Gratefull Gardens is a first generation farm enjoying its first year here in Mcminnville, Oregon.
Our names are Clay and Tawna. We were both born and raised in Kansas City, MO. Clay's background is in landscaping, and Tawna worked as a server for many years, while trying out cooking school. Neither one of us had been to the west coast, and really wanted to explore more of the world! In spring of 2012, we moved out of our apartment, left our jobs and everything we knew to travel via the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) program. WWOOF is a really beautiful program that completely changed our lives. We didn't really have any experience farming at all, and were mainly looking for a cheap way to travel, since there are programs all over the states! (and many other countries!) So we picked out farms all over the west coast, and a few in the midwest, ready to get our hands dirty, eat good food, and learn a lot! What we discovered was we loved farming, and working the land made us really happy! We also discovered what a really awesome team we were and that with our powers combined we could really make a difference together. What started as a cheap way to travel became a first step to a more wholesome, healthy, and happy life as farmers!
We came to McMinnville that summer under WWOOF and met a wonderful woman named Jackie Dole. She owns the farm we volunteered on then, and now lease land from. She is one of the most amazing ladies we have ever been fortunate to know. She told us at the time that she was possibly looking for a couple that would take over her place someday, and that she really wanted it to be a farm. At the time we never actually thought it would happen! But we kept in contact with Jackie over the next couple of years as we continued traveling and learning a lot on other farms.
After a lot of hoping, dreaming, and persistent planning all the stars aligned and we made the journey out here in November of 2014. It still almost feels like a dream we are even here! It was a total of 28 hours driving through 2 snow storms and even breaking down in Pendleton, OR!! It felt like we were literally on the Oregon Trail! We were just thankful to be in trucks and not covered wagons!
Gratefull Gardens was born in December of 2014. We were lucky enough to get a very weird first winter of warmer and dryer weather! We were able to get the fields tilled and covered in compost. We could not have asked for a better first season. Our garden was bountiful, and taught us something every day. We are looking forward to the next year, and the opportunity to always improve and learn. And of course eat great food, because that is really what being a farmer is all about! Eating healthy, and helping everyone else to eat wonderful, healthy food too!