The Harvest:

In 1999, Eco-Initiatives’ three gardens produced over two tons of organic herbs and vegetables; an investigation of their harvesting records and a consideration of several mysterious factors affecting these was needed to come up with a more detailed picture…

**It is important to remember throughout this report that these collective gardens are socially driven—the food produced and the money saved from this is very helpful but the importance of unquantifiable human impacts they bring about cannot be stressed enough! **

The following table illustrates what each garden is believed to have produced during a certain growing season—the numbers are also divided by area.

Table 1: Yields of crops from three organic urban gardens.
 

Garden and Year	**Approximate Area Planted (square meter)	Total Yield (kilograms)	Yield per square meter (kilograms)
Cantaloupe 97	180	About 500	Avg. 2.8
Cantaloupe 98	433	490-661	1.1-1.5
Cantaloupe 99	433	1531-2067	3.5-4.7
Rosemary 99	83	327-442	3.4-5.3
Friendship 99	About 9	75-100	8-11

**The general rule used in calculating growing area is that 1.5 meter rows alternate with 30 centimeter alleys; an additional 25 meters squared were taken out as ‘hangout space’ for the Cantaloupe in 1998 and 1999.

The ranges presented under ‘Total Yield’ reflect the fact that many estimates had to be made. The first numbers are based on information gathered by staff members and volunteers—some of these records were noted in terms of ‘plastic bag-fuls’ and handfuls as no scale was available. A trip to the local supermarket’s produce section was helpful in transcribing these into kilograms!

The second set of numbers is based on the consideration that not all food produced actually makes it into the record books. Some of the vegetables are eaten on the spot, some are harvested by gardeners coming in on their own, some are stolen and some are eaten by animals. It was estimated that this amount represents about 35% of total production; the actual amount of food grown in the gardens is thus between the two possible numbers given.

The next table shows, based on the case of three collective gardens of small, medium and large sizes, what sort of physical outputs may be expected in Montreal where the growing season lasts roughly from May to October/November.

Table 2: Possible production--in Montreal--per person--for gardens of varying sizes
 

Garden	Size (m2 ) and number of participants	Possible production (kg)	Expected production per person (kg)
Friendship	Small,10; 5	75-100	15-20
Rosemary	Medium, 100; 15	327-442	22-30
Cantaloupe 98	Large, 550; 15	490-661	33-44
Cantaloupe 99	Large, 550; 35	1531-2066	44-59

Where the Food Goes

• Some participants take home more than others do as the latter may come mostly for therapeutic purposes-the food is not divided evenly but rather taken by those who need/want it.
• In 1999, about 198 kg of food were left over (following harvests by participants, thieves and animal) from the Cantaloupe and 48 kg from the Rosemary; these were donated to the Food Depot.
• With 35 and 15 volunteers respectively, it follows that each volunteer could have obtained an average of 51 kilograms from the Cantaloupe and 26 kilograms from the Rosemary; results from the social benefits study indicate that the average gardeners saves between $150-$200 on food in a growing season.
• It is important to cross reference these estimated numbers—illustrate them in different ways so as to get a more accurate notion of actual physical benefits. One must consider that for instance, the Rosemary produced enough so that eight grocery bags full of produce were available for division amongst an average of 20 gardeners coming in weekly.

• When looking at these results, one must note that generally, a garden’s first year is not as productive as later years. Organic agriculture is labour intensive, requiring a certain amount of people and time to ‘make the garden grow’. It also involves gathering knowledge and practice before things start running smoothly.
• Several issues need to be determined, such as which varieties are best adapted to local conditions and when the best time to plant/harvest is.
• Production techniques are also important determinants of possible outputs. For instance, the Cantaloupe is split between rows of crops and raised beds. Sometimes referred to as French intensive gardening, the raised bed method is said to produce phenomenal yields--possibly ten times higher than those produced by conventional agriculture methods (see www.cityfarmer.org/albie.html#albie for more on this).

Table 4: USDA formula results.
 

Garden	Estimated US $	Adjusted CAN $ (*1.33)
Cantaloupe 97	2196	2920
Cantaloupe 98/99	6273	8343
Rosemary 99	1183	1573
Friendship 99	118	157
Total 99*	7574	10,073

*These might or might not represent organic prices; the term ‘farmer’s market’ allows for both.

• All calculations point to (depending on a variable which may change slightly between garden layouts) a value of about 19-21$ produced per meter square.
• There are limitations to this formula but when compared to similar studies (see www.cityfarmer.org/madison.html) it provided a seemingly adequate estimate.

• It was ultimately concluded (based on my results and questionnaire results on gardeners’ average savings) that in 1999, the three gardens probably produced $15,000 of organic produce.

Environmental impacts:

• Urban agriculture is a step towards changing problematic ‘consume-dispose open loops’ of cities into ‘consume-process-reuse closed loops’ (Rees, 1992).
• The focus on compost (from domestic organic wastes) as a principle input in production has many advantages. By recycling nutrients, it reduces the amount of materials being sent to landfills, thereby reducing ground and surface water pollution near city limits. Organic compost helps maintain the nutrient content of soils; it is an environmentally friendly alternative to artificial fertilizers which are associated with soil depletion and erosion.
• Urban agriculture helps save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In North America, the average food item travel about 2,400 kilometers to reach its destination; this figure is equivalent to the distance between Orlando and Montreal (Waridel, 1998)! This transportation has serious implications. Local food production for local consumption represents less transportation needs and consequently a slower rate of carbon dioxide emissions, thereby limiting the greenhouse effects.
• Local food consumption also helps reduces wasteful and possibly health threatening practices such as excessive packaging, refrigeration and the use of additives for preservation.
• Organic agriculture promotes biodiversity. The Friendship, Rosemary and Cantaloupe gardens contain about 200 different varieties of herbs and vegetables; in this type of agriculture, rare varieties that are perfectly adapted to local conditions are conserved rather than dying out. This fall’s revival by the gardens of the once famous Montreal Melon displaced by urbanization is a good example.
• Urban agriculture improve the city landscape. Green space is crucial; it also increases biodiversity by attracting fauna normally unseen in cities--this was observed at Eco-Initiatives’ gardens. Furthermore, I believe it is safe to say that green space is needed and appreciated by all.
• See www.cityfarmer.org/rees.html for more on environmental benefits!

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