Open at your own risk: If you’ve opened a bag of Genetically Modified seed, you’ve agreed to the terms of the seed company’s licensing agreement or contract—so read the small print. Those are two of the many warnings and highlights released by the Rural Advancement Foundational International in its “Farmers’ Guide to GMO Contracts.” The […]
Author: Margaret Williams
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Outdoor Journal
Caring for creeks: RiverLink needs your help to clean up waterways in the French Broad watershed. If you know a river section, creek, stream or tributary that needs TLC and/or litter pickup, give them a call at 252-8474, ext. 118 or 110. You can also pitch in by pledging to do two cleanups a year. […]
Garden Journal
Bonsai!: This weekend, think small. The North Carolina Arboretum is hosting the Carolina Bonsai Expo on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11 and 12. The Expo features juried exhibits by bonsai enthusiasts from throughout the Southeast, as well as unique workshops, demonstrations and a bonsai market. The event includes a live demo: “With the help of […]
Outdoor Journal
Protecting our trout waters: Should the Boylston Creek (Henderson and Tranyslvania counties) and Fines Creek (Haywood County) watersheds be reclassified as protected trout waters? Tell North Carolina officials what you think. Both creeks are currently classified as Class C—the state’s lowest protection level. The trout-water classification restricts nearby land-disturbing activities such as grading, clearing or […]
Outdoor Journal
The old (and young) AT: The Appalachian Trail is 40 years old—or 86, depending on how you count such things. Wilderness advocate Benton MacKaye came up with the idea of creating the trail: In 1925 in Washington, D.C., he convened the first AT “conference”—a gathering of hikers, foresters and members of the public. Six years […]
Garden Journal
Green money: Wall Street may be crumbling, but if you need help paying your organic-certification costs, the feds can help. Local growers have complained for years that getting certified is expensive and complicated. Until recently, growers in 15 states could get up to $500 toward paying their certification costs. North Carolina wasn’t one of those […]
Garden Journal
Curious about Alpacas? As part of National Alpaca Farm Days, four local farms have teamed up for an event this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 27 and 28, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Riceville area. It’s your chance to learn about this unique member of the camel family. Alpacas are shorn once a […]
Outdoor Journal
Get your fly on: The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education will emphasize aquatic conservation and fly-fishing as a part of National Hunting and Fishing Day on Saturday, Sept. 27. Throughout the day, there will be fly-tying and fly-casting demonstrations, an award-winning documentary on our mountains’ natural history and wildlife diversity, and a variety of exhibits […]
Garden Journal
A mossy victory: Mossin’ Annie Martin’s won a “Best of Show” in the flower-and-plant competition at the N.C. Mountain State Fair in Fletcher. The Brevard resident designed a living scene: moss nestled with other indigenous plants inside a hollow log. The mossy log also earned second place in the “Judges Choice” category. Martin promotes the […]
Outdoor Journal
May the Chi walk with you: The folks at ChiLiving have a notion that a little “chi” in your step could improve the way you walk. And to prove it, they’re offering a free demo at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at FootRx Running in south Asheville. ChiWalking draws on the principles of ta’i […]
Outdoor Journal
Speed racer for kids: One out of five children in Buncombe County live in poverty. These kids, say organizers of the Saturday, Sept. 13, Asheville Grand Prix fundraiser, may not have access to warm clothing, adequate health care or nutritious meals. They’re also at risk of dropping out of school, joining a gang, getting involved […]
Garden Journal
We are so biotech: To jump-start growth in a promising sector of the economy, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center has awarded a $100,000 grant to an Asheville-based consortium. “Natural products from across North Carolina hold enormous potential for opening new avenues of treatments in human health and creating jobs throughout North Carolina,” says Annice Brown, […]
The Dirt: The corn diaries, part 2
Click the image above to view a slideshow by Margaret V. Williams and Jason Sandford. Desire often invites tragedy. This one began as a craving for my grandmother’s creamed corn. I explored seed catalogs, fantasizing about every variety, and finally picked two sweet ones: ‘Ira Hooker’s’ (multicolored and early) and ‘Golden Bantam’ (one of the […]
Garden Journal
Get your flower on: Think you’ve grown the prettiest flowers this side of the Mississippi? Then enter the flower-show contests at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair, Sept. 5 to 14. Or instead, you can eyeball the best flowers other people are growing and ask the experts how you can do it. The shows will […]
Outdoor Journal
Have life vest, can canoe: Kayaks and canoes are not exempt from North Carolina’s life-vest law. That’s the word from officers with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The law previously omitted canoes, kayaks (and rowboats, too) by focusing on motorboats. Now General Statute 15 NCAC 10F .0201 requires that all vessels be equipped with personal-flotation […]
Outdoor Journal
Climbing Montford: Put your tight little climbing shoes on (tennis shoes will do, in a pinch). The Montford Recreation Center has an indoor climbing wall, complete with new holds and routes. It’s sponsored by Asheville’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts department, and it’s open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday […]
Garden Journal
Saving the farm: Hickory Nut Gap Farms won’t become fodder for mountainside development. With help from state legislators and the Southern Appalachian Highland Conservancy, the historic farm will be protected through the N.C. Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Run by the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, the trust fund provided $703,500 […]
Outdoor Journal
Shootout by kayak: Watch the region’s best pro and amateur freestyle kayakers duke it out for $5,000 worth of prizes Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23 and 24, at the NOC/Dagger Freestyle Shootout. Hosted by the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City, the contest resembles skateboarding—on water. Instead of using a half-pipe, kayakers maneuver on river […]
The Dirt: Rabbits love chard
After spring seeds and sprouts come the garden’s version of teenage angst. Or maybe it’s my own. But after studying master gardener Eliot Coleman and savoring the charm of companion-planting guru Louise Riotte, I thought I had this garden business figured out. Heirloom blues: The author’s Cherokee Purple tomatoes are one success story in a […]
The Dirt: Growing happy blueberries
Sometimes you have to pinch ‘em to save ‘em. When my new blueberry saplings arrived from the N.C. Cooperative Extension, the 20 plants seemed barely alive—just a bunch of switches, swaddled in compost and sawdust in an old Ingles milk-jug box. Baby blue: This year’s buds swell in an early season blueberry branch. Photos By […]
Like water for Asheville: Bee Tree reservoir comes back online
You don’t have to be a dam expert to realize that the new Bee Tree Reservoir holds a whole lot of water (more than 520 million gallons, actually). Dormant for nearly 10 years before its April 25, 2008, reopening, Bee Tree was the city’s primary drinking-water source for more than a quarter-century. After that it […]