Expansion of the Native American Plant Nursery

By Rose High Bear, Founding Director

EWF's second Native Plant Nursery Site at GeerCrest Farm from April 2026, photograph courtesy of Sam Forencich.

Our lease at GeerCrest Farm has been providing us with three acres of rich organic soil to expand our Native American Plant Nursery. Elderberry Wisdom Farm has now successfully developed this second native plant nursery site which is generously funded by an Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development grant.

This is fulfilling work which is led by Native Plant Nursery Coordinator Joaquin Ocana who continues to be supported by staff – David and Soul who guided our 2026 TEK Interns to care for the land and distribute the heavy workload so that it wouldn't exhaust any one individual. 

Elderberry Wisdom Farm is appreciating our partnership with Jim and Erika Toler at the historic GeerCrest Farm. Located in the Waldo Hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley just four miles south of Silverton, it was established by Ralph Geer in 1847 before Oregon became a U.S. Territory. He shared apple and pear seeds brought over the Oregon Trail and helped establish the fruit growing industry throughout Oregon, Washington and California.

The twenty-acre farm now operates as GeerCrest Farm and Historical Society with its stately old farmhouse overlooking the valley - still cut by an Indian trail, spring fed creeks, and oak savanna. This has helped us form a new relationship with the Silverton Food Coop and other residents of Silverton and create another example of community collaboration and race reconciliation. 

The staff and interns have admired Jim and his wisdom as he shares stories about the farm's history and ecology. Everyone appreciates his energy, the certified organic farmland and the heavy equipment he shares with us as we accomplished the almost unbelievable experience of launching the Native American Plant Nursery on the farm’s lower three acres. The winter, spring and summer teams of interns succeeded in potting and cultivating 1,200 mostly climate-resilient tree species native to the Willamette Valley. Not just that, but they also built in protection by adding layers of cardboard, cedar chips and pallets so the plants can be protected from any future pathogens in the soil or water as recommended by our program officers at Oregon Department of Forestry: Urban and Community Forestry.

Andrea Rhodes caring for the Native Plant Nursery, photo courtesy of Sam Forencich.

Joaquin just completed installing drip irrigation in the nursery with the support of staff and interns along with guidance from Jim and Sean. He and Jim predicted the pond water which waters the nursery along with the cisterns would stretch through this year’s dry season, and it did. We tracked the Drought Monitor which reported both Moderate and Severe Drought in August (https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?OR). 

Joaquin Ocana watering the Native Plant Nursery from EWF's new cisterns for the first time.

We were all relieved with the inch or more of rain that fell in early September just as the last of our climate smart irrigation work was installed. The team connected three new cisterns to the nursery and installed drip irrigation. They insulated the tree containers with sheep wool as recommended by Erika Toler and generously provided by the farm’s sheep. We didn’t know that sheep’s wool is beneficial to plants not just by retaining moisture in the soil, but it also slowly releases nitrogen and minerals into the soil and prevents invasive weed growth.

Jim also offered us garden space where we are growing our Three Sisters Garden. It continues to flourish even after being planted in late July, with yellow crook neck squash now prolific and corn harvests expected in October. The interns learned to plant, drip-irrigate, fence and tend Hopi Blue Corn, Rattlesnake Beans, and several species of winter squash. Since we are seed savers, we planted the corn in four concentric circles and will save the inner circle of seeds for next year’s planting. This prevents the wind from cross-pollinating our Blue Hopi seeds in case patented genetically engineered pollen drifts in the wind from neighboring farms.

This was our interns’ first experience growing a Three Sisters Garden and learning how

companion garden has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years across Turtle Island. They were amazed how fast these heritage plants grew in the rich organic soil at GeerCrest Farm compared to our Three Sisters Garden here at Elderberry Wisdom Farm. We recently converted our lawn in back of the classroom into garden space and will continue to regenerate the soil with organic kelp and fish fertilizer and a nitrogen fixing cover crop this fall.

EWF's three sisters garden at GeerCrest farm, photograph courtesy of Sam Forencich.

We at Elderberry Wisdom Farm appreciated some unexpected blessings and benefits we didn't originally understand or appreciate until this summer. That appreciation is growing and is largely based upon Jim's vision for the land integrated with the ways EWF’s team worked together in harmony to increase potential for our vision of social and economic and cultural development at GeerCrest Farm.

EWF's Native Plant Nursery September 2026, photograph courtesy of Sam Forencich.