A pioneering backyard farm in Denver

A heavy, cold rain poured down on Debra Neeley as she set-up and opened her pioneering Green Gate Farm Stand Saturday morning, but dampen her spirit, or the enthusiasm of her customers it did not. As the opening hour of 9am passed, her front porch – turned farm stand – was packed with customers snatching up fresh herbs, eggs, greenery and tomato starter plants.

This might conjure a picture of life in a small rural town, or of a time long ago, but Debra Neeley is the proprietor of Green Gate Urban Farm and Gardens, a farm located in the backyard of her home in urban Denver, Colorado. She is a one of the first to take advantage of recently passed “cottage food” legislation to legally produce and sell home-grown produce and homemade foods from her residence.