The Ojai Valley has a rich and extensive farming history. Family farms were a major source of revenue for early Ojai settlers. In fact, in an 1883 article in the Ventura Signal, Ojai was identified as "the place where crops never fail." (We certainly keep our fingers crossed that this fantasy holds true on our watch.) The first olive orchard was planted in the 1880s, oranges and lemons were planted in 1872 and walnuts were a major crop throughout the last half of the 20th century.

For us, our choice of crops was inspired by the history of our land and our Mediterranean experiences. On the ranch, the Pixie tangerines help us to remember the springtime intoxication created by the citrus in bloom along the French and Spanish coasts. Our own lavender fields remind us of our fragrant summertime walks through the lavender spreads of Tuscany, Provence and Croatia. And when we look out over the olive grove, we are reminded of the community hustle and spirit demonstrated when the olives are harvested and trucked off to the nearest village to be pressed. We are fortunate to have been able to transform these happy memories into our daily reality.


The Grosso lavender in full bloom.

Lavender
Nearly 5,000 "babies" planted from mid-2004 to early 2005. Varieties include Grosso, Provence, Hidcote and Buena Vista. We are open for "U-Pick" when lavender is in bloom. Most of the crop is harvested for distillation into essential oils and hydrosols and for dried lavender bundles and loose lavender. All of our lavender is grown using organic farming guidelines.

Ojai Pixie Tangerines
300 trees planted in June 2004. Truly seedless these sweet and easy to peel "lumpy-bumpy wonders" are the perfect snack. Available in the spring and early summer. Contact ojaipixies@yahoo.com for more information.

Olives
In June, 2005, we planted 1200 trees. The orchard was expanded by another 200 trees in October of the same year. Altogether, we've planted a mix of mostly Tuscan varieties...chosen to provide a fruity, slightly spicy, rich oil. We've got our fingers crossed that we'll be producing our very first pressing of tasty, fragrant oil in the fall of 2007.

Walnuts
Once farmed as a dryland crop in the Upper Ojai, many of the stately walnut trees have been removed as they had succumbed to insect infestation and rot. We are happy to have preserved 42 trees on our ranch for limited production and a reminder of our heritage.