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Ep. 38: The Healing Power of Flowers: Mental Health and Farming with Trina Galloway of Mt.View Orchards
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How can legacy farming and mental health intertwine to create a thriving community?
In this episode of the Backyard Bouquet Podcast, we are joined by Trina Galloway, a third-generation farmer from Mt. View Orchards in majestic Parkdale, Oregon. Trina shares her heartfelt journey from being a mental health nurse practitioner to returning to her family farm, where she has beautifully blended her rich heritage with innovative approaches. She discusses the addition of a vibrant you-pick flower field alongside her family's traditional fruit orchards and the launch of Grateful Vineyard, Mt. Hood's first winery, cidery, and brewery.
Trina delves into the challenges and rewards of legacy farming, emphasizing the importance of diversification and soil health. She also highlights the mental health benefits of gardening, drawing from her experience as a mental health nurse practitioner. Trina's story is a testament to the power of dreams, gratitude, and community in creating a sustainable and fulfilling farming practice.
Tune in to hear the full conversation, where we dig into the intersection of agriculture, hospitality, and mental wellness, offering valuable insights and inspiration for both seasoned farmers and gardening enthusiasts. Don't miss this enriching episode that cultivates wisdom and joy through flowers and farming.
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
00:03:30 - Trina's Childhood and Early Dreams
00:08:18 - Trina's Career Journey and Return to the Farm
00:11:05 - Succession Planning and Family Collaboration
00:13:30 - Diversifying the Farm
00:18:29 - Expanding the Farm Stand and Adding Flowers
00:20:03 - Launching Grateful Vineyard
00:30:20 - Soil Health and Pest Management
00:33:20 - Planting Sunflowers During COVID
00:40:17 - Mental Health and Farming Community
00:42:34 - Benefits of Gardening for Mental Health
00:49:08 - Growing for the Community
Show Notes: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.com/2024/10/11/ep-38-mt-view-orchards-the-healing-power-of-flowers/
Learn More About Mt.View Orchards:
- https://www.mtvieworchards.com/
- https://www.gratefulvineyards.com/
- https://www.mtvieworchardsweddings.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/mtvieworchards
- https://www.facebook.com/mtvieworchards
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Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse. I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
Expert Flower Growing Advice
00:00:32
Speaker
The Backyard Bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice. Alright flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
Winterizing Dahlias and Dahlia Patch Community
00:00:55
Speaker
Hey fellow Dahlia growers, as the seasons start to change, it's almost time to put our dahlias to bed for the winter and start planning next year's gardens. Interested in joining a community of supportive Dahlia enthusiasts? Be sure to check out the Dahlia Patch. To thank my podcast listeners, I'm offering a one month free trial. Just click the link in the show notes to join. The Dahlia Patch is an interactive online community focused on hands-on learning featuring monthly live trainings, interactive Q and&A sessions, and regular monthly live chats to keep our green thumbs busy all year round. Whether you're new to Dahlias or a season grower, you'll always find new techniques to master and planning tips for the season ahead. Join the Dahlia patch today by following the link in our show notes and grow your Dahlia gardening network. Hope to see you in the Dahlia patch.
00:01:53
Speaker
Welcome back to the Backyard Bouquet podcast.
Trina's Farming Heritage and Innovation
00:01:56
Speaker
Today, I'm excited to be chatting with my friend Trina McAlexander, a third-generation farmer from Mountain View Orchards in the majestic Parkdale, Oregon. Trina has beautifully woven her rich family heritage with innovative approaches, adding a vibrant Yupik flower field alongside her family's traditional fruit orchards.
00:02:17
Speaker
After years of being a nurse practitioner, Trina has returned to her roots to continue her family's legacy. and has launched Grateful Vineyard, Mount Hood's first winery, cidery, and brewery, along with a wedding venue. In addition to Grateful Vineyards and the wedding venue, Trina has added Yupik sunflowers, tulips, and dahlias to her family farm. Trina truly embodies the spirit of modern farming by blending agriculture, hospitality, and community together. Trina, welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for joining us today.
00:02:53
Speaker
Oh, yeah I'm delighted to be here. Thanks for having me. Oh, my goodness. Well, for everyone listening, Trina has been a friend of mine for, gosh, probably almost a decade now through the wedding industry in Hood River. Trina is about 20 minutes away from me.
00:03:08
Speaker
And her farm is truly gorgeous. It's at the base of Mount Hood. If you're ever in the Columbia River Gorge, you have to come see it because it it will take your breath away. So Trina, can you begin by telling us about that moment that you decided to return to your family farm and run the orchard? Yeah. I think that legacy farms or farms like over a hundred years,
00:03:37
Speaker
are special in the sense that you never know if the next generation has an interest or wants to carry on the story. um But I started having dreams
Returning to Mountain View Orchards
00:03:49
Speaker
when I was like eight years old, nine years old, that I was walking through the orchard as an adult and um sort of dreaming, like using the the acreage that we had as a canvas to dream again about all the different things we could do here.
00:04:06
Speaker
And it was a really like pivot pivotal dream in my life. I know we don't always remember all all of our dreams at night, but it was pretty um clear to me. I had it a few times. And I just really felt excited about the idea of what if I, you know, found a career after college that was successful enough that I could bring in enough income that someday I could put this down payment down and start buying the farm from my parents.
00:04:36
Speaker
That is amazing. That gives me goosebumps that you were just a young child and you were already having dreams of coming back home to the farm. So you grew up at Mountain View Orchards. Yeah. You know, it was all about, you know, bikes outside and making mud pies and changing irrigation pipes and picking fruit right off the tree and eating it.
00:05:01
Speaker
It was magical growing up here. um I don't really have a lot of hard memories. The only kind of tender memories of if we lost ah a dog or something. But for the most part, I grew up in an idyllic area. Well, yes, you sure did. I mean, what a childhood to grow up at the base of Mount Hood, waking up every morning to sing the mountain and fruit trees all around you. It's it's gorgeous. And you're right on along the Hood River as well.
00:05:30
Speaker
Yeah, the Middle Fork runs on the west side of our farm. We have about 51 acres on the west side of the Upper Hood River her Valley. And if you could if you were a bird and you could fly, you could get to the top of Mount Hood. It's 11 miles away if you had a direct um path.
00:05:48
Speaker
ah The soil is incredible here because we've got that volcanic loam ash from the ash from Mount Hood, and then we've got Mount Hood, which is this gorgeous, majestic source of irrigation water. Three rivers come off of it, the west, the middle, and the east. And all of the farmers in this area are just blessed to have this source of water so we can grow food and flowers for our community.
00:06:17
Speaker
Yes, it's truly amazing to have the farmer's irrigation here. So let's go back to your childhood. You grew up in this magical space. Was it just fruit trees at that time? Pretty much. I mean, i my grandmother was a botanist that she got a botany degree. So I think that um we always had a connection to flowers. She always had this epic garden at her, their home place was about a mile away.
00:06:46
Speaker
And so we out she was always sharing like foxglove or bringing over flowers and she was always splitting bulbs and sharing them with her kids and grandkids. So I think my passion for flowers was really inspired by my grandmother and her botany, um you know, passion.
00:07:05
Speaker
That's really beautiful. That's so neat that she lived so close that you got to grow up also going to her garden as well. and So you grew up and you left the farm
Transitioning and Diversifying the Family Farm
00:07:16
Speaker
for a while. Is that correct? Yeah. So when I was like 17, 18, um, you know, the last thing you want to do is stay where you were born. And I was like craving life in the city and wanted to go to Portland and different areas. And, um,
00:07:34
Speaker
I wanted to travel. I wanted to see the world. and um So yeah, I went to college, got a degree in psychology, and eventually I went into nursing school and finished with my master's in nursing. I have a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degree. So I think I've always been drawn to nurturing things, whether it's people or plants or trees.
00:08:02
Speaker
and I'm naturally drawn to this idea of like being a good steward and helping people. I love that. So you left the farm, you got your degree in nursing and did you return to the gorge to be a nurse or where did you start working as a nurse after college?
00:08:23
Speaker
Yeah, so I mostly spent time in Portland area. I eventually bought a home there in Northeast Portland. And I worked for Multnomah County Health Department for many years. And I was socking away $200 every month, which feels like a lot when you're in your 20s.
00:08:43
Speaker
And with the goal that I needed to have a big enough down payment when I came back to the farm to help my parents retire and also be able to you know pay for some of the dreams that I had on the farm. Because it's hard to get a loan if you're a farmer. I'm sure a lot of people know that with traditional banks are hard to work with. So I saved up this money. I would come back during harvest and help. I'd help with the farm stand.
00:09:12
Speaker
I take lots of walks around the perimeter and just sort of dream about what all the things could be. And when I was 37, I had enough income saved that I could come home and and buy my family's farm. That's really incredible. So your childhood dream, did it ever leave you for a while or have you always just been set on coming back and buying the farm?
00:09:36
Speaker
I don't know if it ever went away. I think sometimes it was um buried like a seed, and when the time was right, you know I knew it would be time to come back, and I started having dreams again around 37 about coming home. i'm Sorry if that sounds too mystical, but um I think sometimes dreams are really important, and God can speak through dreams. so um No, I really wasn't like thinking about um rushing home. I wanted to travel, like go to different continents and see the world. I wanted to enjoy like the beauty of being in a city, like walking places and riding your bike and not needing a car and you know the library and all of the amazing eateries nearby. I really enjoyed my time in Portland. When I left Portland, it was bittersweet. I left a little piece of my heart there.
00:10:31
Speaker
Sure. Well, thankfully it's only about an hour away for us to eat there. So at 37, this childhood dream, I mean, that seed that had been planted, we're going to go metaphorical here, that seed literally started growing roots for all of those years, almost 30 years. And it was finally ready to sprout and emerge from the ground and let you grow. Were your parents ready to just hand over the farm?
00:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we've actually had, you know, we did some succession planning and we had a lot of meals together where we kind of talk about logistics and how much I would be paying a month. And they're holding the loan. So I pay them directly um with a ah small amount of interest. And um so we did a lot of planning with accountants and different um people to kind of help us create a system that felt fair to them and felt fair to me.
00:11:25
Speaker
It took probably a year and some to get it all kind of logistically lined out. And there were still some things we forgot. you know It's hard to imagine what's going to come up. or I was working with a counselor as well because I was trying to um I just work through some of my own nervous feelings about being a small business owner, leaving kind of, i was I'm still a nurse practitioner, I do that part-time, but like kind of leaving the security of a job where you get a paycheck every month to the idea of stepping into the uncertainty of farming where sometimes it's steady and other times you know something happens to your soil and nothing blooms in that area or grows. So just kind of how am I going to
00:12:17
Speaker
stay my heart and calm my nerves. And I really started spending a lot of time in a gratitude journal and really focusing on gratefulness and gratitude. And that's important in my story because that's what I ended up calling um you know my our farm.
00:12:37
Speaker
I really love that. I never knew that part about grateful vineyards. I love that you said you started a gratitude journal. I, in my own journey over this last year of losing a farm, really had to dig deep to shift my own mindset because it's really hard. like You have your highs and your lows with farming and It's not like you have an employer that's still giving you a paycheck like you mentioned the scariness of just jumping out on your own but Your mindset how it changes when you start focusing on that gratitude and finding the positive things At least in my journey it feels like once you find a couple positive things and you start focusing on that That's where your mind goes and it seems like you become grateful for more and more
00:13:21
Speaker
Things along the way so i just i really love that you started that and that you named your business grateful vineyards so can you tell us a little bit. Before we dive into the grateful vineyard part of it your parents let you buy the farm from them which is. Incredible that you have that opportunity.
00:13:41
Speaker
And did you just say to yourself, I'm going to keep everything going the same as my parents have done it? Or were there any struggles trying to transition it to Trina's farm and not your parents' farm?
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah. Well, in all reality, we we farm
Expanding and Embracing New Products
00:13:59
Speaker
together. So my parents have been incredible and farmed with my husband as well. And we're all like tackling all the jobs and kind of dividing and conquering. I've been less um sometimes outside if I'm working as a nurse practitioner, but we're all just kind of working on all the jobs together.
00:14:18
Speaker
I never have really felt like it belonged to any one of us. I always feel like the farm can outlive all of us. And so I mean, we're just stewards and caretakers of it right now. um And we love sharing it with other people and so they can enjoy the abundance and the beauty of it.
00:14:39
Speaker
I feel like the transition was pretty smooth when I brought up some of my ideas, because I looked at my parents' QuickBooks and you know the finances, and they were primarily growing commercial pairs, which is really popular in this area. But in the last, I don't know, 10 years, 20 years, there's been a lot of insecurity with that, and financial kind of huge like swings um So that's why, you know, my practice of gratitude was so important because it's sort of like my anchor when there were so many things in farming that's out of your control, like global um trade agreements, um weather changes, um
00:15:28
Speaker
frost or bees or there's just so many things that you can do everything right and one thing can happen and and it can really kind of affect your outcome and your harvest. So I really wanted to focus on diversifying and I think that's something that Most farmers are naturally drawn to, like I know when they first started planting pears in the valley, they'd always plant asparagus beside it or strawberries beside it. So they'd have a crop that they could harvest the following year. And that's kind of what my mindset was too, is we need to have, you know, lots of eggs in the basket if something happens to the basket.
00:16:11
Speaker
I love that. That's so wise. So you had this mindset after looking at their QuickBooks that you want to be prepared for whatever mother nature might throw your way or policy decisions could impact because you don't just sell locally. Your pairs go outside of the area. Is that correct?
00:16:30
Speaker
Yeah, I think um they mostly go domestically or Canada and Mexico. um You've seen them at Safeway before, Costco. But we don't have a ton of acreage anymore of commercial pears. It used to be like 40 acres. And now I think we're down to 10 because of all the little projects I've been doing and planting other things. And that's been very intentional. I know that you know some farmers would that would make them very anxious to do orchard renewal where you take something out and you put something in because for a while you don't have any income in that area. um But we focus a lot on soil nutrition and like planting sunflowers and trying to put more nitrogen into the area and because soil is everything when you're growing. um So anyway,
00:17:24
Speaker
We definitely, I mean, wild leaps of faith, wild leaps of faith when we've added different businesses, when we planted something else, um it's been a risk every time. And some of them have really worked out amazingly, like easy transition. There's been hard to transition, so where we're like, I don't know if this is panning out. So, you know, not everything in farming is a home run, but a lot of the things that we've transitioned have been amazing, like better than we could have hoped for.
00:17:53
Speaker
Well, ah my mind's spinning with so many questions right now, but the first thing that comes to my mind is when Erin Benzecain from Fluorette joined us a few weeks ago. She said her parting words of wisdom were, you will kill a lot of plants and that is one of your greatest learning opportunities. And it kind of sounds like the same thing like you just said, not everything's going to stick.
00:18:16
Speaker
but you're going to learn what does and you're going to be better off. So that's part of that diversifying of what you have done on your farm. So can we talk about some of that diversification and those different eggs that you've put out on the farm? Yeah, definitely.
00:18:31
Speaker
Well, we already had, my parents had established a farm stand where there was an emphasis on being able to go out into the orchard and experience picking and you picking and selling that fruit at a pretty affordable rate. So we could basically not sell to a commercial um packing house and do more farm direct. So we would have a better price for the farmer and a better price for the customer.
00:19:01
Speaker
So I wanted to expand that by putting in more cherries, by putting in different varieties of peaches, by adding blueberries, and then this is where we really started focusing on adding dahlias, adding sunflowers, adding tulips, hollyhocks, some culinary herbs, and different things that um would have, you know I mean, the beauty of farming is the seasonality. So you kind of want something going for every season. Challenging in the winter, but you can still have you know the fermentation piece, or you know we're canning.
00:19:39
Speaker
um gyms and sauces for the farm stand the following year. So we're always trying to have something that people are anticipating and the hope of what's, I come to the farm and see what's growing. I love that. So you've done all of that. You've also added a wedding venue and grateful vineyards, which is where you grow your own grapes. Do you use your apples from the orchard for your cider? Yeah, definitely. I mean, one of the reasons why We started our cidery first because we wanted to eliminate apple waste because there's a certain amount of apples that you don't sell. So I was like, we should be making cider. So I started my first batch of cider in college where I had an unpasteurized jug of cider. I added nutrient and yeast to it, kind of stuck it under my bed until it totally fermented out. It takes about 28 days. And i can all I can say is that the cider's gotten much better.
00:20:39
Speaker
Oh my goodness. Than those beginning days. So yeah, cider was first and it was pretty popular. We keep we would sell out of it every year. like Then I'd say, okay, we need to make more. We need to make more totes. We need to double the totes. And for a while, figuring out the supply and demand was not something that we really mastered. We were failing at that pretty consistently year after year. But now we're at a point where we kind of know how much we need. We made it an intentional choice to um not sell a ton off the farm.
00:21:14
Speaker
um so We're selling mostly primarily farm direct through our tasting room or out of our farm stand. And the reason is, is if you're this small, you really can't compete with the larger, you know, like Angry Orchard or the really big brands like that because you just don't have the capacity and the ability to do it. And the uniqueness of our cider is that it's so small.
00:21:42
Speaker
And it kind it's like full circle so cider from the apples and the bees and the blossoms all the way to harvest pressing and the making hard cider. So we've always been leaning into the smallness and the boutique-ness of our cider. Which probably allows you to offer a higher quality as well and a better experience for your guests when they come to the farm.
00:22:06
Speaker
I think so. We get that feedback a lot. I mean, we did we've had some batches though, candidly, that we're like, whoa, what happened to this batch? But for the most part, we've dialed it in. And our bad our our brewer now, Bobby, does most of it. I'm not as involved in making the cider.
00:22:23
Speaker
um just because running your businesses, you can't be in every be bit of it. And he he just ah made a grapefruit cider the other day. That's phenomenal. He made a marion berry that like sold out in two weeks. and The blackberry went fast as well. like He's been doing a lot of really special blends. Or we also have just our classic apple that we call golden roe from a ah row of trees.
00:22:49
Speaker
that my grandparents planted over a hundred years ago so they have really big trunks and it's just this really cool part of the orchard because it connects us kind of to. The beginning of the farm.
00:23:02
Speaker
Oh, I love that. What a special history that row holds. Is that the row because I've been to your venue before? Is that the one right off of your house where there's the beautiful old trees? Yeah, that's it. Where there's the Goldens and the Newtown Pippins. And um yeah, it's just kind of, you can kind of almost feel it when you walk down that row, like this. Anyway, it's just a special spot on the farm. And um so I wanted to call our site or that and Anyway, when I got excited about cider, I thought, you know what? We should plant some grapes. We should see if grapes grow up here. And everyone is like, they won't. You won't get the sugar bricks. It will not work. Can't grow wine grapes in Parkdale. I had nobody said a positive thing about it. Nobody.
00:23:51
Speaker
and I was like, well, why not try? Let's just put some in the ground and if it works, great. If not, you can always make sparkling wine if your're um your grapes don't get to the full capacity of the bricks. and um so We planted started with Riesling in 2016, so I'd only been on the farm a couple of years.
00:24:10
Speaker
um and and We kept adding, we had a Pinot Noir, we had a Pinot Gris, we had a Cab Franc, we now have Chardonnay, we've got Gamay Noir, we've got other ones coming. We have like a Swiss varietal that I wanted to plant for my grandparents because they're Swiss immigrants. That's why they fell in love with Mount Hood because it reminded them of home.
00:24:31
Speaker
Oh, and so anyway, so yeah, we've really like gone full like all in on the grapes. So this idea of farming fermentation and hospitality has been the like three corded braid that we've been weaving together and Eventually we got our brewery license and we've been making beer here since 2019, 2020. So it's been really fun to be able to get all those things going together. It's eliminating food waste. It's like any of the left of a grain we feed to our animals. And so everything's kind of benefiting one another.
00:25:14
Speaker
That is amazing. So at Grateful Vineyard, you have gone from being a cidery to also growing grapes for wine. And then you now have beer. You also, you didn't mention, but I have had and know that it's absolutely delicious. You have root beer and you have cream soda.
00:25:36
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, no, there are some cult fan favorites of those sodas. I know my husband Kenny gets a root beer pretty often, or my dad. Yeah, definitely. I mean, we wanted to have something for everyone. Not everybody is wanting to come for a tasting, or not everybody is wanting to um do that aspect. But I'm like, well, we can have other refreshments that are enjoyable that you know, people can enjoy and it doesn't have to be totally fixated on being a tasting room for flights and such. Well, I know my daughter and I love to always get cheer. We always get one cream soda and one root beer so that we can share them. Yeah. But yeah you have a secret ingredient in them.
00:26:19
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, one thing that makes us unique as a tasting room on a farm is we have to have fruit in everything. So we just definitely have either pear or imp peach in everything. So yeah, we we put pears in all of our beer, sodas, and we definitely are trying to just stay in alignment with the mission that everything has to have something we grow in it. and ah Pears are so sort of neutral tasting, you know, there's not really a distinguished taste that you can get when you add them to something but they definitely can add sweetness and I think it makes our root beer unique. It absolutely does and so that's what sweetens your root beer and cream soda, is that correct?
00:27:03
Speaker
There's also other sweeteners in it, but yeah, it's if let's make what makes it unique from the orchard. Yeah. Well, it is delicious. i'll I'll put in a plug for that because I do love it. I mean, I love all your drinks, but um it's always fun to go with our nine-year-old daughter and then a root beer together and your delicious pizza. You guys have a wood-fired pizza oven too.
00:27:24
Speaker
Yeah, you know, pizzas makes for a great canvas for what you're growing on the farm. um So, you know, we have a little bit of food. We're not like a traditional restaurant. So I know that with your pizza, you're able to use a lot of pears and peaches and cherries on your pizzas to kind of tie in from the orchard as well. Is that correct? Yeah, definitely. We try to add unique ingredients like our fruits and, you know, things like that.
00:27:55
Speaker
Well, speaking of sweetness on the farm, I want to talk about, you mentioned your bricks levels on your on your grapes. I distinctively remember having a conversation with you. I think it was last summer while I was eating some pizza and drinking a root beer with my daughter.
00:28:14
Speaker
And I was asking you about pest pressure on the farm. You're like, we don't really have much pest pressure. And then it let us down this rabbit hole and we started talking about bricks. Would you say that it's because of your soil health and the time you spend investing in your soil that you have high bricks levels for your grapes and low pest pressure? Yeah, I think there's definitely truth to that, what you just said.
00:28:42
Speaker
I think for better for worse, global warming is making it warmer here. so we like This is one of the hottest summers on record. And in order for grapes to get fully ripe and they have to have that heat, like tomatoes or other nightshade vegetables,
00:28:58
Speaker
So yeah, because of the increased heat and all of that, we're definitely noticing um our grapes are, I think our Pinot Noir got up to 25 bricks and you want to get to at least 22. Cap Frank was 22 and our Pinot Gris was like 24.
00:29:15
Speaker
And we do a blend with those three right now.
Importance of Soil Health in Farming
00:29:18
Speaker
We're hoping to have single varietals where we have like just our pinot noir, just our pinot gris. But right now, because of um our out the output, we just we combine them together to make an estate sparkling rose.
00:29:32
Speaker
excuse me So yeah, I think that's the soil. It's the alpine mountaineer. You get those winds that come off a mountain that um keep, you know, you need airflow in a vineyard and our vineyard is south facing. So that helps with that airflow and um the heat. and So that's what you need to grow great grapes.
00:29:56
Speaker
Well, those bricks levels are incredible because I've done a lot of deep diving into the different bricks levels to try and keep pests off of my dahlias. And I know that it takes, I think it's like a 12 or a 13 on the brick scale to keep grasshoppers and crickets off. And your dahlias are planted right next to your grapes. So do you have very low pest pressure on your dahlias also?
00:30:21
Speaker
Well, I mean, one thing that might be unique to us that maybe is not for like a traditional flower farmer is we don't sell a lot of our flowers commercially. We do 100% UPIC or we' we're planting them for nutrition of the soil. So we're less concerned if something like a pest would come in maybe more so ah at your farm um because you're set you have your CSA. and you have So I'll be honest with you, we don't do any pest management in our flowers. OK. And yeah they always look great when I'm there, though. I mean, I guess one thing we do is we try to do um some bone meal when we plant the, I don't know if there's bone meal.
00:31:16
Speaker
pros or cons. when We do plant our dahlias with bone meal and then the um sunflowers, but they're just right into our soil with no added and have nutrition or fertilizer. Okay. Well, you have amazing soil to begin with and you're constantly planting it seems so that your soil is never really sitting bare in any of the areas.
00:31:40
Speaker
yeah i mean We're trying to always do like the regenerative agriculture where we're always like trying to be low till and trying to promote soil nutrition. we we usually get a Do you ever get your soil tested? you I bet you do. We usually get our soil tested every few years just to make sure our pH is balanced. and We've definitely had to adjust pH before because sometimes they can get too acidic or too alkaline.
00:32:07
Speaker
Okay. I need to get mine tested again because I'm pretty sure that my pH is too high. I have so much greenery on my dahlias this year. And so I'm reading that to too much pH h in the soil. So we'll see um what it comes back at this year. Yeah, there's definitely ways to kind of, I mean, that's kind of the, yeah every year you have a new year to start over and try again. I mean, that's one of the fun things about farming as well. Well, let's try this this year and see how it helps.
00:32:34
Speaker
Yes, it was actually Paul Matalucci from Apple Corps Farms um who joined the podcast. Oh, he was one of our first guests. I think it was episode three. And when I asked him what his favorite thing about farming was, he said his favorite thing is that every year is an opportunity to start anew.
00:32:51
Speaker
Yeah. I like that too, especially when we're like pruning fruit trees or we're, um, I definitely, it, it fills me with anticipation and hope for let's try this this year and see what happens. And there's definitely years that we've tried things and we didn't see a different outcome. And there's other years we've tried things where like, that was magic. Let's do that again. Would you say that your sunflowers are one of those things that you look at and go, that is magic.
00:33:20
Speaker
Yeah, those were planted. It was all a COVID thing. I don't know how you experienced COVID, but I felt like the airways, televisions, everything was just filled with so much dread and doom and um fear. And um it it just felt really heavy it and in our country and probably around the world. and I found myself wanting to put things into the ground that would bring beauty and would bring wonder and um that people could go to a place outside and just be enveloped in this experience of beauty that would transport them from this place of fear into this place of hope and gratitude and wonder and
00:34:16
Speaker
So I had a few moments where I found out they had a sale on tulips. And so I bought 20,000 tulips one time. That's a lot. I didn't really think about how long it would take us to plan. And I just was like, oh, it's a sale.
00:34:31
Speaker
And I bought a whole big bag of sunflower flower field flowers from um Johnny's Seeds. And I was like, okay, we're going to plant we're just going to plant fields of things that are just for the purpose of beauty. And for our community yeah and try to help people move out of a place of fear and fear of dying and fear of getting into this place of seeing outside themselves and the hope for the future. and Flowers have a way of just like redirecting you from inside yourself to outside yourself.
00:35:11
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, that's so beautiful. I know that so many people come to see your sunflower fields, your tulips. So basically from April until what? October until there's a frost, you have beauty that's being spread amongst your farm for people to come and see and experience.
00:35:30
Speaker
yeah can I kind of feel like June's a little weak. I'm actually going to plant some peonies because I feel like peonies in our area are really popping in June. So I've been talking to a flower farmer. um we're gonna I think we're going to trade some peonies for fruit. And I was like, we need to plant some peonies that grow and because we just need that window to stay open.
00:35:53
Speaker
where that once the tulips are kind of phasing out end of May, we need something going on in June. And then our dally is, you know, it's not it's not peak, but we start getting some blooms in July. Okay. Do you leave yours in the ground over winter?
00:36:08
Speaker
We do not. Okay. I mean, Park Dill, I mean, if we don't, we lose roses because sometimes we'll get like a really cold winter day. And so not always think, not everything will make it, but um our neighbor up the street, Gordy Sadow, he said he leaves his dahlias and year round. And I don't know if they're close enough to his house, but we have to take ours out and, or they would not make it. Do you know, are you zone 6B or 7B?
00:36:39
Speaker
I want to say seven, but I might have to verify that. i think it It all re-changed recently, so I wouldn't be surprised if you were seven because we moved to eight, which I still don't fully agree with because I think I'm still kind of a seven with the wind. But I know zone seven and below, you've got to dig your dahlias or you risk them not coming back every year.
00:37:02
Speaker
Yeah, well, we're digging them up, washing them off, and then we put them in peat, we put them in it, we put them to sleep in peat mossle in our garage, which is kind of a, there's so much competing space in that garage. So there's definitely feelings sometimes about the dahlias taking up space in the garage. That's one thing I think every farmer needs is more storage. Totally.
00:37:26
Speaker
Yes, I need more storage, especially on my small space, so I never can have enough storage space. Yeah, no. And how many dahlias do you grow? Oh, wow. I don't know if I know the number, but guessing probably over 100.
00:37:46
Speaker
and we were We got into Dallius because there was a flower farmer in the Dalles that reached out to us and said she was going to be retiring and she wanted to know if we wanted a deal on her Dallius. And we had never done Dallius before and my mom and I were kind of talking about it. I'm like, yeah.
00:38:04
Speaker
Let's try it because we had this wedding venue and we thought it would be a nice addition because a lot of our couples will come pick you pick flowers for their wedding so it'd be kind of like a business that would benefit the other business. Totally. So before we knew it we were driving up to the Dalles and buying her dahlias and none of them were labeled.
00:38:24
Speaker
but but this is like and This is something that like makes us probably not the traditional flower farmers. We don't have them labeled. We just kind of throw them where they go. And the magic is in the quantity of them and being able to pick them. But we don't have like beautiful rows of the same dahlia down. And that's pretty intentional because it's like, you know, I don't know if that's really our vibe anyway.
00:38:51
Speaker
so You just have a very colorful vibe. You look out at your field and it's like a field of dahlias. You have your sunflowers. You have lavender too, don't you, right there? Yeah, we wrote, well, we planted culinary lavender because we were making gelato for a while. We've taken a little break from doing that, but like we definitely wanted some flowers that were edible too. Okay. Well, regardless, it's a gorgeous sight because it's all of these. And then you have your tall trees that line your property.
00:39:21
Speaker
And there's Mount Hood, and all I promise I'll include some pictures in the show notes. You have to go visit today's show notes so you can see truly how majestic Trina's property is. I have talked to quite a few guests this year on the podcast and there's one thing that comes up quite often and it's that flowers feed the soul. And I think that really ties in with your farm because you talk about gratitude, hospitality,
00:39:50
Speaker
hospitality and bringing people to your farm. And I feel like if you go to, mountain view orchards, you're going to feed your soul literally and figuratively. You're going to feed yourself with delicious food, but you also kind of fill your soul getting to experience all these flowers. You are a mental health nurse practitioner. It sounds like a lot of this has been intentional.
00:40:17
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think you and I were talking beforehand that September is like National Suicide Awareness Month. And in the farming community, there is a lot of um uncertainty and things that don't go your way. So unfortunately, the risk for self-harm or thoughts of self-harm is higher in the farming community. So me intentionally planning things that were beautiful and welcoming and just a delight for your eyes.
00:40:45
Speaker
um was was to nourish people's souls. It's really beautiful. Can you speak a little bit more to it because you as a mental health practitioner or nurse practitioner, you work in a very special spot. You're not in a traditional hospital per se. Where do you work? Yes, this is like dream job. I'm able to do telepsychiatry from the farm. So we have an office kind of out connected to our garage. And I work with veterans. I work for the VA Monday through Wednesday. And they're in the comfort of their home. I'm in the comfort of my home. I'm supporting their mental health journey, mental wellness, mental stability. And um
00:41:34
Speaker
But I'm here so like if I need to go turn on the water in an area or I've even cut grass before my lunch break or I can throw a load of laundry up into the dryer because I'm right here. I can't beat the commute. I love the population. It's an honor to serve veterans who served our country.
00:41:53
Speaker
and their resilience, their gratitude, they're just watching them walk through pretty unfortunate circumstances too is inspiring and empowering and um
00:42:09
Speaker
Anyway, I talked to them a lot about growing things, planting things in their soil because the hope of a seed has done so much for your mental health and people are putting their hands into soil just so much for their immune system. And um there's just so much beauty in growing things and how it affects your overall wellness as a person.
00:42:34
Speaker
Absolutely. What would you say to someone listening if they are struggling with a mental health issue right now and they're looking for an outlet? Would you suggest that they grab a seat and put something in the ground or what would your advice be to them or for them? Yeah. Well, I think first thing is say something. Like I think a lot of, uh, there's a lot of loneliness in dealing with mental health. Um,
00:43:04
Speaker
like anxiety, for instance, and that sense of urgency all the time or the sense of not finding pleasure in things that used to find pleasure in, in depression or intrusive thoughts that are racing or that you can't get out of your head or future worrying or feeling like so much shame from your past. There's all these thoughts in all of us all the time and not every thought in our head is true, right?
00:43:27
Speaker
And you need other people. You need community. You need the like the mental health community. You need friends. And you need um something that brings you hope, whether it's planting a seed or you know caring for your kids or spending time with your pet or something that inspires you.
00:43:45
Speaker
for um longing for the future. So i I do think that gardening can be a great tool. I know that there's a bunch of grants. I also work half day on Thursdays in our local county jail with primarily people who are transient and have mental health issues, sometimes veterans, sometimes not. And a lot of jails are now planting gardens and they're getting grants for gardens because it helps the time pass to be able to go outside and weed and you know nurture whatever you're growing, whether it's flowers or veggies or food. And there's just passing of time when you're watching something grow. It's a delight versus like a ah drudgery. Absolutely. That's really incredible what you do. First, thank you for your service. That's really amazing that you juggle two very stressful jobs. Let's talk about some of the benefits of gardening from that mental health standpoint, if we can.
Gardening and Mental Health Benefits
00:44:43
Speaker
You mentioned just getting your hands in the dirt, in the soil. What does that do? Well, there's so much research going on that um you can affect your ah trans neurotransmitters, like your serotonin, your dopamine, your norepinephrine, having a garden outside. And there's certain foods that also promote those as well. So the more fresh food you're eating, the more um time you're spending nurturing the soil being in the soil can help produce more serotonin dopamine and norepinephrine Dopa means that blissed out happy like joy Serotonin is like cool calm collected Steady and norepinephrine is like get up and go. I'm gonna get up. I'm gonna do the dishes. I'm gonna go for a walk. I'm gonna like weed this entire area and um
00:45:38
Speaker
We need all of those working well to feel like our best version of ou ourselves. Totally. I know that when I'm just kind of feeling, I guess lackluster for a better word or lack of a better word, when I just, I'm kind of unmotivated in the morning, if I just tell myself, okay, I'm going to go spend 15 minutes out in the garden.
00:45:57
Speaker
I get so energized and I come back in, usually it's an hour later at those 15 minutes, suddenly become one or two hours, but I come in with energy and motivation and just a sense of better wellbeing. And it sounds like that's truly science backed. It's not just a, I'm out there doing this, but it's creating those feelings and those, I can't even say all those words you just said, the dopamine serotonin. Yeah. Dopodiferin. Yeah. It's like better mental health.
00:46:26
Speaker
Better immune system, better sleep, everything better. There's only certain activities where everything in your the wellness of your body will be better, and growing things is one of those things. I love that. So you said at the jail, they're actually getting grants around the country to help them grow a garden.
00:46:46
Speaker
I know they have one in like the Oregon prison system. i don't think they do they do some ah The masters Master Gardeners do something with a greenhouse in the juvie section with flowers. um So there's room for improvement in our area. We're like slowly kind of starting to and incorporate some of that stuff. But yeah, if you look it up, there's some There's a whole emphasis on like jobs not jails and learning skills, whether it's like learning how to like groom pets or like be a barber or be a farmer or ah learn how to work in a kitchen because a lot of times it's really hard to break out of a system of addiction or something if you don't have something that you're looking forward to or you don't have something that um is better than your current status.
00:47:35
Speaker
I love that. That's so great because it's creating that hope, that sense of purpose too. I mean, it's kind of like when you plant a seed, you feel like that connection all of a sudden deepens because you're like, okay, well now I've planted it. So now I need to water it. Now it's growing. Now I need to watch it. Now I need to tend to it. Yeah. Weed around it. You know, keep the distractions ah at bay.
00:47:57
Speaker
ah Yeah, it kind of gives you this purpose that you didn't previously have of your caring for something else. So besides just caring for yourself, you now are caring for another being. So if you're if you don't have a child or even if you have a child, for me, it's like my babies are this extension of my life or not my babies, my flowers are like thousands of other babies out there that I've That's maybe a bad example, but like and know you feel that attachment. Yeah, you feel connected to and as a caretaker too. And I think that's a total, like if you're a nurturer by design, women usually are men too in a lot of ways. It's like you went to the act of nurturing nurtures yourself too. So the more you're nurturing your flowers out, ah you're nurturing your home, you're nurturing yourself.
00:48:49
Speaker
I think that's why so many people during COVID turned to gardening. It was this connection with something greater than themselves. We felt alone and needed to feel like we were connected or served a greater purpose than just sitting inside our house watching the news all day long waiting to see if we were going to be able to do anything again.
00:49:08
Speaker
I agree. I think also there is a beauty in this idea that I'm growing this for somebody else. Yeah. and And there's mission, there's purpose, there's duty, there's dignity. There's all these feelings when you're like doing something, not just for yourself, but for your community. And it feels good. It feels good like when people come onto the farm and have like a huge bouquet in their arms.
00:49:34
Speaker
um or I know that they're planting it, they're taking it for something special in their life or an occasion or for their wedding or for a memorial or a flowers are like a symbol of you're bringing something to celebrate something or honor something. And so it's always a treat when we see people out picking and yeah with the colors they choose and some people stick with just one thing.
00:50:00
Speaker
Other people have you know lavender and they have sunflowers and they have hollyhocks and they have dahlias and they're making more of a mixed bouquet. Other people just want sunflowers or they just want lavender.
00:50:11
Speaker
and um and It's a treat. It makes my heart always really warm and full when I feel like um people are enjoying you know our harvests. Absolutely. It's always one thing to grow them and enjoy them yourselves. but your heart just kind of explodes when you see someone else enjoying what you've put your heart and soul into and knowing that it has made a difference in someone else's life is just so beautiful to experience and watch. Yeah. I've even said it a few of our weddings because sometimes they'll, you know, take them and then they'll work with a florist and turn it into something. I'm like, those are our flowers. but I'll always be surprised by it because it's, um,
00:50:54
Speaker
yeah no it's just it's so it will What a um gift that we can throw something that we're passionate about that we find beauty and joy and nurtures us and we can use it to nurture others. I mean, it's a win-win-win. Absolutely. oh You just summed that up so perfectly. Trina, we've talked about so much today from your legacy farm to everything that you're growing on the farm to Growing dahlias and bricks levels to mental health and nurturing ourselves and feeding our souls. Is there anything I haven't asked you today that you want to share with our listeners today? I would compel everybody listening to find out which farms in your community are have a welcome mat out.
00:51:52
Speaker
and try to intentionally shop with your feet, drive out to those places, try to get stuff from the people who are in the farming profession, mix it up, go to a few farms, don't just go to one, like try to know people at a few farms and be a consistent consumer of local fruit, flowers, wine, beer, because um These professions only work if people partner with them. And farms want to be successful. We need farms in our community. The only way it works is if we have partners, community partners. So wherever you are, there's probably some form of agriculture or some person who's trying to make a living growing
Supporting Local Farms and Community Partnerships
00:52:41
Speaker
something. Find out who that is. Try to be somebody in their corner. or Try to be an ally to a farmer.
00:52:47
Speaker
I love that. That's such great advice. And as the consumer, you're going to enjoy such fresher produce or fresher flowers. If it's food, it's going to have so much more flavor because it's harvested it at the right time. It's not harvested early so that it can be shipped across the country or to another country for that matter.
00:53:08
Speaker
So you're getting like that truly vine ripened peach that is just full of juiciness or that bouquet of flowers that's just primed for picking and that's going to last you that week in the vase and you're going to get to experience the whole life cycle. I and love that. That's such a beautiful um advice for everyone. And right now is the perfect time because it's harvest for so many things. It's dahlias are in full bloom. Do you have your sunflowers in bloom right now?
00:53:36
Speaker
Oh yeah, it's epic right now. like We have um ah acres of sunflowers. Come on out to the farm if you are longing for... We don't charge an admission either, so come on out, enjoy our sunflowers. and um It would be a treat if anybody listening would come on out. If you see me, please say hi. and um We grill all these things with you guys in mind, so come on out. We'd love to have you on the farm.
00:54:03
Speaker
Amazing, well Trina for those that are not yet familiar with your venue and your farm, how can they find you? Yeah. So, I mean, we have websites. So it's mount the orchards.com with that's empty Mount the orchards. Our tasting rooms called the grateful vineyards, but inside that tasting room, we also pour our beer, our cider, and we have some food pairings like pizzas, charcuterie board salads. Our wedding venue has its own website. It's Mount the orchard's weddings. Um, you picks open right now, every day, 10 to five. Um,
00:54:38
Speaker
So I don't know, it's fun. August and September and October are magical time and abundant time to visit a farm. So if you can sneak away, this is the time to do it. It's going to change your perspective on living in Oregon.
00:54:54
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, I will include links in the show notes today so that people can find your farm. And if they do come out to your farm, not only might they see you walking around the farm, they might also see your parents still riding on the tractor. Oh, yeah.
00:55:09
Speaker
My parents are out there, my husband out there, Kenny. um We have an amazing group of agriculture teammates who help us. We have awesome teammates in our farm stand and in our tasting room and then your caretaker. I mean, this has all happened because we have a group of people who believe in this farming dream and show up every day to make it happen.
00:55:30
Speaker
Well, that's amazing. We so appreciate you taking the time to join us today while you're in Harvest and to share about your journey and just sharing a little bit of gratitude and um abundance with all of us. So it's been such a pleasure to chat with you. And maybe I'll see you this weekend. My daughter and I need to come pick some peaches. Are peaches still in season? Yeah, we still have you pick peaches right now.
00:55:57
Speaker
And um yeah, we'd love to have you out. i'm One of my favorite quotes, just to end with this, is that um farming is a profession of hope. And hope and gratitude are pretty connected in my mind. I almost feel like hope can be like a weapon in front of you, or gratitude can and shield you from what's going on in the world, or circumstances, or outcomes on your farm.
00:56:26
Speaker
So I feel like farmers have to carry both of those like weapons around their body. And um I love being a farmer. I have only fallen more in love with it as the years go by. That's not because everything's gone well or circumstances have been easy, but because of those beliefs that I have and those kind of things that I carry in my heart, it makes farming really enjoyable.
00:56:56
Speaker
That's beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing, Trina. It's been such a delight to chat with you today. Yeah, thank you. Thank you.
00:57:07
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in for another episode. If you're eager to deepen your Dahlia knowledge and connect with like-minded Dahlia growers, you're invited to join the Dahlia patch. We're offering a one month free trial exclusively for our listeners. Just click the link in the show notes to get connected with our thriving community. Hope to see you in the Dahlia patch.
00:57:31
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared today. Whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer, you're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us.
00:57:52
Speaker
If you'd like to stay connected and continue this blossoming journey with local flowers, don't forget to subscribe to the Backyard Bouquet podcast. I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave us a review of this episode. And finally, please share this episode with your garden friends. Until next time, keep growing, keep blooming, and remember that every bouquet starts right here in the backyard.