You need 2,600 sq metres for complete self-sufficiency, but no one is completely self-sufficient

You need 2,600 sq metres for complete self-sufficiency, but no one is completely self-sufficient…

The Guardian
Mar 23, 2023

Excerpt:

A traditional allotment of about 250 sq metres (16m x 16m) was thought to be sufficient for urban poor families. But this will not grow grain or (enough) potatoes. Nor will all the crops come at convenient times. However, even in the smallest area you can concentrate on the most cost-effective crops. In order you should try: 1) herbs, 2) cut-and-come-again salad leaves: lettuce, rocket, etc; 3) salad “additions”: spring onions, radish, etc; 4) runner beans. After that, I’d put in a mention for soft fruit. Any glut can be preserved in rum, jammed or frozen. DaveLester

In subtropical Australia, it is achievable on 400 sq metres. My grandparents taught me how 100 sq metres of healthy, fertile soil can feed an adult all year round. I live in subtropical Brisbane, and it took five years to create good soil. I have a 300 sq metre garden and it provides for a household of three, producing a surplus of food. I can earn enough from marmalade from the lime tree to pay the mortgage for about six weeks. Jerry Coleby-Williams

Read the complete article here.