A gardener has shared their bountiful harvest on Reddit, and people are stunned by the poster's yield.
In a post on the r/Permaculture subreddit, the gardener shared a photo of dozens of tomatoes, a wide variety of squashes, an abundance of peppers, several large handfuls of green beans, and possibly peas.
"I've preserved enough to last until next summer, so now I'm giving it away to neighbors," the user wrote in their caption. "There's a bench with a 'FREE VEG' sign at the end of the driveway, people stop and take what they want. Never let it go to waste :)"
The user explained in a follow-up comment that their Maryland garden is a "rather large" piece of property around the size of a tennis court.
"I plan on adding more perennials and possibly a greenhouse in the future, but right now my husband and I are mastering the art of freeze preserving and canning everything since we know we cannot keep everything going through winter," they wrote. "It's a lot of work but I enjoy it."
The daily harvest looks like far more than enough to feed one person for an entire day, proving how gardening can save you a ton of money if you're committed to growing your own food instead of purchasing it at stores and restaurants.
Preserving what they can use and giving the rest to neighbors also helps avoid food waste. Food is the most significant component of U.S. landfills, with 119 billion pounds of food thrown away each year, according to Feeding America. Forty-two billion pounds of that is thrown out in homes alone.
Gardens also support local ecosystems by promoting biodiversity and attracting pollinators, according to the World Economic Forum, and gardening has also been proven to positively affect the mental health of people who garden.
Users expressed their enthusiasm and shared advice for the garden in the post's comment section.
"Amazing work! This is really inspiring!" one user wrote.
"I had so many acorn squash that some went bad. So far it's handfuls of other stuff. Perennials are definitely a waiting game," another user said.
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