Marc Clapton's house doesn't look much different from others in the typically suburban street.

But there's a big difference that can't be seen from the street — his backyard has been transformed into a thriving urban market garden.

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Mr Clapton said the relatively small space had been designed using permaculture principles and his regular lawn had made way for an "urban micro-farm".

"I've come to realise the food we get in the supermarkets isn't as nutrient dense as we can possibly get, so the best way I thought to get around that was to grow food myself in my backyard," he said.

"In big agricultural set ups they use stuff to try to keep the pests and all the nasties away — they are safe to eat but they are not probably as good as stuff you can grow yourself."

Marc Clapton set up the garden to grow food that is nutrient dense and chemical free. ( Supplied: Marc Clapton )

Mr Clapton said he had embraced 18th century gardening principles and aimed to develop agricultural ecosystems which were sustainable in his family backyard at Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

"As we evolved as humans, we started to realise that if we planted things in paddocks we could get more food. That then evolved over time to people living behind castle walls and not going out in the paddock, so they then developed a market garden set-up, where it was more of an urban setting," he said.

"A little parcel of land was set aside for growing and to achieve bigger yield, you plant your plants at closer densities and you get more in less space."

Marc Clapton says bees are a sign that vegetable producing plants will be pollinated. ( Supplied: Marc Clapton )

Hard work yields results

Mr Clapton did extensive research into urban farming methods before he started creating his backyard farm and has not been afraid to get his hands dirty.

"We actually had our wedding in this yard back in October, so we had a big marquee set up and it was all nicely cut grass," he said.

"After the wedding I hired a turf cutter and then came through with a mattock and dug all the clay and turned all the soil by hand, it was two weeks of hell," he laughed.

It took weeks to transform Marc Clapton's green lawn into a market garden. ( Supplied: Marc Clapton )

The urban farmer also has chickens and ducks which provide eggs and also do their own work in the garden.

"Chickens are natural tillers of the earth and soil, they naturally scratch and dig all the bugs out, and turn the soil into more growing space."

Mr Clapton's careful preparation and hard work has paid off.

His garden is thriving and he is now selling produce to local cafes.

"At the moment I'm in full production with lettuce and rocket and radishes — I have kale and spinach on the way," he said.

Marc Clapton sells rocket and lettuce to cafes and hopes to expand to other crops. ( Supplied: Marc Clapton )

Micro-farming on rented land

Mr Clapton hoped to eventually expand and rent out other people's backyards to grow more food, a concept he said was becoming increasingly popular in Canada, led by high-profile urban farmer Curtis Stone.

Mr Clapton said it was one way of increasing grassroots food production in urban areas.

"In Canada, urban market gardener Curtis Stone is doing the same sort of thing," he said.

"He actually has about seven different plots he rents off people, he has his own backyard farm, but then he will go down the street to a neighbour and they lease their backyard to him."

Ducks and chickens help to turn the soil and remove bugs in the market garden. ( ABC News: Emma Siossian )

Urban produce gardens on the rise

Mr Clapton's garden isn't unique in Australia, with urban market gardens and community gardens starting to pop up around the country.

Elsewhere in Port Macquarie, The Lost Plot community garden has grown into a thriving green space since the first seedlings took root four years ago.

Denis Juelicher from the garden committee said members shared the harvested produce.

"People from all walks of life come together and connect over that one common thing, growing food, it's fantastic," she said.

Members of The Lost Plot community garden share the harvested produce. ( ABC News: Emma Siossian )

University study into the role of urban agriculture

A study underway at the University of Melbourne has been gathering a broader set of data about urban agriculture's role in 'resilient city food systems'.

Researchers have engaged the help of citizen scientists and produce gardeners.

The project's website explained "the dataset will allow urban agriculture to be looked at in the context of its role in cities and in food supply resilience, both now and into a climate change-affected future".

'Just have a go'

Back in Port Macquarie, Mr Clapton said budding green thumbs should get to work in their own backyards.

Marc Clapton said children benefit from being able to see where their food comes from. ( Supplied: Marc Clapton )

"Just have a go, there's no right and wrong. Nature is designed to work, so take a handful of seeds and throw them in the backyard," he said.

"I've also found that with kids the best way to get them to try new things is to get them in the ground getting dirty and cutting it and eating it themselves."