With Pam’s, Hunger Overhaul, and Spice of Life you absolutely require a large garden with a variety of crops.
Otherwise you don’t eat. Wheat, soybean, and cotton are good to automate for flour, milk, and string. Only wheat, carrot, and potato are auto-plantable with dispensers due to Botania.
All the Pam’s crops you can right click, but nothing does that. If you don’t have expensive chunk loaders, you’ll never keep up with food demand.