Beets, leeks, herbs and an array of leafy greens ready for your table can be found at the Root to Rise Farm booth at the Ames Main Street Farmers’ Market.

Root to Rise, a community-supported agriculture farm based in Ames, uses organic and environmentally friendly practices such as utilizing manpower more than fossil fuels and using naturally derived fertilizers to bring fresh produce from farm to table.

Root to Rise owner Kate Solko started the farm in 2019, but has been gardening since her time at Iowa State University 15 years ago, when she studied agro-ecology and food science and found her love of growing “beautiful food.”

“We grow vegetables using organic practices,” Solko explained to the Voice. “We grow just about anything you can grow in Iowa,” including baby greens, cabbages, kohlrabi, tomatoes, peppers and more.

Root to Rise also grows things not so common in Iowa gardens, such as turmeric, lemongrass and baby ginger.

“We have a focus on increasing biodiversity, both on our farm and on our customers’ plates,” Solko said.

She uses five acres of land located on the property of Alluvial Brewing Company at 3715 W. 190th St. — the ginger grown by Root to Rise is used in Alluvial’s ginger beer, Solko said.

As a community-supported farm, Root to Rise has seven employees and more than 100 shareholder members in and around Ames, but also serves fresh vegetables and leafy greens at the Main Street Farmers’ Market ready for your plate at home.

“We love to help people learn how to use new things and explore all the different types of food people can grow and enjoy here in Iowa,” Solko said.

A salad bar – where market goers can mix up their own bag of lettuce, with choices ranging from spinach to arugula – is one special thing Root to Rise brings to the booths that line Main Street every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., May and through October. You can also find an array of leafy greens and plump produce.

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