Michelle Obama is definitely onto something. She makes urban farming look so easy, growing picture-pefect, healthy veggies right outside the White House doors. If you’ve got the urge to grow your own tomatoes and zucchini but don’t have a plot of ground for planting, you’ll be happy to hear that Salt Lake County is moving forward with a plan to turn vacant plots of land into farmland. More accurately, back into farmland. The urban corridor of the Salt Lake Valley was once covered with farms.
Some of the county projects will be large scale. Growing plants for biofuels is one plan. Leasing large tracts to local farmers is another. But at the grass-roots level, there will be places for community vegetable gardens, where city and suburb dwellers will be able to plant and maintain their own small plots. Twenty-three locations in community parks and on vacant government land, stretching from Central Salt Lake City on the north end of the valley to Bluffdale on the south, have been identified by county officials as possible sites. The county is proceeding slowly. They’ll spend a year gauging public interest and evaluating potential sites. Preference will be shown to areas where public interest is highest. Input from future gardeners is invited. If you’d like to weigh in, email the program manager, Julie Peck-Dabling: jpeck-dabling@slco.org
If you’d like to check out some fine examples of community gardens, Wasatch Community Gardens, a local non-profit organization, sponsors several of them.
Grateful Tomato Garden, 800 S 600 E, Salt Lake City
Fairpark Garden, 1037 W 300 N, Salt Lake City
People’s Portable Garden, 900 S 200 W, Salt Lake City
4th East Garden, 553 S 400 E, Salt Lake City
Historic Sandy Garden, 500 E Locust St., Sandy
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