Many who garden find their work restorative. Rarer are gardeners whose efforts have sparked political awakenings. Ron Finley grew up in the blighted South Central region of Los Angeles and went on to become a successful fashion designer and personal trainer.¹ But it was an act of gardening that crystallized his political consciousness.

In his 2012 ten-minute TED Talk (which has now surpassed 3.5 million views), Finley recounts the story of his political awakening in a series of pithy, and often delightfully unprintable, turns of phrase. South Central, he says, is what’s known as a food desert—a term often used to describe inner-city areas where the only food options are fast-food chains and dollar stores. Disheartened by his community’s limited access to fresh fruits and vegetable...