It’s a beautiful morning at Glen Ellen’s Oak Hill Farm. The clouds break apart and the sun peeks out over the 700-acre ranch, right next to the Mayacamas Mountains. Barn cats meow, the smell of sweet peas, garlic and 100 years of an old barn can overwhelm the senses as the Red Barn opens its doors for the day’s business.
Formally a dairy, the Red Barn has been providing locals and tourists fresh, organic vegetables, flowers and floral wreaths for over 30 years.
Otto Teller purchased the property in 1955, raising sheep, followed by perennial plants, such as myrtle and eucalyptus, both, which are still grown onsite. The plants were sold to florists around the country.
Teller was a head of his time: the first planting was organic and no chemicals were used to aid plant growth. He also used cover crops to toil the land and it remains that way today for the over 80 different types of veggies and flowers grown and sold at the farm.
In 1977, Anne Bucklin Teller married Otto Teller. She began working to grow vegetables during the summer to augment the floral business and the farm stand, which resides in the Red Barn, was launched.
The sheep are long gone and Otto died in 1988, making Anne the matriarch of the farm. She leads a group of dedicated farm workers, the majority being the sons of former Oak Hill Farm workers.
Jesus “Chuy” Soto is one of those sons; he has been working at Oak Hill Farm since 1977. His father and uncle both worked at the farm. He became the right hand man to Otto Teller and today is the farm’s Flower Grower. A humble man, Soto skillfully grows flowers and thoughtfully designs beautiful dried wreaths and fresh arrangements and bouquets.
The Teller’s donated over 300 acres of land, as a conservation easement, to the Sonoma Land Trust in 1984. It was the first easement contributed to the trust, which the Teller’s helped found. “It was a really good thing to do. We have an agreement with the land trust to farm only on the valley floor,” says Anne Teller, in exchange for the trust maintaining the land for generations to come.
The farm grows over 80 types of veggies and flowers. The veggies sit out in the open, with nothing protecting them from deer and rabbits, which many of us who have home gardens watch our veggies fall victim to.
“We have mountain lions,” says Teller, “they are the dominant animals and keep things under control.” For those deer and rabbits that get their bite of kale, Teller is ok with that, “it’s all about the balance of nature and having a healthy environment. Health is the key.”
Upon our visit, broccoli, kale, lettuces and blackberries were entering maturity, soon to be picked and prepared for sale at the Red Barn, our two Sonoma farmers’ markets, and Bay Area businesses like Bi-Rite Market. The veggies sold are picked and sent to market immediately.
Desperate locals in need of green beans or radishes wait patiently for the gates to open, refusing to head down the street to local groceries, “Everything here is so fresh and crisp, farm fresh,” says one local, who stocked up on one of everything prior to heading home, “after you shop here you’re disappointed by the produce in the stores.”
Oak Hill Farm’s produce and flowers are the freshest in the valley, epitomizing farm to table and the ethos of sustainable and organic farming that we pride ourselves on in Northern California.
Thanks to Anne and Otto Teller we have a farming legacy that we can beam with pride about. On behalf of nature loving, foodie Sonomans, thank you. Thank you for the land you have contributed to be protected forever by the Sonoma Land Trust. Thank you for being leaders in sustainable, organic agriculture in Sonoma Valley. Thank you for the tasty veggies and pretty flowers. Thank you.
Oak Hill Farm’s Red Barn is open on Saturdays, 9AM-3PM, from now until December, selling fresh produce, flowers, and regional foodstuffs. Farm tours take place on the first Saturday of the month and are free, starting at 10AM. You can also purchase produce and flowers year-round at the Sonoma Farmers Market at Depot Park on Fridays from 9AM-12PM and at the Valley of the Moon Night Market on Tuesdays from now until October, 5:30PM-dusk. Oak Hill Farm’s Red Barn is located at 15101 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen; 966-6643; oakhillfarm.net.
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