A Backyard in Moraga Becomes a Family Farm

When the bottom fell out of the economy in 2008, marketing executive and new mom Hollie Lucas-Alcalay looked at her back yard in Moraga and saw her calling—a garden of herbs that she could grow and share with friends and family.

The results of her efforts were so good before long she began to consider selling her crops to the public. And Hollie’s Homegrown was born.

“I began researching what it would take to grow herbs in my back yard,” she said, recalling the early days of the venture. And it’s no surprise that she has been so successful. Her father is a successful wine entrepreneur, and her mother family is in the table grape business. Agriculture runs deep in her family.

On Saturday (June 20), Lucas-Alcalay is co-hosting a garden tour from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with Slow Food International, a group dedicated to bringing locally sourced food like hers back to the family table.

On the tour, Lucas-Alcalay will show off her vast variety of mints and basils. She has apple, orange, pineapple, and ginger mint, along with pepper mint, mint julep, Cuban, Syrian and Moroccan mint.

“You have to keep them contained because they will spread everywhere,” she said.

From her garden, Lucas-Alcalay produces a variety of culinary enhancements and various teas. You can find her at the Diablo Valley Farmers Market in Walnut Creek, and the San Francisco Fort Mason farmers market as well.