Friends of Verdura and relevant links

At Verdura Culinary Gardens, we are strongly committed to running our business as sustainably as we can, using local resources whenever possible in every aspect of our operations. We have developed a list of Friends of Verdura: local resources we enjoy doing business with and believe in. We invite you to browse the list and encourage you to visit and patronize these hardworking local business owners.

Also included in the list are various organizations we belong to.

Companies

Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply is where we buy many of the organic amendments we use in our gardens. In addition to compost and other amendments, Naomi sells seeds, plants, gardening books and tools, poultry supplies and even baby chicks in season. Naomi, husband Neil and mom Mary are all delightful to deal with and are wonderful gardening resources. They’re located in SE Portland; check them out soon!

We partner with our friends at Gales Meadow Farms in Gales Creek, Oregon to provide our clients with the best local organic plant starts. Every year, Annie and René grow hundreds of starts for us on their wonderful ten-acre farm. You can also buy plant starts as well as organically grown vegetables directly from the farm at both the Hillsdale and Hollywood farmers markets in Portland.

Drip Depot, based in Medford, supplies all of our irrigation equipment including drip lines, emitters and controllers. This isn’t your typical big-box store stuff; it’s commercial grade and built to last. We love their well designed website, great customer service and fast shipping.

In Good Taste Cooking School, with locations in the Pearl District and Lake Oswego, is where Caroline teaches her cooking classes year-round. The Pearl District store is a gem of a space housing not only the school, but also a fantastic retail store featuring an extensive collection of cookbooks as well as cooking equipment and supplies, gifts, wine, spices and more.

The Bob Adams Agency. Our friend Bob Adams is also our insurance agent, handling both our business and personal insurance. He is a wonderful guy and has taken very good care of us. Insurance may not be a very sexy topic, but it’s important to us to work with people we trust, so we wanted to share this with you. Check him out if you’re looking for help in business, home, life or auto insurance.

Two of our favorite farmers are Cory Carman of Carman Ranch in Wallowa, who provides us with the most delicious grass-finished beef we have ever had, and John Neumeister of Cattail Creek Farms near Corvallis, who raises incredibly good lamb. Cory’s beef is sold by the quarter or half beef, which they’ll deliver to Portland in the fall. Now is the time to sign up, though, as they sell out every year. John’s lamb is available online as well as at various grocers and farmers markets in the Portland area. Do yourself a favor and check out both of them!

The Robert Reynolds Chef Studio offers a variety of superb hands-on French and Italian classes for culinary professionals as well as serious home cooks. Caroline received her culinary degree from the Chef Studio in 2007. Robert, who studied with Madeleine Kamman and Josephine Araldo, offers so much more than a typical culinary school:  an exciting, hands-on, intimate exploration of regional French and Italian cuisine that more closely resembles a traditional apprenticeship than a classroom. Very highly recommended!

If you’re a chef or other culinary professional, check out Classic Foods’ website for the best homemade ravioli and pasta we’ve ever tasted. They also offer an extensive line of top-quality herbs, spices, cheese, sauces and other staples of a well-stocked professional kitchen. Wholesale customers only, please!

 

 

Are you in the Boston metro area? If so, check out our friends at Green City Growers, who run an organic urban farming business very similar to our own.

Organizations

We are members of Oregon Tilth, a nonprofit research and education membership organization dedicated to biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture. We also participate in the Yard & Garden program, a registry of organic gardens that confirms our commitment to maintain biologically diverse gardens and to prevent contamination.

Another group we belong to is Friends of Family Farmers, a local nonprofit that promotes and protects socially responsible agriculture in Oregon.

We are also members of Chefs Collaborative, a national organization dedicated to provide chefs with the latest information and skills they need to make sustainable choices.

Ecotrust is a Portland-based nonprofit organization based on the idea that economic and ecological systems are mutually interdependent. They support local businesses and host numerous events open to the public.

Slow Food U.S.A. is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America. Slow Food U.S.A. believes that pleasure and quality in everyday life can be achieved by slowing down, respecting the convivial traditions of the table, and celebrating the diversity of the earth’s bounty. The members of Slow Food Portland are a diverse group of food enthusiasts with a curiosity about food traditions and heritage, local artisanal products, sustainable agriculture and the protection of the biodiversity of our local and global food sheds.

The Organic Consumers Association has a wealth of information for consumers concerned with health, sustainability and other important issues.