Bella Organic Farm

Our first Portland stop took us to the 96-acre (+/-) Bella Organic Farm on Sauvie Island. They are the only Certified Organic commercial farm in the Portland Metro area. Specialties include strawberries, tomatoes, and blueberries, but they offer a wide variety (30-40) of fruits and vegetables grown without chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Interesting to note was the hand-weeding that is required to remove weeds along the plant rows without harming the plants with chemicals. Bella doesn't contribute to city farmers' markets and instead sells directly from their own store and is involved in U-Pick, which allows customers to visit and pick directly from the farm. According to Alex (tour guide and owner's son), they are able to receive better prices with that model and focus on growing their farm/operations.

A challenge that faces many organic farms is contamination from surrounding farms when wind blows seeds from one farm to another; however, their location on Sauvie Island limits their exposure to those threats. The farm is inspected annually to ensure proper organic processes are followed and that plants are not contaminated from nearby non-organic practices.

Each year, the farm hosts a Twilight Maze where customers can visit the farm and wind over two miles through corn fields, including a haunted maze in October. This July, they will host a Blueberry Blues and Rock Festival that will bring visitors to the island for a two day harvest festival. Unfortunately, none of that was ready for us to tour.

Strawberries are one of Bella's most plentiful crops

Tomatoes are more challenging to grow in the northwest,
so Bella grows them inside using drip irrigation