Walk into Farmer’s Bottega in Mission Hills on an August evening and the menu reads like a map of north San Diego County. The heirloom tomatoes on your plate, the stone fruit beside the burrata, the avocado folded into a salad — much of it came from one place: Stehly Farms San Diego, a family operation in Valley Center. Farmer’s Bottega is a farm to table San Diego restaurant that builds its seasonal menu around partners like Stehly Farms, and when peak summer harvest hits, you can taste it. This is the story of the farm behind your plate, and why we put its name on the menu.
Who Grows Your Food at Farmer’s Bottega
Stehly Farms San Diego sits on a 278-acre property in Valley Center, in the hills of north San Diego County. It has been in the Stehly family for generations. The roots trace back to the 1920s in Orange County, and the farm moved to its current Valley Center home in 1964. Brothers Jerome and Noel Stehly took over the operation in 2002 and founded Stehly Farms Organics.
What began decades ago as a chicken farm grew into one of the larger organically grown avocado and citrus operations in Southern California. That history matters to us. When we say an avocado came from Stehly Farms, we mean a real place with real people who have spent their lives learning that ground.
What Comes Off the Land in August
Late summer is when Southern California growing land gives the most. August brings peak tomatoes, stone fruit, peppers, and the back end of the citrus season. Stehly Farms grows five varieties of avocado — Reed, Fuerte, Bacon, Zutano, and Hass — alongside a range of citrus, blueberries, strawberries, dragonfruit, and a smaller selection of leafy greens, green garlic, and spring onions.
Their produce is certified organic, which is not a marketing word but a federal standard. Under the USDA National Organic Program, land must go three years with no prohibited substances before a crop can be called organic, and trained inspectors visit certified farms every year. That is the kind of sourcing a locally sourced restaurant San Diego diners trust should be able to point to by name.
From Valley Center Soil to Your Table
Here is the part most diners never see. Stehly Farms harvests and packs produce the morning of delivery, then it travels south to our kitchen. Valley Center to Mission Hills is a drive of well under an hour, so fruit picked at dawn can be on a plate by dinner.
Compare that to the national average. Meals in the United States travel roughly 1,500 miles from farm to plate, according to the USDA National Agricultural Library, which notes that federal law treats food as local only when it moves less than 400 miles from where it grew. Our produce clears that bar easily. Less time between field and kitchen means the tomato still tastes like a tomato.
Why We Put the Farm’s Name on the Menu
Plenty of restaurants call themselves farm to table. Fewer will tell you which farm. We name Stehly Farms because the name is the proof — it is the difference between a slogan and a supply chain you can actually trace to Valley Center.
Naming the farm also keeps us honest. When a guest asks where the avocado came from and gets a real answer, the kitchen has to mean it. That runs through everything we do as a farm to table Mission Hills San Diego kitchen, and it ties back to our story and the way Chef Alberto Morreale built this place.
A Sicilian Kitchen Built on California Produce
Chef Alberto Morreale was born in Sicily, where good cooking starts with whatever the land gives that week. That instinct fits San Diego County. The 2024 San Diego County Crop Report put total agricultural value at $1.67 billion, with avocados alone accounting for more than $99 million and ranking fourth among all county crops.
So when August avocados come off Stehly’s groves, they are part of one of the county’s signature crops. Chef Morreale treats that produce the Sicilian way — let the ingredient lead. You can see the result across the dinner menu, where the seasonal dishes shift with what the farm sends us.
Where the Farm Shows Up When You Dine
The clearest place to taste Valley Center is at dinner, when summer produce anchors the plates. But it carries into the morning too. Stone fruit, citrus, and farm eggs land on the brunch menu, and our team broke down the best brunch in San Diego in a recent post.
Farm produce also turns up on our charcuterie boards, where seasonal fruit and pickled vegetables sit alongside cured meats and cheese — we wrote about building the best charcuterie in San Diego if you want the details. Ready to taste the August harvest yourself? Reserve your table and let the season do the talking.
The Garden Out Back
Stehly Farms is our main grower, and we round out the kitchen with produce from Specialty Produce, another San Diego sourcing partner. We also keep a small garden behind the restaurant — herbs and a few crops the kitchen reaches for daily. The secret garden is one reason guests tell us our patio feels like a different kind of evening out, something we covered in our look at outdoor dining in San Diego.
None of this replaces Valley Center. The farm sets the tone of the menu, and the garden and our other partners fill in the edges so the kitchen always has what it needs in season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Stehly Farms located?
Stehly Farms San Diego is in Valley Center, in the north county, on a 278-acre property the family has farmed since 1964. It is under an hour’s drive from our Mission Hills dining room.
Is the produce at Farmer’s Bottega really organic?
The produce we source from Stehly Farms is certified organic under the USDA National Organic Program, which requires annual inspections and a three-year transition period before a crop can carry the organic label.
What should I order in August to taste the local harvest?
Late summer is peak season for tomatoes, stone fruit, peppers, and avocado, so the seasonal dinner dishes are where the Valley Center produce shines brightest. Ask your server what came in from the farm that week.
How do I book a seasonal dinner at Farmer’s Bottega?
You can book online through our reservation page or call the restaurant directly. Summer evenings on the patio fill up, so we recommend reserving ahead for weekend dinners.
Ready to Get Started?
The August harvest from Stehly Farms is on the plate right now, from heirloom tomatoes to organic avocado. Come taste north San Diego County the way Chef Morreale intends it.
Reserve your table or call us at (619) 458-9929.