Farmer Holly Whitesides will give a welcome address as part of the 2024 Business of Farming Conference on February 24 at A-B Tech in Asheville. Holly has been farming at Against the Grain Farm in Watauga County, North Carolina, since 2012, alongside Andy Bryant and their three daughters, Beatrice, Corva, and Linnea. Can you tell … Read more
Tierra Fértil Coop is an Hispanic, worker-owned farm cooperative in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Members Delia and Maria talk about how this project stemmed from personal and collective dreams of promoting access to resources and the capacity to produce food and stimulate food justice and racial equity in the local food and agricultural system. The video … Read more
Farmers Danielle Keeter and Mark McDonagh are co-owners of Mighty Gnome Market Garden in Waynesville, NC. Danielle: We really wanted to emphasize how a small market garden can have a big impact on the local food community. Mark: Mighty Gnome is the name we came up with. Our belief is that a small market garden … Read more
Use peasant technology to make vegetable farming fun and easy! Instructor Adam Klaus and his family grow a large garden at Earthaven that requires minimal outside purchases and produces exceptional vegetables. They devised a system drawing from the traditions of Korean natural farming, biodynamics, and permaculture. In this workshop, you will learn what they do … Read more
In early September, the Asheville Art Museum organized a panel discussion on “Appalachian Foodways” as part of its programming around “The Art of Food” exhibit. ASAP’s communication manager, Sarah Hart, moderated the discussion between farmers Malcolm Banks (of Yellow Mountain Garden in Franklin, NC) and Delia Jovel (of Tierra Fértil Coop in Hendersonville, NC), and … Read more
Gray Shipley represents the fifth generation of farmers at Shipley Farms and is one of organizers of Good Fields, An Appalachian Food and Farms Festival, which will take place on the farm in Vilas, NC, on June 24. (He’s pictured with his father and grandfather in 2015.) Good Fields will feature a dozen chefs creating … Read more
Steven Goff has operated many restaurants in the Asheville area—most recently Tastee Diner—with a firm commitment to local sourcing and reducing food waste. He is one of the featured chefs at the upcoming Good Fields: An Appalachian Food and Farms Festival, on June 24 at Shipley Farms in Vilas, NC. Shipley Farms is a multigenerational … Read more
“We need to influence as many people in the world to grow food and start backyard and community gardens,” says farmer Malcolm Banks, who operates Yellow Mountain Garden in Franklin, NC, with his wife, Hannah, and kids Noemi, Malik, and Lucy. “A lot of people don’t understand food right now, but they understand inflation. Our … Read more
Nathan Vannette is the co-owner of Growing Green Family Farms in Anderson and Greenville, SC, which offers a year-round CSA. Nathan and his wife, Rebecca, also operate Cottage Farmstead, a blog and YouTube channel for homesteading education. For anyone who doesn’t know, how are CSAs beneficial to farmers? It provides upfront money for seeds and … Read more
ASAP likes to share the stories of people who help us fulfill our mission. This month we talked to farmer Suzanne Nolter, owner of Blazing Star Flowers. Suzanne is selling dried flowers and specialty chocolates—studded with herbs and flowers from her farm—at several holiday markets this season, including East Asheville Tailgate Market’s final market tomorrow … Read more