How Much Food Can 100 Square Feet Produce?

The 10x10 Challenge

A 100 square foot plot (10x10) is a standard beginner garden size. But is it enough?

The Calorie Math

Total Annual Calorie Need (1 Adult): ~800,000 calories.

Scenario A: "Salad Garden" (Tomato, Lettuce, Peppers)

• Yield: ~150 lbs of food.
• Calories: ~25,000 calories total.
• Result: You starve in 12 days.

Scenario B: "Survival Garden" (Potatoes, Corn, Beans)

• Potatoes (50 sq ft): Closely spaced. Yield: ~100 lbs = 35,000 calories.
• Corn/Beans Interplanted (50 sq ft): Yield: ~10 lbs dry corn + 5 lbs dry beans = 25,000 calories.
• Total: ~60,000 calories.
• Result: You survive for 30 days.

The Verdict

100 square feet feeds one adult for one month.

To feed yourself for a year, you need approximately 1,200 to 2,000 square feet of bio-intensive production (roughly 1/20th of an acre).

How to Scale

1. Start Small: Master the 100 sq ft first.
2. Expand: Add 100 sq ft every season.
3. Preserve: You can't eat it all at once. You must have a storage plan.

Don't have 2,000 sq ft? You need to focus on storage and barter crops, not just production.