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SALT LAKE CITY -- A two-year experiment on Salt Lake County land is over. Now, urban farmers are harvesting the fruits of their labor.
This seven acres of land is one of several properties around Salt Lake County's urban areas growing all sorts of produce that will feed people right here in the county.
17-year-old Brad Wilkinson skipped his lunch at high school today to tend Tagge's Farm in Holladay -- a job he does three days a week.
"Every other day we come here and pick cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, cantaloupes, watermelons, tomatoes," Wilkinson said.
This urban farming is part of a growing movement across the country and here in Utah, mainly because food prices are increasing and people want to save money.
"People are very interested in knowing more about where their food's coming from," said Jule Peck-Dabling, the Salt Lake County urban farming coordinator. "And they care about it for health and safety reasons. And the contamination issues we've seen in the past."
Two years ago, Salt Lake County officials had empty fields decided to start an urban farming program. It's one of the reasons Thayne Tagge traded his desk job as a CPA for field work running his own farm.
"Literally when I went to that field it was a weed patch. And I was nervous about that. I didn't know if I was going to be able to handle that," Tagge said. "But I plowed it in the fall and then I dissed it right after they came up and really literally knocked them out. It's just a whole new landscape."
Farmers say this is all pretty labor intensive. But the number of hours it takes to water these vegetables, pick them and then make deliveries worth every bite.
One obstacle for the county is land availability. There's just no more land to lease to those who want to start their own urban farm.
Salt Lake County has three commercial farms in Millcreek, Draper, and Holladay. The county plans to open two new farms in South Salt Lake and Magna by next year.
Email: [niyamba@ksl.com](<mailto: niyamba@ksl.com>)
