On an unseasonably
warm winter morning, follow the people carrying empty tote
bags streaming out of the Tenleytown metro station (or those lucky enough
to be able to find a nearby parking spot) to a big brick building to find the
entrance to the Rooting DC forum.
Last Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the cavernous
glass-ceiling atrium inside the Woodrow Wilson High School was filled with
dozens of display tables from different local urban farmers, nonprofits with
information on composting and agriculture, and vendors selling garden supplies
and books on everything from school gardens to herbal recipes.
Rooting DC is an annual free forum where people can share
their skills, promote businesses and provide workshops from local gardeners,
agricultural businesses, and food productions in the D.C. area.
Free samples can always draw a crowd. In the center circle
of tables, there sat a single tiered table selling several products using
microgreens, including salads and arugula lemon pesto.
“This event was totally instrumental in the success of our
business,” Mary Ackley, the founder of Little Wild Things City Farm, said.
Little Wild Things started selling its products at Rooting
DC in 2015. They met one of its best clients, a Georgetown vegetarian taco
shop, at the event and the business has grown ever since, Ackley said.
The free sample of the day was its arugula lemon pesto,
which was fresh and packed with lemon and peppery flavor. Ackley was also
promoting small clay pots lush with different varieties of microgreens, which
they sell, as centerpieces for weddings.
One of Little Wild Things advantages is it’s located in D.C.
versus outside of D.C. Microgreens are very perishable, but they grow very
quickly and in a small space, so it’s a perfect fit for the farm to be located
in downtown D.C., Ackley said.
Once visitors are inside, they can fill their empty tote
bags with a fresh microgreen salad, fresh produce, potted plants. or information
pamphlets from the different tables.
Each table had free packages of seeds, like radishes and
peas, ready for anyone to take. They went fast.
Rooting DC is a place where people can learn and share,
Ackley said. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. there is 16 lectures and demos
happening every hour in the classrooms on the second and third floors of the
school. During these talks and demos, visitors can learn how to grow cannabis, save
seeds for the next season, and glean cooking recipes for specific plants.
“You get a chance to connect with a lot of different
potential customers and people that might be interested in either your business
or your organization, whether it’s a small profit business or a nonprofit,”
Ackley said. “There’s people from all different parts of the urban garden scene
there.”
I would recommend this event to anyone. Beginners and
professional gardens can share and learn new gardening tips and tricks for
their next or existing garden. For more information, check out http://rootingdc.org/.
About the Author:
Shelby Smith is a senior double major in multi-platform journalism and film studies at the University of Maryland College Park. She was a sports copy-editor for a campus publication called Unwind Magazine and a writer at The Campus Current newspaper at Anne Arundel Community College. She was a Fall 2016 intern with Washington Gardener.
Rooting DC is doing a fantastic job promoting the skillset and opportunities, especially for youth. We should try to be a part of such forums. Good share!
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