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Do you know who grows your lettuce?
In this era of corporate buyers and warehouse supermarkets, many consumers have lost sight of where their food really comes from. According to a 2002 study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a head of lettuce can travel more than 2,000 miles before it lands in your shopping cart!
Fortunately for those living in or visiting the Santa Ynez Valley, it's easy to find fresh, farm grown lettuce, and plenty more. And not only will you know where it comes from, you'll get to know the people who grow it for you. Take for instance:
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Summerset Farm
Experience is what Alex Geremia was looking for when she bought Summerset Farm and she knew just where to find it-Steve Loyal and Sir Gregory.
"I thought I was done when I finished with the Corner Stand," laughs Steve. "But she asked me to come and help them get started so I'm trying to get them going, and then I can retire again!"
"He's done it forever so he's very knowledgeable and has tons of experience," says Alex. "He's helped us a lot."
What he has helped her and son Ted do is create a bountiful 15-acre farm where people can pick blackberries and green tomatoes in the summer, hunt for pumpkins in the fall, find fresh flowers year round, and even cut their own lettuce.
Alex had noticed the property when she moved from Santa Barbara, but it hadn't been farmed for almost 10 years.
"When I saw it for sale, I thought that would be kind of neat," she says. "It's a lot of work, but it makes it worthwhile when you know people appreciate it. I didn't expect people to thank us for being here!"
Sir Gregory had noticed the farm, too. With a flower shop on State Street and more than 25 years of experience in the flower business, he was drawn to the farm and had even approached the former owners about selling flowers from their stand. He met Alex at a dog show and immediately made a connection.
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"I told Alex that if she ever wanted to do flowers and a farm stand I would be interested," he says. "I always thought it would be nice."
It's a far cry from the traditional flower shops he's always run, but a welcome, more relaxing change.
"I get to meet wonderful people up here," he adds. "Santa Barbara people don't come buy flowers or produce on horseback!"
Alex echoes that sentiment. "You provide something that people really like and just don't have access to anymore," she explains. "It's a place where you can |
Photo by Christine |
Photo by Craig Petersen |
see things growing and actually go out and pick what you see growing. I also think it preserves the farm part of the Valley, which there is less and less of these days."
Summerset Farm opened to the public last summer. This season they've added a blackberry maze where people can go in one end and come out another. "It makes it a little more fun for people," says Steve.
In addition they have 1/2 acre of raspberries, 2 acres of blueberries, an acre each of blackberries and strawberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelons and a soon-to-be-producing orchard of peaches, nectarines, apples, Asian pears, and apricots. Their vegetables include corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, okra, string beans, squash, basil, parsley, green onion, shallots, and sweet onion. Last fall's pumpkin patch and corn maze attracted children from around the Valley and beyond. |
"You're not only selling produce," says Steve. "It's a family experience. Even if you don't have kids, it's a good experience."
Alex also believes it has been a good experience: for her family, for Steve and Sir Gregory, and for the people who come to visit. "It's been wonderful," she says. "People get a kick out of it and it's nice for people to see where things come from and see things growing."
Note: In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, Sir Gregory will provide you with free recipes during the growing season. He is also a full-service florist. "There's not an occasion I don't do flowers for!" he says. Visit him at the farm stand between 9am and 6pm Tuesday through Sunday, closed Monday, or call 682-7800, or go to www.flowersbysirgregory.com |
Rancho Olivos
Shannon Casey wasn't sure what she wanted to plant when she bought her property in 1998. She and her husband John were splitting their time between the Santa Ynez Valley, where they loved to be, and Los Angeles, where they had to work.
We considered grapes, but the vineyard thing was too labor intensive and expensive for us to start with," she says with a laugh. "I knew that olives were a complementary crop because they grow in the same climate. But they're slow growing and don't require a lot of maintenance in the first few years."
Convinced that this was a crop they could work with, the Caseys began planting the first of their 400 trees at Rancho Olivos in 2000. Four years later, they bottled their first extra virgin first cold press olive oil. It won a silver medal at the Los Angeles County Olive Oil Competition two years in a row.
The award-winning flavor impresses visitors to the small tasting room. "A lot of people that stop in haven't been to an olive oil tasting before," says Shannon. "The oil that we get from Europe is not always extra virgin and it's not always fresh and when you taste something that hasn't had to travel anywhere, it makes a big difference!"
Although they hope to expand their distribution in the future, for now, the Casey's olive oil is only available at Rancho Olivos, a few wineries, local markets and of course also on their website www.ranchoolivos.com.
“I’ve never been a farmer on a large scale before this,” says the former computer animator. “But the amazing thing about California is that you put something in the ground and water it, and it tends to grow! It’s been an amazing adventure in agriculture.”
An avid chef, Shannon is working on a cookbook to go with the olive oil. She plans to include several marinades, vinaigrettes and dips, as well as specialty side dishes such as olive oil mashed potatoes and, of course, desserts.
Note: The tasting room is open Fri. – Sun. from 12 noon to 3pm. You can find the specialty oil at Los Olivos Market or online at ranchoolivos.com. Call 686-9653 to schedule a weekday visit.
“I’ve never been a farmer on a large scale before this,” says the former computer animator. “But the amazing thing about California is that you put something in the ground and water it, and it tends to grow! It’s been an amazing adventure in agriculture.” |
Photo by Shannon Casey
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An avid chef, Shannon is working on a cookbook to go with the olive oil. She plans to include several marinades, vinaigrettes and dips, as well as specialty side dishes such as olive oil mashed potatoes and, of course, desserts.
Note: The tasting room is open Fri. – Sun. from 12 noon to 3pm. You can find the specialty oil at Los Olivos Market or online at ranchoolivos.com. Call 686-9653 to schedule a weekday visit. |
Apple Lane Farm
It's a pretty safe bet that if your child has grown up in the Santa Ynez Valley, they've had the opportunity to pick apples with Ted and Peggy Lane.
"We get about 2,000 school kids each year," says Ted modestly. Add to that the thousands more who make the annual pilgrimage to Alamo Pintado Road for succulent fruit and a friendly smile. Run by the Lane family for 19 years, Apple Lane Orchard has become a tradition for many families.
"My favorite part of running the orchard is watching the fun people have when they come out," says Ted.
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Photo by Ted Lane |
"They bring their cameras and camcorders and have a really good time. People come every year from LA, and a lot from Camarillo, and they come back every year."
Gala apples are the first to ripen in August. September belongs to the Golden and Red Delicious apples. Fujis ripen in October and the season rounds out in November with tart Granny Smith apples.
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While the visitors come for just four short months, taking care of more than 1,200 trees is a year-round endeavor.
"The major culprit for apples is the coddling moth," Ted explains. "The worms from those moths are the worms you find in apples. We lose 20 to 30 percent of the crop every year to the moths."
But rather than spray their produce with pesticides, the Lanes choose to use pheromones to confuse the male moths. "We put strips in practically every tree and they aren't able to mate as much," he says. "And that's pretty helpful."
Note: The stand will be open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from the end of August through the day before Thanksgiving. Call 688-5481 to schedule a school or large group visit. Also online at applelanesolvang.com |
Clairmont Farms
You won't find any pesticides when you visit Clairmont Farms either. Partner Glenn Thalheimer laughs at the notion. "You wouldn't have to spray it even if you wanted to. It's easy to be organic with lavender," he says. "How to make it a business has been a journey."
That journey has gotten a bit easier with each passing year. When owner Meryl Tanz began plowing her horse paddock in the fall of 2000, she was taking a leap of faith. A horse breeder for more than 30 years, she was ready to try something new, something that would pay the bills. She noticed lavender fields popping up around the valley, and thought that might be for her.
“I got a sense that I’d like to do it. I started learning about it and talked to people and before I knew it we were on our way to plowing the field and ordering 12,000 plants!” she says. “I was growing a crop that I didn’t know very much about and having to have that faith that it would grow and the patience to wait. That was the hardest part, having the patience.”
Her patience and hard work have paid off. After putting in the irrigation and spending four months planting, she and son Sean spent years rototilling the soil between the plants to keep weeds at bay. As the plants grew larger and became more established, the work got easier.
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Photo by Glenn Thalheimer |
“On the first day we opened to sell some lavender we made $38 and we were jumping up and down we were so excited to see it come to fruition,” she recalls. “It’s now created a little life of its own. We’ve just been extremely blessed to have this little field that helps pay the bills and has given my son a summer job.”
Using only the lavender they grow on almost 5 acres, the family now sells a variety of lotions, soaps, oils and sachets as well as culinary lavender and honey. Most of the products they sell are made right at Clairmont Farms. |
“We grow the stuff, we cut it, we distill it,” says Glenn. “That’s one of the things that people like — it’s the real deal.”
“We’ve learned if others can do it, we can too,” adds Meryl. “We research it and then delve into it and make it. Doing something that I love and then seeing other people gravitate towards it and saying that they too enjoy lavender, it’s been a lovely experience.”
Note: See the lavender in bloom June through October. You’ll see the most flowers in July and August before they are harvested. Open daily 10am to 6pm. Visitors can even cut their own lavender! Call 688-7505 or visit clairmontfarms.com. |
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