Academic literature on the topic 'Backyard gardens'

Abstract This article explores the intangible benefits of backyard gardening for community development. Research confirms backyard gardening as a productive approach of communities toward greater food security and biodiversity. Those are, however, not these gardens' only benefits. Using the case of a backyard gardening project implemented by a community-based organization in rural Philippines, we argue that the benefits of backyard gardens stretch beyond health and finance. These gardens also increase local community-based organizations' institutional capacity while fostering community-wide cohesion, rekindling knowledge sources, and bolstering community members' sense of pride and personal freedom.

People in most developing countries’ rural areas around the world face food insecurity and malnutrition due to many factors, including low purchasing power. There is renewed interest in backyard or home gardens as a source of income and a pathway out of poverty and food insecurity among rural households. This paper identifies and analyzes the factors that influence income generation from backyard farming among backyard farmers in the rural communities of Bojanala district municipality in the North West province. Using a structured questionnaire, cross-sectional data was collected from 220 backyard farmers. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the data; the findings reveal that gender of household head, formal employment, farm ownership, farming experience and annual income from livestock had a positive and significant influence on income generation from backyard farming. To maximize the potential of backyard gardens as a source of income generation and livelihood, policymakers and relevant government departments must pay close attention to these variables

Government determination to eradicate extreme poverty and food insecurity among Batswana through small scale vegetable production program appears not to transform their economic stance. Rural households that are part of Poverty Eradication Programme were investigated to determine if backyard gardens were profitable enough to improve incomes, reduce extreme poverty, and increase food security. The study aimed at analysing profitability and identifying factors that affect profitability of backyard gardening. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to collect data from 100 rural households who are part of the backyard garden scheme. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis and regression analysis. Results indicated that backyard gardening was a viable activity though profitability was affected by amount of fertilizer applied, market availability and area planted. Beneficiaries indicated that the production and marketing constraints they faced included pests and diseases, lack of water, lack of market and poor prices. Program leaders must recognize the production and marketing constraints themselves as well as plan for the possibility that continual financial support for investment in the initial years of operation.

The value of home gardens has become more apparent among tenants forced into isolation in difficult and uncertain times arising since the COVID-19 pandemic started at the beginning of 2020. While gardens make a significant contribution to the social and ecological environment of cities, most studies have focused on public green spaces. Investigating householder preferences for gardens during and after the mandatory lockdown period in the UAE is required. The main objective of this study is to analyze the householder’s attitude, preferences, and willingness to have home gardens during the pandemic and after. The data were collected via an online survey of randomly selected respondents. A logistic econometrical model was utilized to analyze the factors affecting respondent preferences regarding having a garden. According to the results, the probability of having a garden increases among respondents who produce some crops, have attained Msc/PhD. level, a backyard, and a larger space to cultivate. It decreases among those who are married, find it hard to take care of a garden, and face a weed problem. In conclusions, it is highly recommended for householders to have home gardens, which can provide a quality lifestyle and enhance leisure time during the pandemic and after.

South Africa is one of the most food-secured countries at the national level but is food insecure at the household level. The disconnect in the food security at the national and at household level in the economy is a result of high food prices that most households cannot afford. One of the strategies of ameliorating food insecurity at the household level is the practice of backyard food gardens. This study identifies farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance to households, location of residence of the household, agricultural training offered to households, and monetary grants for households for agriculture purpose as the determinants of households’ backyard food gardens in South Africa. The study used descriptive (horizontal bar chart) and inferential (Pearson’s chi-square) analyses to evaluate the household-level impacts of farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance, location of residence, agricultural training, and monetary grants for agriculture purposes of the backyard food gardens in South Africa. The data for the study were sourced from the Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey for 2019. The findings revealed that farmland size, land tenure system, agriculture-related assistance to households, location of residence of the household, agricultural training offered to households, and monetary grants for households for agriculture purposes are significant to households’ backyard food gardens in South Africa. It is clear that agriculture-related assistance is welcomed by the households but the spread across all dwelling locations is limited; therefore, there is need to spread agriculture-related assistance to all dwelling areas in South Africa. This will increase the drive towards food production in South Africa.

Indoor or houseplants are pretty good for health and several studies have shown and confirmed that indoor plants improve the concentration and productivity of the residents. Their presence decreases the stress levels and significantly eliminate common air pollutants. In a limited space, the home garden is an integrated system that produces a variety of foods and agricultural products, including staple crops, vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants and more. The importance of the backyard garden as a source of biological diversity is recognized in this context. When it comes to home gardens, whether in rural or urban regions, the structure and multi-functionality allow for the supply of multiple advantages for both ecosystems and humans. Home gardens conserve a significant amount of genetic variation in plants, both between and within species. Gardening at home is a significant part of social and cultural life, as well as a way for families to earn more money and improve their lives. This review has described the importance of plants in the home and role of home garden prevailing in Saudi Arabia. Biocultural and biological relevance of home gardens are addressed, along with future research challenges and opportunities that could help define and promote the role of house gardens in agricultural biodiversity conservation and cultural legacy preservation.

The term “allotment garden” is a special form of land use, developed in Hungary under socialism in the early 1960s. It originally referred to privately owned small parcels of land, traditionally vineyards, orchards and gardens, which offered their owners weekend recreation in addition to the opportunity of backyard farming. However, the vast majority of allotment gardens have a historical background, with horticulture having existed before gardens were classified as allotment gardens. Since their creation, allotment gardens have undergone a significant change of function. Some have been preserved for traditional small-scale garden farming, while others were integrated into settlements as residential areas, or grassy, neglected, afforested areas. Despite the process of transformation and degradation, allotment gardens still today contain various landscape features: they more or less preserve the characteristics of human conscious land-scape forming activities, landscape pattern, natural heritage and valuable visual features of the landscape, and in many cases the heritage of historic land use and remained traces of farming. This article approaches the value of allotment gardens from a heritage and visual landscape protection viewpoint, at national and sample area level. The aim of the study is to explore vineyard origins and landscape significance of allotment gardens and to present the unique landscape features of allotment gardens applying geographic information methods. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of the vineyard origins analysis revealed that the vineyard past as a historical antecedent can be detected in a significant part of the total area of allotment gardens. The results of the study indicated that unique landscape features occur at a density almost five times higher than the national average in the allotment-garden areas. One-third of the country's unique landscape features related to vine and fruit production are concentrated in these areas. However, the research also revealed that the survey on allotment garden landscape features of cultural and historical significance is far from being complete. Presumably, there are many more landscape features (cellars, gorges and retaining walls of stone) in the allotment gardens than are recorded in the unique landscape feature database. The significance of allotment gardens in the protection of the visual landscape is confirmed by the fact that the proportion of allotment garden patches classified as zones of visually sensitive landscapes is almost one and a halftimes the national rate.

As the need to design residential landscapes in an environmentally sensitive manner becomes more apparent, the demand for educational materials and activities that promote the habitat garden is growing. In response to this need, an educational plan, ranging from the publication of a booklet to the implementation of a demonstration garden, has been undertaken. The booklet should serve both the homeowner and the professional designer interested in wildlife-sensitive designs. Horticultural faculty and students are being organized to implement one of my designs on the Clemson Univ. campus to demonstrate the habitat garden concepts found in the booklet. Working with local homeowners by designing and having their yards certified by the National Wildlife Federation as “Backyard Wildlife Habitats” has also served to promote the habitat garden. I am also working with the Dept. of Horticulture and senior citizen volunteers to raise money to build a demonstration garden in the South Carolina State Botanical Garden. The incorporation of written materials, designs, certifications, and demonstration gardens into an educational package has resulted in a community effort to promote the habitat garden.