24 | SUMMER 2026 EDIBLE CENTRAL OREGON are happening to help keep pests at bay.” Nagel describes how the elderberry bush located charmingly in the center of the rows houses finches, which can be observed swooping down and eating grubs off the broccoli. Mahonia Gardens operates as a hand-scale farm, meaning Wilkins, Nagel, and their seasonal employees use broad forks, wheel hoes, and other people-powered tools to prep, plant, tend, and harvest. Maximizing production on a small plot necessitates an intensive planting schedule, with one variety planted as soon as another is harvested. Nagel says they initially planted “everything imaginable,” from a wide variety of produce to cooking herbs and healing plants like echinacea. Over time, they have pared it down to a few dozen varieties that are most popular with customers: salad mix, greens, carrots. Many small-scale farmers subsist through a combination of farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) harvest subscription programs, farmstand sales, and sales to restaurants and/or local markets. Following seven seasons of running the farmers market circuit and offering a traditional CSA, Mahonia Gardens is fortunate to have been able to open a seasonal, unstaffed farm stand in 2020 on their home property, which sits in a commercially zoned neighborhood off the main drag of Sisters. The farm stand was well utilized quickly enough that it obviated the need to continue that schedule. Visitors and “farmstand CSA” members load up on produce and can also purchase add-on products like meat, fish, and honey from other regional purveyors, further bolstering Mahonia’s revenue. Mahonia Gardens produce can also be found at partner locations such as Central Oregon Locavore, which offers 65% of every dollar back to its producers. Opening the farm stand has created a much less stressful schedule that balances the demands and joys of child rearing, farming, and music. “There was more stress when we were doing our traditional CSA boxes and doing two-to-three farmers markets every week with these epic, long days,” says Nagel. “I think that’s a more common reality for farmers, but opening the stand really improved our quality of life a lot.” It is common on platforms both local and national to see the portrait of a struggling farmer—and for good reason. The challenges and stresses are many, and seem to be increasing by the year. Yet Wilkins and Nagel have carved out an existence where, according to Nagel, “we don’t exist in struggle mode very often.” He describes how “from the very beginning, work/life balance was one of our main priorities. We set out to make sure that we were still able to do the things we enjoy and prioritize that over our bottom line,” which he acknowledges can be a challenge when striving to make it all pencil out. The capitalist lure to grow ever larger has come knocking, and they have looked at expanding to satellite locations since they are “landlocked” on their current lot. But the income from the farm, combined with what Nagel makes from music, has been enough; the recog-
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