Eliot here from the Appalachian South Folklife Center site in Pipestem, WV.
Whats prettier than fresh veggies on the table? I’d say Very Little.
January radishes grown in a low hoop covered with plastic
Luckily, other people seem to feel the same way. We have a lot of people and families interested in participating in our program this year but we are still looking for a few more folks to join. At the end of the month, we are hosting our first meeting with all the garden participants for the year. Dayfly Books and Collectibles, an awesome used bookstore in Princeton, WV with a cozy meeting space, is hosting us.
There is talk of a new local foods business in the town of Princeton that could be opening as early as this summer. They plan to sell coffee and local produce! A place like that could be an amazing asset to the community and to nearby aspiring farmers so I really hope it happens!!
On our way back home from Berea, Wendy and I stopped at a small business called The Wild Ramp in Huntington, WV. They are a local foods grocer and sell products made from at most 250 miles away, most products coming from much closer. They had some produce but mostly value added products (probably because it is winter). I was impressed to find that someone is making homemade pasta to sell- and not just that, a bunch of different kinds of pasta. We also found some great dairy products- organic milk that was cheaper than our local kroger and there was even ice cream. If you are ever driving through it is definitely worth checking out their products and it looks like they have a lot of interesting workshops and events as well.
Kale grown under low hoops- Still harvesting!
We finally made our first seed order and have started mapping out plans and thinking about what marketable crops we will grow. We are growing carrots, radishes, peas, greens and a large variety of lettuces for the groups visiting ASFC this spring. This summer some of our participants will be growing unusual crops like ‘Christmas Lima Beans,’ Purple Carrots, Sorghum, ‘Mexican Sour Gherkin Cucumbers’, Purple beans, ground cherries and more!
Basket of greens
Nice blog! I agree that there are few things prettier than fresh veggies. 🙂 This year is already exciting, and I can’t wait to begin working with you all.
Wild Ramps sounds like an interesting place to visit. Hoping more places like that begin popping up and especially the one mentioned for your community.