Research & reports

Emma Schroeder, Patricia A. Palmieri, Tom Palmieri · · United States

In a 2010 interview, Tom and Pat Palmieri shared their memories of the Eagle Heights Community Garden. They discussed organic gardening practices, the seasonal vegetables they cultivated, and challenges such as weeds. The Palmieris also expressed their continued interest in gardening after their time at Eagle Heights.

Kratky B. A. · Acta Horticulturae · United States

Presents three non-circulating, low-cost hydroponic methods for growing lettuce in which roots grow into a static nutrient solution with no pump, air stone, timer, or electricity required. The passive approach can be built with simple containers/tanks and reduces additional labour.

Bruno Martins Dala Paula, Ivana Cristina Lovo, José Delázaro Filho · Urban Agriculture Magazine · Brazil (Belo Horizonte)

This project in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, involved seven households sharing a community garden. Participating families collected household organic waste, with five families collecting 5 kg every 8-10 days. From March 25 to September 25, a total of 420 kg of organic waste was collected and used for collective compost production, which was then distributed to all garden members.

Vikram Bhatt, Leila Marie Farah, Nik Luka, Jeanne M. Wolfe · Open House International · Canada (Montréal)

The "Edible Campus" project, launched in Montréal in spring 2007, was an action-research initiative aimed at transforming underutilized urban spaces into productive areas. It involved citizens in creating green community spaces by incorporating productive container growing on a concrete-covered part of McGill University's downtown campus. This project investigated how to enhance urban food security through increased urban food production and demonstrated how "edible landscapes" can be integrated into urban spaces.

Michael Sifferman · Digital Commons - CSUMB (California State University, Monterey Bay) · United States (California)

For a capstone project, a school garden comprising an herb, vegetable, and flower garden was built at Meadowlark Elementary. The author taught garden-related lessons to kindergarten classes, integrating various subject standards. A random survey of parents and teachers was conducted to assess the project's usefulness.

Ernarosa Tominich · Educational Media Reviews Online · United States (Chicago)

"Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska" is a 2008 documentary exploring themes of land use, energy conservation, and urban "green earth" movements in major American cities. Host Wanda Urbanska conducts interviews and visits projects like green rooftop gardens and city farms on vacant lots. The documentary features a Chicago family demonstrating a "green" lifestyle, including communal gardening and local shopping.

Bernard Kratky · Acta Horticulturae (University of Hawaii) · United States

Developed by Bernard Kratky at the University of Hawaii and first published in Acta Horticulturae in 2009, the Kratky method is a passive, non-circulating hydroponic technique requiring no electricity or pumps. Plants sit in net pots floating over a nutrient reservoir; as the water level drops, an air gap forms between roots and liquid, letting "oxygen roots" develop. Considered the simplest hydroponic system, it suits leafy greens but not water-hungry crops.

Paula Vergili Pérez, Mariângela Brito Freiberger, Ubirajara Contro Malavasi, Marinelva Curti, Marlene Matos Malavasi · Varia Scientia - Ciências da Saúde · Brazil

A diagnostic study in Marechal Cândido Rondon, Brazil, interviewed a sample of owners or users of 3,897 urban non-built lots to understand agricultural production. The most frequent reasons for lot use were producing vegetables and fruits for personal consumption and agricultural work for leisure. Common crops identified included cassava, corn, peanuts, beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, lettuce, orange, lemon, banana, and mango.

Public Affairs Office · DigitalCommons - CalPoly (California State Polytechnic University) · United States (Los Angeles)

Students and faculty at Cal Poly cultivated 4,000 fruit and vegetable plants on 180 vertical panels, which are intended for mounting on commercial building walls in Los Angeles' inner city. These vertical panels were designed to maximize growing space in congested urban locations. The project aims to provide a practical solution for accessing fresh, affordable produce.

Ma. Neftalí Rojas-Valencia, Ma. Teresa Orta de Velásquez, Víctor Franco · Linnaeus Eco-Tech · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study investigated the efficiency of applying organoponic techniques to urban crops in Mexico City, utilizing organic compounds, recyclable solid waste, homemade organic fertilizers, and treated wastewater. Three wastewater disinfection methods were tested: Ozone, APT, and a combination. Results showed that Ozone not only disinfected wastewater but also contributed oxygen and nutrients to the soil, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Ozone also reduced infection risk by eliminating pathogenic microorganisms and increased plant growth.

Kristin McGee · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · United States

"Community Seeds" is a handbook providing basic information on gardening and starting community garden projects for community members, church members, young people, and schools. It covers definitions, getting started with community gardening, basic gardening skills like design, composting, and vegetable gardening, and how gardening can build community through farm-to-school programs, community supported agriculture, and marketing produce. The handbook also lists Internet and reading resources.

James R. Allen, Allen, James R. · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · United States

This study compared the feasibility of using composted yard waste and cow manure versus commercial fertilizer (10-10-10) as soil amendments for cool and warm season vegetable crops in urban gardens. Composted materials were applied at 44,800 kg/ha and fertilizer at 336 kg/ha. Most varieties produced yields equal to or greater in compost-amended plots than in fertilizer-treated plots, with significant varietal differences observed. For example, onion yields were 24% higher and tomato yields were 44% higher in compost-amended plots in specific experiments.

Feng We · · United States

This article details the landscape philosophy of Karl Linn, a landscape architect, through his project practices. It discusses the inevitability and importance of establishing a citywide system for environmental self-help, which is common in US community gardens.

Laurie Thorp, Christine D. Townsend · · United States

An ethnographic case study of an agricultural-education garden-based curriculum at an elementary school in the Midwestern United States, seeking a phenomenological understanding of its impact on students and teachers. Data were collected through participant observation, dialogue, interviews, photo elicitation and student work, and analyzed using Lincoln and Guba's constant comparative method. Findings were that the garden: (1) reshapes school culture; (2) serves as a leverage point reversing loss of time, control and place; (3) connects students to experience as an organizing principle; (4) becomes a site for student and teacher self-expression, creativity and innovation; and (5) shifts food's status from a consumable commodity to a portal for communal good.

K. Haggard, Phillip J. Cooper · Solar today · United States (California)

The Tierra Nueva Cohousing Project in California comprises living units, a common house, community orchard, community gardens, play space, future shop space, and parking. The units incorporate thermal mass, solar heating, passive solar cooling, and perimeter insulation on slabs. The design of the project was collectively agreed upon by the entire community.

Lucy Bradley, Jean C. Stutz · HortTechnology · United States

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's home horticulture World Wide Web site for Maricopa County, "Environmentally responsible gardening and landscaping in the low desert," delivers research-based, regionally appropriate public information. It provides self-service access to prepared text and high-quality images that could not be distributed economically through traditional print methods, plus interactive functionality for submitting questions.

J. Lambie, W.T. Osborn, A. Dominski · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States (Florida)

The Florida House Foundation, Inc. (FHF), a non-profit regional economic incubator, developed a demonstration house and yard in Sarasota County, Florida, in partnership with the Cooperative Extension Service. This model home, designed to appeal to consumers and be marketable by the construction industry, aimed to stimulate interest in solar and resource-efficient technologies. It incorporated active and passive design, solar photovoltaic and water heating systems, daylighting, cisterns, gray water, and native edible landscaping.

William C. Olien, Joe G. Harper, Katherine Ashe · HortScience · United States

A Teaching Fruit-Garden Project paired Horticulture and Agricultural Education classes at a US university (1995) to build teaching materials for college courses, area K-12 schools, and community members interested in fruit and edible landscaping, organized around team coordination, writing across the curriculum, and hands-on learning. The horticulture course produced a proposal for low-maintenance, sustainable fruit production including species and cultivar choices, a management plan, and a preliminary site plan; the agriculture education course produced self-contained teaching modules with sample lesson plans for K-12 teachers. Students reported liking the cross-class collaboration and the sense that their work served the community.

K. Bondari, E. D. Threadgill, J. Bender · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

This study conducted two experiments on tilapia culture. Experiment I aimed to determine the potential of Tilapia aurea in an integrated irrigation system for algae removal and resource recovery. Experiment II investigated the potential use of blue tilapia in urban farming, utilizing a passive solar greenhouse, an indoor pond for overwintering, and an outdoor pond for summer growth.

W.P. Holtz, H.J. Mooy · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

A 1982 final report presenting the design and construction of a community greenhouse in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It includes photographs and drawings of the greenhouse construction along with a demonstration of budgeting information.

M. A. Latheef, R.D. Irwin · The Canadian Entomologist · United States

A paper on field experiments conducted in southside Virginia, United States, sought to quantify the effect of companion plants (repellent herbs) on major lepidopteran pests of cabbage. It cites an estimated 33 million home and community gardens grown in the United States during 1976 and 1977 as context, noting that claims about companionate planting's protective effects made by organic growers had little field evidence to substantiate them. The abstract does not report the experiment's specific results.

M. Klein, M. Smith · OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · United States

This bibliography lists pamphlets and newsletters related to organizing community gardens in the United States. It includes resources such as "Community Garden Handbook," "Guide to Community Garden Organization," and "Profiles of California Community Garden Projects." The bibliography also references the 1977 Gallup Poll results on gardening in America.

Eva C. Worden, Adrian Hunsberger, John McLaughlin · EDIS · United States (Florida)

This publication was developed to assist those who wish to form a community garden in Florida. A community garden is a collaborative greenspace where participants share in both maintenance and rewards. This document is part of a series from the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida.

Eva C. Worden · EDIS · United States

Landscaping in urban settings is described as offering a significant opportunity to contribute to sustainability, with edible landscaping — landscapes that incorporate plant species for human consumption — cited as one such opportunity. This document, ENH971, is part of a series from the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, originally published in May 2004.