Wasatch Community Gardens

A wonderful community garden. You can rent space for gardening and take a variety of classes. They also have a youth program. In addition to veggies and berries they also have chickens and bees. They have a problem with some people stealing food so they have put a ‘free food bin’ for gardeners to put their extras in for people to take.
The best thing about this garden is their annual Grateful Tomato Party each September. Tomatoes and homemade pesto on bread with local music and kids activities.

I’ve been meaning to come to this plant sale for years. But every year, I forget or I get tied up. Not this year! I woke up bright and early to make it in time to snag my favorites. This is the first year I’ve had a full-​blown big garden so I needed the best of the best to keep me munching on delicious veggies the rest of the year.
I got there at 8:30 and wow. It was already packed. I had to park a few blocks away but it was oh so worth it. Jeffrey S. was there manning the tomatoes. I knew I could count on him to point out which plants I should try. He even made a handy tomato guide with all of the varieties and their profiles. Picking which ones I wanted was a breeze.
While it was crazy busy, there was a lot of order and structure. You can tell this wasn’t their first rodeo. Volunteers were super helpful and friendly. The line was long but moved quickly and payment was so easy.
I got away with a bunch of tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplants, and a few flowers. Success!

Hopefully, many other Unilocalers made it to this event. The booths up front have lots of good things. We bought cheese and pastries. The number of tomatoes available is huge. They are all great heirloom varieties. The price is amazing. It’s well organized and everyone is friendly.
The only thing that could have made it better was knowing ahead we could have brought the dog with us. She ended up in the car because we didn’t know. We’ll know next year, because we’ll be back.

After a long and tumultuous season, I have finally starting reaping the harvest from my Wasatch Community Gardens plants. And they are FANTASTIC!
I love the variety here. I’m eating Cream Sausage (bright yellow, sausage-​shaped), Nebraska Wedding (large and bright orange) and Black Plum tomatoes. Yumm! The Hungarian Black peppers are the size and shape of jalapenos, with about the same amount of heat, but they are gorgeous! They look like little tiny eggplants and the plant itself is also gorgeous!
You’re not going to find this wide array of fruits and veggies at the local «home warehouse» store.
I only purchased a tiny sampling of their offerings, but I’m so happy that I’ve doubled my garden space for next year! Yay for «home-​grown» goodness!

I am an expert backyard gardener. Have been growing in Salt Lake County about 12 seasons. I volunteer as a plant expert at the Wasatch Community Gardens Sale. Several dozens of volunteers just like me are there to give you advice and help you pick out the best seedlings for the most successful edible and sustainable garden. The most rare and best seedlings sell out first. I sold out of grey zucchini by about 8 am.
It is a great event and a great organization to support. They publish their plant list in April on their website
. The sale is the first Saturday in May, every year. I suggest bring a wagon or something on wheels to get your plants from the sale to your car. Also the prices for the seedlings are $ 2 — this is actually quite reasonable for the caliber and quality of the heirlooms.
They also have classes all growing season that are cheap and very informative including composting, backyard chickens and water collection techniques again posted on their website
.

Every year I look forward to the first week of May. Temps are warming up (hopefully) and we’re past our last frost (usually) which means it’s time to get out to the garden. I find myself singing «It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year» out loud in garden centers and making a fool of myself giggling at nurseries. It is, in a word, Spring.
For the past several years I’ve relied on the WCG Plant Sale for all of my vegetable garden plants. I just bought a boat load of tomatoes. In fact, this is where I buy them every year. Heirlooms aplenty, and some varieties available nowhere else. Heirloom varieties of squash, melons, and other edible perennials fill the parking lot waiting to go home to be planted, cared for, and harvested. There’s also a long and distinguished list of herbs for sale, and lots of great non-​edible but waterwise perennials for sale. It is heaven. Springtime garden heaven.
If you want the best selection, make sure to arrive early. Like, an hour early. If you’re there to browse, skip the crowds and come around 9 or 10. You’ll still have plenty of varieties to choose from. Plan on spending a few minutes in line, but you’ll be surprised at how well they move people in and out of there.
Plants are cheap (starting at $ 2 for the little guys) and going up from there. Cost is secondary, because this helps raise money for the awesome programs at Wasatch Community Gardens.
Super fun event, great plants, nice folks, good cause. A win all the way around!