Okanagan Herb Patch is a small market garden on Valley Road North in Kelowna, run by chef Carlos Rodriguez. It is the farm side of Allium Hospitality, his food business.
Carlos first came to Kelowna in 2008 as a culinary arts intern at a local winery. He still remembers the chef getting excited over the season's first carrots from a local farm. At the time, he couldn't see why. Today he gets just as excited himself.
Over the years he moved from fine dining toward seasonal comfort food, and he got to know the farmers who grew his ingredients. He learned to grow at Unearthed Organics, and eventually moved all the way to the farm end of farm to table.
Now he farms about two acres in a quiet corner of the city, working the beds with a walking tractor and hand tools. He grows culinary herbs and salad greens, plus vegetables like Sun Gold tomatoes, tomatillos, and Hakurei turnips. He grows with organic methods, though the farm is not certified.
