Why growing your own food matters more than ever

Lately, it feels like everything is getting more expensive.

You notice it at the supermarket first. A few euros more here, a few there. Nothing dramatic in the moment, but over time it adds up. And if there’s one thing history keeps showing us, it’s this

Food prices don’t go down. They go up.

Slowly. Then suddenly.

And that’s exactly why growing your own food matters more than ever.

Not because you’re trying to “save money” right now. If you’ve ever built a garden, you already know that’s not really how it works. But because of something much more valuable

Control.

My baby tomato plants coming along

Your own food system

When you grow and preserve your own food, you step outside that constant price increase.

Take something simple like tomatoes. If I go to the store in 2027, I have no idea what tomato products will cost. Maybe the same. Maybe double. Maybe worse.

But the jars I put on my shelf this year? They will cost exactly what they cost today.

And they will stay that way for years. That’s the real value. So let's use my tomatoe "need" as a real life example.

How many tomato plants do I need? (real numbers for my garden)

This year, I’m not just growing tomatoes randomly. I actually sat down and thought about what I want to have on the shelf. From this year’s harvest, I want to can:

• 6 jars of garden Ragù

• 6 jars of BBQ sauce

• 10 jars of tomato sauce

• 10 jars of diced tomatoes

• 15 jars (half pints) of pizza sauce

That’s 47 jars in total. And that will be enough to cover all our tomato needs for about a year. (for sauces, that is)

Now the real question… how many tomatoes does that actually mean?

Roughly speaking, one jar takes about 0.5–0.7 kg of tomatoes depending on how much it cooks down. So for 47 jars, I’m aiming for around 28–30 kg of tomatoes

Here’s what that looks like in simple numbers:

• 47 jars ≈ 30 kg tomatoes

• 1 plant ≈ 3–5 kg (realistic: 4 kg)

• Minimum: 8 plants

• Recommended: 10–12 plants

• Seeds to start: 18–20

How many tomato plants do I need

A good, healthy tomato plant can give you around 3–5 kg. I like to be realistic, so I calculate with about 4 kg per plant. That puts me at 30 kg ÷ 4 kg = about 8 plants

But I’ve done this long enough to know that things don’t go perfectly.

Some plants underperform. Some struggle. Some just don’t thrive for no obvious reason.

So I won’t grow 8. I’ll grow 10–12 plants. That gives me a buffer and removes a lot of stress.

How many seeds should I start? This is another classic mistake people make.

Not every seed becomes a strong plant. Some don’t germinate, some grow weak, some get damaged along the way. So if I want 10–12 solid plants, I’ll start 18–20 seeds.

That way I can pick the strongest ones and still have backups.

This isn’t just about tomatoes. This is about walking into 2027 knowing I don’t need to buy tomato sauceI don’t need canned tomatoesI don’t need pizza sauce, It’s already done.

Sitting on the shelf. Paid for. And not affected by whatever prices are doing next year.

The bigger picture, things feel a bit less predictable lately. Prices, supply, availability. It all works… until it doesn’t. Growing your own food doesn’t mean you’re preparing for disaster.

It just means you’re a bit less dependent. A bit more prepared. A bit more in control.

Some of my stock from last years garden

I’m not trying to grow everything. I’m not trying to be fully self-sufficient overnight.

But tomatoes? That’s one area where I can take control. And once you start thinking like that, crop by crop, jar by jar… You realize something. This isn’t just gardening anymore.

It’s building your own food system.

Good luck with yours!