I first saw Jay 'Blue Tape' Rosenberg a few years ago at Hayes Valley Farm in San Francisco. This urban permaculture garden had fat green squash plants interspersed with fava beans, marigolds, and rampant tomatoes. The garden was built upon the rubble of an abandoned interstate exit and yet it thrived with plants.
Jay Rosenberg
It began in layers with volunteers laying down thick sheets of cardboard to kill weeds, and then adding a mountain of horse manure and mulch. Within a few short years, the compost became black gold. Jay explained that he wasn't growing the plants to sell, but instead to give away-- to the volunteers and local folks who needed fresh food. It was a great success, and urban permaculture gardens took hold in the City by the Bay.
Hayes Valley Farm was decommissioned by the City of San Francisco a few years ago, but it provided the seeds for starting other permaculture gardens in other neighborhoods. Now known as 49 Farms, their goal is to have a public permaculture garden for every square mile of the city. And it works. Find out more about 49 Farms and their good work at their website at https://sites.google.com/site/49farms/home
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