Take Root

Specialties

We design, install and maintain vegetable and edible gardens. We also consult families who want to improve their current veggie gardens. We provide solar path analysis (which will reveal where the sun is throughout the year and what can be grown), soil test assistance, planning for year round gardening or seasonal gardening. We can help you do it all or help you learn to do it yourself. And we LOVE to work with kids!

History

Established in 2010.

In March of 2010, Julie Swift (owner of Wild Natives — a California Native Plant Landscaping company) and Robin Mankey (Urban Farmer/​Gardener) joined forces and started working with clients in the San Francisco bay area who wanted to grow food at home. It’s been a delicious pleasure!

Meet the Business Owner

Robin M.

Business Owner

Robin Mankey is a second generation Californian. She has been creating and maintaining backyard vegetable gardens since 1989.

From 1998 to 2005, she was «chief volunteer» and volunteer coordinator for the Hayfields Farm in Portola Valley (mostly focused on the lower one acre area and using «conventional» organic monocropping/​rototilling methods). She begain using Grow Biointensive methods of food growings in the Fall of 2003. She completed Grow Biointensive Teacher Training (Basic Level with John Jeavons) in the summer of 2005. She uses Grow Biointensive methods whenever possible. She has volunteered numerous times at the Ecology Action Research Garden in Willits, working closely with the Garden Manager and numerous interns from all over the world. She has also had the pleasure working with students at Rooftop School in S.F. and John Gill School in Redwood City. She loves to teach gardening and to inspire others to grow food at home.