Take a stand: Imladris Farm in Fairview is looking for a trustworthy and outgoing person to peddle their products at local markets. The job is a weekend position, with pay based on sales. This is a good opportunity to learn more about the market end of small-scale farming. Call 628-9377 to find out more. Sowing […]
Author: Cecil Bothwell
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Mole is not a four-letter word
Most rodents manage to get a bad rap, but none are more unfairly framed than the lower-than-lowly mole. The worst abuse is meted out by keepers of pool-table-perfect lawns who wail and gnash their teeth when tunnels appear overnight, sudden wrinkles in their putting-green dreamscapes. illustration courtesy N.C. State University Out come the spring-loaded shish-kebab […]
Rising from the grave
Poking around: Tasha Benyshek, left, and Jacob Turner reveal the outline of a century-old grave. photo by Cecil Bothwell The pointed tip of a 5-foot metal rod is inserted in the ground while a pair of hands grips a T-shaped handle. A firm push drives the rod down a couple of feet, then abruptly down […]
Garden Journal
Planting planning: Fall is a great time to plant trees, and right now is a good time to consider where you have space for apple, cherry, peach or other fruits. Bear in mind that most apples are not self-fertile (meaning you’ll need two for cross-pollination) and that even so-called semi-dwarf trees will cast a long […]
Tiny helpers
A single tablespoon of garden soil contains billions of bacteria, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. That’s right: billions. Furthermore, research conducted in the last two decades has revealed that bacteria inhabit every stratum of rock as deep as drills have penetrated. These hypersuccessful, single-celled beings are critically involved in all other life on earth: The […]
Buncombe County Commission
“Everybody up here is not in favor of this development. … It is frustrating to be up here and find we can do nothing.” — Commissioner David Young A packed place: More than 100 residents voiced opposition to the Bartram’s Walk development at the Aug. 15 Board of Commissioners meeting. Upward of 100 irate residents […]
Garden Journal
Flavor saver: Looking for a handy way to dry herbs? Clip basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage or any other leafy stems, secure bunches with rubber bands or twist ties and put them in brown paper bags, stems up. The paper enclosure keeps dust and light out while catching the drying foliage as it desiccates and […]
Now what?
“I think that the Maxwell Street use and the Staples signs are wrong. What support I will get on Council to make considerable changes to these issues is yet to be seen.” — Council member Robin Cape The uproar over Asheville’s alleged failure to enforce its Unified Development Ordinance will take center stage at City […]
Garden Journal
Winging it: If you want to attract more butterflies to your garden, drop by the Reems Creek Valley Nursery this Saturday, Aug. 12, at 10:30 a.m. for a free Butterfly Gardening Seminar. The nursery is located at 70 Monticello Rd. in Weaverville. For more info and to pre-register, call 645-3937. Lift and separate: Lilies are […]
Becoming biorational
If gardening and farming involved nothing more than sticking plants in the ground, watering them now and again, and pulling some weeds, no one would ever spend a dime on what might be called Stupid Chemical Tricks. Farmers didn’t adopt DDT in hopes of thinning raptor eggshells and nearly decimating the American bald eagle, the […]
Bartram’s what?
More than 100 Wolfe Cove residents turned out Aug. 1 to get the lowdown on a proposed gated community in the sparsely populated area off Beaverdam Road, just outside the city limits. Bartram’s Walk envisions 114 homes on a 160 acre wooded parcel fronting on Town Mountain Road and linked to Beaverdam via Wolfe Cove […]
A road less trammeled
With a laugh, Shuford feigned surprise that the Staples office-supply building swept the voting among bad examples. The good, the good-or-bad and the ugly: The Atlanta Bread Company and the Medicine Shoppe topped a recent poll of Merrimon-area residents for best design, while CVS Pharmacy and the Medicine Shoppe finished first and second in the […]
Garden Journal
Don’t wait! While many seeds can be saved and planted at leisure, some popular perennials are best planted as soon as the seeds mature. Bleeding heart, winter aconite, trumpet gentian, Christmas rose, globeflower and sweet violet all benefit from direct sowing. And some biennials, like foxglove, can put on enough growth before frost to ensure […]
Garden Journal
Bored to death: At this point in the season, squash-vine borers are making their mark — sudden wilting of leaves on otherwise healthy plants. Examine the stem adjacent to the drooping leaf closest to the root and you’ll probably find a hole surrounded by frass — the polite name for bug poop. With a sharp […]
Friend or foe?
How do you spell pest? Chances are good that you regard as pests those things that literally bug you. photo by Alex Wild For example, most of us think mosquitoes are pests. They bite, they cause itching, they may carry disease, and they whine in our ears when we lie abed, sleepless and sweaty, on […]
Methane man
“On its own, the material in this site might take 50 years to decompose. With the biodigester, that will happen in just 15 years.” — Buncombe County General Services Director Bob Hunter Bob Hunter, Buncombe County’s general services director, is charged with managing the county’s fleet, landfill, transfer station, litter control and recycling, along with […]
Like Kohoutek
It is generally regarded as a truism that there are no believers more devout than the converted — perhaps because those willing to throw over everything they once believed are ready to believe pretty much anything. Author Daniel Pinchbeck, who will bring his Mayan medicine show to Malaprop’s Bookstore this week, is no exception. The […]
Garden Journal
Very berried bramble ramble: Those itching to cash in on brambles can get expert advice at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Fletcher on Thursday, July 20. SunnyRidge Farm Inc., a Florida-based grower of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, will meet with berry growers interested in becoming commercial suppliers. The program will also […]
A cup of flower
courtesy Organic Growers School It’s comforting to tell myself that my gardening priorities — which have evolved from utilitarian to aesthetic since I planted my first sandbox-popcorn crop in 1957 — are a sign of maturation. When I finally owned a bit of land 15 years later, vegetables still held my attention, and those first […]
Overlooked violations?
When the city goofs: Newly planted trees fill in for a mature woods that once screened the Campus Crest development from nearby residences — woods that were cut down because, as Planning Director Scott Shuford put it, he didn’t do “a very good job of communicating that.” photo by Cecil Bothwell. In a sense, Asheville’s […]
Garden Journal
Hay, hay, hay: It’s time to start mulching ahead of the late-summer drought. Hay, leaves, wood chips, pine straw, partially finished compost, peanut hulls or whatever other dry organic matter you can dredge up will keep your plants happy. Grass clippings and other green material is okay, but keep it back from plant stems. Grass […]