Spring at the farm

 Signs of spring across Sonoma Valley continue to pop up 

and our work at the farm accelerates. 

Still in prep mode but now with an eye towards 

what we will plant where, and even more importantly when. 

Work at the farm at Imagery Estate Winery is in high gear, 

laying new lines for irrigation as we finalize the planting plan. 

We know these beds will be abundant with all the tomatoes 

that are now starting to grow in the greenhouse 

and we already have onions growing. 

Radishes are a staple on the menu at the girl & the fig, 

so we rotate where they will be, but we know we always need to be growing them. 

radishes at the farm

always top of the menu at "the fig:"
heirloom radishes
mixed seasonal radishes, anchovy butter & grey sea salt

onions at the farm

But some things can't wait for the larger plan at the farm. 

Our chefs at "the fig" have diners to please, so we make sure 

there are radishes in the beds behind the restaurant,

as well as parsley and other herbs. 

chives, beans, asparagus, rhubarb and nettle all are growing
in the garden outside the kitchen of" the fig"

And the chard that grows at the fig is always happy, now more so than ever.

"Moms" would be proud–we love our greens! 

We never can get enough of them and are always looking for creative ways 

to use them, whether trying the new idea of "massaging greens when raw" 

to make a sweet salad, or cooking them.

rabbit with greens & vegetables

And our friend, Marcy Smothers shares a great tip from her blog 

about "sleeping with lettuce." 

Who knew?

Do you have any tips about your greens?

And what's up with your spring planting?

Our "go-to" garden

We are back and forth between the Imagery Farm, ESTATE 

and area behind the girl & the fig. 

Right now the winter plants at Imagery are flourishing, 

so we can put some effort into our "go-to" garden at the girl & the fig. 

As usual, herbs will dominate here, making it easy 

for the chefs to grab what they need. 

Our raised beds have always served us well and this season will be no exception. 

last season's herbs in one of the beds 

we are getting started with the herb beds  

Also continuing to thrive in the garden behind the fig 

are nettles, chard and rhubarb. 

In "What's growing" post a few weeks ago, we talked about 

how nettles are considered a "super food," because they are high 

in protein, iron, fiber, Vitamin A & C–making the effort to 

harvest them (3 pairs of latex gloves!) worth it. 

And how they taste in John's ravioli filling 

inspires us to keep them growing. 

Alongside the chard we are planting kale. 

This effort is a true family affair, with John, 

his wife Tina and mom Judy working the beds. 

Maybe this will be a new kind of kale –"Toulze kale!"

porchetta on a bed of polenta and kale

soon these beds will be lush with kale 

One of the signs of Spring is rhubarb and 

what we have growing at the fig is almost 

ready to taste–a tad too tart today 

in November this rhubarb was dormant in the bed at the fig

now the rhubarb is thriving 

almost ready 

waiting for the stalks to get red and ripe

but you can see the red stalks are getting ready

 to soon become our rhubarb tart.

photo of tart by Steven Krause from Plats du Jour book

John and Chef Ashley survey what's growing at "the fig,"

making plans for tending the garden 

and then what they will cook in the kitchen.

Working our gardens is hard but satisfying work.

It feels good to know where our food comes from 

and we take great pride in creating dishes for you, truly from "farm to table," 

something we have been doing for 15 years.

We appreciate that you come to our restaurants for this experience.

It is amazing to us how much we can grow in the garden 

behind the girl & the fig, only about half an acre.

A few posts ago, as part of our promotion of a fundraiser 

for "The Organic Life" documentary, we posted 

this insightful talk by Roger Doiron.

If you missed it, we are sharing it again.

It inspires us to keep growing–and hope it does for you too. 

 (TEDx talk, courtesy of YouTube)