ment. "It's a pretty simple deal. We supply
insurance and labor, and they supply security and water," he explains.
Four years after its inception, the garden
is thriving. In mid-August, Frank picked
200 pounds of Lunga di Napoli squash on
a single day. "This year marks our fourth
summer harvest, and we're getting record
results," he says. In addition to the prolific
squash, La Toque is growing an eclectic
selection of plants that includes several unusual peppers, melons, pumpkins and cucumbers. "We don't buy cucumbers for the
pickles. We grow them," says Frank. Melons include Moon and Stars, a watermelon
with dark green skin, little yellow spots
and one light patch where it lies on the
ground. Edible flowers are for the pastry
chef's use, and Frank's wife Sherylle grows
flowers for the restaurant's décor. "She's a
In mid-August,
Frank picked 200
pounds of Lunga
di Napoli squash
on a single day.
florist. She can't help it," he says.
Italian restaurant Oenotri was an early
member of the co-op. "I was the first gardener," says chef Tyler Rodde. Oenotri's
garden is the largest, and Jessica Baron, a
fulltime gardener, manages it along with
the gardens of Hog Island Oysters and
Zuzu. Baron studied Agricultural Ecology
at the University of California, Santa Cruz,
worked on a ranch and started a farm for
Osteria Stellina in Point Reyes Station before the owners of Oenotri met her at the
Marin Civic Center Farmers Market and
persuaded her to make the move to Napa.
"It's very much a working garden," she
says, observing that the current season apChef Tyler Rodde of Oenotri's prepares a
pasta dish with cherry tomatoes harvested
earlier that day.
24
FLOURISH • FALL 2013
