Welcome to Skid Row Gardening!

Gardening, Civil Rights, and Community Organizing

Skid Row is a fifty square-block area nestled on the eastern flank of downtown Los Angeles, and is home to over 11,000 homeless and extremely low-income people. The population includes single individuals and families with children, chronically homeless people, people with a mental illness and/or a substance abuse problem, veterans, people with other disabilities and chronic health conditions.

Recently, Skid Row has come under increasing attack by politicians, city planners, and criminal justice officials who refuse to acknowledge Skid Row as a “real” community. Much of this has to do with a recent wave of redevelopment and gentrification that makes Skid Row’s land highly valued. This has led to widespread violations of community residents’ civil and human rights on a massive scale. The Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN) is an outspoken opponent of these city efforts (for more detailed information on LACAN campaigns, visit www.cangress.org). Like many of the prominent civil rights organizations coming before them, LACAN sees civil rights as inseparable from food justice and equality.

In the summer of 2010 LACAN launched its own community garden located on a rooftop on Main Street. Stay tuned to this blog and watch the garden grow. We aim for democratic control where residents can work together to produce the healthy food that this neighborhood deserves.


Friday, January 21, 2011

Adopt-A-Seedling Program
LA CAN Community Garden

“Justice requires that everyone should have enough to eat. But it also requires that everyone should contribute to the production of food.” - Elías Canetti
In May 2010, the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) created a community garden on a rooftop high above Skid Row, where healthy food is often inaccessible to many of the area’s residents. Like many of the grassroots and community organizations coming before them, LA CAN sees the struggle for civil rights as inseparable from food justice and equality. A community’s ability to grow its own food not only reduces financial pressures associated with the cost of living, it can quickly become a vehicle for empowerment and solidarity.

As we expand the garden we want you to play a major part. The Adopt-A-Seedling program literally puts the garden in the hands of community residents, who will nurture seedlings in their own homes (approximately 4-6 weeks). When the seedlings are strong enough to transplant into the garden, bring them back to the LA CAN office where we will hold a planting day. Our current gardeners will teach all the new gardeners the basics of planting their seedlings. After that, the gardeners should find time in their schedules to check in on their growing plants, water, prune, and pick the delicious vegetables once they grow. Gardeners can also join up at Team Food’s community garden meetings (every other Thursday at 10:30am) to become more involved with the garden.

Next adoption day: FEBRUARY 4TH, 6PM @ R.O.C. MEETING (LA CAN OFFICE)

Next seedling planting day: MARCH 18TH, 4PM (LA CAN OFFICE)


Care for Your Seedling

What you’ll need:
· Sun – Plants thrive on sun to grow. Find a sunny place to keep your seedling. A windowsill works great. Southern facing windows work best, but if you don’t have access to the south, any direct sun will do.
· Water – The care you give your seedlings throughout these initial weeks is critical. Keep the soil moist, but not dripping. Small pots tend to dry out quickly, so check it often. If your seedlings are growing in a windowsill, turn often to encourage straight stems.

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