First off … everyone’s ok and getting better but about a week ago, I received a “can we talk?” text from one of our garden grant gardeners. We talked. She was embarrassed and sounded stressed and defeated and tired. She’s had not one but two major setbacks in the past weeks and has reached
A Bear, some Crows & a few Dancing Girls Recently we found ourselves scratching our heads as to what happened to our rows of seedling corn grown in our garden here on the Red Bird campus. One of our colleagues came to us shortly after and solved the mystery of the disappearing corn sprouts. A
Bloom Where You Are Planted. This can mean so much to so many. To me, it is to make the most out of what you have been handed or given. As humans, we are not always happy or content with what we are given and we constantly seek to want or think we need more.
Needless to say, 2020 has been a rough one; Australian wild fires, COVD19, murder hornets, protests, riots, volcanic threats, a Saharan dust storm and more and more and more… We have been isolated, quarantined, and the world we lived in turned upside down in an instant. The chaos of it all has made the simplest
When it comes to gardening, more than one approach is acceptable. Traditionally, a plot is plowed, disced, and then tilled before sowing. The traditional approach has no protection against the weather. Recently, a new approach has begun to be utilized. This new approach is to use something called a high tunnel. The high tunnel resembles
At the beginning of our quarantine period, toilet paper and hand sanitizer were not the only items that were near impossible to find. We experienced a shortage in seeds and other garden supplies. Many families expressed a desire, and a need, to grow their own food. Fear of the unknown seemed to be the main
Despite the challenges and downright difficulties we have faced we are doing great! Our gardeners are all set, at the moment. We will be starting garden visits soon. I enjoy these visits because the gardeners are so excited to tell us about the good (and the not so good,) stories of their journey. We have
A Look Into East Tennessee Life Hello from Build It Up East Tennessee! We are happy to say that our gardens are growing and producing abundantly. This season has brought tons of rain -- it seems like every day it rains. But after the rain comes the sun and it's blissfully warm and beautiful. Our gardeners
Greetings from Val at Cowan Community Center. "It looks like a war effort." Bennett Quillen, featured Grow Appalachia participant reflected as he walked into the CANE Kitchen last Wednesday to deliver fresh strawberries, potatoes, peas, lettuce, zucchini and more garden bounty for the Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation FARMACY program. I certainly don't want to
Scott and McCreary County met this month at Scott Christian Care Center. We had about 20 participants gather. Doug Stephens talked to us about the importance of organic gardening and organic gardening techniques. Doug had a great presentation and this is the topics he discussed: ORGANIC GARDENING A big component of the Grow Appalachia Program
