The Farm

Sun Love Farm is a small Certified Naturally Grown farm in Oregon City, just outside of Portland, OR, that specializes in growing delicious vegetables, and herbs, which we sell at the Oregon City and Milwaukie Farmer’s Markets, as well as through a Deliver to Your Door CSA.

Sun Love’s produce is grown with deep care and respect for the earth. While not organic certified, the produce is grown in a “better than organic” way. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used, we grow open-pollinated varietals, annual cover crops are planted to keep the soil thriving, flowers are planted throughout the fields to encourage beneficial insects, and of course, love is given to every plant.

Glowing chard leaf

Your Farmers

Melissa Streng, Owner

For Melissa, farming began as nothing more than a summer job, when she spent a college break working for Red Fire Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Granby, MA. Perhaps it was the delicious flavor of the cherry tomatoes, perhaps it was working under glorious sun filled skies, perhaps it was the knowing that her work was feeding families healthy food, or perhaps it was some combination of it all, but either way, she was hooked and has been farming ever since. Since then, she spent a season working for Riverhill Farm, a small vegetable farm in Nevada City, CA, and then she moved up to Portland. In 2011, she started working for Dancing Roots Farm in Corbett, OR, growing vegetables for a CSA and Portland restaurants. With our moderate year round growing season, it didn’t take long for her to realize that there is no better place to farm than the Pacific NW.

After 4 years growing good food and deeply caring for a piece of land at Dancing Roots Farm, and experiencing all of the joy and hard work that comes with farming, Melissa and her partner Dave decided to purchase their own bit of land, a 7 acre parcel in Oregon City, rich with pasture, woodlands, and fruit trees. With this land, the intention is to grow tomatoes and so much more. There are possibilities for planting a diverse orchard, keeping goats, chickens, and ducks, growing winter vegetables, medicinal herbs, and cultivating mushrooms. They are incredibly excited to build up a sustainable relationship with this land and grow good food in the process.

Melissa with squash in front our our barn

Justis Allen (he/him), Field Manager

This is Justis, our field manager here at Sun Love Farm! He started working at Sun Love in March of 2023 only a few months after moving to the Portland area. Prior to being in Portland he spent an amazing summer traveling throughout the western United States while WWOOFing and camping. He started the trip from Boulder, Colorado where he first truly fell in love with veggie farming. Prior to farming, though, Justis actually graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York and worked as a chef for 7 years! When he first made the switch it was extremely hard on him and he wasn’t so sure farming was for him, but with a little perseverance and a newfound love for being outdoors while working he realized this was the work for him! Aside from farming, Justis is also an avid sports fan, a great cook/baker, a coffee connoisseur(he also used to be a great barista!), a video game and anime enjoyer, and a general lover of the outdoors. Above all else, though, he is a dog dad to the best 10yo pup in the world!!

Justis with a harvest of sweet peppers
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