A new group of farmers is sowing seeds in Henderson County, North Carolina. The vegetables, herbs, and flowers they planted this spring are growing alongside their vision for a cooperative farm that fosters social equity and economic opportunities for Hispanic community members. Tierra Fertil Coop began farming together last year, and while the six members … Read more
Take a drive through Western North Carolina and you’ll find farm stands piled high with local food. Some roadside stands have fruit, flowers, jams, pickles, and other farm-fresh products. Every few weeks there are new vegetables at the table that make it easy to eat with the seasons. “Early on it’ll be kales and cabbages … Read more
Ty Boyd is kneeling in a freshly dug row of potatoes. His knees are in the dirt and his hands are holding two small tubers. Along with his neighbors, he’s cultivating potatoes, curly mustard greens, pumpkins, sweet corn and more at Kituwah Farm near Bryson City, North Carolina. He’s also tending to the soil that … Read more
Spring has sprung in Western North Carolina and farmers markets are going through a transformation. Farmers are bringing their early crops of radishes, lettuce, turnips, and spring onions to market and everyone from shoppers to chefs are excited. “I love the farmers markets here in town because they’re so community driven,” says Chef J Chong … Read more
There are hundreds of farmers and local food producers in the Appalachian region, and while each farm has its own challenges and opportunities, there are some commonalities that can be tracked from year to year. ASAP’s Local Food Research Center was established in 2012 to collect information about local farms in order to study the … Read more
Farming is a career where the work is never done, unless it’s time to go to your other job. According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, more than 60 percent of the 2 million primary producers in the U.S. work at least part of the year for another employer in addition to running their … Read more
Jona Felts and Gretchen Ferrell grow a little bit of everything at Open Ridge Farm in Yancey County, North Carolina. “As a diversified farm, we grow annual vegetables from A-Z, from asparagus to zucchini,” Jona says. When customers drive up to the farm at the base of Mount Mitchell, they can see exactly where the … Read more
As spring gets enticingly closer, it’s tempting to dream of the fruits and vegetables to come. In just a few months, farmers market tables will be heavy with tomatoes. Roadside stands will have squashes galore and u-pick farms will be blanketed with strawberries. A CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, ensures that your kitchen is stocked … Read more
Community Supported Agriculture, or a CSA, makes eating local food a pleasure of daily life. Throwing together a spring salad with local lettuce, radishes, and snap peas is easy when you stock your refrigerator with a weekly CSA. Community members sign up for a farm’s CSA in early spring. As soon as the crops are … Read more
Frances Juhlin from Candy Mountain Farm remembers the tension of her first career. It was the 1980s in Palm Beach, Florida and Frances was an assistant at a high-powered brokerage firm. “It was so fast moving. Once the markets were open, I couldn’t leave my desk. if you try to run for a bathroom break, … Read more