Suzy Amis and James Cameron's 100-acre mini farm near Santa Barbara

1/26

Garden consultant Paul Hudak and Suzy Amis Cameron sample a Moon and Stars watermelon in one of the mini farm’s gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Santa Barbara area. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

2/26

Paul Hudak cuts open an Adirondack Blue, a potato that is one of more than 150 crops grown at the ranch, constituting 90% of what the family eats, says Suzy Amis Cameron. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

3/26

A hummingbird extracts nectar from lion’s tail (Leonotis leonurus), a South African shrub. The edible landscape is dotted with ornamental flowers to attract pollinators and beneficial bugs. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

4/26

Suzy Amis Cameron in the shade of a mulberry tree at her ranch near Santa Barbara. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

5/26

A bee hovers in a patch of cinnamon basil, which has flavorful leaves. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

6/26

Detail of a hop vine growing on the fence surrounding the garden. Paul Hudak, who in addition to overseeing the Camerons’ mini farm also directs the Seed to Table program at the school Suzy Amis Cameron founded, said students like to make tinctures with the medicinal plant. “Paul is really special,” Suzy Cameron said. “He taps in to what fires kids up.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

7/26

Suzy Amis Cameron inside the greenhouse, where plants are propagated. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

8/26

Summer is over, but off-season tomatoes are still growing strong in the greenhouse. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

9/26

Also in the greenhouse: habaneros, among the many peppers growing inside. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

10/26

Gardener Cindy Henning plants broccoli in the ranch’s upper circle garden. Garden manager Paul Hudak said about three-quarters of the mini farm’s seeds are bought, and the rest were saved from previous season’s crops. A goal for the Cameron operation: to have its own seed bank. “We are constantly seeding,” said Hudak, who took about 12 trays of seeds out into the fields during The Times’ visit Sept. 24. “We are constantly rotating the crops.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

11/26

Cindy Henning, left, and Suzy Amis Cameron survey the circle garden, which had been a horse turnaround before the Camerons bought the property. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

12/26

The mini farm is harvested once a week. Some crops go to the MUSE school in Calabasas, where Paul Hudak coordinates with the cooks to avoid overproduction. One recent Monday, the staff prepared lentil stew and kale salad for the students using produce from the Camerons’ farm. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

13/26

Paul Hudak holds freshly harvested kohlrabi, a relative of the cabbage, and... (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

14/26

... slices the kohlrabi to sample. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

15/26

A zinnia attracts a pollinator -- a monarch butterfly. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

16/26

Included on Paul Hudak’s to-do list for fall: “Save zinna seeds. Trellis tomatoes. Seed lettuce, spinach, collards. Remove all squash plants.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

17/26

Quinoa on the day it was planted. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

18/26

Hudak holds quinoa from last season. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

19/26

The plants on the farm include the exotic, such as an etrog citron. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

20/26

Carrots are pulled from the soil. Paul Hudak plants according to the biodynamic calendar as much as possible, meaning that vegetables, fruits and flowers go into the ground based on the phases of the moon. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

21/26

Sunflowers, along with cosmos and zinnias, are key to attracting bees and butterflies. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

22/26

In a storage room Paul Hudak pulls out garlic, which he said he will plant 500 times over at the Cameron ranch. Fall is a great time to plant it. Hudak’s advice: Simply get the biggest clove you can find and plant it root side down. Behind Hudak: Part of the property’s weekly harvest. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

23/26

The compost pile: The Camerons use no animal manure. Instead, the compost is simply layered with material that’s high in nitrogen (vegetable scraps and other plant matter) and high in carbon (dried leaves and straw). The moisture level is monitored and the pile gets turned with a tractor every seven to 14 days. “I think of it like yogurt,” Hudak said. “The microorganisms activate the pile.” (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

24/26

A view of the mini farm, as seen from the Camerons’ house, surrounded by citrus trees. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

25/26

Suzy Amis Cameron says she and her husband, filmmaker James Cameron, switched to a plant-based diet more than a year ago after viewing “Forks Over Knives,” Lee Fulkerson’s 2011 documentary. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

26/26

Suzy Amis Cameron and Paul Hudak survey the new plantings for fall: quinoa, collards, lettuce, cilantro and more, on fields overlooking the ocean. Read the full article on our visit to the Cameron ranch and get Hudak’s suggestions on which crops are best planted as seed, and which are best bought as nursery plants. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

By Lisa Boone

Oct. 11, 2013 12:29 PM PT

More than 100 miles from Hollywood, the Hollister Ranch garden of James and Suzy Amis Cameron is transitioning to fall. Garden consultant Paul Hudak is pulling out 300 tomato plants and some squash and putting in long rows of lettuce, kale and quinoa. Walking the field, he pauses repeatedly, his pocket knife at the ready to cut into Adirondack blue potatoes, Moon and Star watermelons and kohlrabi. Later, in the greenhouse, he shares a Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, believed to be the hottest pepper in the world.

It’s a lovely garden peppered with colorful cosmos, zinnias, sunflowers and lion’s tail to attract beneficial bugs. Here, on a tranquil 100-acre parcel with inspiring views of the Pacific Ocean, James Cameron wrote “Avatar.” And here the couple grow about 90% of what they eat, Suzy Amis Cameron said, with surplus going to friends and the students at MUSE, the Calabasas school that she founded.

The family switched to a plant-based diet a year and a half ago after watching “Forks Over Knives,” Lee Fulkerson’s 2011 documentary detailing the positive effects of a plant-based diet.

“That’s really when the garden took off and we got serious about growing our own food,” Suzy Amis Cameron said. “We cut out anything that was coming from an animal and cleaned out our refrigerator in 24 hours.”

PHOTOS: Fall planting at the mini farm of James and Suzy Amis Cameron

The couple moved their goats and chickens to MUSE and hired Hudak, 35, to help them run the home mini-farm as well as the Seed to Table program at the school. Hudak has participated in the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms program, a sort of agricultural-based cultural exchange, and recently directed a farm program at a high school in Portland, Ore.

What had been an empty field was planted in March and is thriving with more than 150 different crops including arugula, Brussels sprouts, beets, carrots and lettuces. More than 15 trees were recently added, including fig, peach, plum, pomegranate and an unusual citron.

In summer, the garden was lush with heirloom tomatoes, berries and corn. Hudak said he tags each season’s best producers and saves the seeds for future crops. The farm’s success, he said, is rooted in biodiversity that keeps the ground fertile.

“It’s all about feeding the soil, not the plant,” he said. “Most soil will do well for a year, but after that it needs therapy.”

Hudak plants according to the biodynamic calendar, meaning fruits, vegetables and flowers are planted according to the moon phases. He is an ardent proponent of cover crops, plants that add nitrogen to the soil and out-compete weeds. This year’s cover crop at the Camerons’ ranch will be a mixture of fava beans, peas, vetch and oats, which will be grown after the winter crops are done, then tilled into the soil before summer crops are planted. Hudak said he also mixes an inoculant, a natural culture of beneficial bacteria available from seed companies, onto the seed before planting to fix more nitrogen and to promote growth.

Amis Cameron said she has gone to great lengths to compost without horse, cow or chicken manure. The compost here is made with only plant material and turned with a tractor every seven to 14 days; Hudak helps crops along by making compost tea for fertilizer.

Amis Cameron said this approach to food and gardening has deeply affected her family.

“It is fascinating how it has changed the way we feel: We are so energetic and full of life,” she said.

The Cameron children have joined in the planting and harvesting. Rose, 6, planted a fairy garden this summer composed of strawberries and flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Claire, 12, planted a garden of Swiss chard and kale because she wanted to create a shady habitat for her rats. And Quinn, 10, planted Roma tomatoes and lemon cucumbers for the pasta sauce and ketchup garden.

“The garden has brought our family together,” Amis Cameron said. “We now have a tendency to spend more time in the kitchen together.”

Fall and winter planting recommendations

Garden consultant Paul Hudak divides herbs and vegetables for fall gardens into two categories: those you can plant as seeds and those you’re better off buying as young plants. “October is a great time to plant all of these,” Hudak said. “The majority of these crops actually thrive in cooler weather.” Hudak’s recommendations for fall and winter:

Buy as seed:

Carrots, beets, parsnips

Turnips, radishes

Fava beans, peas

Buy as plants:

Arugula, spinach, collards, lettuce

Swiss chard, mustard greens, kale

Onions, garlic, scallions, broccoli

Cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts

Celery, cilantro

[email protected]

Twitter: @lisaboone19