When I applied for funds for this project, I wished to find out whether growing my own food seemed to be a viable option for myself, and whether urban gardening on a large scale, where everyone is responsible for growing their own food, seems to make sense for larger populations. I can speak most directly to my own experience – I enjoyed the project, I am very grateful to have received the money and the support to garden, and I learned more than I ever hoped, but I find myself with no particular desire to continue. The yield I earned alone was not enough to justify the time, mental energy, or resources required, and I never fell in love with gardening the way I have with some other side projects.

I believed at one point that everyone should be responsible for growing their own food, but I do not think it either necessary or optimal now. I felt very stifled with only the growing space in my own backyard to use, and the yield for my effort reflected that constraint. With more land, I could obtain much more food with only marginally more effort, and I am led to the conclusion that it would be better for a few people to focus fully on growing as much as possible with a neighborhood’s worth of space.

The most important things I’ve learned from this experience are about project management. Projects are not continuous entities. You work on them in discrete chunks, and your prioritization of them determines how quickly they get completed. You are also always bound by other constraints too – people, material, land, and the weather. Planning and research are paramount, and you must begin with the end in mind.

Going forward, I need to keep experimenting. I have plans to build hydroponic gardens which will be much more space and resource efficient, and I’m curious if denser packing will result in enough yield to justify my time. My soil garden continues to produce, and part of my grant stipulation is that all the materials be given to someone who will remain in New Orleans, and they will continue to be used to grow. I don’t yet know exactly where they will end up, but I’m sure they’ll fall into the hands of someone passionate about urban gardening and sustainability.