One perfect day in San Clemente, CA
Spend the day in an Orange County surf town with plenty to offer
Veggies on the green: Sure, you can play nine holes at Bella Collina golf club, but Saturdays you can also buy produce from the 21/2-acre VR Green Farms, near the clubhouse. Look for tomatoes, zucchini, and fresh herbs at the farmstand, and say hello to farmer Nic Romano. 200 Avenida La Pata; vrgreenfarms.com
OUR MISSION
The “local farmer” movement is about more than just vegetables. “It’s amazing how the Bella Collina members and San Clemente community has come together around us. It’s all about coming back to the earth. When you find your roots, you find your center.”
For more information contact Nic Romano at farmernic@vrgreenfarms.com or 949.697.0032, or visit www.vrgreenfarms.com. Vegetable baskets are available every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Amy Andrade, a VRGF customer and marketing director at Chapman University, reports her children actually request “farm carrots” in their lunch. “I was floored,” Andrade said. “The vegetables here are not at all
what I would get at a grocery store.”
(San Clemente, CA – July 31, 2009) - VR Green Farms held its first farm arbor event at the Bella Collina Towne and Golf Club located at 200 Avenida La Pata in San Clemente, CA on July 30, at 5:30 p.m. Attendees were asked to bring any size of stone to the event which will be added later to a dedication area on their arbor’s stone foundation.
Included in the evening’s festivities was a wine tasting from assorted Italian vendors of small sustainable Italian vineyards as well as fresh Mozzarella cheese from the Mozzarella Guys of Hawthorne, Frankie’s Italian biscotti, Smeraldina mineral water from Sardinia, Italian appetizers and more. The event was prepared by Thomas Ryan, Executive Chef of the Big Canyon Country Club. .
The new VRGF farm arbor is an authentic replica of an Italian rustic stone retreat usually found on an Italian fattoria (farm). VRGF founder Nic Romano chose stone artisan and friend, Roberto Romano (no relation), to design and build the arbor from a photo of a rustic arbor in Umbria.
“We purposely broke all the design rules as if a contadino (farmer) from the 1800’s built his own shaded escape from the Mediterranean sun, stone by stone, and from material found on his farmland,” said Roberto Romano. “We gathered river rock from the golf course stream beds, timbers from their pine forest, and foundation rocks uncovered by the club’s maintenance crew from the club’s 27 golf holes.”
“We invited our friends and neighbors of VR Green Farms to contribute stones so they will always be a part of the stone arbor,” said Nic Romano. On a step leading to the grass edged arbor, the words “Earth, Wind, Fire and Water” are engraved in Italian (Terra, Vento, Fuoco, and Acqua) in the stone which was added because Nic Romano wanted “this subtle message to celebrate the natural elements of the farm. There is also a stone fire pit which is used as a heat source on cool evenings, in-garden cooking demos, and for conversation starters with stone seating nearby.”In addition, the arbor is used as an educational classroom, artist studio, cooking school, small intimate weddings, and al fresco dining amidst rows of Italian vegetables and herbs.
VR Green Farms (www.vrgreenfarms.com) is a new sustainable farm concept that is growing over 30 Italian heirloom vegetables and herbs on surplus private golf course for the host property, Bella Collina Towne and Golf Club in San Clemente, CA. It is based on a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) format with weekly vegetable, fruit, and artisan bread baskets offered as a single purchase ($29) and six and twelve basket programs at $25 per basket which can be picked up any Saturday at our farm (or drop-off point in Orange County on certain weekdays) within a 3-4 month period. Our VRGF Basket Member software program makes it easy to review our basket contents for any given week and decide beforehand if you want to make a reservation for that week. You can sign up by phone at 949-697-0032 or online at: http://www.vrgreenfarms.com/Basket