1. How long have you been making shrubs? How did you discover this passion?

I've been making small-batch Shrubs at home for over a year now. My passions for organic farming, food and fermentation developed when I was young, and found direction and purpose when I started working for Patagonia Provisions (Patagonia's food division). I was immersed in a brand new food culture, surrounded by enthusiastic entrepreneurs, chefs, writers, product managers, past farmers and fishermen -- all of whom had a connection to food, shared a deep commitment to responsible and transparent supply chains and felt motivated to develop food products that celebrate regenerative agriculture and organic farming.

During my years at Patagonia Provisions, I started to brew my own kombucha, and experimented with other forms of fermentation such as pickling vegetables, canning jams and keeping sourdough starters. I first came across Shrubs in a cocktail, and the flavors made me smile big. My taste buds basically exploded! The cocktail sparked my interest and motivated me to learn how to make my own shrubs. I started foraging for fruit in the front-, back-, and sideyard of my own apartment building complex, and that of close friends who live locally. I discovered several fruit trees in my own sideyard: figs, strawberry guavas and pineapple guavas -- and friends generously donated fruit to turn into shrubs; the more I tinkered, the more I fell in love with the craft. At home, I use Shrubs in salad dressings, marinades, salsas, mocktails and cocktails all year long.  

2. Where do you source your fruit? Are you buying second quality fruit that these farmers can’t otherwise sell?

At Sideyard Shrubs, our homemade fruit vinegars are a celebration of each season's bounty. Every flavor reflects this region, and the harvest season.  

The element of Sideyard Shrubs we're most proud of -- and what we want our customers to walk away with -- is a deeper understanding of the farms we partner with. We work with farmers that we know as friends and feel more like family. Sourcing is really what makes our Shrubs sing; it's the people we work with -- who take great care of the land -- and quality of the fruit that we're sourcing that makes our flavors so delicious. We specifically work with farmers and property owners who are committed to growing good food, feeding their communities, educating for change within the industries they play in and cultivating community through agriculture and education. Our farm partners grow regionally appropriate crops: crops that are well suited to their climate and soil types. 

At Sideyard Shrubs, we source our produce in one of two ways: 

1. We are proud to partner with certified-organic, non-profit farms to source seasonal produce for our Shrubs. We're currently working with Fairview Gardens in Goleta and The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano. We are equally proud to source as much imperfect, bruised, and “ugly” fruit -- in other words, seconds -- as we possibly can from our certified-organic, non-profit farm partners. We take great pride in turning produce deemed "bad" or "ugly" into beautiful, delicious value-added products. Our use of second quality fruit helps mitigate food waste by way of the fermentation and preservation methods we're so passionate about.

2. Our roots lie in hand-harvesting fruit trees from the front-, back- and sideyards of our closest friends and family, all of whom practice organic farming. We make certain to exclusively source fruit from trees that are grown organically and pesticide-free.  

3. Where do you sell your shrubs? Do you have any plans with this business?

We're proud to sell Sideyard Shrubs to like-minded, small businesses and shops around town - spots that care about quality, organic ingredients, and supporting local farms, community artisans and makers across the board.

We currently sell Sideyard Shrubs in Southern California. We launched in June, and we've experienced strong demand ever since. We're hard at work on a website -- coming soon -- and rely on our wholesale partners to help drive sales for us.  We've partnered with several farm stands and farm box programs and have had great success so far working with Farm Cart Organics, Fairview Gardens and The Ecology Center.

 In addition, we sell at the following retail locations:

• Heritage Goods & Supply in Carpinteria, CA 

• Farmhouse Corner Market in San Luis Obispo, CA 

• Satellite in Santa Barbara, CA 

• Bettina Pizza in Montecito, CA 

• Findings Market in Ventura, CA 

At Sideyard Shrubs, we believe good goes slow. The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Our goal with the business is to take things slow, grow organically, and continue to sell direct to consumers as well as partner with wholesale and retail stores that share our same values. 

4. If you still work with Patagonia, what do you do with them?

I work full time in the marketing department at Patagonia. I'm a marketing operations manager -- basically, a marketing project manager and a creative producer -- for our Sportswear and Kids Categories. In addition, I project manage The Patagonia Footprint Chronicles, which is our supply chain transparency platform.  

In my free time outside of work, you'll find me volunteering as a farm hand in the field at Fairview Gardens and working on all things Sideyard Shrubs. 

5. What’s your favorite flavor you’ve made and what’s your favorite thing to do with it? Do you have a favorite recipe to go along with it?

 Our very first flavor was the Loquat Shrub. This flavor is delicate, mild, and goes great in many culinary applications -- see below for my favorite recipe. Our Loquat Shrub will always hold a special spot in my heart. It's a favorite flavor of mine because it speaks to our deeper reasons for being: seasonal fruit, or what we like to call regional loot. 

We have a fruit-bearing loquat tree down the street from our apartment building; for years now, we've been gleaning the golden fruit and enjoyed sharing with neighbors. We're quick to point out loquat trees to friends and family, as they're so often overlooked. Loquats are unusual fruit trees in that they flower in the fall with fruit coming in early spring. When the trees come into peak season, they produce fruit at impressive volumes. Ripe loquats are sweet and delicious; to me, they taste like an apricot, guava and citrus. Next year in the spring, when you see a fruit-bearing loquat tree, I hope you'll follow my lead: reach up and pick one to eat! Even better, pick a few and bring them home to use in cooking. Fresh loquats go great in salads, salsas, jams and chutneys. Below, I share my favorite way to use the Loquat Shrub in salad dressing. 

EVERY SEASON SHRUB SALAD DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp Shrub (flavor of choice)

1/2 fresh Orange, sliced and pressed through juicer  

1/2 fresh Lemon, sliced and pressed through juicer 

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground 

1 tsp Ground Cumin

DIRECTIONS

Add all ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk to combine. Garnish with seasonally available fresh herbs (basil, mint, parsley or cilantro) as desired.