Urban farms are a growing trend, not only in Columbia, but all over the United States. Residents of Rosewood don’t have to go far; they can travel to 1005 Airport Boulevard where City Roots is located.

The founder Robbie McClam, a semi–retired architect and long time Columbia resident, got the idea to start an urban farm while listening to a broadcast of National Public Radio. McClam heard about an urban farm in Milwaukee, Wis., called Growing Power, which is run by South Carolina Native Will Allen. After hearing the story, McClam did some research and signed up for Allen’s commercial ag program, which requires a three day weekend commitment once a month for five months.

After completing the program, McClam decided to start an urban farm in Rosewood for two reasons: it was close to his home, and it is near the market for urban farming.

McClam had to get his site approved by the zoning board. Once the zoning board approved him, McClam and his son, Eric, began designing and building the main building in City Roots. He finished it in December 2009, and City Roots opened in January of 2010.

Sunflowers at City Roots McClam is no stranger to farming. His first job was working on his father’s tobacco farm.

“He told me it was the hardest job he ever had to do, and, at the tail end of his life he was doing it all over again,” Eric McClam.

Eric received his master’s degree in architecture from Tulane in the spring of 2009. After learning about his father’s idea, he decided to join City Roots.

The urban farm is built on two and three fourths of an acre. The windows and doors help with both light and ventilation making the structure as environmentally friendly as possible. The McClams hope to get Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Bee hive at City Roots City Roots is surrounded by rows of crops from bell peppers and potatoes to okra and beets. To help fertilize the crops, the McClams have constructed a large scale compost operation near the back. They take a couple of herbie curbies of vegetable matter from local markets along with wood chips from local wood cutters to produce the compost. To date, they have converted 30 tons of waste into mulch.

Along with raising crops, the McClams also have a bee hive, chickens, and fish.

In the greenhouse, water pumping through a raised plant bed system helps refill the fish tank filled with tilapia. The bed system acts as a biological filtering system helping to replenish nutrients into the water.

City Roots is open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To keep it running, the McClams depend on volunteers and interns. Among the residents who work and volunteer at City Roots are a retired Brazilian banker, a reverend, and students from middle and high schools.

Water system at City Roots City Roots has hosted events for groups like Soul Foods and Our Farm. They will also be hosting the Palmetto Tasty Tomato Festival August 8. The festival runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be live music, a taste test, tomato based pot luck, and celebrity judges to judge the multiple events being held.
Eric McClam, co–owner of City Roots