Free vegetable garden yield calculator. Enter plant count, yield per plant and harvest weeks to estimate total harvest and weekly yield.
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Multiply plant count by average yield per plant for the total harvest, then divide by harvest weeks for the average weekly amount. Yields vary by variety, sun and watering, so treat results as planning estimates.
Total yield is plant count times average yield per plant, and weekly yield is total yield divided by harvest weeks. Twenty plants yielding 3 kg each give 60 kg over the season, or about 5 kg per week across 12 harvest weeks. That weekly figure is the useful one for meal planning, freezing and sharing, because a season total alone does not show when food arrives.
Enter how many plants you will grow, a realistic yield per plant for your variety, and the number of weeks you expect to harvest. If you are unsure about yield, start low, since a conservative estimate beats a disappointing surprise. The calculator shows total harvest and average weekly harvest in kg. Think of this page as a garden harvest estimator: it turns plant counts and per plant yields into a season plan.
Twenty plants at 3 kg each give 60 kg in total. Across 12 harvest weeks, that is 5 kg per week, enough for fresh eating plus some freezing or sharing most weeks. A smaller planting of 10 plants at 2 kg each gives 20 kg in total, or 2 kg per week across 10 weeks.
This garden yield by vegetable chart uses typical planning figures. Tomato yields about 5 lb per plant in 4 square feet, zucchini about 8 lb in 9 square feet, cucumber about 3 lb in 3 square feet, potato about 3 lb in 2 square feet, pepper about 2 lb in 3 square feet, broccoli about 1.5 lb in 4 square feet, lettuce about 0.75 lb in 1 square foot, onion about 0.4 lb, carrot about 0.25 lb, and spinach about 0.2 lb. Zucchini gives the most food per plant, but needs the most room, so its yield per square foot is more modest than the per plant number suggests.
For tomato plants per person, plan 2 to 4 plants per person for fresh eating, and 5 to 10 plants per person for sauce and preserving. A vegetable plants per person chart gives similar guidance: peppers 3 to 5 per person, cucumbers 2 to 3 per person, beans 12 to 15 per person, carrots 20 to 40 per person, and leaf lettuce 10 to 20 per person. Start from what your household actually eats in a month, multiply by 12 for a year, then divide by yield per plant.
Vegetable yield per square foot matters more than yield per plant when space is tight. Tomatoes at 4 square feet per plant yield about 4 lb per square foot, bush beans at close spacing yield about 1.5 lb per square foot, and lettuce at 8 inch spacing yields about 1.1 lb per square foot. Square foot gardening yield uses raised beds and close spacing: one 4 by 4 bed, 16 square feet, per person for fresh eating, and a second bed, 32 square feet in all, if you also want to preserve.
How many tomato plants for a family of four? About 8 to 16 plants for fresh eating, more for canning. How much garden per person? About 100 square feet per person for a summer garden, 150 to 200 square feet per person for a larger year round garden, and about 200 square feet per person for ambitious year round growing with preserving. Add a 25 percent buffer for paths and rotation when you size the real footprint.
Succession planting garden yield comes from planting a few plants every week or two instead of everything at once. Fast crops such as lettuce and spinach can be replanted several times in one season, and greenhouses, cold frames and multiple plantings all raise the season total above a single planting figure. Plan harvest weeks honestly, since a crop that stops early gives a higher weekly average but a smaller total.
Garden yields vary with sunlight, soil quality, watering, variety and pests, and even the same variety can yield very differently in two gardens. To plan backward, set a harvest goal in kg, divide by yield per plant for plant count, then check spacing: maximum plants are garden area divided by space per plant, rounded down. If the plant count exceeds what the area supports, the extra plants add little, so plant fewer and grow them well.
Two to four plants often suit a small household for fresh eating, while six or more suit preserving and sharing. For a family of four, 8 to 16 tomato plants is a common target, and cherry tomatoes need fewer, since one or two plants per person is usually plenty.
A tomato plant yields about 5 lb over a season in many planning tables, with a wider range of 5 to 15 lb depending on variety, sun and season length. Indeterminate varieties grown well often reach 8 to 12 lb per plant, so use 5 lb when you want a conservative estimate.
Zucchini yields about 8 lb per plant in planning tables, with a range of 5 to 20 lb for summer squash. One to two plants per person is the standard advice, and one plant can feed a whole small household, so plant fewer zucchini than you think you need.
A vegetable plants per person chart suggests tomatoes 2 to 4, peppers 3 to 5, cucumbers 2 to 3, beans 12 to 15, carrots 20 to 40, and leaf lettuce 10 to 20 per person. A summer garden of about 10 to 15 vegetable plants per person, mixed across crops, is a good starting point.
Plan about 100 square feet per person for a summer vegetable garden, and about 200 square feet per person for year round growing with preserving. In square foot gardening, one 4 by 4 bed, 16 square feet, per person covers fresh eating, and two beds cover preserving as well.
Sunlight, soil quality, watering, variety and pests all move yields up or down. Even the same variety can yield very differently in two gardens, which is why this calculator gives an estimate, not a promise, and why starting with a low yield figure is wise.
Plants packed closer than their recommended spacing compete for light, water and nutrients, and past a certain density adding more plants stops adding more food. A 4 by 8 bed has 32 squares, so it holds at most 8 unpruned tomato plants at 4 squares each, but 32 peppers at one square each.
Start from what your household eats: note kg eaten per month, multiply by 12 for a year, then divide by yield per plant. If you eat 24 lb of broccoli a year and one plant yields about 1 lb, you need about 24 broccoli plants, plus a few extra for pests and disease.