Intro

History of the Garden

About the Garden

"The earth heals souls...The garden feeds people in a multitude of ways."

"When we see our neighbors there, and visit with them, it makes us feel closer as a family because we are interacting more with the people of our community, and growing things together—sharing this essential part of human existence together."

"People need a place to go... People need a sanctuary."

"It is an inspiring place not only for those who garden, but for the community as well. As the city becomes more and more supportive and active in sustainability, I think community gardens speaks to that mission incredibly well."

"There is still a heart beating in the middle of the city."

About the Garden

Facts at a Glance
The Gardeners
The Neighborhood
The Soil
Environmental Stewardship
Access to Healthy Food
Democracy in Action
Biodiversity

Facts at a Glance

• Location: 553 South 400 East, Salt Lake City
• The garden is at least 25 years old.
• 21 gardening families each year.
• About 50% of participants are low to extremely low income.
• The garden produces about 11,000 pounds of produce annually
• Food production valued at $14,000 annually
• 0.26 acres
• 25 garden plots, about 190 square feet each
• 5 raspberry plots
• 3 fruit trees and grape vines
• 1 rainwater cistern that harvests rain from a neighboring apartment collects about 5,000 gallons of water annually.
• No chemical herbicides or pesticides

The Gardeners

Tended by a diverse community, giving nourishment to hard-working people, and providing green, beautiful space in an increasingly urban jungle, the Fourth East garden is a true community garden. 

The garden is divided into 25 plots, and each year new community members come and go, in addition to a handful of individuals who have been involved in the garden since its inception.  Mary, a working baby boomer, maintains lovely, well established perennial flowers and also plants vegetables each year.  Mae, an active senior, starts fresh annually with seasonal vegetables.  Terry, who lived next door, grew roses, vegetables and fruit trees.  He considered the garden his backyard; he frequently took on self-initiated improvement projects that have left a permanent mark on the garden, including a beautiful tool shed, fencing, pathway improvements, fruit trees and a gathering area in the shade.  He was HIV-positive and died last summer, leaving behind a perfectly manicured plot and many friends in the garden.  Since that time, fellow gardeners have pitched in to tend his crops and donate the resulting produce to the Utah AIDS Foundation’s food bank.

The Neighborhood

A community garden is intrinsically linked to its neighborhood and the unique set of people who live and work around it.  The 4th East Garden draws much of its vitality from its long-term, committed gardeners as well as its location in a densely populated area. 

Demand for plots in the garden has always been high, and over the years it has only increased, as the garden has been surrounded by apartment buildings and low-income housing.  Neighbors walking past the garden often stop to inspect the current crops and comment to gardeners about ideas for recipes, or express thanks for this beautiful oasis in the city.

The garden is literally surrounded by apartment buildings.  The apartment complex to the north of the garden provides subsidized housing for HIV-positive residents, who benefit directly from the healthy effects of green space and opportunity for fresh food at their doorstep.

The Soil

Any farmer or gardener knows that the true wealth of the harvest comes from the health of the soil.  Salt Lake City soil is often heavy clay or porous sand, a challenge for any backyard garden.  However, 25 years of soil amendments, including hundreds of cubic yards of organic compost, protective cover crops, and mineral inputs, not to mention responsible care, have gone into making the 4th East Garden a lush and fertile oasis of productivity in the heart of the city.

Good soil is not built overnight, and as local farmlands disappear and urban populations spread, more and more is lost each year.  The 4th East Garden represents a storehouse of good soil built up over 25 years and inextricably tied to its location.

Other permanent improvements to the garden include a beautiful hand-built shed, fruit trees, grape vines, fencing, irrigation system, rainwater cistern, and stone pathways.

Environmental Stewardship

Wasatch Community Gardens, the current manager of the 4th East Garden, is committed to responsible environmental stewardship and actively promotes sustainable gardening practices within its gardens.  The 4th East Garden grows without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.  Plant waste is continually recycled on site in compost bins, and water is conserved through a timed drip system. 

This year, a rainwater harvesting system was installed that will collect water from an adjoining apartment building to use for irrigation in the garden.  Rainwater harvesting reduces pollution run-off and saves high-quality (salt-free!) rainwater for use in the garden.  This would be the first known public demonstration site of a rainwater cistern in Salt Lake City.

Providing a place for urban food production also benefits the environment.  Today the average meal travels 1500 miles from farm to plate, requiring inputs of oil for production, transportation, storage, and contributing significantly to air and water pollution.  The community garden provides a place where people can learn to grow their own food and reduce these negative impacts on the climate and environment.

Unique Benefits to the Community

Much has already been studied and written about the psychological, physical and social benefits of urban green space.  Salt Lake City and County both promote open space in recognition of its inherent value and recognize that without active preservation and planning, open space can easily disappear to building development.  The 4th East Garden provides all of the benefits of open space—urban renewal, reduction in crime, water conservation, outdoor recreation, social connection, and aesthetic enhancement—but it also provides some unique benefits to the community.

Access to Healthy Food

The Utah Department of Health recognizes the unique and vital role that community gardens can play in improving human health, providing a grant program in 2007 to support the establishment and growth of community gardens around the Wasatch Front.  Gardening not only gets people outside and active; it also provides access to healthy food at the peak of ripeness and nutrition.

Democracy in Action

There are few places like a community garden to bring together a diverse group of citizens in a common, creative cause.  As part of a vibrant and ever-evolving community, each gardener is challenged to move beyond their comfort zone, meet their neighbors, and learn principles of cooperation and leadership that serve the larger society.  In the 4th East Garden, leadership roles are rotated each year, some tending to the water system, others organizing work days, or coordinating the delivery of produce donations to local food pantries.  The garden is open to everyone, and regularly includes active seniors and young families, rich and poor, politically liberal and conservative, religious and atheist.  The garden literally bridges the divide and serves as a living venue for democracy in action.

Biodiversity

The garden provides a green space that is not just green, but diverse and alive with hundreds and thousands of different species of plants and animals.  The lush assortment of vegetables, flowers and fruit creates a haven for local birds and a place for preserving rare heirloom crops and seeds.
The biodiversity in the garden not only promotes a healthy environment, but also provides increased psychological benefits, as demonstrated by a recent study at the University of Sheffield, UK*

*Fuller and Irvine, “Psychological benefits of greenspace increase with biodiversity,” Biology Letters, Volume 3, issue 4 (August 22, 2007), p. 390-394.