Six years ago, Merit Medical Systems founder and CEO, Fred Lampropoulos, looked out his office window and watched as throngs of employees from the medical device company’s South Jordan campus walked across the street to a 3-acre farm to pick tomatoes and peppers thanks to an invitation from a local farmer. He saw the enthusiasm from his employees and an idea formed. In 2016, … [Read more...]
Urban Homesteading: Divest from Wall Street, Invest in Local Food
Big tech is censoring us, tracking us, selling our personal data to corporations to advertise to us more efficiently. We buy everything on Amazon, book our hotels on Expedia and rooms on AirB&b, get around on Uber and get all our news from YouTube and Facebook. We make Silicon Valley executives and Wall Street investors insanely rich, while our local small businesses and … [Read more...]
Urban Gardening: Self-Sustaining Lifestyles
Around dinnertime, Adriana Brandt hands her husband Wally a bowl. “Go get me some onions and tomatoes,” she says, as he happily follows her directions. The Brandts have created a gardening paradise on a third of an acre in Central, Utah. During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-sustaining lifestyles are increasingly being brought into the spotlight. “It’s definitely a factor,” … [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...]
How to Dramatically Improve Your Garden Soil with Inexpensive Cover Crops
“Let it be known, I am a fairly lazy gardener,” says Geneva Lawrence, long-time Sugar House horticulturist, of her extensive backyard filled with five raised beds, grape and berry vines, fruit trees, beehives and a gaggle of happy hens. “One reason I use cover crops is because it’s an easy way to feed the dirt. Sow, water, leave alone.” This relatively hands-off approach … [Read more...]
How to Supersize Your Tomatoes
A few simple tips to get great big results in the garden this year. There is nothing better in the summertime than vine-ripened, home-grown tomatoes. Tomatoes love heat and sunshine, and despite our short growing season, Utah has the perfect climate for growing large, healthy plants that can start producing tomatoes before 4th of July picnics. But, like any venture … [Read more...]