Deep Roots CPS Farm

“I am because we are. And because we are, therefore I am.”
Freedom is not held alone. It is tended through collective action.

This Week’s Lesson: Freedom is not held alone. It is tended through collective action.
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This Fourth of July
More than a century and a half ago, Frederick Douglass asked what the Fourth of July meant to the enslaved.

He was not rejecting freedom. He was demanding honesty. He was asking America to look at the distance between the story it told about itself and the truth people were living. As a community we should continue to examine our story and our realities, while celebrating together.

This past Sunday, we experienced the power of community coming together around the farm with intention. Our Farm to Table Dinner was more than a beautiful meal. It was a celebration of the season, the soil, the chefs, the hands that harvested, and the people who chose to gather with us.

To every guest who attended, thank you. To every sponsor who helped make the evening possible, thank you. To every chef, team member, volunteer, partner, and friend who helped with planning, preparation, setup, service, and care behind the scenes, thank you.

A special shout out to Glenn Burkins of QCity Metro (https://www.qcitymetro.com/writers/glenn-h-burkins) and Tom Haberstroh of Pack Your Knives (https://www.instagram.com/packyourknives/?hl=en) and CRVA (https://www.crva.com) for elevating this event and telling the story of our work. An event like this does not happen by accident. It is built by many hands, and we are grateful.

That night reminded us that farming is not just about land. It is about the work, the people, the culture, and the relationships that keep the land alive.

That is the story we want told.

As we reflect on freedom, independence, and revolutionary acts, Douglass's question reaches directly into the work we do here in Charlotte. What is the celebration of farmland if we are not fighting to preserve the farmer? What is the truth of farming in our community?

The truth is, there are not many of us stewarding land inside the city. When people speak about local agriculture, they are often speaking about farms outside of Charlotte and, many times, outside of Mecklenburg County. Food production is often hidden from public view. That is why we are vocal about our work.

Deep Roots is one of the few farms in Charlotte Mecklenburg still growing food for our neighbors, hiring from our own community, teaching agricultural skills, and programing on the farm so families, elders, chefs, children, and neighbors can see that farming still lives here.

That belongs in the story of local agriculture in this city.

Not just the story of the land. The story of the work. The story of the people. The story of the farmer.

We say this with purpose, not bitterness. We are proud of what we've built, and we are grateful for every person who chooses to be part of it. This is our collective freedom. Each of us doing our part.

When you buy from us, visit the farm, share our work, bring your children here, invite others in, or speak our name in rooms where local agriculture is being discussed, you help keep this story honest. You help keep this work visible. You help us to sustain farmland and the farmer.

This Fourth of July, we are celebrating freedom the way we know how. Engaged in stewardship. Growing. Passing it forward.

Here is what is happening on the farm this week.

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Find Us at the Uptown Farmers Market, Saturday July 4
We will be at the Uptown Farmers Market (https://www.uptownfarmersmarket.com/) this Saturday, July 4, from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM, at 300 South Davidson Street, in the parking lot of First Baptist Church. Stop by and get your share of the harvest.

This week we are especially excited about our cucumbers. Alongside our pickling cucumbers, we are bringing a beautiful range of specialty varieties: Armenian Long, Marketmore, Japanese, Gagon, Dragon's Egg, Salt and Pepper, Indian Snake, and Aonaga Jibai. Come find your favorite and take home a taste of summer.

~ This week's harvest ~
Here is what we are bringing to market this week.
Arugula, beets, cucumbers, leeks, baby kale, kale, chard, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, green onions, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, white onions, shallots, garlic, and a small offering of sugar plums and peaches. Potatoes: Yukon, Pontiac, and Fingerlings.

Fresh herbs include basil, African blue basil, chamomile, cilantro, chives, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, tarragon, mint, and thyme. We also have English lavender flower bunches and edible flowers this week.

Chicken eggs and duck eggs are also available.

Gourmet mushrooms: Chestnut, King Oyster, Oyster, and Shiitake. Our signature drinks: Ginger Mint Lemonade and Lavender Lemonade. Flower bouquet vases will also be available in limited quantities.

~ What's happening on the land. ~

Sunday Market Returns July 5
Our next Sunday Market is Sunday, July 5, from 12 to 3 PM at the farm, 2401 Primm Road. Come shop fresh summer produce, our farm pantry favorites like black garlic and dehydrated mushrooms, and a cold cup of our signature lemonade. Bring a friend.

See all our market days. (https://www.deeprootscpsfarm.com/markets)

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Sunday Farm Tours - Reserve your ticket
Want to tour the farm and learn about our regenerative farming practices? Join us for a Sunday tour. Our next scheduled tour day is Sunday July 5, 2026. Tours times are 12:00 PM, 1:30 PM, and 3:00 PM, and each tour is capped so the experience stays personal. Reservation is required.

A tour is a chance to walk the farm, meet the people behind your food, learn what regenerative agriculture looks like up close. It is Deep Roots beyond the market table.

Reserve Your Sunday Farm Tour Here:
deeprootscpsfarm.com/sunday-farm-tours

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Reserve your share of the Fall Harvest. Sign up for our Fall CSA Today!
Summer is in full swing, and we are already looking toward the fall harvest. Our Fall CSA is open for sign ups now. Shares run September 26 through December 5, delivered every other week, with pickup at the farm or the Uptown Farmers Market. Reserve early and hold your place at the table before the season fills.

~ A closing thought ~
You have heard us say this before, but we are grateful to be in community with you.
We are honored to share more than the harvest each week. Through this newsletter, we get to share our ideals, our lessons, our reflections, and the deeper work behind the food we grow.

We now have nearly 4,000 subscribers. That is exciting because it means this message is reaching more individuals, families, and households.

Our message is simple, and we hope you will share it with others.

Freedom was never meant to sit still on a page. It was meant to be a collective work, live and protected, and shared.

That is what we try to do here every day. We farm. We feed our neighbors. We share what we know. We hold hope for a joy-filled future where communities have what they need to be resilient, rooted, and sustained.

So this weekend, however you celebrate, we hope you will think about what freedom asks of us. Not just to enjoy it, but to tend it.
Forward this newsletter to one person who should be part of this community. Help us reach our next thousand, and help keep the story of true local farming visible and alive.

In truth, justice, and love,
Cherie, Wisdom and The Deep Roots CPS Farm Family

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If this newsletter moved you, share it with someone who would love it.

To learn more about our CSA, workshops, Sunday tours, and the rhythm of this farm, visit us at
deeprootscpsfarm.com (http://www.deeprootscpsfarm.com)

This Week at Deep Roots: Freedom Must Be Tended Click here for an update from Deep Roots CPS Farm!

“Summer soft wakes you up with a kiss.”
— Stevie Wonder, Summer Soft

This Week’s Lesson: Patience Is an Ingredient. You cannot rush a tomato. It ripens on its own time, not ours. We plant, we tend, we wait, and we trust the season to do its part. That waiting is not wasted time. It is part of the recipe.
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There is something deeply nostalgic about the first tomato of the season. It is a feeling that gives us genuine butterflies. That brief, magical moment when we pluck it from the vine and bite into the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

But for a farmer, that tomato didn't begin in June. It began back in January, when tiny seeds were started in the greenhouse with the hope of summer in mind. For months, those fragile seedlings were watered, warmed, watched, potted up, hardened off, transplanted, trellised, pruned, and fiercely protected. All of that happens before they ever become the slice on your sandwich or the centerpiece of your dinner table.

That is the true beauty of seasonal food. It carries time, patience, and tender care.

Grocery store shelves offer convenience, and we are grateful for that year-round access. But when we eat food grown close to home, in its true season, we are reminded that food is so much more than a commodity. It is a direct partnership between the land, the weather, and human skill.

Right now, summer is easing onto the farm. It arrives soft and slow, the way a warm morning wakes you up, and it even has us humming a little Stevie Wonder out in the field. While a few spring crops are waving a lingering goodbye, the fields are suddenly bursting with the vibrant colors of cucumbers, squash, beans, herbs, and those long-awaited tomatoes.

But all that abundance comes with real work. Behind the beautiful colors, we are officially entering full pest-management mode. Battling the seasonal onslaught of insects that can wipe out a crop overnight is no small feat.

Farmer Wisdom serves as our commanding general. He leads our battle approach and our team’s strategy, and he keeps a pulse on the resources we need to defend our precious produce. We add more compost. We apply neem and chrysanthemum extract, cover with netting, and often hand-pick the larvae and eggs. It takes real grit to protect the harvest without shortcuts, and that is a badge we wear with pride.

When you enjoy your box this week, know that you aren’t just tasting summer. You are tasting months of dedication.

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~ This week's harvest ~
Here is what we are bringing to market this week.
Arugula, beets, cucumbers - pickling, Armenian, salt & pepper, dragons egg, marketmore, Japanese, and slicers. Leeks, kale, chard, yellow squash, scallop squash, zucchini, green beans, green onions, heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, white onions, shallots (Nero, Monique, and Roderigue), garlic, and a small offering of sugar plums and peaches. Potatoes: Yukon, Pontiac, and red, purple, and white fingerlings.

Fresh herbs include basil, African blue basil, chamomile, cilantro, chives, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, tarragon, mint, and thyme. We also have English lavender flower bunches and edible flowers this week.

Chicken eggs and duck eggs are also available.

Gourmet mushrooms: Chestnut, King Oyster, Oyster, and Shiitake. Our signature drinks: Ginger Mint Lemonade and Lavender Lemonade. Flower bouquet vases will also be available in limited quantities.
~ What's happening on the land. ~

Sunday June 28, 2026 Farm to Table Event. Our Fire and Farm dinner is officially sold out. To everyone who reserved a seat, thank you. You make this kind of gathering possible, and we cannot wait to break bread with you on the farm. Get ready for a beautiful night.

One Last Spring Share - CSA pick up 6/27
This weekend is the final distribution of our Spring CSA. If you have been with us all season, thank you. You showed up for real food and real farmers, week after week, and that means everything to us.

If you are not ready to let the fresh produce go, you do not have to. Our Summer CSA is still open for sign ups. Afterpay is available, and you can pick up at the farm or at the Uptown Farmers Market.

Come pick up your final spring box this weekend. And if you loved it, join the Summer CSA (https://www.deeprootscpsfarm.com/csa) and grow with us all season.

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Shop our Farm stand Saturday 6/27
Find us at the Uptown Farmers Market on Saturday June 27, 2026, 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM.

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Sunday Market Returns July 5
Our next Sunday Market is Sunday, July 5, from 12 to 3 PM at the farm, 2401 Primm Road. Come shop fresh summer produce, our farm pantry favorites like black garlic and dehydrated mushrooms, and a cold cup of our signature lemonade. Bring a friend.

See all our market days. (https://www.deeprootscpsfarm.com/markets)

———

Sunday Farm Tours - Reserve your ticket
Want to tour the farm and learn about our regenerative farming practices? Join us for a Sunday tour. Our next scheduled tour day is Sunday July 5, 2026. Tours times are 12:00 PM, 1:30 PM, and 3:00 PM, and each tour is capped so the experience stays personal. Reservation is required.

A tour is a chance to walk the farm, meet the people behind your food, learn what regenerative agriculture looks like up close. It is Deep Roots beyond the market table.

Reserve Your Sunday Farm Tour Here:
deeprootscpsfarm.com/sunday-farm-tours

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We grow food, but really, we are practicing patience.

We are practicing what it means to live a faith-filled life and to trust that the things worth having, whether in a family, a friendship, or a whole neighborhood, are grown slowly and with care. They are tended long before anyone sees the fruit.

So this week, I hope you will pause and think about what you are tending, and stay with it. The waiting is part of the recipe.

And when you want company in that work, reach out. You will find connection and support here. There is room for you in everything we have going on this season.

With so much hope and gratitude,
Cherie, Wisdom and The Deep Roots CPS Farm Family

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If this newsletter moved you, share it with someone who would love it.

To learn more about our CSA, workshops, Sunday tours, and the rhythm of this farm, visit us at
www.deeprootscpsfarm.com

Summer's Here Click here for an update from Deep Roots CPS Farm!

Happy Father's Day from all of us at Deep Roots CPS Farm.

Today we honor the fathers who show up season after season, the ones who plant, build, protect, and pour into the people they love.

We are a family farm, and that means fatherhood is woven into everything we do here. We are especially grateful for Wisdom, our number one father and farm's co-founder! His leadership and love shape this farm and our family.

To every father in our community, we see you and we thank you! We hope that you are being celebrated today and everyday!