🌾 Grow Your Calories

How much of your own food could your patch actually grow? Give it your household and your soil, and this plans a real crop mix — staples, protein and high-value veg — with yields, calories, money saved, watering and a sowing calendar. Food you grow is food no supply chain can take away.

Mouths to feed

Growing area (m² of beds)

Season you get

Effort you'll put in

Plan the beds for…

Your veg price level

Setup cost (£ per m², seeds & compost)

Method: mid-range UK allotment yields per m² per season (potatoes ≈ 3.2 kg/m², climbing dried beans ≈ 0.5, onions ≈ 2.5, squash ≈ 2.2, kale ≈ 3.5, leeks ≈ 2, carrots ≈ 3, beetroot ≈ 3, outdoor tomatoes ≈ 2.5, courgettes ≈ 4, garlic ≈ 0.8, salad ≈ 2 cut-and-come-again), standard food-energy tables (kcal/kg) and average UK grocery prices. Season multipliers: temperate 1.15, mild 1.6, cold 0.8; effort 0.65–1.3×. Calories here are fuel, not full nutrition — a self-sufficient diet still needs protein variety, fats and vitamins, plus storage for staples. Yields vary ±50% with soil and weather. Estimates for information only. Last reviewed: 2026-09-23.