Growing food on a small scale

There are many resources out there in the interwebs explaining many ways in which to harvest food from small spaces as well as simply green spaces to keep us happy.  Like many younger Australians I am renting and depending on the area it can be quite difficult to find a place that checks all your boxes as well as the ''garden'' boxes.  When looking for my current place I did find a much sought after property that didn't check any of my boxes except for the outdoor area. This particular place had a small concrete area out the back and this could have been used as a place to sit pots or even hang the off the back fence.  This is not so in my current situation and I have found that the conditions have not been kind to my potted herbs, some have even died. I do miss tending to plants and being outdoors and whilst I do go camping and hiking when I find the time I feel such satisfaction from growing my own food.  So my next challenge now will be to grow food for myself, not just herbs, but I'm not limited to growing at home. There are community gardens around Melbourne and though I have never been to one I would love to try one soon.