Tanager Farm is run by Brindley and Spencer, who have been farming together for many seasons in Oregon. Adrienne is joining us for her third season with Tanager Farm. We are first generation farmers who started our farm business in Gresham, Oregon with the help of the Headwaters Incubator Program. We are going into our tenth season and we are growing in exciting new ways! Tanager Farm is based in Corbett, with a focus on CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)! In 2025, we are going to continue to build community through CSA while also focusing on some newer projects around food justice and seed-saving.

In the upcoming farm season, we are deepening our engagement with soil health and fertility. Our approach to farming is always evolving; there is so much to learn and experiment with. We plan to limit mechanical tillage, encourage bacterial and fungal life in the soil, and grow a wide diversity of healthy plants to support the whole farm ecosystem. Our priority is to use an ecological approach that minimizes inputs, while maximizing the health and nutrition of the plants. Some fun strategies we are engaging with this season include soil mineral balancing, biological soil inoculation, increased plant monitoring and feeding (especially for plant babies), spring cover crops and scything, bioreactor composting, and much more seed saving.

Thanks for being on this journey with us! Our vision is to make local, nutrient dense vegetables accessible and exciting for our community. We are growing diversified vegetables and pollinator focused flowers sustainably, naturally, and passionately on two acres of land. Our focus is to provide a CSA for people who love vegetables or want to learn to love them. We are passionate about food justice, soil health and working towards equity in the food system through farming. To us, equity means working against systems of oppression by empowering local communities to sustain themselves through a new, inclusive system of growing and eating food. 

Thank you for supporting us and other small farms who believe in sustainability, equity, and community!

Brindley has been vegetable farming since 2010. She has worked in many unique places; including a market garden, a non-profit urban farm, a horticultural therapy flower farm, and a production produce farm. Because of these diverse experiences, she has taken on many different roles and learned about several different models for a farm business. She is excited to be able to plant what she loves, while building soil and community around good food.

Spencer grew up helping to grow and sell fruit and nuts from the family's small orchard. After getting his BA in Environmental Studies in 2011, he became interested in local food and farming. He has three years of farm production experience, three years of gourmet cooking experience, and ten years of gardening experience. Spencer believes that a socially just food system can contribute to a healthier community for everyone.

Adrienne’s first year farming was as an intern with Tanager Farm in 2021. She was immediately hooked by the rewarding work, beautiful veg, and all the jokes. She left Portland to work on a seed farm in Colorado and an Asian-crop focused farm in California and returned back to Tanager in 2024. She is grateful to be growing with such a sweet team and is excited to continue exploring the worlds of seeds, culturally relevant foods, and flowers. 

Julia is involved in Tanager Farm’s abundance of community engagement endeavors by collaborating on events and CSA, cooking and delivering farm fresh homemade meals to unhoused folx in Portland through the farm’s mutual aid program, Do You Want Lunch?, helping with administrative tasks, and cooking lunch for the farmers once a week on Harvest day. Julia started as a CSA member, and is now honored to be a part of the team!