Owner/Operator: Jeff Stanford, Sydney Grange
Location: Mendocino, California
Big River Nurseries is our USDA Certified Organic farm. Fresh water from springs is rare along the coast but there is a natural spring feeding a pond on the land which is home to the Stanford Inn. The spring here runs throughout the year.
We began farming as a landscaping feature. It was productive and as we had yet to build our restaurant we offered our produce and herbs to selected restaurants and grocers. Today, our production goes entirely to the Inn’s Ravens Restaurant.
Modeled after John Jeavons’ and Ecology Action’s GROW BIOINTENSIVE® methods, which are based on Alan Chadwick’s take on French intensive, biodynamic, and organic methods, we raise a wide variety of lettuces, cabbages, spinach, radishes and gourmet vegetables such as radicchio, mizuna, arugula, and tah tsai. Some beds are used to provide edible flowers for garnishes and salads and others are rose beds. We also have beds specifically for growing carbon crops to feed our compost which is the primary fertility source for our gardens. We are also experimenting with a wide variety of fruit trees, learning who will flourish on the coast.
We are excited by our veganic farming practices for the past 30 years – particularly in that we can present this approach of gardening/farming to our customers. It is productive and beautiful while remaining in balance with nature.
Website: stanfordinn.com/Mendocino-resort-organic-gardens/
