Better food that's better for the environment.
We want to bring you produce that is more fresh and flavorful, more varied than what you could normally find, and goods that are made with a thought for quality and flavor before profit margins.
What started as a small side project to make a shelf-stable version of my favorite ginger-chili pickles has grown in to a passion for growing and making truly excellent food I love sharing with neighbors.
​
When we started our small, urban garden, my partner and I focused on only our favorites: pickling cucumbers, fresh peas, tomatoes, and herbs. Year upon year, we kept finding we just wanted to grow and make more: we wanted to try more heirloom varietals; we wanted to grow more of the ingredients going in to flavoring our hand-packed pickles; we wanted to increase the volume of everything we were already producing; we wanted to experiment with specialized companion planting methods such as the Three Sisters and hügelkultur; we wanted to keep bees and provide habitats for other pollinators and wildlife; and we wanted the space to raise happy, healthy poultry.
​
Our ambition quickly out-grew our urban garden, and we eventually found the home for 8 Vines Farm that we had been looking for in Oregon City.
Our path to becoming Certified Naturally Grown.
Our goal is to revitalize farmland that has been neglected for several years, bringing this 1930s homestead back into production sustainably and responsibly.
After we had already discussed many of the regenerative practices we wanted to implement, my partner discovered the Certified Naturally Grown program. Right away, I knew it would be a perfect fit for us.
​
Since we don't know every detail of the farm's history in terms of what substance have and have not been used, it's going to be a 3 year process to reach full certification, but we are excited about all that we will be able to accomplish in that time! For more information about the CNG program, visit naturallygrown.org.
The forest-farm at its best:
By utilizing a more varied approach to what we grow and where, we can maximize carbon capture, nurture soil health, and promote healthy insect and wildlife populations.
Mono-culture farming is efficient in terms of its yield per acre, but it's pretty terrible for the environment. A single crop will strip the soil of the same nutrients year upon year. Repeated tilling destroys the micro-biome that would normally help replenish these nutrients. Frequent over-application of fertilizers to compensate for stripping the soil creates contaminated run-off that disturbs the balance of the local eco-system. Clearing land of local ecological zones for industrial scale farming destroys native habitats.
​
A forest-farm system helps address many of these problems. The deep roots of the trees pull nutrients from much farther underground than annual plants could hope to manage, as well as providing erosion prevention and partial shade that benefit the annual and perennial crops. Using discarded plant materials to deeply mulch, as well as strategically planned swales, creates a system that stores and uses water efficiently. Composting animal manure and plant remnants recycles bio material, breaking it back down into components plants can use to produce fruits that are packed with the vitamins and minerals.
​
With this approach, we look at how we can build a system out of many disparate parts that work together, utilizing the cycles found in balanced ecologies to create a stronger whole that benefits plants and local fauna as well as humans.