How Big A Garden Can One Person Maintain?

I have one of the biggest personal gardens in the area at nearly a full acre. There are intensive times of the year, like harvest and this year there was a late spring so planting was pretty rushed. I grow enough to sell/trade, I supply a small restaurant with hot peppers, I can and freeze. In addition to the garden I have fruit trees (cherry, apple, pear, plum) , raspberries, asparagus, rhubarb on a total of a little over three acres.

I could easily double my garden area.

Water: I use those soaker hoses made from old tires. I made several PVC "Headers" that have from 4 to 6 hose connections each, separated by the width of my walk-behind tiller. My water bill goes up to about $100 a month for July and Aug. By wattering just the rows, I save money and get very few weeds between the rows.

Fertilizing: I get composted manure by the truckload for general broadcast over the entire garden in the spring. When I plant, I may use a little extra in the rows. I side dress corn with 16-16-16.

Pests: I have very little problems with bugs, deer are a pain occasionally but not enough of a problem to justify a fence. Usually, I spot spray things like beans, peas, and potato plants for bean beetle and that's about it. Netting keeps birds off my strawberries.

Weeds. I use Preen wherever I have planted plants. In crops grown from seed, I till between rows after the plants are a few inches tall. Then it is on the hands and knees hand pulling the weeds within the row. Then Preen so I don't have to do it again for another year.

I think a dedicated gardener could handle at least 5 acres without machinery, and 20-40 acres with a good tiller, especially if large areas of easier crops were grown like corn.

The biggest time management issue is the harvest, being able to collect and process or sell would be rough on 5 acres for one person. From my acre and orchard I canned over 400 quarts one year in addition to all the fresh stuff eaten or given away. And that was in addition to filling a large freezer too. I was also working full time so I believe a single person, just working the garden, could hit the 3-5 acre mark even with no help at harvest, but they would really have to enjoy the process!

Once your garden is established, you can probably maintain 1/4 acre - 1/2 acre by manual or el manuel labor. An acre is just about 210 ft on each side. It's nothing more than watering (during dry spells) and once a week weeding, monthly or less often pest control after the garden is established. Getting it started and prepared is the biggest labor effort. Then taking in the crop and canning, freezing or other preparation for storage is the other end of the harvest. The more equipment you have, the more you can maintain.

You really don't need to work 8 hrs a day in a garden unless you have two acres. Then you'll be living IN your garden and not OFF your garden.

Depends.

I am over 60, disabled, retired, have a tractor with attachments, and a small tiller, and live on 90+ acres, with a horse.

Have 2 - 1 acre pastures, and 1 acre garden and am building a house, (2 story + full basement.)

I only work about 2 hours morning and evening, (too hot middle of day,) during summer months, and as I feel like it rest of the year.

IF working 8 hour day, the biggest problem would be lack of water to irrigate with.

Depends what kind of equipment you have. If you have a tractor you can maintain much more.

Also if your using a garden fabric or something that is slowing down your weed growth that is also something to consider. If your growing perennials the you don't have to worry about replacing every year either.

I would say about 1/4 acre would be more then enough.

Once your garden is established, you can probably maintain 1/4 acre - 1/2 acre by manual or el manuel labor. An acre is just about 210 ft on each side. It's nothing more than watering (during dry spells) and once a week weeding,

I've maintained a 12'x12' garden alone. My biggest problem was using all the vegetables it yielded. Luckily, I was able to give away what I couldn't use.

make your garden into raised beds then they will be easier to work