Nature's Fountain Farm

"Weeds are the first thing you notice when you drive up to our farm," laughs Scott Frost, the proprietor of Nature's Fountain Farm. "You know we don't use chemicals because there are weeds everywhere." The 26-acre farm-close to the tiny city of Jefferson, Oregon--is a colorful oasis sticking out like a piece of modern art amidst the central Willamette Valley. Although he has only a shoestring staff (mostly made up of his partner Sylvia Cuesta's large extended family) Frost is always up for talking about the practice and politics of organic farming-- which is one of the reasons he mans his booth personally every Sunday at the King Market. "Don't ask me a question if you don't have some time," Frost warns. "What I do is much more that a cash exchange," he explains. "I wish everyone could have the experience of growing their own food, even if it's just a small window garden. But if you can't, guys like me will do it for you. And I will show up at the market religiously to provide that service." Frost was certainly vociferous on a recent Monday evening--even after an epic day of picking and delivering 800 pounds of cherry tomatoes to the Portland Public School's harvest program. "I'm passionate about taste and nutrition," says Frost. To illustrate his point, he uses the example of yellow onions. "Most people don't even think about what kind of onion they're buying, but at the farm we're growing a variety called the Texas Granex that is far superior to anything you can find in the stores. It's sweet and mild and full of subtle flavors. I want people to know about things like that and not just settle for onions that barley taste like anything." Organic farming is family tradition, albeit a most unexpected one. Frost spent his early years in Los Angeles with his parents who were both in the show business. In the 70's the Frost family decided to leave the giltz and grit of Hollywood behind for the greener pastures of Oregon. The family eventually opened a restuarant in what is now Tualatin, Oregon. They lived on four acres, so the started a garden. Although Frost says that neither of this parents "had ever put their hand in the dirt before," Frost's mother, Yvonne, got hooked quickly and soon she attended a meeting of Oregon and Washington farmers led by professor, poet and organic farming pioneer Harry McCormick. The group vowed to start practicing a new model of farming that worked with the land rather than against it. They called themselves the Willamette Valley Tilth. During the fledgling group's first auspicious meeting, Yvonne raised her hand and volunteered to be the organization's secretary. Fifteen years and endless hours of labor she started getting a salary. it was due to the Willamette Vally Tilth's efforts that the first federal laws regarding organic certification were created an passed. In 1986, Willamette Vally Tilth became Oregon Tilth. Over the next decade, Yvonne Frost was instrumenatl in turning Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) into one of the nation's most respected programs. When Frost was old enough to leave home he moved to Portland and spent over twenty years as a professional musician and worked at the local "health food store" Nature's. (Nature's stores were eventually bought by Wild Oats, which were then bought by Whole Foods.) When his parent's land was washed out in the floods of 1996, Frost, with his parent's support, invested in 26 acres of his own, and Nature's Fountain Farm became his home. After many successful years selling his wares to organic-minded grocery stores and innovative farm-to-table restaurants like Higgins and Paley's Place, Frost is worried about a possible drop in sales. The recession and rise of the corporate organic farms has hit Nature's Fountain Farm pretty hard. Their famously tasty blueberries, for example, are selling for less at new seasons this year that last year, and Scott fears he won't be able to keep his prices low enough to sell to the store at all next year. Now 53, Scott Frost can't help but feel a bit disillusioned about the very certification that his family helped to develop (he calls it the "O-word.") It costs over a thousand dollars for a small farm like Nature's Fountain to be certified organic. "Even though we've been organic for 35 years we're letting it laspe," he says. "I've lost respect for the process. Government inspectors come for three or four hours but it takes days to prepare for their visit so you lose even more money by not working during that time. The chefs and customers I work with know my practices and trust the quality and flavor of my food. I am always trying to be more sustainable. I think it's a good thing to recognize people for their achivement and give them the certification that they deserve, it's just not practical for a lot of guys like me anymore." Frost works with many local restaurants, including Papa Haydn, Mingo and Nuestra Cocina where Chef Benjamin Gonzalez relies on Frost's tomatillos. In addition to its near-perfect berries, Nature's Fountain is known for it's countless heirloom varieties of tomatoes, broccoli, and even onions. Scott, Sylvia and their family live eating the spoils of their labor and often just fill up on the raw foods all day in the fields. Dinner is whatever is ripe, often sauteed with what Frost dubs, "The holy trinity: garlic, onion and olive oil." He muses, "What else to you really need?" --Brooke Meyers