Gardens
“Our guests are often amazed — floored, actually — at how incredibly good vegetables can be.” — Mac McQuown
In a modern-day Eden a few miles west of downtown Sonoma, Colby Eierman carefully manages Stone Edge Farm’s organically farmed gardens. Terraced plantings grow along curved paths, fertile beds hug low stone walls, gourds hang from a high arbor, and trees are laden with fruit. Leslie McQuown’s aesthetic vision informs the ornamental and edible landscape.
The farm produces over a hundred varieties of organic heirloom vegetables, fruit, olives and olive oil, herbs, eggs, and honey, supplying kitchens at the family residence and EDGE. Our chefs happily prepare ever-changing seasonal menus from produce at peak flavor and freshness.
Waste not, want not. Living sustainably means cooking seasonally and consuming what we cultivate. We strive to be self-sufficient and to conserve all of our resources. Each year, for example, we produce over 100 cubic yards of compost, turning field and yard waste, kitchen scraps and peels into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Cover crops further enrich the soil and provide habitat for beneficial insects. Owl and bat boxes house natural rodent and insect pest controls. Chickens feed amid olive trees, consuming olive fruit fly larvae that winter in the soil.
Our certified irrigation auditor, P.J. Zaft, has analyzed, upgraded, and managed our system full-time for over seven years. More than 30 monitors measure water use, while flow sensors and smart controllers detect and shut off leaks. Data confirms that no water is wasted. Usage has been cut in half.
The entire property operates off the grid, and our MicroGrid has placed Stone Edge Farm at the forefront of air and energy conservation.
Colby Eierman, director of gardens, holds a landscape architecture degree from the University of Oregon. Previously, he applied principles of organic and biodynamic farming as head gardener at Copia, Benziger Family Winery, Clif Family Winery, and Ramekins. Colby is the author of Fruit Trees in Small Spaces.
