The backyard harvest

It’s October, which means most of us with gardens have harvested much of what was in them. And, as our latest Households and the Environment data show, most of us have gardens! Let’s have a look at what Canadians living in the provinces reported growing in 2023.

Overall, three in five households grow for personal use, mostly in their yards

About three in five Canadian households (59%) grew fruit, herbs, vegetables or flowers for personal use in the past 12 months when surveyed in 2023, slightly down from 2021 (61%) but up from 2011 (56%).

Of those households in 2023, just over three in four (76%) grew their fruit, herbs, vegetables or flowers in their yard, while 3 in 10 (30%) did so on their balcony. More than one-fifth (22%) grew them inside, while relatively smaller proportions did so in a greenhouse (3%), community garden (2%) or elsewhere (1%).

Of course, with Canada’s vast landscape—including climate and available space—gardening rates varied by census metropolitan area or region among households that grew their own fruits, herbs, vegetables and flowers.

For example, more than 9 in 10 households in Brantford (94%) and Thunder Bay (91%) in Ontario grew their fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers in their yards. Almost one in two households in Victoria (48%), British Columbia, and more than two in five households in Québec City (46%), Sherbrooke (45%) and Montréal (43%), Quebec, tended to their balcony gardens.

Among the provinces, the highest proportion of indoor growers was one-third (33%) of households in Newfoundland and Labrador, while the lowest proportion was in Quebec (18%).

Households with owners more likely to be growers than those with renters; larger dwelling types more likely to have growers

In 2023, two-thirds (66%) of households in which the dwelling was owned by a household member grew fruit, herbs, vegetables or flowers for personal use in the past 12 months, compared with households not owned by a member (38%).

Conversely, renters (4%) were four times as likely as owners (1%) to use a community garden, as well as more likely to use their balcony (50% compared with 27%) or indoor spaces (31% compared with 20%).

Among both owners and renters, households living in a single-detached house (91%) were more likely than those in a double (86%), duplex (77%) and a row or terrace (71%) to grow their produce in a garden, probably because of the available space.

Older, higher-income and multiple-person households spend more on their gardens

Every two years, the Survey of Household Spending asks Canadian households about their spending on goods and services. The latest data are from 2023, when households spent an average of $452 on garden supplies and services and $204 on lawn, garden and snow-removal equipment and tools.

When broken down by the age category of the respondent, those aged 65 years and older ($545) spent more than twice as much as those younger than 30 years ($244) on garden supplies and services. Those aged 40 to 54 years spent the most on lawn, garden and snow-removal equipment and tools ($257).

In both spending categories, higher-income households spent more than those with lower incomes, while one-person households spent the least on lawn, garden and snow-removal equipment and tools compared with other household types.