Free Tool · Texas Hill Country

How big a garden to feed your house?

Enter your household size and goal — get bed square footage, soil and compost volume, and what to plant this season. Free, instant, tuned for San Antonio & the Hill Country (zone 8b/9a).

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Bed size comes down to your goal. To supplement with fresh herbs and summer veg, plan about 40 ft² per person — roughly 80 ft² for a family of two. For a meaningful 30%+ of your vegetables, plan about 100 ft² per person. Full self-sufficiency runs about 200 ft² per person — so a serious garden for four is around 800 ft².

That's the easy math. The harder reads are soil depth over caliche, sun and water, and the right crop for the right season. This tool gives you the numbers; the planting list keeps you on the Hill Country calendar.

§ 1 · How it works

Four inputs, one plan.

Step 1
Household size
How many people the garden will feed. Bed area scales per person.
Step 2
Your goal
Supplement (~40 ft²/person), meaningful 30%+ (~100), or serious self-sufficiency (~200).
Step 3
Bed style
Raised (12-18″ deep), in-ground amended caliche, or no-dig — this sets soil depth.
Step 4
Read your plan
Bed ft², soil and compost in cubic yards, and what to plant this season with timing.
§ 2 · The Hill Country numbers

Why it's different here.

San Antonio and the Hill Country sit in zone 8b/9a — a long, hot growing season on thin soil over caliche, a hard limestone layer with little topsoil. That's why most gardens here do best in raised beds or no-dig beds built on top of the ground; in-ground works only if you amend the top foot heavily with compost. And the heat resets the calendar: spring planting starts in late February, summer belongs to okra and southern peas, and fall is the strongest season for brassicas, carrots, and greens.

Get the soil right before you plant and a first garden teaches you everything. Skip it and it burns you out. We never invent a yield or a number we can't stand behind.

Service
Edible Landscape
We design and build the beds, place them in the right sun, and put food in the ground.
Service
Soil & Compost
Amending caliche and building the mix that makes a first garden work.
Instrument
Read Your Land
A real reading of your property's soil, sun, and water — free.
§ 3 · FAQ

Common questions.

How big a vegetable garden do I need to feed a family?
It depends on your goal. To supplement with fresh herbs and summer veg, plan ~40 ft² per person — roughly 80 ft² for a family of two. For a meaningful 30%+ of your vegetables, plan ~100 ft² per person. Full self-sufficiency runs ~200 ft² per person, so a serious garden for four is around 800 ft².
What grows well in a San Antonio or Hill Country garden?
San Antonio and the Hill Country are zone 8b/9a, with a long warm season. Spring: tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers. Summer: okra, sweet potatoes, southern peas, eggplant. Fall is the best season here for brassicas, lettuces, carrots, and beets; winter holds garlic, onions, spinach, and snow peas.
Should I use raised beds or in-ground on caliche?
Caliche is a hard limestone layer with little topsoil, so most gardens here do best in raised beds (12-18″ deep) or no-dig beds built on top of the ground. In-ground works if you amend the top foot heavily with compost, but you're fighting the caliche either way. The calculator adjusts soil and compost volume to your bed style.
When should I plant a vegetable garden in Central Texas?
In zone 8b/9a, set out tomatoes and peppers late February through March for a May-June harvest, then switch to heat-tolerant okra and southern peas through summer. Fall is the strongest window: transplant brassicas in August, direct-seed carrots, beets, and lettuce in September. Plant garlic and onions October-November.
Start here

Size the garden.

Free, instant, no signup. Then book a Site Read and we'll set the beds in the right sun and get the soil right first.

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