I'm sure there are more factors, but right now I'm thinking about
Water. Do any of the
books give you some guidelines
number of people
gallons of water needed per person (to grow food, sanitation, etc)
average rainfall for the area
what else? I'm sure it depends on the soil and summer temperatures and how well you can direct and keep the water where you need it.
(average rainfall * acres ) - (number people * water person) > 0
Alternative
answer: move to pacific northwest or tropics
I guess we could talk about the other necessities too, not just water. That little house in Pasadena grows
enough food for the family, but I'm sure they need to import a lot of water, soil,
wood ...
maybe this
should have gone in homesteading