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Volume 17, Number 13 | May 15-21, 2025
Growing together
Harper Kaufman, right, has led the crew at Two Roots Farm since 2016. Photos by Will Sardinsky
Ten years at Two Roots Farm KATE PHILLIPS Sopris Sun Correspondent
At Two Roots Farm the hum of intention is everywhere. From soil to table, joy permeates as the crew celebrates 10 years of nourishing the community. “This feels really bright and like the small piece in the world that I’m meant to do,” said Two Roots owner Harper Kaufman. Situated on 22 acres in Basalt, Two Roots is a regenerative farm that grows vegetables, herbs and flowers. The crew enables biodiversity through meaningful farming practices including organic, sustainable and chemical-free, minimal tillage, crop rotation and non-invasive pest management — like using oranges to rehome pill bugs from the greenhouse to the compost. “We really strive to be organized and efficient so that we can have a balanced and enjoyable life,” said Kaufman. “We all came here wanting to eat really good
food, and we do.” Musing over the complexities of soil life, Kaufman said that building healthy soil is foundational work. To increase soil fertility, the crew plants over-winter cover crops, minimizes soil turnover and uses compost built on-site or purchased from the Crawford-based Soil Not Dirt Farm. “Sometimes it’s more about farming the soil than anything else. That does mean there’s a lot of physical labor involved, but we’ve always wanted to do things in a way that makes the healthiest food for the soil, farmers and our customers,” Kaufman said. The results speak for themselves. Two Roots grows 60 crop varieties and flowers — tended by flower manager and floral design lead Marieta Bialek — that laden hundreds of tables. “They really focus on soil health and leaving the land better than when we came across it,” said Soil Not Dirt owner Micah Ross.
“Spending the money and time to build the soil and make it last and farmable without synthetic fertilizers helps farmers continue on.”
The beginnings of stewardship “The story of Two Roots Farm is definitely a communal story,” said Kaufman, who worked on various farms, including Aspen Center for Environmental Studies at Rock Bottom Ranch (RBR) where she was the agricultural manager. At RBR, Kaufman learned the inner workings of animal production and starting vegetable gardens. Soon she was inspired to start Two Roots and leased a plot of land from Allison and Mike Spayd of Spradley Farms in Missouri Heights. “They set me up in such an awesome way and they were so generous with their space, time and community,” Kaufman remarked. For the Spayds the timing was impeccable. Allison had just given birth to their second child and would need help in the garden. continued on page 5