Sherri Harvel owner of Root Deep Urban Farm has operated her urban farm since 2005, near downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Located off Interstate 70, this small but vibrant farm is a welcome sight in the community. Rows of cabbage, leeks, kale, and fingerling potatoes are among the vegetables that you will find there.
Situated in a neighborhood that has been an area for illegal dumping in the past, Harvel’s farm is giving the neighborhood a new face lift.
“Yes, you are going to see things get dumped,” said Harvel.
She stands her ground with determination to protect the area and gets the city involved when necessary. The community feels the farm is an important instrument in combating against people’s disrespect towards the nearby property. Harvel attests that the diligence of the neighborhood association also plays a large part to keep the area clean.
With the years of mistreatment to the surrounding area, Harvel wanted to make sure that her farm was in the right location. Like many urban farms throughout the city, Root Deep is located on reclaimed land. Her urban farm lies where a house once stood. Remnants of the building’s foundation are unearthed as she prepares to plant. Fortunately, the soil was tested twice and both of the results came back clean.
“It’s been a vacant lot probably 20 to 25 years; a good while,” said Harvel.
Around twenty years ago, when Harvel lived near the City Market, she began her farming experience. With a knock on her door, someone asked if she would be interested in helping start a neighborhood garden. She agreed to help without much thought or hesitation. Ever since then she had a dedicated green thumb:
“I just caught the bug I suppose.”
Over the years Harvel has acquired the knowledge to successfully grow produce. She has taken training classes through Growing Growers, a sustainable agricultural research program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). She has also learned from working with the Kansas City Community Gardens and Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture (KCCUA). She stays involved and is currently a board member with KCCUA.
She doesn’t think of herself as a very sociable person, but she soon realized that farming wasn’t a quiet job, like she previously imagined. Harvel is visited by neighbors walking by her farm, asking for tips and the shoppers at the farmer’s market talk with her about the produce. Harvel has received positive feedback about Root Deep and the neighborhood is glad she is there.
“The garden is aesthetically pretty nice,” said Harvel. “Of course I get a lot of neighbors that stop and want to talk and everything.”
But she is fine with the additional company. She is even helping get a church garden started down the street by donating plants and answering whatever questions they might have. She says that she will try and help them as best as possible. The social interaction has helped shape Harvel into a community leader.
Citizens, like Harvel, are helping to green up communities across the city. They are taking charge and reclaiming mistreated neighborhoods. She has recently been invited to participate in the Benton Boulevard Corridor Beautification project; only a few blocks away from her farm.
When not working at her urban farm, Harvel can be found at many of the local farmer’s markets selling her produce. Stop by and strike up a conversation, you may learn some helpful tips on farming. If you take the initiative to make a difference, you too could end up Root Deep, like Harvel, helping to revive a community.
By Matt Bristow