Growing food in a limited space is easy. As must you have liked, you can grow whatever you want. But to get the food supply from half of the acre needs careful planning and action. Because this is not just a bigger space than your regular-sized garden, but also it is going to test your patience and passion.
Many people think that plenty of food for a home can be grown commercially only. But this is not the case. You might wonder how much food can you grow on half of an acre. A hundred percent self-sufficiency is not possible in this space. But you can get plenty of food supply if done with planning and care.
How Much Is Half An Acre?
An acre consists of 43560 square feet of area. By dividing this space into two parts, you will be able to get 21780 square feet of area in half of an acre. This space is enough to get a good supply of food, but not enough to become fully self-sufficient.
You might think that how we can manage this space effectively and efficiently. It is simple. Divide the space into 5 patches. Patches should consist of around 4350 square feet each. In this way, you would be able to manage the space as well as the crops and animals you want to keep in the area.
You will be able to rotate and shift the crops in the patches timely. This will make it possible for you to get most of your food supplies from this limited area of cultivation. You would be able to manage it easily, according to different crop presence in different areas in the patches.
Can We Become Self-Sufficient From Half Of An Acre?
No, clearly it is not the case. Many people might claim that you can become self-sufficient from half of an acre. You will need a proper large space to become self-sufficient, not just half of an acre. Because to become self-sufficient you need to grow such crops that need more time and space to grow.
However, you would be able to get most of your food supplies like 55 to 85 percent based on your efforts and steadiness to get the maximum from this limited space. You would be able to get vegetables, fruits, breakfast elements, meat, and some cereals also.
Read More: How To Become Self-Sufficient In ¼ Acres
What To Grow In The Area Of Half An Acre?
There are many options you can opt for growing at half an acre of the space. We will suggest that you should go for multiple items. But before jumping to the selection of the food items you must review the following conditions.
Goals From The Space Of Half Acre
You should be clear that how much food supply you are going to generate from the half acre of land. Like you want to be self-sufficient in this area of land? It is not possible. You want to get 60 percent of food supplies from this area of land. Then fine.
These types of goals will help you in defining the magnitude of effort you are going to put into the land. Like if you want most of your food supply fulfilled, then you will have to plan accordingly and you have to put effort accordingly.
Soil And Climate Of The Area
Keep in mind the soil characteristics. Check whether the soil is weak or strong. It is the effort to align your soil with your goals. If the soil is weak you would be able to add the necessary nutrients to the soil. this will make the soil worthy of getting enough production.
Also, keep an eye on the climate of the area. It is because you need to choose the trees and food crops accordingly. This will help in the easy survival of the crops and food items you have chosen to grow. Because of harsh climate conditions, it is not possible for some of the crops/ plants to survive.
Also, make sure a sufficient supply of water is there. Because timely watering of the plants, trees, and crops is very important. If there is a drought condition you would not be able to get the results you want from half anacre of land.
Budget and Lifestyle
Keep an eye on your budget also. Because if you did not plan, you may get out of the budget most likely. Calculating your budget will help you in choosing the right combination of food items and crops. You will choose the crops and the food items which can fulfill your needs and wants efficiently and effectively.
Check your preferences also. Because if your choices don’t match your preferences you would not be able to enjoy the food supplies you grow. Matching your preferences with your budget and climate will help you in achieving the most from half an acre of land.
Now coming to the items and cereals which you can grow. We would suggest that you should not go for the cereals. Because proper cultivation of wheat, maize, or millet needs quite of land. It will need a good amount of water, and you would not be able to grow the other food items in the space of a half-acre.
Fruits In Half An Acre Of Land
Add the fruit plants which are native to the area. Adding the apple plant is best for all the areas in theunited states. Because apples are good pollinators as well as they survive in most parts of the country. Also, keep in mind that these fruit plants are planted in a random manner.
If you plant 5 – 10 trees, you would be able to get 500 to 1300 good apples per season. You will enjoy the yield.
It will make sure that these fruit plants are not creating any hurdles in the way of sunlight and air for the plants and vegetables in the space. So planting the fruit trees in a random manner will make sure that you get the fruit as well as other food items as well.
Vegetables In Half An Acre Of Land
As of now, we know that the area of land has been divided into 5 patches. Now you can grow different types of vegetables in these patches. Based on your preference and choices you can add many vegetables and can get a good amount of production from them.
As patches are being divided you can get 0.3 to 1 ton of each vegetable if planted fully in the patch. It is important to note that you chose the plants based on their companionship. These plants will complement each other’s growth.
Iceberg lettuce and potatoes are usually high in yield. Potatoes are used and stored for multiple uses and are used in many shapes and forms in food items. However, you can get 1 to 2 tons of iceberg lettuce from one patch in a season.
You can add different types of vegetables to the patches. But while growing the vegetables keep in mind leaving the proper space. Because you will need to move the chicken tractor between these planted vegetables.
You can add sweet potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, radish, carrots, turnips, cucumbers, spinach, chilies, bitter ground, and other vegetables as well. If taken good care of and switched well at thetime, you would be able to get 0.3 to 1 ton of each vegetable in one year of the season. You would enjoy multiple yields of vegetables.
Read More:
- How To Become Self-Sufficient In ¼ Acres
- How Much Food Can You Grow In One Acre?
Fulfilling Meat Requirements From Half An Acre Of Land
Yes, you can fulfill the meat requirements from half anacre of land. You will need a small shed for chickens, for harsh weather conditions. You will need two to three chicken tractors to keep and move the chickens in the vegetable patches.
You can have 5 to 7 chickens in each tractor. Keep them moving because it will keep them fresh and it will increase the fertility of the land. You would be able to get a good amount of meat as well as eggs for breakfast.
One might recommend you the goats as well. But in such small space goats are not an ideal option. You can go for rabbits if you really want to add extra meat supply. Green vegetables will provide good food for them.
Keep Reading: Cheapest Animal To Raise For Meat
Honey In Half An Acre Of Land
You can add 2 to 3 boxes of honey bee hives in half an acre of land. In this limited area of space, it is enough. You just need to take good care of them. You would be able to get 50 to 250 pounds of honey in a year. Keep in mind that you have to take necessary safety precautions while dealing with honey bees.
In short, you can’t achieve 100 percent self-sufficiency from only half an acre of land, but you can get plenty of food supply if done with proper planning and care. If harvesting and post-harvesting processes are good you would be able to enjoy food for a longer period of time.
