Many customers like to know about the company and people behind
the products they buy. Here we will tell you a little about ourselves and our Hardin Gardens.
We have been bringing you home grown fruits, vegetables and flowers for your enjoyment for
over 25 years now! (Boy....that's an eye-opener from this side of the keyboard!) Each year we try a few new and different
varieties while holding on to the ones that have proven to be your favorites.
Over that time we have tried a few different venues for marketing our produce. Dennis
and Maria started out by joining the Sonoma County Farm Trails and sold a few goods from a table in their backyard.
About a year later they were invited to sell at the Sonoma Farmers Market. That worked out well, and they
began to branch out to other markets: Santa Rosa Veterans Building, Montgomery Village, Downtown Santa Rosa. These were
all successful, but it is a lot of work selling at these markets and they began to burn themselves out. After
a few years of this they decided to get out of the business.
After a couple of years of non-farming, the Hardins came to the conclusion that they
missed it and decided to ease back into the business by setting up a produce stand on the front of their property and
selling directly from the farm. This was a huge success from their point of view and they again grew into
a lively little business. They did this for a few years, but then experienced some interruptions which again took them
out of farming. For a period of three years they were side-tracked by the weddings of both their daughters
(Amanda and Janina, in successive years) and then both Maria and Dennis broke a bone in the spring which postponed their
partnership with Mother Earth for an additional summer.
Finally in the year 2001, Dennis retired from his "real" job, all bones were healed and it
was time to begin again. That year they just sold tomatoes and peaches, as they again decided to start small
and grow slowly. In 2002, they expanded with a few more varieties of tomatoes and some other vegetables like squash,
cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, beets and melons along with a smattering of herbs.
In 2004, Amanda and Tony returned from successive tours in Alaska and Hawaii (Tony is currently
serving active duty in the Coast Guard) and have since been learning everything they can (and more than they thought possible)
about running a vegetable farm and selling produce. With the start of the 2006 season, Hardin Gardens is now being officially
run by Amanda and Tony, with Dennis and Maria close at hand as consultants, moral supporters and...cheap labor. We couldn't
do this without you Mom and Dad!
From day one we have tried and will continue to try to bring you as much good
produce as possible with the resources we have available. Every year we grow and evolve, but we are a 100% family owned
and operated business (currently 4 of us), so don't expect to find everything under the sun. However, what you can expect
is to find top quality produce that will make your summer months a little more delicious.
Amanda and Tony Schell
Dennis and Maria Hardin
