Grow Food, Not Lawns

The garden also serves as a place to educate children on where their food comes from and learn to love all types of vegetables, says John.

Ogden Group Foodscapes Yards Into Edible Gardens

By Claire McArthur

Last year, John and Holly Trimble grew 1,200 pounds of fruits, vegetables, and nuts on the quarter-acre lot their house sits on in Ogden — enough so that their family of four only had to buy one bag of carrots the entire season.

With more than 30 fruit and nut trees, garden beds and space-saving techniques like arbors heaped with squash and other climbing plants, the Trimble’s front and back yards are a shining example of the “foodscaping” movement they are working to spread through their nonprofit organization.

Foodscaping Utah formed in 2018 with the goal of helping other Ogden homeowners transform their lawns and other underutilized spaces into abundant edible gardens. But the journey for the Trimbles began back at a small community plot at an apartment complex where John, who’d never enjoyed the taste of fresh vegetables, and Holly grew their very first garden. After that first taste of a homegrown tomato, they never looked back. After moving to Ogden and purchasing a home, John became a Master Gardener

through the USU Extension program. and you see this place transform from The Trimbles spent the next eight years mostly grass or weeds to vegetable beds overhauling their outdoor spaces with and fruit trees. We mulch the area and a diverse array of edible plants and plant some perennials to make it look nice,” pollinators — and now they help others do says John. “It becomes something that the same. neighbors stop to look at and admire.”

Foodscaping puts growing food on a Recipients of the volunteer-run property front and center. Residents who foodscaping service are asked to donate 10 live in or near Ogden can apply to have percent of their produce to Foodscaping their own yards foodscaped with the help Utah for farmers market fundraisers of volunteers from Foodscaping Utah and food bank donations, as well as pay through the nonprofit’s website. They it forward by volunteering at future typically accept about six applicants a year. foodscaping transformations.

“We try to determine who would “Foodscaping, in our minds, is a keep their verb,” says foodscape Holly. “It’s going and transforming who really a space into needs the something help to do it,” that’s says Holly. productive “First, John and an or one of the ecosystem other Master for beneficial Gardeners insects and goes over to a teaching their house opportunity to do a for your kids.” consultation, For those draw up the outside the plan, and tell Ogden area them what John and Holly Trimble have spent the looking to buy. Then last eight years turning their back and for help or we have front yards into a thriving edible garden to feed their family, and now they help other inspiration volunteers Ogden residents do the same. for come out on transforming a Saturday to their own build out the space and plant.” yards into foodscapes, the Trimbles

To make the most of the space, they regularly post content and videos on train fruit trees’ branches to grow along a their Facebook, trellis or wall — a technique called espalier Instagram, and — or prune for size control to allow for YouTube channel. the trees to flourish on modest-sized lots. Find more Trellises, arbors, and pergolas add interest information to the landscaping while providing the at www. real estate for grapes, peas, cucumbers, or foodscapingutah. pumpkins to grow. org

“It’s two hours on a Saturday morning Foodscaping Utah