Sarah McCammon of Root 64 Farm in Tallac Village tends to plant starts in preparation for sale. The farm will host its plant starts sale on Saturday, April 11 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sean Timberlake
stimberlake@sacbee.com
How does your garden grow? With temperatures rising and abundant sunshine upon us, it’s time to plan your plantings for the season.
There is no shortage of places to buy plant starts in the area, but they tend to hew to predictable, mainstream varieties. If you’re looking to jazz up your garden this year, local urban farm Root 64 will be selling plant starts on Saturday, April 11, including varieties you won’t find anywhere else.
Sarah McCammon and Randy Stannard started the farm in 2017. They had met while working at Soil Born Farms in La Riviera. McCammon was already running a farm in Davis, but the two wanted a parcel of their own to grow.
Now, they farm about two-thirds of their acre parcel at 4971 64th St. in Tallac Village.
The back lot, spanning all the way to the 65th Street Expressway, is laid out in long rows. Currently, they are covered in “tunnels,” temporary structures made with plastic covering a metal framework. This keeps the rows protected and significantly warmer, trapping the sun’s heat.
“We are at most able to maybe flip a bed and replant it, like three times a year. But with the tunnels, we’re able to get an extra. You can grow in the winter,” McCammon said.
When I visited on March 12, they were beginning to prepare the starts for sale, getting ready to pot them into compostable fiber containers.
Picking a date for the sale is not an exact science, and definitely not one-size-fits-all. Some starts need longer than others to be ready,
“For example, the peppers, we sell them all the same date. But this year, I’m starting to get into enough detail to be like, well, the hot peppers really need longer than, like, some of the sweet peppers,” McCammon said.
The sale comes a little late this year, but that is a benefit to some plants. That’s especially true as the region gets an early warm season, allowing more finicky plants like cucumbers and melons time to get more established.
Randy Stannard of Root 64 in Tallac Village shows how temporary tunnels are used on the farm to protect new crops and give more heat. Sean Timberlake stimberlake@sacbee.com
Root 64 will be selling an expansive variety of starts, with the greatest amount of diversity in tomatoes and peppers, including lunchbox, bell peppers, Italian roasting peppers, shishitos and specialty chilis.
“We’re doing Jimmy Nardellos because Darrell Corti came out, and he was like, oh, can you grow a little bit. So we’re gonna do a full bed and hopefully sell some stuff to them,” Stannard said. “He’s even got me growing lovage.”
Tomatoes will run the gamut from San Marzanos and other sauce varieties to Brandywine and Purple Cherokee and a full array of cherry tomatoes.
There will be nine varieties of cucumbers including tried and tested — Japanese and American slicers, picklers, lemon cucumbers and more. They’ll also sell 10 varieties of summer squash, including both green and yellow compact bush-type zucchini, and several specialty varieties loved by chefs such as Zephyr and Pantheon.
In all, McCammon estimates about 200 varieties across all plants, totalling somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 starts.
The sale will start at 10 a.m., first come, first serve. Any unsold may be posted online for people to claim.
Starts for tomatoes and peppers are prepared for sale at Root 64 in Tallac Village. Sean Timberlake stimberlake@sacbee.com
The starts sale kicks off the season. Root 64 sells produce direct to consumers and to restaurants starting shortly after the sale Saturday mornings through the week of Thanksgiving.
“Our sales are about 45 percent to the farm stand, and then about 25% to restaurants. The remaining 30% is miscellaneous. We sell to the school district, we sell to a food hub, whatever nonprofit programs, various relationships,” McCammon said.
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What I’m Eating
When Sweetgreen opened its first Sacramento location at the end of last year in the Richmond Building at 1629 S St., it became the latest corporate chain to insinuate itself into midtown. It’s also directly across the street from Hook & Ladder.
Not content to have their lunch literally eaten by the chain, the team at Hook & Ladder created a new concept last Tuesday. PRANZO, from the Italian word for lunch, is a grab-and-go counter at the host station featuring salads, sandwiches and bowls, plus a triple chocolate cookie for a little treat.
The idea is to give customers the same speed, freshness and convenience they enjoy at Sweetgreen or Mendocino Farms, but featuring chef-designed dishes from one of Sacramento’s most beloved restaurants. You didn’t have to twist my arm to try it.
A sweet potato-quinoa salad and an Italian deli sandwich are among the offerings at Hook & Ladder’s new lunch grab-and-go concept, PRANZO. Sean Timberlake stimberlake@sacbee.com
I went in for the Hook deli sando ($10), with soppressata, mortadella, provolone, red onions, pepperoncini and lettuce. Not mentioned in the description of the sandwich is a very satisfying red pesto. I might have liked a little more of each deli meat to balance the bread.
The seasonal squash & quinoa bowl ($10) — with radishes, fennel and citronette — is a bargain and a beast, clocking in at a full 2 pounds. I’ll be picking at that for the next two days.
Hook & Ladder’s full lunch menu will still be available for dine in, takeout or delivery.
PRANZO at Hook & Ladder
Address: 1630 S St., Richmond Grove
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday
Phone: 916-442-4885
Website: hookandladder916.com
Vegetarian options: A good slice of the menu including the squash & quinoa bowl, a veggie sando and salads.
Openings & Closings
In a social media post, the owners of East Sacramento lunch spot Juno’s Kitchen announced its closure on Saturday, April 11. The owners said it was a “privilege” serving their customers and that they “have appreciated and will miss being a part of the East Sacramento community.”
Dublin-based Indian fusion concept Desi Pizza Bites will open its second Sacramento-area restaurant, taking over the Carmichael space of the former Pasquale’s Italian Pizza at 9045 Fair Oaks Blvd. Desi Pizza’s other location in the region is in Folsom. Pasquale’s was a Carmichael institution, closing at the end of last year after 50 years in business.
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