Growing Local Radio Series

Sweet tea is a staple of Southern life, but many tea leaves travel thousands of miles before they’re brewed and served to neighbors on the front porch. Much of the tea sold in the U.S. comes from India, Kenya, and […]Read More ▶▶

If you look through old books about farming in the mountains of Western North Carolina, you won’t find much mention of popcorn. If a farmer had enough flat land to grow corn, they were more likely to grow varieties that […]Read More ▶▶

Seasonal eating is one of the joys of living in the Southern Appalachians. Community Supported Agriculture, also known as a CSA, lets you celebrate the arrival of each fruit and vegetable. There are CSAs for produce, meat, and even flowers. […]Read More ▶▶

School lunches sometimes get a bad reputation. Pizza, frozen foods, and canned vegetables might be the only options in a typical school cafeteria, and this was especially true when farmer Steve Whitmire was in school. “I remember our lunches they […]Read More ▶▶

It’s a rainy Saturday morning outside Asheville City Market. Buses and cars splash water on the curb, but for one local chef, this dreary February day brings plenty of inspiration. “Hey, my name is Graham House. I’m the chef at […]Read More ▶▶

It takes all kinds of farmers to build a local food movement, from small-scale growers to farmers who harvest or raise animals on hundreds of acres. Brian Chatham hits the sweet spot between the two at High Mountain Farms in […]Read More ▶▶

It’s a misty morning in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Rain dances on the tin roof of a 1940s barn at Appalachian Ridge Artisan Hard Cider. Owner Alan Ward gives us a tour of the historic space he’s turned into a tasting […]Read More ▶▶

It’s Saturday morning at Asheville City Market. Music wafts through the hallway of the Masonic Temple as customers chat with farmers and do their shopping for the week. All around the room, farmers stand behind tables full of eggs, meat, […]Read More ▶▶

Deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina, there’s a plant that’s been prized for hundreds of years. Ginseng is a slow-growing perennial with valuable roots that can be exported to Asia where it’s sought after for its medicinal properties. […]Read More ▶▶

Winter is an ideal time to pick up a new skill in the kitchen. People throughout Western North Carolina spend chilly mornings learning how to bake bread, make yogurt, and ferment vegetables. Sometimes, with the help of the community, those […]Read More ▶▶