OUR MISSION

Our mission is to grow the most nutrient-dense, fresh, and best-tasting crops we can that are healthy for you, your family, and the soil.   

ABOUT ROOTS FARM

We are a certified-organic, diversified vegetable farm in Tiverton, RI.  We grow year-round on a small acreage (under 1.5 acres) using no-till, intensive and compact farming methods.  We practice regenerative farming, and building healthy soil is our focus. We strive to produce the most nutrient dense crops for the health of the soil, vegetables, and customers.  

With the flexibility and complexity of six moveable high tunnels, we are able to optimize time and space (horizontally and vertically) in our market garden scale farm. We are able to support our family and five full-time employees using our farming approach, while still prioritizing soil health.

We love growing year round, not just to have fresh veggies in winter for our community, but also to attempt more work-life balance. By shifting some of the farm production to winter, we are able to spread the demands of farming out over the seasons, rather than all in the warmer months.

Our fresh veggies are sold primarily through our summer and winter farmshare (CSA) programs and three farmers markets.

why the name "roots farm"?

Yes, we do grow some root vegetables, but we chose the name Roots Farm because by starting a farm and family in Tiverton, RI, we returned to Kelli's "roots" where she was born and raised.  We finally felt like we were settling in and putting down our own metaphorical Roots when we moved back to Rhode Island.

ABOUT MIKE AND KELLI ROBERTS

Mike and Kelli came to farming from engineering. They took a year after graduate school to work on an organic farm with the goal of learning how to grow food.  They fell in love with farming, and decided to start their own farm that next year (2009).  After a few years of holding off-farm jobs to get the farm and their family established (an 11 year old and an 8 year old), they were able to transition to full-time farming by 2014.  They have been farming full-time and year-round ever since.   

ADditional Resources

  • The fundamental aim of our farming style is to grow nutrient dense crops - crops that are healthier, less susceptible to pests and disease, last longer and taste better. This aim is accomplished by feeding the soil the organic amendments it needs to encourage and sustain beneficial soil microbial life. Learn more at the BioNutrient Food Association website.

  • Many of our farming methods are based on techniques developed by Eliot Coleman at Four Season Farm in Harborside, ME.

  • Interested in organic farming? Want to find organic farms in your area? Try contacting your local organic farming organization. The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) covers CT, MA, NH, NJ, NY, RI, and VT. Each member state has their own chapter -- for example, NOFA-RI and NOFA-MA. Maine has its own organic farmer and gardener association, MOFGA. We are members of both NOFA-RI and MOFGA.

  • FarmFresh RI is a local nonprofit that aims to grow a local food system that values the environment, health and quality of life of RI farmers and eaters.

 

This short video from 7 years ago shows a peek into our growing practices when we first started Roots Farm.