Gardening is good exercise too. Even in the city, a 20 x 20 garden can produce a lot of food.
Yes, the WW2 English "victory garden" was an intensively planted food plot on tiny bits of land that kept people from starving.
The key to small parcel gardening is INTENSIVE design and seasonal rotation.
Our last house was in a suburb on 1/8 acre. My wife managed to grow fruit (cherries) and vegetables in the tiny amount of yard that was left over after the house, drive way, side walks, etc.
Our current (and last) home sits on 11 acres, and is surrounded by a few homes that have a minimum of 10 acres and as many as 18. Past those boundaries is endless miles of small homesteads, farm land, and government forests.
The cost of living on a rural organic farm is extremely high for us in terms of: travel time (I spend two hours a day commuting to work); travel time (its 35 minutes ONE WAY to a WalMart); travel time (my mailbox is 1.4 miles, round trip, from my house!); and so forth. This life we've chosen is HARD, and not for anyone less than 100% committed and driven.
