The Gangsta Gardener

written by Rhian Grant

Introducing Barley, local ‘Gangsta Gardener’, and one of a growing number of local people brightening the corners of St Pauls, cultivating vegetables and flowers in our community.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

I’m from a Caribbean background. I live locally and I’m always around. I’ve got my own little security company. I drive a bit of Taxi for Dad’s Cabs. I do delivery work, and I’m now just acquiring my HGV licence as well.

Do you do your gardening alone?

I do the project with Wayne, and then Judit hopped on as well. It was Wayne’s idea from the get go, ‘cause he put some pumpkins down two years ago, and they come during the lockdown. And we were hiding from each other and stealing (Barley laughs, disarmingly,) and then we just decided now, we’re gonna turn it into a garden.So then I started ploughing his bit, and then he finished it, and then Judit came, and we said can we do a bit for her. So I ploughed that up for her and then do my bit, and tell them to stay away from it! So what I’m gonna do is put some pumpkin in, I’ve got the seeds. I’ve got scotch Bonnet pepper seeds. I’ve got callaloo, it’s like spinach. And I’m gonna start planting the seeds this week some time.

Some call it Guerrilla Gardening, and some call it Gangsta Gardening, after Ron Finley’s urban growing projects in LA. What do you call it?

Well, I will have to go with Judit’s name, ‘cause she says ‘Gangsta Gardening’. So I’m rolling with the name. She gave it, so we keeping it!

What’s your background in farming and growing?

Put it this way, growing up in Jamaica, you can’t help but to have background in farming, so I take that to here. My Grandparents was farmers. I grew up seeing them farming coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, coconut, banana, plantain, yam, oranges. They was big farmers. So I watched them and I learned from them. That’s how I get the yam to grow. Put it down, and it does it: spring up! A lot of people ask me, “How do I germinate the seeds?” It’s not hard to do. All I do is just put down the soil in a little plate or a little pot; put the seeds in a cup, put warm water, leave them there for a couple of days. When they break out I put them in the little pot with the little soil and they just start popping up. That’s how easy it is for me. Then you transfer them to where you want them to go. I guess it’s natural ‘cause they grow. Never fail me. I also have cho cho growing in my house on the tenth floor and I’ve grown yam in there, which I put in my soup. Everyone wants to know how I do it, but I haven’t revealed that bit yet. I’ve seen my grandparents done it in Jamaica, and I’ve done something similar. I ain’t giving that up!

What made you decide to start farming on the corners of St Pauls?

We ain’t got nowhere else! So we thinking of putting the whole green into a farm! It’s just there, it’s not doing nothing! They might as well let us plough it up and plant things in it. Potatoes, onions, scallion, even some mint. We’re not gonna cut the trees, because we need them. I’ve always wanted to do farming, ‘cause it’s something that I have a passion for, but just never had the source or the land.

Can local people join you if they want to get involved?

Yeah! I was a bit surprised the other day, the amount of people who showed up from the community and was helping. So there is a bit of community togetherness when it comes to the gardening. There’s a lot of people offering to join in when I’m gonna do my bit. I’m just waiting until the right days come, when it’s nice and dry and clear to start. If they wanna come and give a hand they can. I’m open!