If you are just starting don't try to grow everything your family needs. 7 people are going to need a big garden. Most important in determining garden size are the gardener's physical ability, available space, time and equipment, and genuine interest in gardening. The work can be hard no matter how many "Gardening made EZ" hints you follow. It is better to start small and build on success than to become discouraged and abandon the garden because it was too large or too much work. As for what to plant, first plant things your family likes ( well duh), from that list your garden should be things that definitely taste better fresh from the garden than the freshest from the store. Tomatoes are the number one thing for that, no store tomato comes close to a fresh one, and they are easy to grow and don't take much space if you use cages to keep the vertical rather than sprawling. Some people can't do without fresh corn and again the taste of store corn just don't compare, but they have a longer growing season taking up space, and you really can only count on one ear per plant in a garden, less than that in a smaller garden. Space and time are the important, Melons, pumpkins, squash, potatoes and sweetpotatoes are in the garden for a long time, and take up a lot of space, and are a one time harvest crop. Okra, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and pole beans are also in the garden a long time but produce a continuous supply of food. Vegetables for a small garden, because of the space and the amount produced, are bush snap and lima beans; leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach, mustard, and turnips; green onions; tomatoes; sweet peppers; and eggplant. If space permits, add broccoli, cabbage, hot peppers, okra, summer squash, Southern peas, and pole beans. Cucumbers, which normally take a lot of ground space, can be trellised. Radishes are easy in looser soils and great for a kids first garden because they can be planted early and sprout and mature quickly, preventing boredom. Two or three crops might be planted before it gets too hot, then something else can be planted in their space. From that list choose a half dozen or so ( make sure you choose them maters, yum yum, and I ALWAYS grow hot peppers for garden fresh salsa) For more precise info on the size garden for your family in your area, and the plants and varieties adapted to your area get out your phone book. In the " Federal Government " section you'll find the Department of Agriculture and probably a sub-listing for your local county agent which might be further broken down right to home gardening agent. Even if you live in Metropolis you got a county agent, they even got lawn and grass experts. Call them up and they will send you all kinds of pamphlets for your specific area about how big a garden for your family, where and when to site it, where and when to plant what in it, when to harvest it, how to cook it, how to store it, canned, frozen, dried and all sorts of stuff that you didn't even know was known. They are the friendliest government employees I ever talked to, I mean it's like they are GLAD to help you. It's your tax dollars so tell um you wanta know all the stuff you paid um to find .

Simple "rules of thumb" 1. Don't plant stuff the family will not eat. If the family does not like Okra and you do, then plant one or three okra plants. 2. Decide now, before the shovel hits the soil if you are going organic or if you are going to use chemicals. Chemicals once added to the soil can not be taken out and you will have twice as much work amending the soil and balancing it organically if the soil has been unbalanced by chemical fertilizers. 3. How many of ________ do I plant? Good question, and there are answers for each kind of plant. You really need to go to the local public library and check out a book that deals in that. Take Tomatoes - If you are planning on just the occasional meal say tomatoes in salads, then you need 2-3 plants (yes that little for a family that big) If you are planning on canning sauce and tomatoes then it can be as much as 10 or 12 plants. 4. Organic Gardens are usually bed plantings which use successive and intensive methods of planting, along with companion planting. Successive planting means that when one crop is harvested you plant another. Peas are an early crop - they can only be grow in the early spring. You can grow them, then plant say Brocolli - which is a summer crop. Depending on where you live you could get three crops on the same spot of ground. Intensive gardening means planting plants closer together. It works because you amend the soil with lots of compost, and you plant a crop which you can harvest as it grows - like carrots - you can start harvesting them early - although the packet may say plant every inch apart, if you are planning on having baby carrots for dinners - then you can plant every half inch and pull up every other carrot as they grow. Companion planting - means planting plants together that help each other. It also can mean like planting two plants say a vine with a tall plant to where the same area is being used by both. 5. So you want to start a Garden - Great. Do not try to convert a whole acre this season. Most gardeners soon discover that gardening takes a lot of skill to master. Start off with say one bed (3' wide by 10 feet long) and plant the old standards - lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers. Good starting crop. This first season will get you attuned to your soil type, get attuned to your climate and weather, and get you used to the idea of pulling weeds, watering, hoeing, shoveling, etc. I bet you will discover the wonders of mulching real quick. Mulch not only reduces the amount of water you need, but also reduces weeding and adds organic matter to the soil. 6. Use the public library - Seriously there are hundreds of books on the subject - You will discover a lot of interesting facts - you may also learn how to save seeds from your current crops, may tend to lean toward heirloom varieties over the hybrids - then there are the catalogs and all of the little tricks you can learn. It can be a wonderful mind expanding experience - or it can be the hard road to hell. 7. Expect to take at least - as least - 3 years to get to the point where your garden is a stable, main food source for your family. Yes it takes that long to learn how to grow your own food effectively - it also takes about that long to know how many plants you need of each variety, which varities grows best and which crops are even worth your time and effort. - - - - I've been organic gardening for 12 years now, I have an 18' x 16 ' plot of land dedicated to vegetables. Through the years I have composted a lot of material, I have amended the soil adding composted manures, organic matter. The whole area is not a garden, the perimeter is 3-4 feet wide with a 5' wide path through the east side to the center. I do feed two people potatoes, tomatoes, beans, carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, radishes, turnips, mustard and other greens. I also raise our jack o'lantern pumpkins, and pie pumpkins, acorn squash and zucchini. Its done on trellises and with successive and intensive planting.

I agree with the answers given and further caution the questioner to be patient. No matter how much advice you have or how many books you read, gardening is different for each person, with the perfect garden for you coming by trial and error. We learn from our errors. In my first vegetable garden, I placed it too far from the house, rented a huge tiller that threw my back out for a week, and had no hope of catching up with the bugs, weeds, and grass that invaded the too-large (40x50)garden. Now, though I'm still a novice, my garden spot is only about 24x24, I have a lightweight Mantis tiller, and I am more prepared for invaders with landscape fabric, mulch, and compost. I use my errors to improve my plan. I am and always will be completely dedicated to gardening without chemicals. Commercial farming does enough to poison my family without my help.