It might be easier to answer if you had a pint or liter goal you were aiming for. We don't know your diet, so it's hard to estimate what you like to eat...

It also depends on the variety or varieties that you are going to grow as they vary on production. Weather can impact producting so the number of plants needed is usually different from year to year. Just to give you an idea, I usually shoot for about 30 quarts of sauce. I plant around 6 Roma's and up to 6 of other varieties to hit that number. In a good year I might have excess and a bad year not enough.

Yes I know it will be very variable. :( I'm planting San Marzanos. I'd guess that I am an average to above average eater of tomato sauce? Not much help, sorry. I wanted to see what other people think is adequate for them.

I grow +/- 30 plants. It's way too many for the two of us, and we eat them 2 or 3 times a day, plus canning and dehydrating and giving lots away, but I want to try as many different varieties as possible every year.

I think a dozen plants would be more than enough for one person.

Linda

like Hoosier said, I also think that it depends on the variety and how productive it is. So lets say that a given variety produces 15 lbs per plant in 3 months and you uses about 1/2 lb a day (average). That is enough for one month's consumption. I would grow maybe 4 or five plants to get enough for 3 to 4 months use.

Sey

I grow about a dozen plants for our two-person household. Usually it is one cherry, maybe six round red types "for canning," and the rest heirloom beefsteaks. Usually we eat fresh toms for a good 3 months. I can about 100 pints of diced tomatoes for soups, stews, and sauces. I put up about a dozen pints of salsa. I dry a few quarts of cherry tomatoes. In really productive years I've also done tomato paste, tomato jam,and green tomato mince-meat for pies. Also I give fresh tomatoes to neighbors, family, and others. If I have a few jars left when my current plants begin ripening fruit, it's like money in the bank! You never know when you're going to have a bad season. I start my plants from seed, and donate the extras to my local food bank's garden project. I should point out, though, that I'm retired. If I were still in the job market, there wouldn't be enough time.

-Judy

We grew 14 plants this year and even after canning and freezing we were giving them away by the bag full. If it is your first time growing I would recommend no more than 4 or 5.

As you can see you will get a wide variety of answers as everyone's needs and the varieties they grow are different. My advice is if you have the room try around a dozen plants and next year you will have a better idea how many it will take. Better to have too many. If it is a bad year for production you may still not have enough.

Thank you for the suggestions! I settled on 6 San Marzano plants. I would love to do more, but space is tight. We'll see! (Sorry for the thread bump)

you need 6-10 lbs of tomatoes per quart

lizdh87,

I think you have made a good decision in terms of number of the plants.

I would, however, suggest to try two varieties instead of one, as insurance policy. Like 3-d SM and 2-3 Opalka.

Sey

Liz, I'd have to agree with Sey, I would DEFINITELY grow another variety. Living in Richmond as well and having tried to grow San Marzano multiple years in the past, I had absolutely no luck with it. I even tried a grafted version (Mighty Mato) that was out-performed by all other paste types. Everybody will tell you something different in terms of favorite varieties, but here in Richmond I have had amazing success with Burpee's 'Big Mama'. It is my standard that I use in my trials as a gauge. Good luck.