Going Green - Best Cities for Urban Gardening

 

Which American cities are best for growing produce in the backyard, on a patio, or in a nearby community garden? To mark May as Gifts from the Garden Month, LawnStarter ranked 2024's Best Cities for Urban Gardening. We compared the 500 biggest U.S. cities based on 4 categories. We looked for cities with plenty of room for gardening, in addition to accessible gardening supplies, ideal climates, and gardening clubs, among 14 total metrics. See the 10 best (and 10 worst) cities for urban gardening below, followed by key takeaways. (Don’t see your city below? Check out the full ranking.)

Best Cities for Urban Gardening Rank City 1 Atlanta, GA 2 New York, NY 3 Miami, FL 4 Houston, TX 5 Tampa, FL 6 7 8 9 10 Portland, OR Fort Myers, FL Orlando, FL Jacksonville, FL Evanston, IL Worst Cities for Urban Gardening Rank City 1 Hammond, IN 2 Jersey City, NJ 3 Wyoming, MI 4 Dearborn, MI 5 Paterson, NJ 6 7 8 9 10 Anchorage, AK Westminster, CO New Bedford, MA Newark, NJ Pawtucket, RI

Key Insights: New York sprouted to 2nd place with 639 more community gardens than Atlanta (No. 1), which claims the 2nd-most. However, the Big Peach outgrows the Big Apple thanks to large yards, abundant sunshine, and 39 regional gardening clubs — the most in our ranking. All 38 Florida cities ranked in the top 70 with a long growing season and ideal gardening climate. Urban farmers in Miami (No. 3) and its nearby suburb Homestead (No. 14) enjoy impressive access to plant nurseries and gardening stores but lack yard space for designing a big garden.  Many cities in Northern states — such as Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey — landed near the bottom, with short growing seasons, little sunshine, and poorer access to gardening supplies.   Read the full story here: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-urban-gardening/  Other helpful links: Methodology  Hire a local LawnStarter crew to get your backyard ready for breaking ground on your new garden. More from LawnStarter:  Cities With the Biggest and Smallest Yards States Where Farms Use the Most Water Best Cities for Naked Gardening Survey: Do Americans Want a Big Yard in 2024? Most Relaxed Cities