Putting down new roots
Rooted Farm, an urban operation in Oklahoma City that grows microgreens, is moving to a new location.
Farming and other agricultural activities shape the landscape in ways that really stand out in an urban environment.
Rooted Farm, an urban Oklahoma City agricultural pursuit that has been operating for several years, plans to make its mark on some property near Stockyards City.
The operation had been growing microgreens, which it sells at farmers markets in Oklahoma City and Edmond, using a greenhouse at Oklahoma City’s Downtown Airpark.
But with redevelopment of that land underway, Rooted Farm’s owner, Joshua Guess, is moving his operation to a 2-acre site near Rotary Park.
The Rooted Farm’s new home at 1201 S Blackwelder Ave. also is on the north edge of Will Rogers Courts, an affordable housing project operated by the Oklahoma City Housing Authority.
Joshua Guess, who owns Rooted Farm with his wife, said he has a five-year lease with the housing authority, and is working his way through permitting the project with Oklahoma City. He plans to start building Oct. 31.
Guess is excited about the project for various reasons.
First, the new operation will use a larger greenhouse and that will enable him to boost his production of microgreens.
Microgreens are one- to three-week old growths of arugula, cabbage, kale, sorrel, pea shoots, sunflowers, brassica and other plants that are extremely nutrient dense, compared to their mature varieties.
Guess said the site also gives him enough room to expand his production to include more organic vegetables, and perhaps eventually to begin producing organic meats to offer for sale.
“We are aiming for nutrient density in everything that we grow, because we want people to be healthy and be healed through the food that they eat,” Guess said.
Guess said he gets mixed reactions when he tells people his operation is in the heart of urban Oklahoma City. Typically, urban residents love the idea, while rural ones aren’t so sure.
Guess said farming in an urban environment helps him because it puts him close to a customer base he already has been growing through his farmers market sales.
Guess added he’s also excited by the opportunities he sees in helping his neighbors.
Rooted Farm is moving into a part of Oklahoma City considered a food desert because residents who live in that part of town don’t have easy access to wholesome foods, he observed.
His hope is that Rooted Farm will be able to work with the housing authority’s Will Rogers Courts residents and other surrounding residents to get them interested in growing some of their own foods.
Will Rogers Courts, at 1620 Heyman, has 354 units ranging from efficiencies to three-bedroom apartments and is more than 90 percent full, housing authority officials said.
Various nonprofits provide services to its residents, including the Salvation Army Boys/Girls Club, Turning Point alcohol and drug counseling services, the OSU 4-H Club, the Girl Scouts, the Health Clinic at Oak Grove, a scholarship program and We Care, a mental health services organization.
“When I look at Will Rogers Courts, I just see what it could be,” Guess said, when discussing his vision for the community. “This is an opportunity to actually have a meaningful impact by engaging with our neighbors and growing plenty of good food with them.
“If we can teach them how to balance the soil and grow nutrient-dense foods in their yards, there are ancillary benefits that come with that.
“There are so many better uses for the space than just growing short grass.”
Bountiful crops
Statistics report that demand for the types of products Rooted Farm plans to grow at its new location is growing, too.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released data in September that shows U.S. farms produced and sold $7.6 billion in certified organic commodities in 2016, up 23 percent from 2015.
During the same year, the number of certified organic farms in the country increased 11 percent to 14,217, and the number of certified acres increased 15 percent to 5 million.
In Oklahoma in 2016, organic agricultural production sales totaled $4.6 million, up from $2.1 million in 2015, and the state had 34 certified organic farms with 18,008 acres.
Most sold crops; others sold organically certified livestock and poultry.
Of those growing vegetables in open areas, the statistics service reported they sold $259,558 in produce grown on 14 acres at 13 farms.
Neighbors welcoming
Ian Colgan, assistant executive director of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority, said he can’t wait for residents at the authority’s Will Rogers Courts to experience the benefits Rooted Farm will bring.
Colgan said the authority’s deal with Rooted Farm is an example of its efforts to create meaningful partnerships to help low-income residents.
“We are very supportive of using some of our vacant, underused land to help Rooted Farm. Their mission to engage residents, both on our property and in surrounding areas, is very compelling,” he said.
Colgan said Will Rogers Courts is one of the nation’s oldest housing projects. It was built by the Works Progress Administration, and became part of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority’s portfolio of properties in 1965.
He said the closest grocery stores to the neighborhood are in Capitol Hill, which is too far for residents without a car to shop for groceries.
Meanwhile, Guess said he’s still working to get all the permits he needs for the project. Hurdles he is negotiating involve sidewalk and parking requirements.
Guess also said he will take his time in expanding the operation, saying he wants to be sure whatever he does will leave the land better than how he found it.
“I don’t envision making Rooted Farm a big operation,” he said. “I want this to be a launchpad for other people, giving them the tools they need to become urban farmers.
“We can have a ton,” he continued. “If we can shift people from going to the grocery store to growing their own nutrient-dense food at home, that’s the goal.”
Rooted Farm is working to raise thousands of dollars it needs to meet city code requirements for its new operation by selling T-shirts and hoodies on its website, rootedfarm.com.