13th Annual Eat Local Expo

This weekend kicks off the first of two Eat Local Exhibitions put on by the Kansas City Food Circle, a grassroots organization devoted to promoting a permanently sustainable local food system in the Kansas City region.

Not only will there be dozens of local food vendors, as well as organic vegetable seedlings for sale, but also FREE how-to workshops on food preservation, seasonal eating and much more!

Check out the flyer below for more info & be sure to stop by the New Roots for Refugees booth - where we will be selling tote bags with the New Roots logo as a fundraiser. This is also a great time to come by & ask questions about our CSA shares. We look forward to seeing you!

If some real farmwork is more your style, we have plenty of that going on this weekend too! For the New Roots farmers to successfully feed our community, they must work hard to develop productive soil on what was previously a rock-strewn vacant lot. One way to do this is by adding loads of organic compost. This means lots of shovels, wheelbarrows, and community ~ Contact Rachel Bonar for more information or to sign-up!

We Love Drip Irrigation!

From coordinating markets and recruiting CSA members to greenhouse plantings and packaging seeds, the New Roots farmers and staff have been busily preparing for the upcoming growing season. Broccoli, cabbage, collards & kohlrabi are all sprouting in the greenhouse. Onions are hardening off in our new hoop house and are ready for transplanting – just waiting for the ground to dry out a bit.

While the beds out at the farm might be saturated and soggy today, come mid-summer the sun-baked earth will be rendered inhospitable to thirsty roots unless we irrigate. Which brings us to a unique challenge associated with urban farming: water bills! While our rural counterparts have the luxury of land on which to build irrigation ponds, we rely primarily on city water.



Drip irrigation is a huge water saver & once set-up, requires virtually none of a farmer’s time to utilize. While most of the New Roots farmers bring with them a significant wealth of agricultural experiences, drip irrigation is often a new method for them. For this reason we gratefully accepted an invitation to visit Greely Gardens, a nearby sustainable urban farm, for some hands-on drip irrigation experience. Thank you Warren for the wonderful workshop!