Mary Jo Neal Tedesco is an extraordinary person, and we are lucky to have her as a Perennial Plant Expert at our Plant Sale. While she didn't have too much to share in her interview, she shares an extraordinary story and her thoughts about gardening in an article she wrote about Horticultural Therapy posted below.
Make sure to say hello to Mary Jo in the perennial plants section at the WCG ANNUAL PLANT SALE – 5.9.15 8-1PM ROWLAND HALL ON GUARDSMAN WAY.
How long have I been gardening? I have been gardening for about 20 years My favorite things to grow are… Some of my favorite things to grow are edamame and tomatillos What the WCG Plant Sale means to me? I really enjoy checking out all of the insect life in an organic garden and get most excited seeing elders, and now children too, reaping the many benefits of working in... 
How long have I been gardening? Up until last year, I didn't really garden outside of helping my mom plant flowers when I was younger. Now that my husband and I have a house with a big yard, we are slowly starting to plant multiple gardens. Last year we started small with some tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. I always have been great at spreading mulch though, as the attached picture shows (I'm in the orange shirt).
My favorite things to grow are...
My favorite thing we planted last year was the three varieties of heirloom tomatoes. This year, I'm excited to plant even more tomatoes. We will also plant some hot peppers so my husband can make his amazing hot sauce!
What the WCG Plant Sale means to me?
Volunteering at the WCG Plant Sale is what really prompted me to try... 
My gardening career started with WCG in 2006. I was a youth educator, Americorps volunteer :) I loved growing and I never stopped. 9 years and counting. I love growing tomatoes, we have at least 20 different varieties growing every season! Some I grow for flavor, others just because I love their names like Black Seaman, and Clint Eastwoods Rowdy Red. One of my favorites for flavor is Dagma's Perfection. I also love growing flowers. Sweet peas and Dahlias are my favorite. This year I'm excited to try and grow some spices, like cumin in my garden. The WCG plant sale is so great, because it's mutually beneficial! You can get all the plants your gardening, veggie-loving, veggie-eating heart desires, with the added support from a great organization like Wasatch Community Gardens that makes it possible for so many more people to grow and eat healthy, organic, local food! We literally... 
Marybeth's favorite food to grow: My favorite thing to grow is pretty impossible to identify, because I love growing everything. I do try new things every year, though. One year it was sweet potatoes (with limited success due to an early cold snap), and the past few years I've grown artichokes from starts that I got at the WCG Spring Plant Sale. So yummy! This year, I'm growing fava beans for the first time. Nearly all of them are up, and I can't wait until they're three feet tall and bearing their bounty of favas! How long have I been gardening? I've been gardening on my current property for 18 years. We have four fruit trees, as well as various brambles, assorted other berries, and tons of veggies, and we are lucky to garden year-round using a hoop house. Its all thanks to WCG that... 
Coconut Curry Popcorn
Photo & recipes by Emily Armstrong With the Food & Garden Film Festival taking place on Thursday, March 26, here are some fun snack foods for you to make. By the way, why not grow popcorn in your community garden plot this year? Ingredients: 1/2 cup organic popcorn kernels 2 tbsp. coconut oil (1 tbsp. melted) 1/2 tsp. red pepper 1/2 tsp. curry powder salt to taste Instructions: 1. Heat over medium-high heat, 1 tbsp. coconut oil and kernels in a medium to large pot. Make sure they heat up together. The kernels should cover the bottom of the pot without overlapping. 2. The kernels will get hot and start to pop. At that point, partially cover the pot with a lid and gently shake it while kernels pop. There should be steam escaping from the pot while the kernels pop. 3. Once the kernels have stopped popping, transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp. melted... 
photo and recipe by: Emily Armstrong Ingredients: 2 cups cubed sweet potatoes (skin on or off) 2 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash 1 cup trimmed and halved brussel sprouts 1 cup peeled, cubed red beets (2-3 medium beets) 2-3 tablespoons good quality olive oil sea salt pepper fresh rosemary Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 2. You will want to make sure that all the vegetables/squash are cut into about the same size cubes so that they cook evenly. Don't cut them too small due to the fact that they will shrink a bit as they cook. About 1 to 1 1/4 cubes. 3. Spread vegetables and squash evenly on a baking sheet or two, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and fresh rosemary. Toss to coat evenly. 4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Turn them once with a spatula about half way... 
Written by Ashley Patterson, WCG Executive Director Not a single chick was laying and they feared talk of soup. The hoop houses were sown with hardy roots and greens In hopes that those vegetables could soon be healthy cuisines. The fall leaves were added to the compost pile To produce that black gold that makes us all smile. The goats in their pens and the bees in their hives Are patiently waiting for spring to arrive. Our staff is stuck indoors but hard at work on our plans Anticipating the fun of toiling in the soil with our hands. It's less fun than planting and sowing new seeds But with careful thought we find it produces less weeds. We hope you will support our efforts again this year As your gifts to our programs give us great cheer. We can't do this work without the help of our fans So... 
Blog written by Bill Stadwiser, WCG Youth Program Director
Ask around, and you’ll find that pressure cookers have a reputation for being loud, expensive, and dangerous. While this reputation was true for many of our parents’ (or perhaps grandparents) generation, modern pressure cookers are truly a delight to use. And while modern units have largely ditched the issues that have plagued the models of yesteryear, they’ve kept and even improved upon the tremendous time, energy, water, and nutritional efficiencies that make pressure-cooking attractive in the first place.
So if you’re interested in learning about pressure cookers, read on …
A Brief History of Pressure Cooking:
Pressure cookers have been around since the late 17th century. Original models were made out of a hodge-podge of materials, were prone to exploding, and were considered by many to be more of a scientific curiosity than a useful tool for the masses. By the... 
Blog written by Susan Finlayson, WCG Community Gardens Program Director
Photos courtesy of Mark Hooyer
"We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community." -Dorothy Day
I am reading a book by Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, for a book club that I participate in. What I have learned so far is that Dorothy Day was an activist in the early 20th century. The daughter of a journalist, she went to school in Chicago, cut her teeth with bohemian radicals in New York City in the roaring 20s, dabbled in nursing, and eventually found her calling as founder and publisher of The Catholic Worker.
For a famous activist, she had a surprising humility about her life. She questioned her worthiness often. Much of her book chronicles the vicissitudes of life of a middle-class women in the early 20th... 
Teachers overwhelmingly view gardens as valuable! Even when teachers can’t find the time to make it out to the garden for classes, they still value the beauty, diversity, and sensory engagement that gardens can offer their students. Community gardens offer unique opportunities to teach youth about:
• Where food comes from; • Practical math skills; • Basic business principles; • The importance of community and stewardship; • Issues of environmental sustainability; • Job and life skills;
And, community gardening is a healthy, inexpensive activity for youth that can bring them closer to nature, and allow them to interact with each other in a socially meaningful and physically productive way.
Next Steps: Identifying design principles that school districts can utilize to encourage more teachers to head out into the garden, or to see it as a more valuable asset.
The Future of the School Garden Program: While designing these programs, Liz has kept an...