The Short Version
Skip the calculator and the 19-chapter guides for a minute -- here's the core of what this whole site is built around, in about two minutes.
Growing enough food to actually matter isn't about having a nice vegetable patch. It's about deliberately covering three things your body needs, choosing varieties that survive long enough to be useful, and building the two skills, composting and seed saving, that let you keep doing this next year without buying anything in. Here's the whole thing, stripped down.
1
Grain for calories
Vegetables fill you up on the day but rarely carry a household through a year. Grain and other starchy staples (potatoes, grain crops) are what actually supply the bulk of daily energy, and they're the piece people underestimate the land and labour for most. Explore grain crops →
2
Legumes for protein
Dried beans and peas are the practical protein source for a household growing its own food, and they store for years when dried properly. As a bonus, they fix nitrogen in the soil while they grow, feeding next season's crops too. Explore legume varieties →
3
Vegetables for everything else
Vitamins, minerals, fibre, and the variety that keeps you actually wanting to eat what you grew. This is where most gardens start and stop -- it's necessary, but on its own it isn't a food plan. Browse all vegetable guides →
4
Don't forget fat
It's the piece almost every plan misses. Fat is calorie-dense and genuinely hard to grow without planning ahead -- oil seed crops, nuts where your climate allows them, or animal fats if livestock is part of your setup. Find fat-producing crops →
5
Grow what stores, not just what tastes good
A beautiful harvest in August is worthless if there's nothing left by February. Choose varieties and preservation methods (root cellaring, drying, fermenting) that actually carry food through the gap between growing seasons. See vegetables that store longest →
6
Plan for loss, not perfect yield
Germination failure, pests, wind, disease -- some loss is normal, not a sign you did something wrong. Grow more than the bare minimum on paper, because the bare minimum on paper assumes nothing goes wrong. Use the calculator (accounts for loss) →
7
Compost isn't optional
Everything above depends on soil that keeps producing, and shop-bought fertiliser isn't part of this plan. Making good compost, adapted to your actual climate, is what keeps the same ground productive year after year rather than wearing out. Read compost guides for your zone →
8
Learn to save seed properly
Buying seed every year isn't a strategy you can rely on indefinitely. But saved seed is only useful if it's genuinely true to type -- which means understanding isolation distances, and checking for wild or feral relatives of your crops growing near you that will cross-pollinate and quietly ruin what you thought you'd saved. Learn seed-saving essentials →
9
Water is part of the plan, not an afterthought
None of the above works without a reliable water source and some way to store or capture it. A seed and soil plan that doesn't also account for water isn't actually a complete plan. The calculator includes water needs →
10
Diversify against risk
One blight, one bad drought, one pest outbreak shouldn't wipe out the whole season. Spreading effort across several crops rather than a couple of favourites is insurance, not just variety for its own sake. Explore crop variety →
11
Start now, not when you need it
Good soil, a genuine seed-saving cycle, and real growing skill all take multiple seasons to build up. None of this is something you can start the week it actually matters -- the value is in having already done it. Start your plan today →
Good luck everyone! 🌱