Farms Crop Up in the Bronx

The slice of land in the Bronx at first appears no different than many of the borough's derelict empty lots, where any glimpse of green often resolves into a tangle of weeds.

But those who peered closer on a recent afternoon saw something unexpected: still-green tomatoes bulging from their vines. Tops of carrots, known as "shoulders," poked up from the earth, while a young orchard sprouted against the weathered wall of the Major Deegan Expressway.

The 2.5-acre plot is actually a working farm in the heart of the Bronx called La Finca del Sur, yielding 30 pounds of produce a week at peak harvest. Wedged between Metro North tracks, the Major Deegan and the Grand Concourse, it is the largest of a growing network of farms across the Bronx that health and government officials say will soon rival Brooklyn and Manhattan's more celebrated web of local food producers.

• Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal [subscription required]