfarm!

Everyone has given you great ideas/advice/pointers so far so here's one from me.

Check out the USDA Hardiness Zone Finder if you don't already know what zone you are in. Once you know which zone you will be planting in, you can make better choces on which varieties of certain vegetables will grow and produce best in your area.

Hope this is some help!