Grant Gibbs on the farm

Welcome to Gibbs Organic Farm

Gibbs Organic Farm produces high quality, organic produce and meats, which people line up to buy at farmers markets and food co-ops.  Their 80-acre farm also includes a 60-acre tree farm and sawmill from which the Gibbs family produces wood products.

Products Available

Vegetables, apples, pears, beef, chicken, & pork

Growing Philosophy

Gibbs manages all the parts of the farm and its woods and streams as a single integrated system, or perma-culture. Perma-culture farming views all parts of a farm's animals, natural resources, crops, and human dwellings and activities‚ as components of a single ecosystem. The farm health and productivity depends on managing the complex interrelationships within it and the number of working parts at Gibbs Organic Farm is startling for so small a farm.

Converting Waste to Bioproducts

Manure from the livestock contributes to more than 20 tons of compost produced annually, alternately spread in a two-year cycle on the market gardens, orchards, and pastures.  Pig tractors, small moveable corrals for hogs, are moved between eight market gardens on a four-year cycle.  Chickens roam freely on the garden plots and cattle graze the pasture. Sawdust from the sawmill increases the organic matter in the compost and speeds up the composting process.  And hay grown in the pasture and orchard feeds cattle and provides habitat for eight types of beneficial insects to fight off crop-damaging pests.

Improving Soil Health

Realizing the benefits of natural soil amendment takes time and innovation, especially when it comes to the improving soil.  Healthy soil, Gibbs says, drives sustainability.  "My goal," he stated, "is to build 'live soil' with lots of earthworms and microbial activity."  To achieve his goal, Gibbs strives to limit soil amendments to those he produces on the farm - a rich compost of manure, sawdust from the mill, and other vegetable matter.  The organic matter in his soil is 4 parts per million- a significant increase from the 1.4 ppm. when he started.

Ensuring Low Water Use and Promoting Salmon Habitat

Gibbs conserves water by irrigating garden plots with low-pressure, drip tape. Gibbs also ensures the water quality of the farm's streams by encouraging a natural buffer of wild vegetation to grow along their banks thereby reducing sedimentation.  Trees in the natural buffer shade the stream, creating cool temperatures for fish, which include the threatened Bull Trout species, and provide nesting opportunities for local and migratory birds.