My ancestors were farmers, both from my maternal and paternal side. My aunt Kathy has done extensive work on MacKenzie genealogy, and has found that I descend from Thomas Mackenzie IV of Langwell Scotland. He was the last in that part of the country of a well-educated, well-bred, intelligent class of gentleman farmers, called “The Old School.” He was the sixth in succession of the same family, on the same farm. My mother, Delores, said that her father, George Jones, started an orchard in 1924 in northeastern Nebraska near the Missouri River. He sold it in 1929 during the Great Depression, and moved to Oregon, where like most American’s during that time, lived off his own garden. My entry into farming, let alone gardening, came much later in life. Rooted in childhood experiences, I trace my inspiration to my love of nature and the outdoors.

I have many fond memories of visiting my grandparent’s property, which sat on Cooper Mountain, and overlooked Portland, with Mount Hood in the background. It was primarily wild, a vast magical woodland. Wildlife ran freely everywhere, songbirds sung throughout the day, and star-lit night skies were spectacular. I recall walking on narrow trails, and visiting my grandmother’s large vegetable garden. Even after they moved to Vancouver, Washington in the late 70’s, she still maintained a garden. I was a fussy eater as a child, so I did not partake, or particularly care about the wonderful bounty that she so lovingly coaxed from the soil. In fact, I did not get my hands into the dirt until I was in my mid-twenties.

My first experience gardening was a small bed, measuring 4’ x 10’, outside my apartment patio. I only grew tomatoes and squash, with one tomato plant reaching nine feet tall. It would be two decades later before I would acquire my own space to grow again in a community garden. In a 20’ x 20’ bed I grew six lavender bushes, a 1’ x 20’ row of edible flowers, six varieties of broad leafy greens, and five varieties of tomatoes, all organic (non-GMO). It was the spring of 2013, and I was midway through my masters program.

In the fall of 2012, I began a M.S. at Portland State University in Leadership for Sustainability Education, with a focus on Garden-Based Education in Schools and Communities. The program would expose me to a multifaceted approach to understanding agriculture. During my academic pursuit, I volunteered for various agencies that engaged in urban agriculture: Heart 2 Heart Farms, Growing Gardens, Oregon Food Bank, Schoolyard Farms and Portland Fruit Tree Project. I also ran a landscaping business, which I had begun the winter of 2011. I was excited about everything I was learning, so when I found an opportunity to learn even more through the 2014 Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship, I quickly signed up.

During the seven-month apprenticeship, I learned basic skills in vegetable production, fruit production and the field of small-scale agriculture. The teachers dedicated one six-hour class session to soil management alone, a subject I would learn even more about during my participation in the 2015 O.S.U. Extension Service Master Gardener program. Soil health interested me, I continued to learn more by attending a Soil Health Workshop for Annual & Organic Cropping Systems, facilitated by the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District held at Swallowtail Farms. My interest intensified. I became fascinated by the world beneath my feet.

This blog will tell the story of agriculture, food, and well-being, and how it is all tied to healthy soil. Soil microbiology influences plant health and similarly the microbiome of the stomach affects human health. I have a gut feeling this blog is going to be good.