During the early years of the School and before, every piece of land was precious and was often cultivated to the top of the ridges. This extensive cultivation may be clearly seen in the following photograph taken in the first decade of the twentieth century. What appears as terracing is often the result of cattle and
Here is yet another piece of Eastern Kentucky farming history that I would like to share from the archives at Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County... CLEARING THE LAND Planning for Pine Mountain was very deliberate and where land was involved, Katherine Pettit. co-founder of the School, was a keen observer and a diligent
We recently hosted a beginners beekeeping workshop. Led by local expert Gary Branson, the workshop focused on low cost, creative ways to get involved in beekeeping. On display we had all the basic equipment that one needs to get the ball rolling. This equipment is made available for borrowing by our beekeepers along with assistance
Here at Pine Mountain Settlement School we have an outstanding resource at our finger tips from which I often draw inspiration. This treasure trove can be found in the form of our digital archives and I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Helen Wykle, a trustee at the school along with several other
Now is the time to be planting if you are going to extend your growing season into the winter months. If you are interested in winter vegetable production, take a minute to watch this youtube video of a recent workshop that we hosted here. Winter gardening workshop presented by Cathy Rehmeyer, PhD, author of "Garden
It never fails that each time I venture into the Pine Mountain Settlement School digital archives, I am reminded of the resourcefulness, intelligence and ingenuity of our Appalachian ancestors. In planning for our upcoming sorghum stir-off, I began looking through the archives to find photographs of the stir-offs that used to be common place at
Instead of attempting to describe the amazing gardening skills, the remarkable perseverance, the outstanding work ethics and beautiful gardens possessed by so many in our program, I will simply present some recent photos that serve as far greater attestation to the aforementioned characteristics than my words ever could.
An exciting new component of our Grow Appalachia program and the Pine Mountain Settlement School farm, is the addition of beekeeping workshops and demonstration hives. For many years bees were kept on campus here at PMSS however, to my knowledge they haven’t been kept since at least the 1970’s. With this being the case, I
Yes, it’s that time of year to get your heirloom seeds out of the freezer and come on down to Pine Mountain Settlement School where we are hosting our annual seed swap. Expert seed saver extraordinaire Bill Best from the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center will be here from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm tomorrow Saturday,
In our continuing efforts to help as many people grow as much of their own food as possible, I am constantly looking for ways to be more efficient and cost effective. In the world of gardening, seeds are an absolute must and there is no way around the need for this input. If you have
