A surprisingly small property can still provide a substantial amount of homegrown food.
In a TikTok garden tour, a creator highlighted how their parents use less than one acre in Kentucky to raise an impressive mix of vegetables, fruit, and herbs.
What's happening?
In the video, the creator, who goes by Collins Country on TikTok, gave a short look at a bountiful garden grown by their parents on a little under an acre of property in Kentucky. Most of the growing beds sit in the backyard and along fencelines.
@collins.country YOU DON'T NEED LOTS OF LAND TO START A HOMESTEAD & GROW LOTS OF FOOD!!! Here is a tour of my parents 1acre homestead on the edge of town. Look at all of the gardens they have and how much food that they grow are growing! 🤯 It's unbelievable!!!!! 🙌 #homesteading #gardening #harvesting #growyourownfood #backyardgarden ♬ original sound - Collins Country
Among the crops shown are sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes for canning, Blue Lake pole beans, carrots, squash, peppers, rhubarb, herbs, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and more.
The creator also noted that many of the raised beds were made from leftover wood from the family sawmill and that much of the soil was sourced for free from a nearby horse arena.
"It does not take a lot of space to grow a lot of food," the creator noted.
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The creator's mother even noted that they grow enough food to avoid buying pantry-staple crops like tomatoes and green beans in the grocery store.
Why does it matter?
For many people, growing food can feel out of reach because they assume it requires a large plot of land, a rural lifestyle, or major upfront costs.
Rather than a huge farm in the middle of nowhere, this video shows a productive food garden on the edge of town, on a relatively small plot of land.
"I tell people all the time, you don't have to have a farm, I live in town [and] I grow a huge amount of food in my backyard," one user in the comments noted.
Even a small home garden can translate into significant savings if you grow produce. Even partially replacing store-bought produce with homegrown tomatoes, beans, peppers, zucchini, or herbs can help stretch a budget while also giving families fresher food.
Small-space food growing is becoming increasingly mainstream.
What can I do?
A single raised bed, a few containers, or one vertical trellis can be enough to get a garden started and to learn what grows well in your space.
High-yield crops such as tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and herbs can offer a lot in return for relatively little room.
Vertical growing, as the bamboo teepee supports shown in the video, can also help maximize space in smaller yards.
It can also help to look for lower-cost materials and local resources.
Reclaimed wood, compost, free or discounted soil sources, and simple fencing can make a backyard garden more affordable.
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