There’s more than just grapes growing in Napa County.
If you know where to look in Napa County, hidden here and there in what might appear to be a monoculture landscape of vineyards are some great choices for fresh, seasonal produce, locally grown prepared foods and locally produced artisan condiments and goodies. There are farm stands scattered all around the county, farmers markets that are open all year in some locations, and three community supported agriculture operations (CSAs) that will prepare a box of fresh-picked produce for you weekly.
Three CSAs
The community supported agriculture concept is that the consumer forms an agreement with a producer to buy a weekly basket of fresh produce through the season for a set, prepaid amount. Paying in advance can take a lot of guesswork out of the producer’s annual financial and operational planning. The consumer gains by supporting diversified local agriculture. Each week, the farms harvest those fruits and vegetables that are at their peak and distribute them to members by a variety of means. Within this basic framework, the different CSAs each have their own way of operating.
For customers/shareholders who appreciate the opportunity to select every item in their garden basket each week, BOCA (Building Our Community through Agriculture) Farm CSA offers the opportunity to do just that. And those who want to go out into the field can enter the “pick your own” garden and harvest certain crops, including cilantro, basil, dill and flowers. Shareholders are also invited to spend as much time as they’d like exploring the farm and enjoying the open space.
“At BOCA Farm, we welcome local school children to learn, work and explore at our garden classroom,” continues Moore. “We’ve worked with the Blue Oak School in Napa to provide the opportunity for students to spend full days of learning at the farm. Together, we’ve partnered to become an extension of their classroom space, a sort of living laboratory. When the kids arrive, the farm becomes a beautiful combination of classroom, art studio, science lab and gymnasium.
“BOCA also offers a community garden area for locals to grow their own food. We currently have 10 families gardening on the community garden site,” says Moore.
BOCA offers a small box for one or two people at $450 for the 20-week season. A large box for four or five people is $525 for the season, paid in advance. Tours are by appointment only.
“In addition to our CSA, we sell wine, olive oil, lamb and whole hogs. Pigs can be cut and wrapped by Bud’s Custom Meats in Penngrove or picked up directly from the farm,” says coowner/operator Lee Hudson. “Our highly prized hogs dress out between 30 and 275 pounds, and our local customers include Oenotri, Bottega and Fatted Calf.”
“Since 2008, Hudson has been a significant supplier of farm-fresh eggs to Napa Valley restaurants and markets. We sell to the Oxbow Produce Market, Oenotri and Zuzu and, of course, our CSA members,” says Jayme Rubke, sales and marketing coordinator.
“We also present a cooking demonstration with a highly regarded local chef in mid-July each year,” adds Rubke. “Members who tour the gardens can ask our farm manager, Leonardo, questions about growing techniques and what they can expect for future boxes. Kids are also encouraged to explore the garden with their parents and pick produce to enjoy during the demonstration.”
Two payment options are offered: 100 percent upon joining, or three installments due in consecutive months. Cost is $30 per week, which includes five to seven items, enough for a small family or two adults. Members can add items to their produce shares each week by visiting the online farm store. After that, those items will be automatically included in their boxes.
The third CSA is Clif Family Farm. “We’re located on Ink Grade Road on the backside of Howell Mountain, and weekly CSA food box distribution is done at the Velo Vino tasting room at the south end of St. Helena,” says Linzi Gay, general manager of Clif Family (which includes the winery, farm and the Velo Vino tasting room).
“Our farm is CCOF certified organic,” says Gay, “and in addition to fresh local vegetables, eggs and cut flowers, we make a line of specialty food items called Gary & Kit’s Napa Valley. This includes savory nut mixes, dark chocolates, mustards and dukkah spice blends as well as certified organic extra virgin olive oil, seasonal preserves, tomato sauce and pepper jelly.
“Clif Family Farm CSA will stage the 6th Annual Clif Family Farm Fest at Clif Family Farm on Saturday, September 27. There will be wine tastings, farm tours, food and wine pairings, live music, grape stomping and local food artisans,” she says.
CSA fees are paid the Monday before pickup, and customers can opt-out of a box if they’re going to be gone for a week. CSA produce boxes cost $25, and members also receive a 20 percent discount on wine and specialty food products.
Farm Stands
One of the longest running local farm stands is Big Ranch Farms, located on Big Ranch Road just about 100 yards north of Trancas Street in Napa. Mark and Teresa Haberger have been operating a farm there in one form or another since 1994. (The Habergers have a history in Napa Valley agriculture that predates the Big Ranch farm stand. Mark’s father, Al Haberger, was instrumental in creating the valley’s Agricultural Preserve.)
“There have been a lot of changes over the years,” says Mark. “We opened the farm stand in its current form in 2008. After experimenting with trying to find new and unique things that no one else has, we learned that what people really want is, primarily, just basic summer vegetables, locally and responsibly grown and of the best quality. That’s what we do very well.”
After attending Napa Valley College, Humboldt State University and Sonoma State University, Mark decided to pursue his passion for growing produce on his family’s property just outside the northern limit of Napa’s commercial zone.
Teresa is frequently the one onsite greeting the customers. “I’m responsible for advertising, marketng and overall operation of the business,” she says. “My background was in operations for a wine sales and marketing company, so it’s a good combination with Mark’s gardening skills.
“We start out our season in mid- to late-March with the opening of our farm stand and annual plant sale,” she says. “We offer vegetable plant starts, which we’ve propagated from seed in the greenhouses on our property. Opening day features more than 90 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, hybrid tomatoes and just about every other vegetable plant start you can imagine wanting in your garden. We’ve also added many perennial herbs and flowering plants that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds for home gardens. We have a nursery license that lets us do this, and 2014 was our third year offering plants to the public.”
Says Mark, “The place really keeps us running for 10 months per year. Vegetables are perishable—they really don’t take a day off.”
Hurley Farms also sells a variety of plants for the garden, as well as blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Later in the season come swiss chard, tomato plants, kale and a variety of flowers.
“This spring, Hurley Farms offered a new product called a shrub, which is a fruit syrup preserved with vinegar. Also known as drinking vinegar, shrubs were made during colonial times as a way to preserve fruit for winter. Shrubs can be added to plain water, sparkling water, lemonade, soda, cocktails or any of your favorite beverages. Shrubs can also be used in place of vinegars or vinaigrettes to make a fruity salad dressing for baby greens, spinach or mixed green salad,” says Hurley
Just south of the town of Yountville, Full Table Farm is owned and operated by Mindy Blodgett with support from her husband, Juston Enos. “The farm started at the end of 2010 after a very bountiful summer garden,” says Blodgett. “It was that garden that showed us the joys of growing and sharing the rewards our land could offer. We sell to a wide variety of customers such as individual households, private chefs, winery chefs, catering companies and restaurants. We’re also thankful for organizations like the Napa Valley Food Bank that can make good use of our produce when we have an unplanned abundance.
“We aren’t certified organic, but we don’t use any pesticides or herbicides,” she says. “We use companion planting methods, attract beneficial insects to the garden and utilize manual methods of pest and weed control. Everything is picked to order and all deliveries are made within and hour or two of harvest.”
Blodgett is enthusiastic about her customers. “Restaurants are our biggest customer group. We work with some amazingly talented, creative and open minded chefs who are always challenging us to do new things. Growing and selling produce shouldn’t be a purely transactional relationship like it is at the grocery store. It should be a value-based relationship built on trust, collaboration and mutual respect.
“The Napa Valley Seed Project is a new project we started because we like to know where our seed comes from and the story behind the seed,” she continues. “We’ve been saving seed since we started, and we’ve recognized a marked improvement in plant health and flavor each year, as the plants become progressively more adapted to our soils and environment. The project is intended to expand and share our seed bank, creating a network of access to a diverse selection of high-quality seed for our neighbors in Napa Valley.”
This little survey just scratches the surface of the world of homegrown food offerings in Napa County. The website www.localharvest.org describes many more small family farm operations that provide fresh local produce to anyone with the inclination and energy to simply seek them out. Happy foraging!
Connolly Ranch
Michael Lauher is the education director and property caretaker. “Through our field trip program, we offer educational programs to schools,” he says. “That effort is coordinated through teachers. They sign up for field trips with us. Most of the field trips are for grades K-6, but there are offerings for high school kids, too.
“During school hours on weekdays, groups of kids come and are presented with age-appropriate experiences. We teach them about farm animals, growing food and preparing food in the kitchen. They learn where their food comes from. During the last school year alone, we hosted more than 4,000 kids here as part of this program,” he says.
“We have a Harvest Festival every fall, and we’ve recently started a new program called ‘Walk-in Wednesdays,’ where we’re open every Wednesday during the school year from 3 to 5 p.m. These are free events that provide a great opportunity for anyone to stop by and learn what Connolly Ranch is all about,” says Lauher.
Jennifer Thacher Fotherby, executive director of Connolly Ranch, says the education program for kids started around 1994 and today includes early childhood and family programs, field trips, birthday parties, week-long summer camps and Saturday day camps. “On Saturdays, we also have workshops for adults,” says Fotherby. “Farm-to-Table cooking lessons, master gardeners, tree pruning, beekeeping, plant propagation and backyard poultry are all covered. Backyard poultry is especially popular with folks who are wondering what it would be like to have birds in their backyard.
“This summer, a new day camp on Saturdays called ‘Playday on the Farm’ will offer hands-on seasonal activities to keep kids engaged and having a great time as they learn about farm animals, gardening and other elements of farm life and nature’s lessons,” adds Fotherby. “This will be a drop-off program for kids ages 4 to 12 and will start at 10:30 a.m. Cost will be $45.”
