I feel safe in saying that most urban gardeners love their backyards and are proud of how they have utilized a small space to get so much fresh, healthy food and enjoyment! Most gardeners’ backyards also paint a beautiful picture - happy chickens, vegetable, flower, and herb gardens, a clothesline, worm and traditional composting and very little lawn. Their backyards provide beauty, food, calm, entertainment, and stress relief.
But what sets the gardens on the WCG Urban Garden & Farm Tour aside from most other gardens are the inspirational, hidden gems, and innovative talents our hosts possess, and the Urban Garden and Farm Tour allows you those rare voyeur opportunities to snoop in your neighbors backyard. Our 2014 tour certainly out-did itself this year. For example, one host on the tour grows the usual suspects- chickens, bugs, dogs, cats, kids, vegetables, berries, flowers, herbs, trees, friendships and much... 
Our Hoop House; An oasis of warm, the smell of grateful soil, friends to share tender young greens.
A number of interested folks have come together to grow this winter. You are welcome to join us, or maybe you are ready to try your own hoop house?!
This week, on a threatening but mostly dry day, a group of 6 of us got together to re-plastic the hoop houses built last year. Here are the basic steps we took to get it up and some general info to help you figure out how you might go about it, too.
First, cost wise, our hoop houses were first constructed last year by our now legendarily-beloved intern, Aaron. His cost for the two - 10x30 foot houses was about $400 for all materials and no labor.
The base is constructed out of 8inch-wide wooden boards screwed into 4x4 wooden posts spaced every... 
The Rest of the Requested Staff Recipes; Lentil Stew and Bacon Cheddar Soup.... Plus Bill's Cheesy Olivey Rosemary-y Bread
Vegetarian Crockpot Lentil Stew Recipe from Lindsey Oswald (Serves 6)
2 C lentils
4 C water
4 C vegetable broth
1 Onion, diced
3 Celery Stalks, sliced
2 Carrots, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Oregano
14 Oz Canned diced tomato
Preparation; Pre-soak lentils in the water for at least 2 hours or over night. Drain, put in crock pot and add remainder of ingredients. Cook on medium heat in the crockpot for 8-10 hours. Enjoy!
Beer and Cheddar Soup from Carly Gillespie (Serves 6)
1/2 lb Bacon slab, 1/3 inch dice
1 Celery rib, chopped
1 Small onion, chopped
1 Large Jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 Large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbl Thyme
12 Oz Lager or... 
Above, Wasatch Community Gardens staff thank our volunteers; Jonathan Krausert receives a lifetime Achievement Award, 10/23/2013.
So, I am the new guy here at Wasatch Community Gardens.
Someone has to be for every organization, but as the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator, there is an odd, out of step pace about being new; thanking and celebrating individuals for all they do, without really knowing exactly who has done exactly what.
While planning the Annual Volunteer Banquet I heard lots of references to people I’ve never met and I made assumptions about the un-witnessed level of generosity and estimated commitments of time.
And then, they came.
The names got faces and the year's workload completed was real, and heavy. The staff’s respect for the quiet heroes became as tangible as the bowls of soup we ladled out with our very sincere “thanks!”
And this group of co-workers each lent different skills to... 
I don't know about you all, but I've been hearing - and reading - about Mad City Chickens for years now. Finally, Wasatch Community Gardens' 2011 Chicken Week is hosting the state debut of this epic chicken film. That's right. Epic. Chicken. Film. If those three words don't send chicken-pimples down your arm I don't know what would. Want to find out why people are chicken-crazy? Wonder what exactly a chicken has to offer besides thighs and omelets? Have you recently been pondering how to go about getting your city's ordinances to welcome the feathery beasts? Mad City Chickens is for you. Do you love your chicks? Can you hardly remember what life was like before the zany creatures graced your backyard? Want to share an evening with fellow bird-brain enthusiasts? Mad City Chickens is for you. And just in case you need an extra nudge.... here's a teaser. But only... 
I love the yearly plant sale put on by Wasatch Community Gardens. Even though we don't have a lot of space in our container garden we still end up coming home with a dozen plants. The nice thing about that is we can use some of those plants as mother's day gifts and still benefit from them. I love the heirloom varieties of tomatoes. This year we picked up a Black from Tula, and a Ukrainian Purple, which we will probably keep for our little garden. We may pass on the Green Zebra, the Japanese Black, and the Kellog's Breakfast Orange. However I really like the Kellog's, so we may have to keep that one instead. What are your favorites? 
Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Aspen Orton For many people, living through the winter months with a smile on their face can be a trial, if not nearly impossible. Not being able to traipse around outside with the grass between your toes and fragrant dirt under your fingernails can drop endorphin levels like the temperature in January. One way to beat back the winter blues is to start your own garden in your kitchen; yes, that’s right, your very own garden in the center of your home. Not every plant flourishes in the winter, inside or out. Herbs, by nature, are naturally resilient and can thrive just about anywhere, including the kitchen. Herbs are also very low maintenance and can turn even the blandest meal or soup into a family sensation. A few winter herbs that don’t seem to mind the snow outside and the heater at full... 
Hey, while we are talking about tomatoes (how to eat all those green ones, why they didn't produce well this year, etc.), I thought I'd talk a bit about what my wife, Karen, and I have found to still be eat ripe tomatoes in January. First, we find it important to leave the stem on green tomatoes by cutting them off with clippers when harvesting them for storage. Pulling the stem off often compromises the attachment, allowing other life forms a place to gain access and spoil the tomato earlier. Second, we spread them out on multiple sheets of newsprint in a cool place so that they do not touch each other. Sure they might ripen sooner in a warmer place, but then they are gone sooner. Plus, most of thelife forms that cause fruits to spoil multiply more quickly in warmer places, and will spread rapidly from tomato to tomato, especially if stored in a sack. The ability to see all of...