Renton urban farming has blossomed as the city has implemented agriculture-friendly policies

Cathy in our garden during last year’s tomato season

Raising our food in our own backyard, balcony or in a nearby community garden has many benefits. Urban farming increases our food security, gives us healthy organic options, makes efficient use of our land, is educational, saves money, creates beautiful urban landscapes, and saves fossil fuel in food production and transportation. Small farm animals, like chickens, ducks, and bees, can be symbiotic with our gardens to maximize the amount of food coming from our backyards.

I’ve promoted urban farming during my 25 years on council, ensuring our policies, ordinances, and educational classes encourage healthy gardening and allow reasonable keeping of farm animals in suburban settings. I’ve also pushed to keep the cost of water as low as possible for Renton residents, remembering our urban gardeners. Our city is lucky to have our own water supply.

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Here is an article I wrote for the Renton Reporter in 2009 announcing an updated animal keeping ordinance I spearheaded, and here is an article I wrote for my own blog entry in 2010 telling residents how they could get started.

That same year Sustainable Renton was born, with the mission of fostering a healthier community and planet,and they’ve been enthusiastically promoting urban farming ever since. Below are views of a couple of beautiful and productive backyard farms in our Benson Hill neighborhood that are both owned by amazing gardeners and active bloggers:

The beautiful and productive garden shown above is 7 Tree Farm , maintained by Tracey Bailey Delamarter. There are chickens just out of view on the right.

The intensive tomato crop above is just a small part of Homestead in the Suburbs, a meticulously and lovingly maintained suburban farm (complete with poultry and rabbits) managed by Lina Pogosov.

For a real blast-to-the-past, below is an article from the Renton Reporter published two decades ago when I was elected to Council President for the first time. Back then, one needed to live on a half-acre or more to legally keep chickens, and I helped change that.