[This is an EXCERPT: read the whole article here. -Ed.]

By Elizabeth Weise

SAN FRANCISCO — Some might look across this city's rolling hills with its waves of roofs and see some of America's priciest real estate.
Trevor Paque saw virgin farmland.

He calls his enterprise, MyFarm, a "decentralized urban farm." His aim is to turn San Francisco's under-used, overgrown backyards into verdant plots of green that will provide organically grown food for the city's residents.

Since May, Paque, 29, has planted half an acre of vegetables if you add up all 55 gardens that his farmers have sown. He hopes that the 150 or so families his enterprise will be feeding by spring will represent the dawn of a new age of local foods in even the biggest cities.

For time-starved residents, MyFarm is a way to get organic produce grown steps from their kitchen without having to touch a trowel. For yardless neighbors, it lets them effectively buy a share of their neighbors' gardens.

Photo credit: Lauren "Lolly" Weinhold