Business Side of Agritourism

If you are selling retail or thinking about increasing the visitors to your farm, nursery, or garden center this program may be for you. Please mark your calendars for January 27th-28th to attend the The Business Side of Agritourism Workshop. This program is for any agribusiness that may have public interaction on a regular basis.

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Support a Farmer, Buy a Real Christmas Tree!

My husband Phillip and I ventured out to Sandy Mush this past Saturday to get our Christmas Tree. It was the perfect day, cold and snowing! On the way to Sandy Hollar Tree Farm, on North Turkey Creek Road, we passed a sign for a Kiln Sale at Jone Pottery. We are going to have to stop by there after we get our tree! We arrive at Sandy Hollar Tree Farm, by this time the snow has passed and I am upset because I wanted it to be snowing in the back ground of our pictures, oh well. I see Dale Hawkins, owner of the farm, and talk with him a minute. Dale says, "business is pretty good this year and we have sold a lot of trees. Last weekend it was really busy!" There were about 15 cars there at that time. Everyone was so happy and the kids were having fun picking out the "perfect tree". The farm looked beautiful! Neat rows of deep green Fraser Fir and a cute farm store decorated with wreathes and garland. Inside the store you can purchase holiday gifts such as hand knitted wool hats and scarves that Dale's Mom, June makes. June raises Llamas and shears them for the wool. Phillip and I walk around for an hour enjoying the scenery and looking for our "perfect tree". To be honest, all the trees were perfect! We find our tree and Phillip cuts it down, we carry it out of the field, send it through the tree bailer and tie it to the car. When we have children one day, we are going to make it a tradition in our family to go to a local Christmas Tree farm to get our tree. It's so much fun and the famers need our support too. After we left Sandy Hollar Tree Farm, we stopped in at the Kiln sale at Jone Pottery. We found several gifts for our friends and enjoyed some hot apple cider and Christmas cookies. They had a really cool chicken tractor too!! Merry Christmas and remember to support your local farmers, artists and businesses! To find your local Christmas Tree growers go to http://ncchristmastrees.com/

Farm Store

Neat rows of Faser Fir

Nice work Phillip!

Beautiful snow!

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Nov/Dec Edition of Commercial Hort News- now available!

Your November/ December 2009 edition of Commercial Hort News is now available. This newsletter serves the Green Industry in western North Carolina. Buncombe County's Christmas tree growers are highlighted in the Grower Spotlight! You'll also find information about grants, scholarships and cost share programs. Hope you enjoy the newsletter and look for the January/ February edition to post early January 2010.



For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Starting a CSA

Are you interested in starting a CSA?

CSAs are becoming more and more popular here in western NC. The Henderson County Cooperative Extension Office is holding an Informational Meeting on Starting a CSA, including topics such as the benefits of CSAs, share prices and payment, recruiting and maintaining customers, and developing a crop plan.

Please join us Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 from 9am-11am at Henderson County Cooperative Extension Office, 740 Glover Street, Hendersonville, NC. This is a free workshop. Please RSVP to Ivy Olson at 828-697-4891 or ivy_olson@ncsu.edu. For more information, please click the link below:

CSA Flyer

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Nursery Pour Through Process

"By routinely measuring the electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of growing media and irrigation water for container-grown nursery crops, growers can monitor nutrient availability and scout for problems. This does not have to be time-consuming, complicated, or difficult. Learn how to use the pour-through extraction procedure as part of your nursery’s quality control program". NC Cooperative Extension has a new "Pour Through" publication outlining this process. Print it off and read it at: THE POUR-THROUGH EXTRACTION PROCEDURE.

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Energy Grant Available

If you are looking at using alternative energy sources to keep your greenhouse warm, run your equipment, heat your hot-tub, or whatever it is you do with energy consider visiting the following site:

Energy Sources


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

WNC AgOptions Grants Available

The 2010 WNC Agriculture Options are now available. Visit Ag Options Grants for more information.
If you have an idea that might improve your farm or nursery, look at this grant to see if it fits with that idea.


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Green Tips

The newest edition of Green Tips is now on line at: Green Tips


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Agricultural Drought Relief Program

Agricultural Drought Relief Program

The Henderson County Soil & Water Conservation District is currently accepting applications for the N.C. Agricultural Drought Recovery Program. This program was made possible through a $6 million grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

This funding can be used for the installation of 4 best management practices:
1. Renovation of pastures killed or damaged by the drought. (Hayland is not eligible). Participating farmers must agree to manage fertility, stocking rates, and start /stop grazing heights to minimize the potential for overgrazing and to ensure that a good stand is maintained.
2. Drilling wells for farmers whose existing water supplies for livestock watering or irrigation either went dry or was inadequate to meet existing water supply needs. (Spray ponds are currently not eligible)
3. Renovating existing ponds and constructing new ponds for farmers whose existing water supplies for livestock watering or irrigation either went dry or were inadequate to meet existing water supply needs. (Spray ponds currently are not eligible)
4. Retrofitting existing irrigation systems to Conservation Irrigation and Micro Irrigation. These practices are intended to:
-convert center-pivot and lateral move irrigation systems to employ drop nozzles or low-pressure spray nozzles. This practice can also be used to convert an existing traveling gun system to a center-pivot or lateral move system using drop nozzles or low-pressure spray. The practice can also be used to equip existing irrigation equipment with end-gun shutoff devices.
-And to replace and/or reduce the use of other types of irrigation and fertilization such as the traveling gun, center-pivot and furrow irrigation systems unless agronomic necessity (e.g., frost/freeze protection, soil settling) suggest alternate or temporary methods of irrigation.
A 10-year maintenance agreement is required for each practice in order to receive funding through this program. If you have any questions, feel free to call Jonathan Wallin or Laurie Brokaw the Henderson County Soil & Water Conservation District at 697-4949.

Please note that these funds are available in Henderson County only. If you live or have a farm in another county you should contact your Soil and Water District to see what they may have available. Different counties have different funds for distribution.

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Helping Clients go Green!

Are your clients interested in a more sustainable "Green" approach to landscaping and lawn care? If so consider viewing this video from Gardener's Guild Inc. a California based landscape company and learn how they adopted organic lawn care in their business.
Going Green
If after you visit this video you want assistance in making the switch let us know.

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.