Research & reports

· Egyptian Journal of Applied Science · Egypt

This experiment, conducted at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt, evaluated eggplant yield and quality in urban substrate culture using three fertilizing sources (nutrient solution, mineral fertilizer, vermi-liquid) combined with two pot volumes (6 and 8 liters of a standard 50:50 peat moss:perlite substrate) across two summer seasons (2019 and 2020). Total fruit number and leaf count were recorded during harvest, along with fruit diameter, length, average fruit weight, and fruit nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content. Chemical nutrient solution produced the highest vegetative growth and yield characteristics, while vermi-liquid produced the lowest; nutrient solution and mineral fertilizer increased fruit N, P, and K content compared with vermi-liquid. Increasing pot volume from 6 to 8 L increased vegetative growth, yield, and N-P-K content. The highest growth, yield, and nutrient content came from chemical nutrient solution combined with 8 L pots, while vermi-liquid with 6 L pots was framed as a more sustainable and economical urban horticulture option for supporting food security during the Covid-19 epidemic.

Ningombam Sushma Devi, Preeti Hatibarua, Ningombam Bijaya Devi, Tadar Jamja, Nangki Tagi, Ruthy Tabing · Ecology Environment and Conservation · Global

This review argues that, amid exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources, planting fruit and vegetable home gardens and using rooftops and small plots for small-scale vegetable production can provide households with sufficient production and income generation. It states that meeting the food and nutritional needs of growing urban populations requires integrating information-technology tools, breeding crops suited to urban farming, and closing water, waste, and energy loops, and it outlines the significant features of contemporary urban horticulture alongside the traditional practices, technologies, and innovations that support it.

Suzanne Spence, Grace Gardner, Dorota Zarnowiecki, Katie Adolphus, Clare Lawton, Louise Dye, Emma Patterson, Charlotte Evans · · Global

This chapter reviews school-based food policies in England and elsewhere aimed at improving children's diets and reducing childhood obesity, noting that reintroduced school meal standards across the UK have improved the quality of school-provided meals, whereas fewer policies exist for packed lunches, which consequently remain of lower quality than school meals. It also discusses the wider school food environment, including school gardens and programs to increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption, as opportunities to improve children's diets.

Kingsley, Jonathan, Diekmann, Lucy, Egerer, Monika H., Lin, Brenda B., Ossola, Alessandro, Marsh, Pauline · Health & Place · Global

This Health & Place study analyzes survey responses from 3,743 gardeners collected internationally (including Australia, the USA, and Germany) between May and August 2020, examining gardening experiences during the early COVID-19 pandemic. It found gardens became safe spaces for social connection amid increased free time from lockdowns, while participants faced shortages of seeds and supplies and restricted access to shared garden spaces.

Edgar Hiller, Zuzana Pilková, Lenka Filová, Martin Mihaljevič, Veronika Špirová, Ľubomír Jurkovič · Chemosphere · Slovakia (Bratislava)

A 2022 study of urban community gardens in Bratislava, Slovakia, measuring total metal(loid) concentrations in soils and in two commonly grown vegetables (tomato and lettuce), gastrointestinal bioaccessibility using a modified physiologically based extraction test (PBET), and stable lead isotopes. Although some soils would count as contaminated against Slovak agricultural-soil legislation, bioaccessibility in the intestinal phase did not exceed 20% except for cadmium, and tomatoes and lettuce contained low total and bioaccessible metal(loid) concentrations, making them safe for people eating their own produce. Lead isotope composition differed between bulk soils, vegetables and the bioaccessible fraction, with less radiogenic lead preferentially mobilised, and enrichment factors separated naturally derived elements (As, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, V) from those with anthropogenic contributions. The result is a counterweight to blanket alarm about urban soil metals: exceeding a total-concentration threshold is not the same as a dose that reaches the human body.

Wetherill M.S., Bourque E.E., Taniguchi T., Love C.V., Sisk M., Jernigan V.B.B. · Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 53(11):991-995 · Global

Describes the development of a tribally-led garden curriculum for Indigenous preschoolers in the Osage Nation, integrating the traditional Three Sisters planting to teach Native foodways and improve children's vegetable intake and food security.

Blakstad M. M., Mosha D., Bellows A. L., Canavan C. R., Chen J. T., Mlalama K., Kinabo J., Noor R. A., Madzorera I., Sando M. M., Spiegelman D., Masanja H., Fawzi W. W. · Maternal & Child Nutrition 17(2):e13096 · Tanzania

Cluster RCT among 1,006 reproductive-age women in Tanzania. A home gardening intervention improved women's dietary diversity and household food security after one year compared with controls.

Hutton G.B., Brugulat-Panés A., Bhagtani D., Maadjhou Mba C., Birch J.M., Shih H., Okop K., Muti M., Wadende P., Tatah L., Mogo E., Guariguata L., Unwin N. · Journal of Global Health Reports · Cameroon

This systematic scoping review synthesized 118 studies (from 4,828 screened) on community food production initiatives across Kenya, Cameroon, and South Africa, finding that economic and environmental impacts dominated the literature while health and social dimensions were understudied; Cameroon-specific studies (10 papers) primarily addressed economic impacts.

· Earth · Australia

Assesses the reliability of using recycled water in wicking beds, described as a simple system that can provide high yield and water use efficiency, for sustainable urban agriculture.

Wong G.C.L., Ng T.K.S., Lee J.L., Lim P.Y., Larbi A. · The Journals of Gerontology: Series A · Singapore

A feasibility pilot RCT with 59 community-dwelling older adults in Singapore found that a horticultural therapy program was associated with reduced biomarkers of T-cell exhaustion and inflammaging.

· Horticulture International Journal · Nepal (Kavrepalanchok)

Evaluates how home garden interventions contributed to household access to vegetables and nutrition security in Nepal's Kavrepalanchok district during the COVID-19 period.

Yufei Qi, Sareena Hanim Hamzah, Erya Gu, Haonan Wang, Yue Xi, Minghui Sun, Siyu Rong, Qian Lin · Nutrients · Global

A meta-analysis pooling 14 randomised controlled trials covering 9,187 children aged 7–12 that tested school gardening combined with physical activity. Fruit and vegetable intake increased significantly, but the intervention showed no clear effect on BMI and related obesity measures, with only a modest positive direction for weight reduction. The result separates dietary behaviour change from anthropometric change and shows that whether school gardens are judged effective against obesity depends heavily on which outcome is measured.

Marion Tharrey, Nicole Darmon · Nutrition Reviews · Global

A systematic review searching January 2000 to August 2020 for quantitative studies on urban collective gardening and health among free-living adults in high-income countries; 15 of 1,261 identified articles met the criteria. Gardeners reported higher fruit and vegetable consumption than non-gardeners and most studies found positive associations with mental and social health, while results for physical activity and physiological measures were mixed. However, 13 of the 15 studies were cross-sectional and subject to selection bias and only 3 used objective measurement, so the authors conclude that longitudinal studies are needed before the suggested health benefits can be regarded as confirmed.

Helena I. Hanson, Emma Eckberg, Malin Widenberg, Johanna Alkan Olsson · Urban forestry & urban greening · Sweden (Lund)

This study explored private gardens' contribution to urban biodiversity and garden owners' wellbeing (in terms of cultural ecosystem services) in Lund, Sweden, through a garden land-use inventory and interviews with 35 garden owners. Results showed that urban development influences gardens' biodiversity potential by limiting available space or garden vegetation, with new properties having small gardens containing few biodiversity features and large trees. Important cultural ecosystem services included social bonds, recreation, nature experiences, and relaxation, which were influenced by age and gender.

Kamonashish Haldar, Katarzyna Kujawa-Roeleveld, Marco Schoenmakers, Dilip Kumar Datta, H.H.M. Rijnaarts, Jeroen Vos · Journal of Environmental Management · Bangladesh (Khulna)

This study assessed stakeholder awareness, perception, and willingness towards urban water reuse in Khulna City, Bangladesh, using a questionnaire with 385 urban respondents, 32 farmer interviews, one farmer focus group, and ten key informant interviews. It found an overall positive attitude among major stakeholder groups toward planned water reuse for peri-urban agriculture, with 53% of citizens willing to pay for wastewater treatment and 66% of farmers willing to pay for better-quality irrigation water. However, the public sector requires adjustments in rules and regulations, addressing issues like lack of transparency, coordination, and resources, to implement planned water reuse.

Chethika Gunasiri Wadumestrige Dona, Geetha Mohan, Kensuke Fukushi · Sustainability · Global

This systematic literature review analyzed 54 articles on urban agriculture, examining socio-economic context, agriculture models, opportunities, and challenges. The review found that academic literature favors community gardens in developed countries and gives comparatively less attention to identifying challenges, benefit groups, and government support for urban agriculture.

Carlos Tapia, Linda Randall, Shinan Wang, Luciane Aguiar Borges · Sustainable Cities and Society · Denmark (Aarhus)

This study presents a novel indicator-based evaluation framework for urban agriculture, tested in Fællesgartneriet Brabrand, a community garden in Aarhus, Denmark. The framework aims to capture the contribution of gardening practices to urban sustainability, acknowledging that urban agriculture may also have social and environmental externalities depending on prevalent farming practices.

Victoria Schoen, Chris Blythe, Silvio Caputo, Runrid Fox-Kämper, Kathrin Specht, Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Nevin Cohen, Lidia Poniży, Konstancja Fedeńczak · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global North

This 2021 paper, based on data collected in summer 2020 from five Global North countries (France, Germany, Poland, UK, USA), examined the effects of COVID-19 on urban farms and gardens. The pandemic presented multiple challenges, including loss of support services, lost income, and reduced output due to labor supply issues. It also created opportunities like new local markets and increased community cohesion, demonstrating how gardens adapted to become more resilient.

Yang Deng · Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters · Global

While rainwater harvesting (RWH) is considered a sustainable irrigation method for urban agriculture, contaminants in rainwater pose challenges to RWH practices due to potential threats to crop, soil, and human health. Based on literature data, principal pollutants such as particles, toxic metals like cadmium, copper, and zinc, synthetic organic chemicals like agrochemicals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and waterborne pathogens were identified as likely exceeding irrigation quality criteria. This study identifies challenges, knowledge gaps, and research needs for RWH irrigation, offering a basis for technical strategies.

Isaac Asirifi, Korbinian Kaetzl, Steffen Werner, Courage Kosi Setsoafia Saba, Felix K. Abagale, Philip Amoah, Bernd Marschner · Journal of Environmental Quality · Ghana

A field experiment in northern Ghana assessed health risks from pathogen and heavy metal contamination in urban agriculture, evaluating rice husk biochar, N-P-K fertilizer, and their combinations with untreated wastewater or tap water irrigation. While heavy metals in irrigation water and soil were below FAO/WHO standards, wastewater irrigation caused significant E. coli, fecal coliform, and helminth egg contamination on red amaranth vegetables and in soil. Biochar application did not affect bacterial contamination.

Lili Tatiana Vega Clavijo, Daniel Andrés Vega Castro · Idesia · Colombia (Bogotá)

This study identified lead (Pb) levels in vegetables cultivated in urban gardens located in high-traffic areas of Bogotá, Colombia. Samples were taken from 49 planting sites across the city, analyzing soil, irrigation water, and plant tissue. The analyzed variables did not show abnormal Pb levels when compared to national and international regulations, leading to the conclusion that urban agriculture in Bogotá should not pose a significant chemical risk to consumers from lead ingestion.

Nicole Taylor, Jan Wright, Gabrielle O’Flynn · Sport Education and Society · Australia

This paper, utilizing data from a larger study, investigated how 24 generalist primary and secondary specialist Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers in Australia conceptualize school gardens within their teaching. It examined the diverse meanings and values teachers associated with gardening as a practice for environmentally healthy citizens. The study aims to provide conditions for critically thinking about gardening and its positioning within HPE, noting a lack of understanding regarding teachers' conceptualizations despite the rapid uptake of school gardening programs.

Marco Boffi, Linda Pola, Natalia Fumagalli, Elisabetta Fermani, Giulio Senes, Paolo Inghilleri · Frontiers in Psychology · Global

This study presents an interdisciplinary co-design method for community gardens, applying attention restoration theory (ART) to understand older people's experiences in natural environments. Six focus group meetings with older people in Milan, Italy, informed the co-design of a restorative area in an Ortica district community garden. Results classified participants' main needs into ART factors: "compatibility" (multifunctional garden), "fascination" (contact with nature), and "being away" (escape from nursing homes), with the designed garden incorporating biophilic principles to address these needs.

Byoung-Kwon Lee, Hyung Kwon Yun, In-Kyoung Hong, Young-Bin Jung, Sang Mi Lee · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global

This study investigated the effect of companion planting using marigold, zinnia, spearmint, and basil on the growth and quality of cherry tomatoes. Plant growth in companion planting plots significantly increased compared to monoculture, but there was no interaction effect among companion plants, planting ratio, and type. While sugar content and vitamin C content were higher than the control, no statistically significant difference was found.

Margaret Robertson · · Global

Chapter 13 examines how food is grown, from smallholders and pastoralists to small farmers and industrialized agriculture, addressing issues of ecosystem health, human health, food waste, and the impact of meat diets. It also discusses the importance of pollinators. The chapter then explores finding space for food in cities, including in schools, yards, urban farms, community gardens, and on public lands.