How much land do you need to feed a family?

My pseudo-industrious and dreamy (in both sense of the word) husband (a.k.a. accidental recycler) says we should live off the land as he puts away the grocery bill in his pocket. And I say, “Good luck with that but you hate nature.” And I add, with a zing, “You don’t even know when to water the garden.”

But seriously, if we wanted to grow our own food, even if we could, if we needed to, and if we knew how, I wondered how much land would we need? We live in less than ¼ acre lot, in a small development with HOA. And there is no way, we could live on what I can grow, even if I take up every piece of grass and shrub.

So how much land does a family of four need to eat?

Let’s look at this easy to understand infographic from 1bog.org (click to enlarge)

So if you have less than 2 acres, you can forget about feeding your family of four, especially if you are omnivores. If you don’t need wheat, you can shave off ½ acre and live on non-wheat foods. But good luck with that.

Do you think you can totally live off the land?

ibog.org is an organization that offers community discounts for solar panels. The infographic includes how much land you would need for solar panels for energy. For more info on solar panels for your community, go to Home Solar Power Discounts

7 comments

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Lila

Great post Karen! We did consider this too and are still considering it as we are soon to embark on a new journey as we will be moving to an other country by early 2012 ( Switzerland it will be). I always admire the people from Pasasena, California who grow their own food on a 1/4 of an acre (Path to Freedom is their website, i think) . And yes, it is a full time job !! There is also a family of 7 growing their own food somewhere in Maine. (www.soulemama.com). I think it is duable if you commit to it. But yes it sure take most of your time. But if it is your way of life, why not.

ecokaren

Moving to Switzerland? WOW. Exciting. You are right. It's a commitment. It takes time and knowledge. I read about a man who lived in Brooklyn who experimented (with much to his family's dismay) with only eating what he grew in his little backyard. He lost weight because he couldn't grow anything to eat for a long time and because he was constantly outside working on his garden. So maybe we'll all be healthier and not be fat if we grew our own food.

Well that is quite extreme ! I won't go hungry or let my family go hungry if our garden does not produce enough! I will rush to the nearby farmers market and get what i need!! As much as i like the idea of being self sufficient, if it is not enough in quantity you still need to be open minded until things get better...! I will be interested in reading this article if you remember what it was ;)

Lori Popkewitz Alper

What a thought provoking post. We're a family of five so it would be almost impossible to grow all of our own food. That combined with my brown thumb......not happening! We do try to grow some of our food-through a small vegetable garden. This year our garden consisted of two tomato plants!

Lori, I have herbs. That's it. I leave growing a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. to my mom. There is no way I can live on growing my own food, not to mention, killing animals for food. Another reason why I'm not a Zuckerberg.

Lynn

What a great post! I have nearly 2 acres, but some of it is swampy. Even if the growing conditions were right I'd have to quit my day job & my business just to take care of all of it :/

Yeah, farming is a full time job, not to mention, it requires skill and it's a PROFESSION. I'd probably live on grass the first few years since I know nothing about growing food. Coincidentally, there was an article on NY Times today about America needing a new generation of farmers who has the skills to farm. http://tinyurl.com/42xt7a9 An interesting debate for sure.

Mixing Reality and Weekend Round Up | ecokaren says:

August 19, 2011 at 11:51 AM

[...] How much land do you need to feed a family of four? – A great infographic on how much land you need to grow the variety of foods you need to feed a family of four. But more importantly, can you feed a family of four from living off the land? [...]

Self Sufficiency: How Much Land to Feed Your Family? – Eat Drink Better says:

August 21, 2011 at 6:05 AM

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