The Vatican's vegetable garden has completely transitioned to organic farming.

A private vegetable garden with an area of nearly a tenth of an acre is located on the grounds of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery. Historically, the Vatican gardens were created to provide food for the Apostolic Palace. According to Stefano Giampaolo, head of the Vatican Gardens and Environment Office, the transition to organic methods has been underway for several years, partly in response to Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.

As gardener Gilberto Bianchi, responsible for this plot since 2008, noted, chemical fertilizers and insecticides are not used in the management. Natural soil predators are used to combat aggressive insects. Coconut fiber is added to the soil to retain soil moisture, as it drains well, and a drip irrigation system is used for irrigation. The plants are grown exclusively from seed, without the use of laboratory-grown specimens, and operations are carried out strictly according to the growing season.

The late-summer harvest includes tomatoes, eggplants, green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers, while broccoli, spinach, lettuce, and pumpkins are grown in the autumn-winter period. Garlic, basil, hot peppers from Peru, and kiwifruit, added at the request of the Argentine nuns, are also cultivated on the plot. Next to the vegetable garden is a small orchard of about 15 citrus trees, some of which are up to 150 years old.

Fresh vegetables and fruit are consumed by the Benedictine nuns living in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, and are also used by them to make jams and preserves. The surplus harvest is handed over to the Vatican charity soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity.

Currently, a team of about 35 gardeners and administrators led by Stefano Giampaolo cares for the Vatican's green spaces. The specialists' plans include completely abandoning synthetic fertilizers and pesticides throughout the entire Vatican territory in the future.