Are gardens cost effective?

The average household with a food garden will spend $70 a year for seeds and garden supplies; but will reap $600 worth of food .

How is urban gardening different from normal gardening?

Home and community gardeners typically grow food for their own consumption, donation, or limited nonprofit sales. Community gardens typically engage a number of stakeholders. Urban farms operate on a larger scale than community gardens, grow produce for sale, and often require a business license to operate .

What is the value of urban gardening?

Urban agriculture can be a part of a sustainable food system by localizing food economies and increasing climate resilience. By producing food on unused land in cities, urban agriculture can reduce the amount of land needed for rural agriculture.

What are additional benefits that urban gardening offers?

But many people don't realize that bringing nature into the city has a huge number of perks as well, including: Helping to fight the urban heat island effect . Decreasing pollution and cleaning air. Filtering stormwater and keeping waterways cleaner. Remaking space for birds to eat, rest and nest.

How much does it cost to start a garden?

You can, of course, start simply for a couple hundred dollars , or you can invest more significantly with a few thousand. If you're DIY'ing your garden installation, expect to spend anywhere from $25 to $50 per square foot of garden space for wood raised beds. Stone, brick, and steel will be more expensive.

How do you grow an urban garden?

Tips for starting an urban garden Sunlight is crucial. ... Plants can be grown on the roof (with permission of course). ... Soil depth is key. ... Drainage is important so that the plants don't get root rot. ... Soil content is vital. ... Remember to water your garden!

Why is it difficult to have a garden in an urban area?

Several obstacles face planners and growers including soil contaminants, water availability, and changes in climate and atmospheric conditions . Several contaminants can be found in urban soils, and lead is the most prevalent.

How much money can you save by having a garden?

If you grow $100 worth of vegetables per bed, you're starting to make a dent in your budget. If you can harvest $160 worth of vegetables per bed, and you have six small beds, then you're talking serious money – as much as $800 a year , after the prorated expenses needed to build the beds.

How does growing a garden save money?

Growing all—or even a portion—of your own vegetables and herbs at home pays you back in freshness and convenience. You'll save money by eating what you grow and making fewer trips to the grocery store .

Is gardening an expensive hobby?

Gardening can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be . These money-saving tips from industry insiders will dramatically cut the costs – from getting plants for free, to a touch of DIY. It's easy to overspend on gardening – buying costly plants, treatments, and equipment.

Does having a garden increase home value?

While good landscaping increases curb appeal and boosts home value , gardens specifically can give some people pause. Some reports and Realtors® claim that the majority of buyers will stray away from elaborate gardens.

How does your garden grow? An empirical evaluation of the costs and potential of urban gardening

107 Citations

Typically Diverse: The Nature of Urban Agriculture in South Australia

G. PollardJ. WardP. Roetman

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

2018

In our visions of the future, urban agriculture has long been considered an integral part of the ‘sustainable city’. Yet urban agriculture is an incredibly diverse and variable field of study, and…

[PDF]

The Value in Community Gardens: A Return on Investment Analysis

S. CochranL. Minaker

Environmental Science, Economics

2020

Food production in cities is increasingly regarded as one of the building blocks for sustainable urban living, particularly as the agricultural industry faces mounting ecological and economic…

[PDF]

Productive function of urban gardening: estimate of the yield and nutritional value of social gardens in Prato (Italy)

A. BaldiNicolas Lucio GalloAnna Lenzi

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems

2024

The impact of urban gardens on food production and nutrient supply is widely recognized in the literature but seldom quantified. In this paper, we present the results of a semi-structured interview…

Would a sustainable city be self-sufficient in food production?

G. SmallRobert N. McDougallG. Metson

Environmental Science, Economics

2019

Urban agriculture has increased in many cities and has the potential to provide an array of benefits including increased local food production, nutrient recycling, urban green space, and…

Food production and resource use of urban farms and gardens: a five-country study

E. DorrJason K. Hawes Baptiste Grard

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

Agronomy for Sustainable Development

2023

There is a lack of data on resources used and food produced at urban farms. This hampers attempts to quantify the environmental impacts of urban agriculture or craft policies for sustainable food…

Productivity and Efficiency of Community Gardens: Case Studies from the UK

S. CaputoV. SchoenC. Blythe

Environmental Science

Land

2023

The extensive and burgeoning literature on the productivity of urban farms and gardens is largely focused on measures of crop yield and resource use, with little offered to date on their contribution…

[PDF]

Productivity, resource efficiency and financial savings: An investigation of the current capabilities and potential of South Australian home food gardens

Georgia CsortanJ. WardP. Roetman

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

PloS one

2020

Both productivity and resource efficiency varied among the gardens, and labour requirements were significantly lower than previously estimated, and practical, evidence-based recommendations for diversification, time saving and smart irrigation practices to improve garden productivity and enhance the viability of UA are allowed.

[PDF]

The economic performance of urban gardening in three European cities – examples from Ljubljana, Milan and London

M. GlavanU. Schmutz M. Pintar

Economics, Environmental Science

2018

Small-scale urban agriculture results in high yields but requires judicious management of inputs to achieve sustainability

Robert N. McDougallP. KristiansenR. Rader

Agricultural and Food Sciences, Environmental Science

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

2018

Investigation of inputs and produce yields over a 1-y period in 13 small-scale organic farms and gardens in Sydney, Australia shows that urban agriculture can be highly productive; however, this productivity comes with many trade-offs, and care must be taken to ensure its sustainability.

Modeling the Potential Productivity of Urban Agriculture and Its Impacts on Soil Quality Through Experimental Research on Scale-Appropriate Systems

John R. Taylor

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

2020

Urban agriculture could play a central role in local and regional food sovereignty in developed countries, but in many cities, a lack of space and competition with other land uses limit production.…

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Highly Influenced
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26 References

Extreme Local Food: Two Case Studies in Assisted Urban Small Plot Intensive Agriculture

L. Newman

Geography

2008

As worries over the environmental impact of the industrial food system grow the idea of locally produced food is becoming increasingly popular. This includes a growing interest in the “ultimate zero…

Past results and future directions in urban community gardens research

Daniela GuitartC. PickeringJ. Byrne

Environmental Science, Agricultural and Food Sciences

2012

Entrepreneurial opportunities in Botswana: (re)shaping urban agriculture discourse

A. Hovorka

Agricultural and Food Sciences, Sociology

2004

Urban agriculture in southern African cities is increasingly ubiquitous – one need only drive through the garden city of Lusaka or walk along the streets of Harare to note this fact. Indeed this…

Growing urban health: community gardening in South-East Toronto.

S. WakefieldF. YeudallC. TaronJ. ReynoldsA. Skinner

Environmental Science

Health promotion international

2007

Results suggest that community gardens were perceived by gardeners to provide numerous health benefits, including improved access to food, improved nutrition, increased physical activity and improved mental health, and were seen to promote social health and community cohesion.

The future of the global food system

H. GodfrayI. Crute R. Whiteley

Environmental Science, Economics

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B…

2010

The collected papers suggest that major advances in sustainable food production and availability can be achieved with the concerted application of current technologies (given sufficient political will), and the importance of investing in research sooner rather than later to enable the food system to cope with both known and unknown challenges in the coming decades.

Rethinking Urban Poverty: A Look at Community Gardens

Autumn K. HannaPikai Oh

Geography, Sociology

2000

This article grew out of our reading and joint field work on urban gardens conducted in the summer of 1998 as part of the Department of Geography at Schreyer Honors College initiative, the…

People, Land and Sustainability: Community Gardens and the Social Dimension of Sustainable Development

J. FerrisC. NormanJ. Sempik

Environmental Science, Sociology

2001

Community gardens vary enormously in what they offer, according to local needs and circ*mstance. This article reports on research and experience from the USA. The context in which these findings are…

Urban agriculture and poverty reduction: Evaluating how food production in cities contributes to food security, employment and income in Malawi

David MkwambisiEvan D.G. FraserA. Dougill

Agricultural and Food Sciences, Economics

2011

Support of urban agriculture can be used as a route to reducing urban poverty across Sub-Saharan Africa. However policy makers require more precise information on how it contributes to alleviating…

Fruit and vegetable intake among urban community gardeners.

K. AlaimoE. PacknettRichard MilesD. Kruger

Agricultural and Food Sciences, Environmental Science

Journal of nutrition education and behavior

2008

Culturing community development, neighborhood open space, and civic agriculture: The case of Latino community gardens in New York City

Laura Saldívar-TanakaM. Krasny

Sociology, Environmental Science

2004

To determine the role Latino community gardens play in community development, open space, and civic agriculture, we conducted interviews with 32 community gardeners from 20 gardens, and with staff…

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How does your garden grow? An empirical evaluation of the costs and potential of urban gardening | Semantic Scholar (2024)

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