Root Revival, spreading the seeds of backyard gardening and beekeeping business

Root Revival planting veggetables and bee boxes throughout Summit County. Photo: Root Revival

PARK CITY, Utah — Whether you’ve seen them at the farmers market or rooting around in your neighbor’s backyard, Root Revival wants to spread the seeds of their business in sustainable ways serving the people, land, and bees of Park City and Summit County. 

Since owners Mike McKinney and Alex Schenck founded Root Revival in 2018, they’ve enjoyed steady growth of the company, with 2022 being their most successful yet.

Not only have residents started to utilize the company’s custom vegetable gardens, irrigation systems, herb gardens, fruit trees, and bee boxes, but commercial entities with a little space, like on Main Street, are as well. 

Learn and confidently start growing only the foods your family wants to eat, and as their motto says, “We do the dirty work for you.” Root Revival will also install a means with which to protect gardens against wildlife. 

Excess produce feeds the community and never goes to waste with their CSA Harvest Box subscription, distribution to local food pantries, and the ability to sell to local restaurants focused on fresh ingredients. Options include bi-weekly pickup of produce at the Park City Farmers Market.

The company also offers a comprehensive beehive maintenance service for those interested in beekeeping.  Services for this program include:

• Twelve scheduled inspections a year
• Pest and pathogen mitigation
• Thermal imaging over winter
• Winterization
• Honey harvesting

Beekeeping for honey dates back to ancient Egyptian civilization. Honeybees alone pollinate 80% of flowering plants. It is said that the frequency of a honey bee colony can help calm and relax the nervous system within the human body. While there are personal benefits, it is also known that honey bees can travel up to five miles from their colony, playing a more significant role in the lives of everyone around.

Root Revival’s gardening services include building and installing raised beds, customized drip irrigation to fit the water system already in place, and all plants are grown from seed. What is not grown from seed is sourced from local businesses such as Park City Gardens.

“Root Revival provides the opportunity for Summit County residences to create food security and strengthen the community as a whole. Our approach to urban agriculture allows us to grow organic produce for all members of the community while supporting the local ecosystems,” said Jordyn Aldrich, Community Outreach Coordinator & Beekeeping Program Manager for Root Revival.

Root Revival is also in the process of a potential partnership with the non-profit, Spoil To Soil to help serve more environment enthusiasts. The administrators at Spoil To Soil want residents to know that they can help the community reduce waste that goes to the local landfill by teaching customers how to create more sustainable practices of disposing and repurposing food waste generated in household and commercial kitchens. This is a combined effort by both Root Revival and Spoil to Soil and is supported by Park City Council members and the Summit County government, who are working with them to help gain more exposure to the program.