The Veterans Healing Farm is seeking to raise $5 million to purchase a new location and expand its offerings year-round.
Gardening with Xpress: Replenish the soil so your plants can ‘eat’
Replenishing the soil is first step to a successful growing season.
How to work your garden and not vice versa
How to set gardening goals you can achieve without getting stressed out.
The story behind Asheville’s reputation as a bonsai destination
“The way [my bonsai] are constructed, it’s not based on what I was taught or what the books tell you to do,” says Arthur Joura, bonsai curator at The N.C. Arboretum. “It’s based on what I’ve seen in my own experience and run through the filter of my knowledge of art.
Whatever it takes: The benefits of talking to local farmers
“Many first-time market shoppers can find the experience overwhelming or intimidating, so I would offer the suggestion of walking around the market first to get a sense of what’s available and make a plan for what you want to buy,” says Molly Nicholie, executive director of ASAP.
Whatever it takes: Becoming a nonprofit
“Gaining 501(c)(3) nonprofit status has opened the market to new funding sources that we didn’t have access to before, while connecting us to the community in new ways,” says Lyric Antio, market director of the RAD Farmers Market
Women in Business: Live in the moment
“The greatest lesson I’ve learned thus far is to reflect on my progress as I keep moving forward,” says Rachel Baran, owner and operate of Sun Dragon Flower Farm.
Wildfires cast a pall over local gardens
Wildfires screen sunlight, affecting plants photosynthesis. Another downside of the fires is it can keep some gardeners inside just when their gardens need them. Find out how to garden safely when the skies are smoky.
Green Roundup: Conservation groups prepare for lawsuit over Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan
The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of MountainTrue, the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity, sent a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue to the U.S. Forest Service in relation to their Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan.
Gardening with Xpress: Summer’s bounty and bugs
Heat, sun and bugs take their toll on summer gardeners. You can toil away by timing your work and dressing the part.
Shortage trickles through peach economy
WNC farmers are left with bitter losses — 90 percent for peaches in Henderson County alone, amounting to $600,000 in lost revenue, says Terry Kelley, tree fruit expert and director of the Henderson County cooperative extension.
Gardening with Xpress: How to promote growth in underachievers
Cool nights are taking a toll on heat-loving veggies such as peppers, corn, tomatoes and eggplant. You might want to tuck them in at night.
Farm bill renewal raises questions for WNC farmers
Last month, Rep. Chuck Edwards convened a nine-member agricultural advisory board to provide a variety of perspectives as he advocates for the region’s interests in the farm bill.
WNC goatscaping services offer sustainable land management
Grazing goats are an increasingly popular means of eliminating invasive plants.
Why I volunteer: Building relationships with local farmers
Lisa Fields is a volunteer with Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. The nonprofit helps link farmers to markets and supporters and strives to build healthy communities through connections to local food.
Gardening with Xpress: Managing tiny but formidable flea beetles
Tiny flea beetles are here to stay, and will affect your garden to some extent. But organic gardening is about finding balance, not controlling nature for our benefit alone.
Gardening with Xpress: Climb aboard the spring-weather roller coaster
Gardeners and farmers are some of the first folks to be impacted by climate change. We pay attention to the temperature, sun, wind, rain, and rhythms of the living world. And when things like weather become more erratic or unpredictable, our crops feel it. Wild weather is becoming more and more the norm, so it will behoove us to learn to adapt.
Kids stuff: The benefits of gardening and cooking for young children
Jordan Diamond, Bountiful Cities’ FEAST program and garden coordinator at Lucy S. Herring Elementary School, discusses cooking with kids, the benefits of gardening for young minds and the joys of being outdoors with students.
Gardening with Xpress: Tips on snakes and seeds
Spring is nearly here, but slow your roll when it comes to planting. Oh, and those snakes you saw in the garden? More than likely they’re friends, not foes.
Green in brief: Duke Energy completes Hot Springs microgrid
The microgrid includes 2 megawatts of solar panel capacity and 4.4 MW of battery storage. Those resources are enough to power the entire town for an extended period if its connection to the main grid is disrupted.
Green in brief: Conserving Carolina to expand Bracken Mountain Preserve
On Dec. 30, the nonprofit completed the purchase of 34 acres in Brevard to expand the preserve. The new land will bolster the existing 395-acre park, owned by the city of Brevard, which connects to the Pisgah National Forest.