Get a Table at Cyclops Farms

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In its original location, an ocean-view lot nestled in Oceanside’s Fire Mountain neighborhood, Cyclops Farms was the only sustainable farming operation in the area. Founded in 2015 by Luke Girling, an O’side native, Cyclops quickly became a food hub for chefs and locals. Now relocated in Fallbrook, Cyclops Farms continues to represent the spirit of sustainable, small farming, offering the true definition of a farmto-table experience.

A self-proclaimed “dirt kid,” Girling has always had a love for plants and soil. He planted his first garden as a second grader in 1987 in the side yard of his Oceanside home. Shortly after graduating high school, he started working in the produce section at natural food store Cream of the Crop and eventually managed the department for over eight years. It was during this time that Luke learned about buying directly from local farmers, and his love for community agriculture started to grow. In 2009, Girling took a job working in the kitchens at Hill Street Cafe and the Fish Joint on Coast Highway alongside chef Davin Waite (who would go on to open Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub and The Plot), giving him the opportunity to experience the restaurant side of our food industry. In 2013, he was accepted into UC Santa Cruz’s agroecology apprenticeship program where he learned sustainable farming practices that work in tandem with nature. After a few more years in the restaurant industry, Girling, along with his wife Frances and two young children, was ready to look for land to start his own farm.

Girling signed the lease for the Oceanside location with the help of a successful Kickstarter campaign—a testament to the community’s support for his vision. By providing local fruits, vegetables, and flowers at a weekly farm stand and directly to chefs, the Girling family’s community agriculture business model played a key role in the area’s blossoming farm-to-table restaurant scene. Shortly after opening in 2015, his family was hit with the unexpected news that Girling had a large mass growing in his chest and would need surgery to remove it. Yet again, the community stepped up by putting together a major fundraiser featuring local chefs and restaurateurs, raising $20,000 to help with the medical bills. After recovering from surgery, Girling got right back to tending the farm, but staggering water bills made financial recovery for the business an almost insurmountable challenge. This led to the inception of the “water bill dinners” at Cyclops Farms.

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Since the first event with Waite as a headline chef in 2015, Cyclops Farms has hosted over 80 farm dinners in Oceanside and Fallbrook, featuring notable local chefs, brewers, makers, musicians, and artisans. The dinners have become an integral part of Cyclops Farms’ identity and a wonderful representation of what true farm-to-table means to the community. At a dinner in June, Waite acknowledged, “Luke has always had one foot in the kitchen and one foot in the soil. He wants to know how we do our job so he can do his better, and he nails it every time.”

The struggle to keep up with operational expenses, especially the cost of water, is always at the forefront of the obstacles faced by farmers like Girling. Farm subsidies mostly benefit large-scale factory farming operations, whereas small, organic farms like Cyclops, who positively impact the way people view and experience our food system, have to fight to survive. But Girling makes it clear that he believes in the work Cyclop Farms is doing and plans to continue doing it despite the financial and physical challenges.

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When asked what his favorite thing about being a farmer is, Girling goes straight to the heart of why he chooses to do this work: “When people have never had a real ripe strawberry before and I get to show them, just like another farmer showed me, it’s an epic thing. Creating relationships with people is my favorite.”

And his least favorite part? “Thinning carrots,” Girling jokes. “It’s hard to say if there’s anything I don’t like about farming...I like it all actually.” What Girling truly doesn’t like is local farm and market politics, and chefs with egos. “We want to feed people, pay our bills, and do what we love to do,” he says.

Over the years, Cyclops Farms has had to overcome many obstacles that Girling and his family have met with perseverance and innovation. In the wake of a financial crisis, exacerbated by medical bills, the farm dinners were conceived.

During the pandemic, Luke turned the Oceanside farm stand into a mini-market to support local growers and makers who had lost their weekly income. Now focused on growing flowers, strawberries, and other small food crops in Fallbrook, Cyclops Farms’ dedication to inspiring a healthy food system and fostering a love for local farming remains apparent.

“It’s been one hell of a ride. There’s been an amazing amount of bliss and some heartache, but that’s all business,” Girling says.

Girling’s chef friends show us how supporting local farmers and the important work that they do to feed and educate our community is imperative to changing our food system for the better. Make sure to grab some strawberries from Cyclops Farms when you come across them—they are something special.

» cyclopsfarms.com