Garden-Lou visits Rustic Roots Sanctuary

Something is growing in Spanish Lake.

You might have heard of Columbia Bottom Conservation Area and the annual sunflower fields there. Maybe you’ve heard the new Nation Personnel Records Center now calls Spanish Lake home or that the St. Louis Zoo is opening its north campus in Spanish Lake in just a few years.
Few people know that the hidden gem of St. Louis County called Spanish Lake is one of the most up-and-coming unincorporated communities in the metro area. Along with the north zoo campus, plans are underway for a new Town Center. With all the current and yet to come amenities, a small but mighty new jewel shines in the Spanish Lake crown–Rustic Roots Sanctuary.

I first met Janett Lewis and Eric Scott after they purchased their house and land in Spanish Lake back in 2016. They wanted to be involved in the neighborhood with community gardening plots. They wanted to rehab a shed into a rental cottage. They wanted to grow fruit trees and a long list of other edibles to create food equity for the area. The amount of work ahead of them was overwhelming. Large dead trees needed removal, invasive honeysuckle and weeds covered the property, and the burnt remains of a house all stood in the way of their dream.

Unlike most dreamers, this pair is an unstoppable force of vision, creativity, and skill.

The vision became a reality named Rustic Roots Sanctuary, an organic, sustainable farm. The amount of work put in by volunteers paid off by producing over 2500 pounds of food for the community in their first year. But it doesn’t stop at farming.
It’s the home of GROW Spanish Lake Community Garden, yoga and nature immersion retreats, summer youth programs, and art festivals. 2021 was the first season of the Spanish Lake Farmers Market, featuring local produce, goods, and live music.

Eve Marie at the Spanish Lake Farmer’s Market

Working right alongside the volunteers is Janett, the perky, can-do sort of person with a smile that moves mountains, and Eric, a contractor who not only dreams up solutions to problems but pulls them off with creative style befitting a true artist.

Large beds for watermelon and pumpkins now sun themselves where weeds used to be. With over 100 Elderberry plants, elderberry wine and other holistic items are available for purchase. Honey is another major seller. The young orchard includes pecan, persimmon, apple, and pears trees underplanted with comfrey and chives. This year they grew over 200 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

Chickens also call the place home. Six goats are used to help keep the invasives at bay and even love poison ivy. Eggs, milk, honey, and natural fertilizer add to the benefits of keeping farm animals which are a big hit with visitors, especially kids.

Besides the fun of the animals and keeping bees, Eric says the best part of the job is the collaborations with people in the community. Janett loves educating people on HOW to use fresh foods. Many people have access to fresh foods but have no idea how to cook or use them. On the downside of it all, the amount of physical work involved never ends. It’s not fun if no volunteers show up to help on a workday.

The farm always seems to be hopping with activity, volunteers, visitors, and even overnight guests. Multiple clearings mowed into the native prairie areas can be rented by campers. A seasonally available outbuilding is now a beautifully renovated rental cottage that keeps sustainability in mind. Its roomy “industrial-sheik” outdoor bathhouse is complete with a compostable toilet system and grey-water recycling. (The system separates waste liquids from solids, which are dried out with cedar chips, then composted for eight months for a safe fertilizer or buried.)

The Rustic Roots Art Festival is on October 16th with kid’s activities, pony rides, and plenty of vendors. So take the opportunity to stop by Rustic Roots, get inspired, and see how one little farm is making big changes for an entire community.

-Words and phots by Jo Batzer. Additional photos courtesy of Rustic Roots Sanctuary. Video courtesy of Sustainable Back Yard Tour/Chandan Mahanta