Meet Reed Newman | CEO of Revival Roots and Revival Roots Nursery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Reed Newman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reed, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started Revival Roots after graduating from the College of Agricultural Sciences at Cornell University in 2016. While back on break, I visited a family friend that hosted a large BBQ. They had prepared the meal from vegetables that were harvested right in their backyard It was delicious! They told me that they had someone come once a week to help them care for their garden. I thought to myself that I could help many more people establish an edible garden space and help them maintain and harvest fresh grown vegetables.

I quickly realized the most difficult part of a vegetable garden is the initial structure (planter, soil type, irrigation, etc.). I designed a uniform planter that could be installed in various locations and created it from the ground-up to be the best planter to grow edible plants. We also offer weekly maintenance visits to ensure everything we plant matures and flourishes! Put simply, Revival Roots builds and maintains organic vegetable gardens, fruit tree orchards, and edible landscapes for homeowners in Los Angeles.

As we grew as a company and were caring for more gardens, we decided to build our own state-of-the-art indoor nursery. The nursery allows us to control the quality of our seedlings and source varieties that we may not be able to get elsewhere. We also receive feedback from our clients and garden specialists and source seed varieties that fit the flavor profiles, appearance, and growing habits to have a successful edible garden.

In 2022, I started Revival Roots Nursery which ships organically grown seedlings directly to your doorstep. We wanted to provide access to high-quality seedlings outside of Los Angeles and make growing your own food at home accessible. Currently we are just distributing our seedlings within CA but plan to expand soon!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Vegetable gardening is all about practice, taking notes, learning, trying again – all for the purple of perfecting the craft. We deal with external inputs (weather, pests, disease, etc.) which we may not always be able to control. What sets us apart is that we continually try to perfect our methods to deliver the best quality homegrown produce for our clients. With the addition of our in-house nursery, we are able to consider feedback from our clients and team members alike which dictates specific seed varieties that we grow. For example, arugula can tend to develop a spicy flavor as the plants mature. We were able to use that feedback to source an arugula variety that is naturally less likely to bolt or develop a spicy flavor. Or, maybe a client would like more color variety in their garden – we know grow many bean varieties that produce green, purple, and striped beans to fulfill those requests.

Another example would be when our garden specialists notice that a certain zucchini type develops powdery mildew on the leaves – a common disease. We are then able to source and grow zucchini varieties seeds that have more natural resistance to powdery mildew for the following season. Perfection in a garden is impossible but we continually work toward that goal to deliver for our clients!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
While LA is a large city, the nearby natural landscape is not to be missed. Whether it is a hike up Westridge trail in Brentwood or a beach day at Will Rogers, the natural landscape is gorgeous. Living in Southern California, we also have access to the best quality produce in the country. I love to take my friends to either the Hollywood or Brentwood Sunday Farmers Markets to not only view to the local produce but gather a bounty to cook a big dinner. Just be sure to also stop by a few local restaurants to also taste what they have to offer. Found Oyster, Saffys, and Le Great Outdoors to name a few!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would have to credit two people for helping me bring Revival Roots and Revival Roots Nursery to life. Professor Frank Rossi at Cornell University inspired my interest in horticulture and cultivated an environment that allowed me to explore my passion. He taught Horticulture 101 during my freshman year in college and highlighted the connectivity between our lives and the plants we consume. I also was a Teachers Assistant in the class later in my educational experience and he always pushed me to expand my knowledge in the subject.

I would also like to give credit to Jane and Raymond Wurwand. They founded Dermalogica, the skin care company, I met with them on many occasions while in the start up phase of Revival Roots and they offered invaluable advice I very much appreciated. They also pushed me to spearhead my idea even when the outcome was unclear or scary.

Website: revivalroots.com, revivalrootsnursery.com

Instagram: revival_roots, revivalrootsnursery