Is "growing food illegal” in Teller County?

DIVIDE — Virginia Loop imagined rows and rows of carrots and peppers, trees that would give her lemons and kiwifruit in a few years, and even her own crop of avocados on their land at 9,200 feet.

What she has, though, are wasted seeds, tomato plants of a half-dozen varieties that wilted and died in their pots, and a greenhouse taken over by weeds.

Virginia and her husband, Zac, had a dream of growing their own food, sharing with the neighbors and selling their extra zucchinis, potatoes and mangoes to fellow Teller County residents. They researched state and local laws, decided they did not need a permit, took out a home equity loan and built a $60,000 greenhouse on their 4-acre lot not far from Woodland Park.

Now they are facing the possibility of losing their home after Teller County