Eat my wall
A vertical urban farm will seed community farming in a graffiti-scarred L.A. neighborhood.
(Fortune Small Business) -- George Irwin builds green structures for a living, but his latest project aspires to rebuild lives. This summer, Irwin is donating a vertical urban farm for residents of Los Angeles' graffiti-scarred Central City East.
"Think of it as another way to make a community garden," says Irwin, 39, a landscaper by training.
He's installing four massive garden walls - a total of 750 square feet - in and around the neighborhood, including one in a high school yard and another at a local housing project. Each six-by 30-foot wall consists of 45 four-inch-deep, soil-bearing, irrigated vertical trays. Community farmers will be able to grow anything from strawberries to cherry tomatoes and melons.
Irwin estimates that each wall will generate as much as 400 pounds of produce a season. He envisions entrepreneurs opening "wall-side stands" and local youth getting work skills installing and maintaining the vertical gardens of L.A.'s Skid Row. 
A farm-equipment maker grows far afield
Cheese to the rescue
Features-
Smart entrepreneurs are now doing deals in 140 characters or less on Twitter. More -
As more customers choose - or are forced - to fill prescriptions by mail, independent pharmacies are struggling to survive. More -
A Texas hospitality company considers where to invest and where to cut back to weather the recession. More -
How 7 innovative companies are inspiring workers and boosting the bottom line. More -
42 startups duked it out in the world's most lucrative business plan competition. We trailed one team to the bitter end. More -
The Emerging 200 program aims to boost job growth by training inner-city entrepreneurs to expand their companies. More -
These resellers of DVDs, CDs and books make millions from the media industry's leftovers. More
Never mind the headlines -- for some fireworks companies, there's no slump. More
Tech competition is heating up: Google vs. Microsoft! Microsoft vs. Apple! Apple vs. Palm! Here's how the second half of '09 is shaping up. More
Your car may not be new, but its gizmos can be - for as little as a few hundred bucks. More
More Small Business
