Culinary Garden at Copia
The Culinary Garden at Copia features seasonal crops and regional plants that account for most of the produce, herbs, and other products used throughout CIA at Copia facility. The 32-bed garden sits prominently in front of the building, greeting our guests as they approach. It is an oasis, perfect for a stroll, to enjoy your Lunch Box take out, or simply to pause for a moment. There are lots of photo opportunities as well!
Please note that our garden is open to the public, and we encourage you to visit—but please refrain from picking any of the produce.
What’s Growing?
Crops include a range of flowers, herbs, veggies, and perennials, and the garden is complete with a pollinator garden and greenhouse. You’ll also find fruit trees, citrus trees, and olive trees throughout. Our Culinary Gardener Jacob Tracy, works with CIA’s executive chef and culinary teams to determine what to grow in the garden. He balances that with crops that grow best in the climate and may not be easily accessible in local grocery stores, like Thai basil, Lebanese za’atar, huacatay, and kabocha squash.
Sustainability
Sustainability plays a huge role in everything we do at CIA. We practice no-till gardening as a way to open up compacted soil without causing soil erosion, crop rotation to improve soil health and optimize nutrients, and companion planting to increase crop productivity. Almost all of the produce grown in the garden is harvested for our restaurants and public classes with little left over. When surplus is available, you can find it for sale at Marketplace. Stay tuned for more information on summer produce and flower sales!
Meet Our Culinary Gardeners
Jacob Tracy was born and raised in Napa and seeks to help heal our relationships with land and food. Working as an organic farm camp counselor, native and edible landscape, harvest intern and vineyard crewmate, he has grown to appreciate the gifts each season brings to our lives and our tables. Learn more about Jacob >
Rachel Kohn Obut fell in love with gardening as a child, enamored by the joys of eating and cooking with just picked strawberries. Learn more about Rachel >