7212019 Urban Garden Ron Finley-Live Garden_lo

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983094983096 V I S I T E B O N Y C O M 983087 M A Y 983090 983088 983089 983092

L I V E Home

C arrots collards sweet cornand zucchini are just a ewo the delicious vegetables you can plant this month inorder to satisy your epicu-rean cravings And accord-ing to gardener and activistRon Finley there has never

been a more critical time to startldquo[In parts o] Chicago New Orleans and South

Los Angeles where I live there are ood desertsrdquosays Finley ldquoNo resh ood can be ound or milesOnly ast ood liquor stores and dialysis centersrdquo

This state o ood emergency has been the biggestcatalyst or Finley to start his garden on the ront

lawn and in his backyard near Crenshaw Boulevarda stonersquos throw rom the new Metro line

Nicknamed the ldquoGangster Gardenerrdquo Finley in-sists ldquoThe drive-thrus are killing more people thanthe drive-bysrdquo

Beore arranging dozens o pots and a trio o shop-ping carts as reimagined planters Finley begins thegrowing process by placing seedlings in moist con-tainers to germinate much the same way he learnedin elementary school Hundreds o neighbors walk-ing by his home smelling lavender seeing dragon-flies and hummingbirds buzzing about tasting hiswhite strawberries and also sampling ripe bananasstraight off the tree however the real ruit o his la-bor is that many o his neighbors are inspired to starttheir own edible gardens

His best advice or novices is ldquoPlant what you eatI you donrsquot eat it donrsquot plantrdquo says Finley whoseurban gardening TED Talk has garnered nearly 2

million views ldquoEvery so ofen plant something that you havenrsquot had [in order] to enjoy a new flavorrdquoAlthough you may think itrsquos too late to grow all

your avorite veggies May is a great rost-ree monthto kick things off thanks to the warm temperaturesThe soil is perect or the ast germination o sum-mertime cooking staples Whether you have sprawl-ing acres or a square o concrete in the backyardget started with this easy-to-ollow guide on what toplant this month and how

PlantingProsper ıtyURBAN GARDENER RON FINLEY

SHOWS HOW TO PLANT YOUROWN VEGETABLE PATCH AND

IMPROVE YOUR DIET

B y A M Y E L I S A K E I T H

4

G A R D E N I N G 1 0 1

W H A T T O P L A N T N O W

COLLARD

GREENS

WHERE

Plant in the garden

soil in wide rows

with ample sun

HOW

Sow seeds 8 to 12

inches apart and

less than 1 inch

deep Wide-row

growing extends the

harvest into sum-mer because the

soil in the row stays

cooler The cooler

the soil the better

flavored your crop

will taste

HARVEST

August after about

8 to 11 weeks

SWEET

CORN

WHERE

A small square plot

is enough to plant

one variety such as

Incredible Corn of

these tall stalks

HOW

In full sun sow

seeds 2 inches

apart 1 inch deep

allowing 1 foot be-tween rows

HARVEST

September usually

after about 11 weeks

for full maturity

LITTLE

FINGER

CARROTS

WHERE

Plant these

small veggies in

raised beds

HOW

In full sun sow

seeds 14 to 12

inch deep in fine

soil 1 to 2 inches

apart in rows 12inches apart

HARVEST

September after

about 10 weeks

germination takes

about 12 days

MINT

WHERE

Grow in a window

box large pot or in

the garden Mint

likes deep moist

soil in a partially

shaded position

HOW

Plant roots or seed-

lings 2 inches deep

and 6 inches apart

HARVEST

From late spring

until early autumn

takes about 8 to

12 weeks

ZUCCHINI

WHERE

Plant a variety such

as Cocozelle in a

well-composted

raised bed with

mulch

HOW

Plant 4 to 5 seeds

about 3 feet apart

and in 12 to 34

inches of fine firm

soil Water regularlyin full sun Avoid

growing alongside

potatoes

HARVEST

July after 7 weeks

zucchini will grow to

about 12 inches long

D

OVE

YOUR V

SEE

Sufficieis criti

drough

ever o

leaches

wastes t

ey Invest

ture sen

into you

when yo

a little

D

PLAN

OFF983085

Wonde

turnips w

It could

season

on the c

region

planting

ing at th

Resourc

USDArsquos

ness Zon

calenda

natecom

plan for

su

D

OV

CHE

Finley

Mother

better th

uct you

from the

Insteaweed k

chemica

to pull o

their roo

Compos

fallen lea

Finley

better

sold

FROM TOP 1 An overall look at Fin-

leyrsquos backyard garden including a

composting station inside

his emptied swimming pool

2 Succulents and leafy vegeta-

bles reside in shopping carts and

toy wagons 3 Finley unlocks the

sweet aroma of homegrown spices

4 Pruning curbside is a daily ritualfor the ldquoGangster Gardenerrdquo

2

ldquoGardening hasbeen my meditation

says Ron Finley

ldquoItrsquos my catalyst to

change the worldrdquo

P H

O T O

G R A P H S C

O U R T E S Y R

O N

F I N L E Y

M A Y 983090 983088 983089 983092 983087 V I S I T E B O