A Family Rooted in Farming

PHOTOS BY VIKTOR BUDNIK

It all started with my father, Ali Zadeh, and a five-hectare garden in Iran. As a young boy, at the age of 7 he learned the art of crafting and cultivation from his family’s gardener and eventually became the lead caretaker of that family land.

When my father immigrated to the United States, he studied civil engineering but he never gave up his first passion: growing food. He outgrew his balcony garden in Pasadena, then our backyard, and in the ’90s began a long search for farmland. In 2000, he finally found what he calls a “mountain gem”: our original 28-acre ranch in Agoura Hills.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

AZ-Ranch is named after my father, Ali Zadeh—and his initials are ours too. My brother Allen and I continue the tradition, working alongside him in every season. My father is the head farmer and visionary. My mom, Patricia, manages the farm shop and, unofficially, keeps my dad and me in check—so we lovingly call her the “AZ-Ranch Police.” Allen operates our heavy equipment and handles market prep. As for me, I’m the operations manager, involved in everything from seed to sale, including organic compliance and creative farm development.

ROOTS OF LOVE AND FIGS

My parents met on a blind date 36 years ago and got married just four months later.

“Just from the moment we met, we were in sync,” Mom says. “We talked every day ’til we got married. When you know, you know!”

Together, they’ve built everything we have. My father especially loves figs—a cultural staple from his Middle Eastern roots. Over 20 years, he collected fig varieties from friends and family, giving us our foundation crop—one that thrives even in Agoura’s extreme weather swings. Our hillside orchard in Agoura is rugged terrain. From soil prep to harvest, everything is harder, but elevation allows us to trap rainwater, offering the trees natural nitrogen during storms.

After the fire, I began searching for a second farm. That led us to Somis in 2021, now our veggie and tropical test plot. The climate there lets us grow exciting crops like mini bananas, three types of passionfruit (yellow, purple and a new banana-shaped one), pineapples and papayas—all currently in trials.

IN THE FACE OF FIRE AND STORM

The Woolsey Fire in 2018 was a turning point. We lost 75% of our farm and nearly more, but my dad stayed behind with nothing but a garden hose and protected our house. “There was a 35-foot wave of fire coming towards me and I was hoping the water wouldn’t run out!” he says.

Losing land is one thing, but losing our home, the heart of the ranch, would’ve been far more devastating. Running the farm can bring tough days, but having a place to rest keeps us moving forward.

After the fire, I began searching for a second farm. That led us to Somis in 2021, now our veggie and tropical test plot. The climate there lets us grow exciting crops like mini bananas, three types of passionfruit (yellow, purple and a new banana-shaped one), pineapples and papayas—all currently in trials.

In recent years, though, weather has hit hard again. Our new vegetable and mini-orchard operation in Somis saw greenhouse collapses from heavy storms—twice. Back in Agoura, high winds destroyed our egg-washing room and tragically flung an animal enclosure down the mountain. By the time we discovered it, coyotes had gotten to the animals inside, which deeply affected our egg production and hearts.

MORE DIVERSITY

We now have over 1,000 fig trees in the ground in our home farm with varieties including Black Mission, Kadota, Calimyrna, Texas Pete, Tiger Figs, Adriatic, Brown Turkey (my personal favorite) and many more in our trial nursery. We also grow quince, persimmons, berries, heirloom tomatoes, a variety of oranges and lemons, multiple varieties of pomegranates and guava and fresh herbs.

And, of course, we raise bees, ducks and chickens.

FIGS: SIMPLE AND SWEET

Figs are delicious raw or cooked. My personal favorite? Halved, lightly brushed with olive oil from Ojai Olive Oil Co., a dash of crushed pepper, roasted till caramelized— then chopped over old-fashioned vanilla ice cream. Heaven.

• For a list of markets and the farmstand hours and address, visit AZ-Ranch.com.