Growing up among the concrete and asphalt of New York City, Brian Longo was fascinated by nature and the idea of using the nature at hand to produce food.

Longo says he remembers travelling to California as a kid, seeing orange trees on a boulevard and people stopping their cars to go pick the fruit.

"I thought that was one of the best things I've ever seen," he said. "Using public land for something that people can use. It just makes sense to me."

So when he moved to central Halifax last year and…