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Photos: A former trash heap is transformed into a thriving farm

Joanna Bassi has turned what was once a weed and trash filled hillside behind her house in Montecito Heights into a flourishing organic vegetable garden she calls Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Root vegetables growing at Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

A terraced hillside planted with vegetables at Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Terraces at Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi harvests vegetables from her organic micro farm behind her home in Montecito Heights on June 19. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi and Jeremy McDonald in their garden in June. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi worked for a year to create what she calls Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi creates her own inexpensive soil by amending hillside dirt with compost, peat moss and “zoo doo,” provided by the L.A. Zoo. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi harvests some vegetables at her Rose Hill Farm on June 19. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Microgreens grow inside Joanna Bassi’s greenhouse at Rose Hill Farm. (Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

Bassi built the greenhouse by watching instructions on YouTube. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) (Los Angeles Times)

Emma Jean Coco keeps watch in the garden. ((Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times))

Joanna Bassi harvests zucchini at her home microfarm. ((Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times))

Working with her father, Joanna Bassi worked tirelessly to terrace the steep hillside and create an urban farm. ((Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)s)

MONTECITO HEIGHTS, CA-June 19, 2019: Joanna Bassi and her urban farm on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) (Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

Joanna Bassi harvests beets in one of her planting beds. (Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)