Eva sommaripa
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Profiles in farming: The garden of Eva
By Deanna Levanti
Eva Sommaripa’s farm is hidden in South Dartmouth but her name is known all around Westport — and just about every restaurant kitchen in Boston.
Eva’s Garden has attracted many young farmers to the area, many of whom own or manage farming operations in the area today. She and her farm manager, Honey Bee, talked to a reporter in the office area atop the Pack Shed. As they chatted, the sound of autumn olive berries plinks the air as they are “tweedled” off the branches and drop into a bin.
What do you grow?
HB: We grow annual and perennial herbs, edible and cut flowers, baby greens, mini greens, pea greens.
Eva: It started out being primarily culinary herbs because in the old days, I mean way back in the late 70s, I was driving to and from Cambridge every week and in those days you couldn’t get fresh herbs hardly anywhere — they were being flown in from South America! So it wasn’t really a business yet; I was just growing them and I had extras so I just brought them to some restaurants near where I lived in Cambridge. And then it expanded to include herbs, flowers
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Announcing “Farmer Eva&#;s Green Garden Life“
I am so excited about the publication this summer of my new book Farmer Eva&#;s Green Garden Life. The book tells the story of one Massachusetts farmer who has supported herself, become a legend, and built a community growing greens and herbs on acres of nation.
Here&#;s a recent review from Shelf Awareness:
Picture books about adults may not be natural lures for children, but Farmer Eva&#;s Green Garden Life, from Jacqueline Briggs Martin&#;s Food Heroes series, has an inspired angle: its unseen narrator sounds like an awestruck kid (&#;My friend Eva Sommaripa lives so close to the ocean she can smell the sea, so close to woods she can talk to trees&#;). There&#;s plenty of cause for awe in this offering from illustrator Christy Hale (Our School Garden!) and author Martin, who has written about kvartet other real-life food stars (including Roy Choi and Sandor Katz) for her series.
The narrator explains what happened: one day, Massachusetts resident Sommaripa was at the marknad when the sight and smell of strawberries and fresh tarragon piqued her interest in attempting an edible garden. So fecund was Sommaripa&#;s eventual farm t
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As part of our healthy January series of blog posts, we&#;re sharing a favorite article from our print edition, featuring Dartmouth&#;s Eva Sommaripa who has been a pioneer in foraging wild greens and cultivating microgreens and herbs. Enjoy!
Spiritual Botany
Eva Sommaripa is so revered in the farming and culinary worlds that she doesn’t even need a last name. Everyone knows her simply as Eva. Even her farm’s equipment is labeled without a last name. “Return to Eva” proclaims an empty five gallon bucket.
Eva’s patch of land in Dartmouth near Allen’s Pond is famous, disproportionately famous given its small size. Her delicious baby greens and herbs accompany dinner at many of the finest restaurants in Boston and Providence. Chefs gush over them.
Eva’s Garden started as the family garden at their weekend getaway from Cambridge. She says, “I’d bring my herbs to sell to restaurants after the weekend when we stayed here. Then, my weekends got longer and longer.” And her garden grew. Cultivated fields took over the meadow that held the family’s volleyball net. She now has two acres of cultivated land and seven acres of uncultivated land from which she forages wild edibles.
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