Dean Simpson met us outside as we pulled up next to his barn, greeting us with the good nature and seemingly boundless energy with which he tends his displays of plant starts all over Portland. His operation is a beautifully simple one man show—one he designed and built on his small farm outside of Sandy.

Wildcat Mountain Farm began as an intensive market garden in the mid-1990’s. Dean spent two or three seasons developing raised beds for vegetables and managing beehives and flock of about 40 laying hens. He sold his produce, honey, and eggs through farmers markets. Dean never sought certification, though he has always adhered to organic methods. He continues to work with a clear reverence for natural cycles and a deep commitment to quality. And because Dean maintains personal connection with the small stores and co-ops that now sell his starts, certification will never be necessary for him.

From the beginning, Dean set out to create something he could manage on his own. But within three years as a market gardener, he ran up against the labor constraint that so many small farmers experience. There was more land to plant, but amidst weeding, harvesting, delivering, and marketing, no more time to do it. So, in 1998, Dean shifted his focus and began selling his plant starts on consignment at People’s Co-op. He wanted to maintain his plant displays himself to ensure that customers purchased plants that met his standards for quality. He couldn’t stand the idea that his soil blocks, burgeoning with life, would arrive in anyone’s home garden in marginal condition. Wildcat Mountain Farm quickly expanded to Buffalo Gardens on NE Alberta St. and Pistil on N. Mississippi Av., and, in 2002, to Food Front.

Our tour begins in the basement of Dean’s home, where he sprouts and pots up all of his seed. The humid atmosphere of the small, concrete space vibrates with new green life. Stacks of shelving and lights, built almost floor to ceiling, run along two walls bearing tray after tray of tiny vegetable and herb plants. A few years ago, a carpenter friend designed and installed a chute into the basement with a box that holds four or five wheel barrow loads of potting mix, relieving Dean of the heavy labor of hauling the mix down the basement stairs. Like that chute, Dean’s system sprung from creative response to challenges. With a mind that thrives on systematic problem-solving, he has worked out the physical and logistical system that allows him to supply an incredible variety and quantity of plants to Portland gardeners.

Outside the house now, we step into the small, heated greenhouse used for early spring starts and for finicky basil throughout the season. Dean points out the comb overhead that is home to the small wasps that help him by hunting caterpillars, and the hops growing up over the greenhouse that will provide cooling shade as the season progresses.