“We didn’t even talk about it, we knew this was how we wanted to live.” Tied together by the love for mountains and working the land, Donica and Caleb Krebs operate Old Forge Homestead, a farm in Siam/Hampton area of Carter County focused on dairy goats and...
The Appalachian RC&D Council turns 30 in 2024. Roy Settle, the founding Director (then called "Project Coordinator") until 2011, and current Board Member, provides a retrospective on his career and the ARC&D's impact and future vision. Images...
Appalachian RC&D had the opportunity to host a Fellow through the State Department and ICMA's Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative ("YSEALI") program from Sept 15-Oct 15. We ended up being matched with Saill Raikeunrang, a farmer, community organizer...and...
I have four kids, a four month old baby, a 3 year old girl and two boys, 5 and 8 years old. Part of my intention in joining this program was to learn enough about gardening so that we could start a successful garden this year and so the kids could feel more connected with the source of their food. I had no idea, but we got to learn so much more and became part of a supportive community that will be there long after we graduate.
Why do I support local? Because it reminds me of childhood and home! When most people think of comfort foods they automatically go for things like mac and cheese, or chicken noodle soup. In an Indian household, we crave different dishes. When my parents first...
Our family moved to the area about a year ago. That means we had to start our garden over from scratch. It also means we had to adjust to different types of garden bugs, both pests and beneficial bugs. Luckily, we learned about many of the local pests from one of the Build It Up workshops, and we had our Build It Up binder that contains so much useful information about identifying and controlling common garden pests. Despite having some losses due to pests, we now have a game plan for how to manage garden bugs starting in spring.
What summer vegetable tastes like no other, and is so incredibly delicious, because the real ones are grown and harvested only during the summer…the one season, out of the entire four seasons of the year, that we cannot wait until the first one ripens, and this juicy summer delicacy, finally does appear?
You guessed it…Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.
Hurricane Helene caused a “one in 1,000 years” rainfall event, bringing our rivers to carry so much water that communities were devastated by flooding and destroyed infrastructure, and the loss of neighbors and friends. The recovery will be a long haul. ARCD stands by...
Note: This is the first post of a new monthly series featuring northeast Tennessee (and adjacent) chefs who source from local farmers, promote those farmers, and use seasonality of produce in their business models, making themselves an active part of the local food...
Then our hardest battle yet came with the summer heat and dry weather. We had caught hundreds of gallons of rain water to help water the garden but it wasn’t enough for how hot and dry it was this year. Luckily we learned from the class that mulch works great to help hold moisture for the plants.