Why Wait for Spring? Most gardeners believe the only way they can grow vegetable plants during the dead of winter is in some type of greenhouse. However, I have successfully grown cold-hardy plants such as spinach, lettuce, arugula and even carrots, beets, radishes and Swiss chard right through the coldest Utah winters for more than 30 years without any protection from the … [Read more...]
Z is for Zucchini
Zucchinis—Oh my! It is the end of summer, the time for gardeners to meditate on one of life's most perplexing questions—what do I do with all these zucchinis? It seems miraculous that one seed planted in the spring can produce a gazillion vegetables. Seed companies create this quandary when they put a dozen zucchini seeds in a pack. "If I have a dozen, I guess I should … [Read more...]
Urban Gleaners from Green Urban Lunch Box
Green Urban Lunch Box The painting by Jean-François Millet, known as "The Gleaners," was not popular when it premiered in 1857. The French middle and upper-classes were unwilling to admit there was hunger and poverty in France; they were afraid that working-class citizens might revolt against those who controlled the empire under Napoleon III. The contemporary idea of … [Read more...]
Three Nontraditional Home Gardens in Salt Lake City
Sugar House Joakim Orton moved into his Sugarhouse apartment in 2016, and since then he’s been cultivating a garden in an unlikely spot. Even though traditional gardening space is limited around his apartment building, he got creative and chose to utilize a long, thin strip of earth that lines the driveway—a spot most others would overlook. Before he began … [Read more...]
Wasps Can Be Wonderful
Everyone knows that honeybees are good for your garden. They are natural pollinators and all around good guys. But what about the other flying, buzzing garden visitors; wasps, yellowjackets, and hornets? Are they pests? If you have a garden, you might be surprised at the answer. Wasps get a bad rap. They can be persistent when they want to join your backyard BBQ, and they … [Read more...]
The World Beneath Our Feet: Organic Soil Supports a Rich Mix of Life
What do you see when you look at garden soil? If you simply see dirt, you may be surprised to learn that a single tablespoon of healthy soil contains more microorganisms than there are people on the planet. It’s true! A small handful of soil contains billions of bacteria, several yards of fungal filament, thousands of protozoa, and many nematodes—the smallest and most abundant … [Read more...]
Liqui-Dirt: Grow Good Soil to Grow Good Crops
Most farmers in Utah have heard the old-fashioned term “dirt farmer”—it harkens back to the Great Depression when the plains lost most of their top soil, the greatest asset of any farmer. But Cory Sackett is, literally, a dirt farmer. The best word to describe Sackett is passionate. And not just about his product, but about saving the world, one garden at a time. After … [Read more...]
DIY Greenhouses: Get a Go on your Gardening
I have designed, built and managed a variety of different greenhouses over the past 40 years. All of them have been primarily intended for starting hundreds of transplants for many varieties of vegetables for our garden and many others. My wife and I have never actually used a greenhouse for growing food. Obviously, some folk do, although that would be more aligned to … [Read more...]
Backyard Urban Gardens Bring Garden Bounty Right to your Doorstep
B.U.G. Farms: Crusaders for Community Supported Agriculture “I thought she was crazy and that it would never work,” says Backyard Urban Gardens (B.U.G.) Farms’ co-owner Carly Gillespie of the organization’s creator, Sharon Leopardi. “She didn’t have any start-up capital, was a renter, and didn’t have any garden space. And, she wanted to stay in the city—not move to a small … [Read more...]
Utah’s Changing Landscape
Taking my dogs running around Sugar House's main corridors offers a constantly changing landscape. First we run around Sugar House Park; then along the PRATT trail under 1300 East tunnel; we then go around Fairmont Park to the new dog park, then west along the S-Line Greenway to 700 East. Along this route we hear the constant pounding of nails, and sawing of boards, and witness … [Read more...]