Factors Associated with Vegetable Diversification among Small-Scale and Minority Urban Gardeners in Maryland, USA

Vegetable diversification within urban gardening systems can improve dietary diversity, provide economic opportunities through surplus sales, and enhance urban biodiversity conservation. Researchers have examined the impacts of diversification; however, understanding of the extent to which individual, household, and project support-related factors affect vegetable diversification among small-scale and minority urban gardeners is limited. The objective of this study was to assess the factors influencing vegetable diversification among small and minority urban gardeners participating in an urban gardening project in Maryland, USA. Using a cross-sectional study design, this study collected data from 74 urban gardeners belonging to Asian American immigrant communities across Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, and Montgomery County. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression technique was applied to assess the association between vegetable diversification and factors at individual, household, and project-support levels. The multivariate results revealed that only household-level factors, particularly the involvement of gardeners in community gardening ( β^ = -6.09, p<0.01) and family size ( β^ = -0.86, p<0.05), were significantly associated with reduced vegetable diversification. The study suggested that home gardening should be prioritized, and extension support services should be provided to households with larger family sizes in order to promote vegetable diversification through the urban gardening initiative. Future studies should incorporate broader socio-economic and environmental variables, including cultural preferences and market access, to provide a better understanding of the dynamic factors influencing vegetable diversification among small-scale and minority urban gardeners.