The Dirt on Stone House Farms: Stone House's Bold New Chapter

Stone House Farms has grown significantly since its 2020 founding. What started as a small garden has expanded into over an acre of chemical-free farmland, featuring a new hoop house, low-water irrigation systems, and plans for a year-round greenhouse.

The farm sits on the same property as the historic Stone House venue, which means the distance from soil to plate is measured in footsteps, not food miles. That proximity is the whole point. When produce is harvested the same morning it appears on your event menu, the flavor difference is unmistakable — and it's a connection to the land that most venues can only talk about in marketing copy. At Stone House, you can walk through the rows yourself.

Regenerative from the Ground Up

The farm embraces regenerative agriculture principles — no chemicals, with a focus on soil health through composting and ecosystem building. Current crops include potatoes, squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, leafy greens, and herbs like rosemary and sage. Each season brings new variety to the kitchen.

Regenerative farming goes beyond organic. Where organic certification focuses primarily on what you don't use (synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers), regenerative practices focus on what you actively build. At Stone House Farms, that means building soil biology through composting, cover cropping, and minimal tillage. The farm uses a layered composting system that turns kitchen scraps and garden waste into rich, living soil. Over time, this approach increases the soil's water-holding capacity, reduces the need for irrigation, and creates the kind of nutrient-dense growing medium that produces vegetables with exceptional flavor.

The crop rotation plan follows the seasons of the Sierra Foothills. Cool-season greens — lettuce, kale, chard, arugula — thrive from October through May, when the mild foothill winters provide enough warmth for growth without the stress of summer heat. Warm-season crops like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and peppers take over from June through September. Herbs grow year-round, with rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano planted as perennials that anchor the garden beds and provide continuous harvests.

Farm to Event

While Stone House Farms doesn't yet exclusively supply all events, seasonal produce has been featured in rotating farm salads and seasonal specials throughout 2024. As the greenhouse comes online, the farm-to-table connection at Stone House events will only deepen — expect even more hyper-local ingredients on your event menu.

The culinary team works closely with the farm throughout the growing season, planning event menus around what's ready to harvest. A summer wedding might feature heirloom tomato salad with Stone House basil and local burrata. A fall corporate retreat could include roasted squash soup made with butternut and delicata pulled from the garden that morning. The point isn't to source every ingredient from the property — it's to anchor each menu in something genuinely local, something with a story your guests can see with their own eyes.

For couples and event planners who prioritize sustainability, the farm adds a tangible dimension to their event. Some couples choose to include a brief farm tour as part of their rehearsal dinner experience, walking their guests through the rows and explaining what will show up on the menu the following evening. It's an experience that transforms dinner from a meal into a narrative — and it's only possible because the farm and the venue share the same ground.

Community Programs

Beginning Spring 2025, the farm is launching volunteer programs and hands-on workshops covering planting, harvesting, preservation techniques, fermentation, and herbal tea blending. The farm also produces specialty products: handcrafted tea blends, fermented items like kimchi and sauerkraut, artisanal ketchup, and house-made pickles.

The workshop series is designed for all experience levels, from complete beginners to experienced home gardeners looking to learn regenerative techniques. Fermentation workshops focus on the science and practice of lacto-fermentation — participants leave with their own jars of kimchi or sauerkraut and the knowledge to continue experimenting at home. The herbal tea blending sessions draw on the farm's extensive herb garden, teaching participants how to combine dried herbs for flavor, wellness, and seasonal enjoyment.

The specialty products line has become a quiet point of pride. The house-made pickles and fermented items use produce grown on-site, and the handcrafted tea blends feature herbs dried in the Sierra Foothill sun. These products occasionally make appearances at private events as welcome gifts or table favors — a small, thoughtful touch that connects guests to the land in a way that generic event favors never could.