A Food Forest in Los Angeles

The great thing about this blog is that I get to meet people like Ron Finley, profiled in the video above. Ron got busted for this garden (the city of Los Angeles requires all parkway plantings to be mowed to 2 inches). Ron is now leading an effort to get the rules changed. We wish him luck and hope that his garden inspires many others around the world.

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18 Comments

    • As we understand it, there’s nothing we can do right now. Ron’s having a meeting with his councilman soon. We’ll let you know if we hear anything from him re: help.

  1. HowD… Sure am enjoying ya’lls posts of late… any advice for growing hardy kiwi in Western North Carolina area (outside Asheville)?

    • Thanks! But sorry to say we have no kiwi advice for you, having never grown them ourselves. And all advice is local anyway. Your best bet: look for folks near you with nice big kiwi vines taking over their houses, and go make them your friends.

  2. Thanks for sharing this.
    We have the same rules in Denver. But when I bought my house 20 years ago, the house was a HUD and had been vacant for many years. The yard was full of weeds. I dug up the area in the parking strip and began planting flowers and vegetables. Others have begun to follow me in my neighborhood. I have not received any citations or notices from the city, but maybe I need to have the guidelines changed. I would like to see vegetables growing in many places that are just weedy now. My thought is that alleys especially are untended, but in my area, the alley is very busy, with many homeless and alley shoppers. I think that onions, carrots, potatoes, and greens would be good to grow in such places, and many of them could be harvested by the hungry, or by good neighbors for the hungry.

  3. Ron Finley is my new favorite person in the world! Amazing. And I appreciate that he likes to live on the edge, where we all should be, growing mint wherever we please.

  4. The only reason we should be prohibiting plantings in parkways is because it impinges on sight lines and makes for hazardous driving conditions near corners. Given the block walls on that corner property, there’s nothing he’s growing that would impede sight lines, so complaining about it is ridiculous. Given how many city owned street trees obfuscate street signs, the hypocrisy is painful.

  5. In Japan, they grow food in the most unlikely places and in almost every place that doesn’t have another purpose. I have often thought of going back and interviewing the people growing food there in such unlikely places. to learn of their methods and see their produce up close and personal.

  6. I love this. Thanks for sharing it. So much otherwise unused or underused land could go toward planting food, even in the midst of the city. Hopefully Ron can get the rules changed.

  7. This guy is awesome, it breaks my heart to see / hear bout so many people being “uprooted” from their past, many live in concrete jungles, where there is sun and earth there can also be food and life.

  8. Much thanks for the video. It’s insanity that that he got in trouble for this. I mean…it makes sense in the world the live in, but it’s insanity to common sense, reason and logic.

  9. Wonderful video – And a wonderful, generous man…I hope sensible heads prevail and allow him and others to grow their gardens. Obviously, there is a longing for not only the food the garden provides but a deep longing for beauty and connection with nature. Please keep us updated as to the progress of Mr. Finley’s efforts. Thank you.

  10. Thanks for the link!
    On Kiwis…needs a cold winter (grows well here in Portland, Oregon). It’s a vine, needs a trellis. Also needs both a male and female plant (better yet, two F and one…check with nursery about compatible blooming times).

  11. WoW !! Thanks for the out pouring Of Love!! I so appreciate your thoughts and comments. We now have the Councilperson on our side. Im sure we will have a great outcome!! Will keep you posted. . .

    AllGoodThings

    ~R0n!

  12. Found you through John Starnes Urban Farms. I am saddened to here that food growth would be controlled in lawn length. I will be back.

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