TOP

Wasatch Community Gardens pivots to bring long-running plant sale fundraiser online

Salt Lake City— With Salt Lake City residents staying close to home as the country weathers a pandemic, Wasatch Community Gardens (“WCG”) is rising to meet the community’s increasing demand for home gardening resources and local food production. In addition to keeping its 17 community gardens across the Wasatch Front operational and in compliance with CDC coronavirus safety guidelines – and bringing many of its educational resources online – the small nonprofit is transitioning its popular Spring Plant Sale Fundraiser to an online format with staggered product pick-ups and delivery options.



WCG has organized the plant sale annually for the past 30 years, and the event has become a spring staple for local gardeners with aspirations of bountiful vegetable and herb harvests. Dubbed “the best little plant sale in Utah,” the event has been reimagined this year with the health and safety of the community in mind. “While we’ll miss connecting in person with our community at our signature event this May, we understand now more than ever how important it is for community members to be able to grow their own food,” notes Executive Director Ashley Patterson. “We couldn’t be more excited to offer these seedlings to Utah gardeners through this new format that helps maintain the health and safety of the community.”



Starting April 30th, nearly 30,000 annual vegetable and herb starts will be available for online order at www.wcgplantsale.org. Cultivated at WCG’s Green Phoenix Farm (the location of WCG’s Job Training Program for women living in poverty), as well as 42nd Street Greenhouse and Sunshine Greenhouses, the vast selection of young plants will include numerous heirloom varieties – many of which can be purchased nowhere else in the Salt Lake Valley. The sale’s tomato selection is especially popular year after year, with nearly 80 varieties (including dwarf varieties) available for purchase. James Loomis, Director of WCG’s Green Phoenix Farm, has been working with the plants from the very beginning. “Whether you’re looking for a reliable canning tomato, the tastiest brandywine, or some freaky purpose striped eye candy, we have you covered,” says James. “It’s exciting to grow and offer such a diversity of plants, each one unique and with its own personality – just like each of the many gardeners who will take them home.”

No-contact order pick-ups will take place May 5-10 at WCG’s Green Phoenix Farm (622 W. 100 S., Salt Lake City; formerly called the Green Team Farm). Doorstep delivery options will also be available for an additional charge, and SNAP EBT benefits (food stamps) will be accepted for all purchases.

The plant sale is the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year, and proceeds from the event will support WCG’s community garden and educational programs. For full details about the fundraiser – and to submit orders starting April 30th – visit www.wcgplantsale.org.