Have you ever heard of a food forest? Personally, I did not have any idea of what a food forest was until this week. I had the opportunity to meet a local resident of Wise County who recently started a food forest. Simply, a food forest is when you plant edible plants
HARVEST TIME! Our Summer harvest has begun, as the heat rises don't forget to harvest the fruits of your hard labor. Our plants are loving the warmth and starting
Grow Appalachia Friends Come to Visit This week was very exciting because people from Grow Appalachia came to visit some garden sites with us. In fact, we took them to multiple sites that individuals in our Grow Wise program cultivate. Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch and everyone’s gardens looked great.
High Rocks has been flowing with productive energy lately as we work to maintain our garden spaces. The Ruby Grow team has been focused specifically on weed control, harvesting and trellis work. In the previous year we chose to utilize the Florida weave method to trellis our tomatoes. This year, however, we chose to try
July is here in full force: hot, muggy, and rainy. July is one of the busiest months of the year for gardeners; it’s a time for harvesting beans, corn, tomatoes, and many other good vegetables. These vegetables must be canned or frozen almost immediately after they are harvested, otherwise the heat will cause them to
Do you love fresh herbs, but don't have enough room in your garden to grow them? Many of your favorite herbs thrive in shadier environments. Nothing beats freshly grown herbs! One of the joys of summer is the explosion of fresh herb-y taste, whether it's basil with summer tomatoes or mint in your tea. Growing
As the old saying goes, a little dirt never hurt. How true is this in all things about life and especially with kids? I think we can say they are at their happiest when playing and getting dirty. The dirt and sweat on their faces and clothes just add to their cuteness. And, let's face
We recently hosted our annual Farm Camp. And the children gleaned so much from community farmers and Pine Mountain staff. Bright and early before the children gathered in the Laurel house for a farm-to-table breakfast, our youth farmhands worked alongside experienced farm staff to hoe the gardens, shape the soil, remove the weeds, and prune
Recently Red Bird Mission was given the chance to hire interns through a program called Prosper Appalachia. Young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 could apply for summer employment at the Mission in various departments. When asked how many interns I would like to employ, I jumped on the chance to have 6.
Blueberries! This week in Wise County, blueberry farmers have been super busy. This is because some berries are ripe enough to pick. With this being said, a local farmer allowed us and some Master Gardeners to pick blueberries for ourselves. Furthermore, we learned about the different types of blueberries and how each
