Self-Sufficiency
How many tomato plants for a family of 4?
The real math, three scenarios (fresh / preserving / full year), and how many paste tomatoes you actually need if you're canning sauce.
Blog
Practical guides for growers.
Real numbers, sourced from cooperative-extension services and peer-reviewed agronomy research. No padding, no Pinterest-style fluff, no "10 secret tricks." Just the planning math we use every season.
Planting Dates
USDA Zone 7 vegetable planting calendar
Week-by-week schedule for the most common 25 crops. Frost dates, start-indoors, transplant, direct sow, and harvest windows.
Raised Beds
How much soil for a 4×8 raised bed?
Cubic feet, cubic metres, bag counts at every standard size, settling buffer, and a typical cost in USD.
Companion Planting
Companion planting for tomatoes
12 evidence-based good neighbours, 5 to keep well away, and the mechanism behind each pairing (it's not all folklore).
Self-Sufficiency
Can you feed a family from a backyard garden?
The honest answer. How much space, what percentage is realistic, and the gap between "food from the garden" and "full self-sufficiency".