Research & reports

Md. Nur Alom Sarkar Mithun, Saifur Rahman, Md. Asifur Rahman, Md. Hasan Sabit, Joseph L. Donaldson, Shonia Sheheli · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems 11(1) · Bangladesh (Mymensingh — Kewatkhali and Aqua)

A study of perceived barriers among 100 randomly selected rooftop gardeners in Kewatkhali and Aqua, Mymensingh, Bangladesh, interviewed with a structured protocol between September and November 2023 and analysed with descriptive statistics, rank order, correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression. Every participant perceived substantial barriers. The most prominent concern was the complexity of the technologies involved; neighbours' negative attitudes ranked least significant. Age, rooftop garden area, income, experience, contact with extension media and gardening knowledge were all negatively and significantly related to perceived barriers, with garden area and knowledge the strongest predictors in the regression. The authors argue that research, demonstrations, extension activity and training to build residents' skills and understanding are the way to lower those barriers.

· Wikipedia (English) · Global

According to this English Wikipedia article, expanded clay aggregate (LECA) is produced by heating clay to around 1,200C in a rotary kiln, causing trapped gases to expand into a porous, rounded structure, available in sizes from 0.1mm to 25mm and densities of 250-510 kg/m3 (up to 500 kg/m3 for large LECA boulders). It offers thermal insulation (thermal conductivity as low as 0.097 W/mK), acoustic performance, moisture and fire resistance, and in hydroponics serves as a growing medium providing root aeration while retaining water and nutrients.

· Wikipedia（日本語版） · Japan

The Japanese Wikipedia article on rooftop greening traces its origins to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon around 600 BCE, and in Japan cites the 1934-built Asakura Museum of Sculpture as a surviving early example, with Nihonbashi Takashimaya among the pioneers from the late 1960s onward. It lists effects including heat island mitigation, improved insulation, sound reduction, increased water retention, air purification, and improved landscape, dividing methods into lightweight thin-layer greening using sedum or lawn versus full garden-style greening with flower beds and shrubs.

· Wikipedia · United Kingdom

This Wikipedia article covers Robert Hart (1913-2000), a British horticulturist credited as the pioneer of temperate-climate forest gardening. He converted a 0.12-acre (500 sqm) orchard at his Shropshire home into a model forest garden structured in seven layers (canopy, low-tree, shrub, herbaceous, ground-cover, rhizosphere, and vertical/climber). The article also notes he followed a roughly 90% raw vegan diet, citing the Hippocratic maxim to 'let food be thy medicine.'

· Wikipedia · Europe

This Wikipedia article on allotment gardening covers its history and national systems. In the United Kingdom, an 1809 engraving of Birmingham already shows allotment gardens surrounding the town, and the 'Great Somerford Free Gardens' in Wiltshire were founded in 1809; the 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act legalized allotments, amended in 1922 and 1950, with plot numbers rising from 244,268 in 1873 to a peak of about 1.5 million in 1918 before declining to roughly 300,000 by 2009. In Germany, 'Schrebergarten' plots trace to the 'Schreber movement' begun in Leipzig in 1864, formalized by the 1919 Small Gardens and Small Leaseholds Land Law; there are now about 1.4 million allotments covering 470 square kilometers, including 833 allotment complexes in Berlin alone. In France, family gardens that emerged in the late 19th century are managed by the 'Fédération Nationale des Jardins Familiaux et Collectifs,' with about 135,000 members. In the Netherlands, the article states the first allotment garden was founded in 1838, there are now 240,000 allotment gardens, and the 'Algemeen Verbond van Volkstuindersverenigingen in Nederland' (AVVN) was founded in 1928.

AVVN · AVVN (official) · Netherlands

The official site of AVVN, the Dutch federation of allotment/community gardening associations. It describes its mission as bringing together garden enthusiasts, associations, and green initiatives across the Netherlands, and operates a knowledge bank (covering social greening, vegetable gardens, natural/sustainable gardening, and association management), webinars and activities, and news articles. It is based at Rijnzathe 12, Utrecht. The homepage displays a member/affiliate count of '+1,489.' The page itself does not state a founding year, which could not be confirmed here.

· Wikipedia · United States

A Wikipedia article on FarmBot, an open source precision agriculture CNC farming project. Started in 2011 by Rory Aronson while studying mechanical engineering at California Polytechnic State University, he began working on it full-time from March 2014 with a grant from the Shuttleworth Foundation. Tim Evers and Rick Carlino joined as core developers. It was a Hackaday Prize finalist in 2015, and after nine design iterations the commercial FarmBot Genesis began preorders in July 2016. It uses the OpenFarm crop database to create optimal planting plans.

Farm Hack · Farm Hack · United States

The official Farm Hack tool library page. Anyone can submit a tool via 'Add a tool', and each tool page carries 'I built (or modified) this tool' / 'I like this tool' voting and a comment section, with tags (e.g. Smart Farm, Post Harvest, Irrigation and Water Management) for browsing and filtering. It functions as a community-accumulated record of member-built and modified farm tools.

· Wikipedia (de) · Germany

Prinzessinnengärten was founded by the non-profit 'Nomadisch Grün' in July 2009 and operated an urban farm at Moritzplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg (between Prinzenstraße and Oranienstraße), on roughly 6,000 m² of land that had lain fallow for over 60 years. Within a month of opening it had 100 growing beds, later expanded by 300 more, using a mobile container-based structure with plants grown in recycled bread crates, Tetra Paks, and rice sacks. It kept four beehives from September 2009, opened a garden café in 2010, expanded a garden kitchen in 2011, and won the Utopia Award in 2010.

Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv Berlin · Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv Berlin (公式サイト) · Germany

Prinzessinnengarten Kollektiv Berlin has worked on education and participation since 2009. It relocated from its original Moritzplatz site in 2020 and is now based at the Neuer St. Jacobi Friedhof cemetery in Neukölln. Its activities include green-space conservation and community gardening, ecology workshops, running the neighborhood facility 'studio nagelneu' and the cultural event space 'Kiezkapelle', environmental education, guided tours, a café-restaurant, and garden projects for companies, schools, and social institutions.

株式会社アグリメディア · 株式会社アグリメディア · Japan

The official site of 'Sharebatake', a members-only rental farm plot service operated by AGRIMEDIA Co., Ltd. Seeds, seedlings, fertilizer, and tools are provided on-site with experienced advisors on hand, letting members show up 'empty-handed'. It operates nationwide across regions including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka, with about 118 farm sites and roughly 15,138 plots as of end of July 2026.

ローカルフードサイクリング株式会社 · ローカルフードサイクリング株式会社 · Japan

The official site of LFC Compost, a bag-based home composting product for kitchen scraps operated by Local Food Cycling Inc., part of the Borderless Group. Users simply 'add' food waste and 'lightly mix' it to compost, with support via LINE chat, balcony-gardening classes, and compost consultation/collection events also offered. Its subscription compost-set product has received 1,016 reviews with a 4.51/5 rating.

City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods · Seattle Department of Neighborhoods · United States

The official page for Seattle's P-Patch Community Gardening Program, run by the city's Department of Neighborhoods. It describes 91 P-Patch community gardens distributed throughout the city where residents grow organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs in shared plots that also serve as community gathering and learning spaces.

· Wikipedia · Indonesia

Indonesian politician Ridwan Kamil (born 1971) served as mayor of Bandung from 2013 to 2018. Before becoming mayor, he was a pioneer of the 'Indonesia Berkebun' (Gardening Indonesia) urban farming movement, which had grown to 14 cities with about 4,000 members by 2011. As mayor, he also worked pro bono on creating public open spaces in crowded residential areas of Bandung.

Incredible Edible Todmorden · Incredible Edible Todmorden · United Kingdom

The official site of Incredible Edible Todmorden, the UK grassroots movement that plants and shares free-to-harvest vegetables, fruit and herbs in public spaces around the town. It runs with no office, no paid staff and no major funding, and states that the wider Incredible Edible network now numbers over 700 groups worldwide.

Pearson, Natalie · British Food Journal · 英国（食を育てる人びとへの質的調査）

It is often argued that growing one's own food reduces household food waste by raising appreciation of food, but focused research on this is lacking. Using thematically analysed qualitative surveys with a privileged sample of food gardeners, this study finds the relationship more complex than proposed: for these gardeners, growing their own food can also decrease appreciation of food and create waste because of the challenges of growing, processing and storing it. Food gardening could nonetheless become an instrumental waste-prevention practice if growing is made easy and convenient, gardeners are given opportunities to work together, more channels exist for sharing surplus, and cooking skills improve. Its contribution is to critique the assumption that growing your own always leads to appreciation of food and less waste.

Hadi A.A., Pratiwi P.I., Budiarti T., Arifin H.S., Pratiwi N.K., Alhakim M.A. · Tájökológiai Lapok · インドネシア・ボゴール（都市部・近郊）

Set against urbanisation that has cut farmland and limited access to fresh vegetables, this study evaluates garden towers as a vertical landscape element for community-based vegetable production. Using a descriptive-evaluative approach, it assesses 105 garden-tower units distributed to 21 women farmers groups in and around Bogor, Indonesia, and discusses their contribution to food availability and social-ecological resilience in dense settings.

· Geo: Geography and Environment · China (Zhengzhou)

Analyzes 'quiet' green community innovations—resident greening and gardening at the interface of public and private ownership—in an old neighbourhood of Zhengzhou, China.

· AgriEngineering · Global

Designs and implements a low-cost modular growth chamber as an accessible alternative to expensive commercial equipment. It integrates thermal insulation, LED lighting, forced ventilation, a recirculating irrigation system with double filtration, and Arduino UNO-based environmental monitoring.

· International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · Global

Proposes a household-scale vermicomposting bin using Perionyx excavatus to both treat domestic organic waste and grow vegetables; adding a ventilation pipe improved performance.

· Scientific Reports · Global

Compares different bulking agents for speeding up the composting process of household kitchen waste.

· Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management · Global

Techno-economic evaluation of decentralized community composting as a model to valorize organic matter in small and medium-sized towns.

· Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Turkey

Produces bokashi compost by fermenting vegetable and fruit wastes with lacto serum and bran in vacuum buckets for 28 days, then characterizes the resulting compost.

· Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global

Proposes a low-tech, non-sterile cultivation method growing oyster mushrooms on fresh Giant Juncao grass. Presents it as a scalable, low-cost strategy for sustainable nutrition in resource-poor, underdeveloped regions.

· Sustainability · Global

A low-cost, modular hydroponic chamber for early-stage vegetative propagation of cuttings was designed, built and functionally validated using readily available components for decentralized seedling production in space-constrained settings.