Beginning Farmer Support

Offering workshops, mentoring, and support for beginning farmers across northeast Tennessee

The Quilt Trail

A folkart movement across America, to tell the story of place and community and promote local farm businesses

Sowing Seeds of Success

“Sowing seed, helping feed, inspiring youth to take the lead” with Build It Up through weekly after school programming for little kids and capacity building and teen employment at local high schools

Land and Water Conservation

Helping farmers and families conserve working lands and waterways for the benefit of future generations

Gardener Story: Lee Carden

Gardener Story: Lee Carden

The curiosity has extended with pest control–our oldest now prides himself on being able to identify ALL the stages of the bad bugs. He LOVED studying Adam’ Watson’s slides during a class. He’ll tell you all about the well known “garden bag guys,” but he was curious about a new caterpillar that was munching on our dill. We now have two swallowtail chrysalis that we are patiently waiting to see emerge. The dill was saved, and he has a fun science story to tell.

Gardener Story: Ashley Callahan

Gardener Story: Ashley Callahan

Like many of us, when 2020 hit, our world shifted dramatically. Being at home with our children made me realize how much I truly wanted to spend more time with them. I've always had a desire to grow our own food, nourish my family, and embrace the role of a homemaker,...

Gardener Story: Erin Egan

Gardener Story: Erin Egan

I had no expectations for my first garden but I am so proud and filled with gratitude at the quality and quantity that is growing. (Who knew that butternut squash was soooo adorable!) I am already planning for my summer garden next year! Now on to my next challenge, learning how to preserve all of this produce…

Gardener Story: Kellye Wood

Gardener Story: Kellye Wood

At first, I thought it would make for a healthy hobby, but these days, I think it’s become more of an obsession. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. The cycle has snowballed and created a dirt-covered monster. Seriously, my nails are stained green. We started small, planning to slowly build each year until we have a micro-farm that will sustain us and hopefully begin providing fresh, local ingredients for our area as well.

Gardener Story: Toban Weibe

Gardener Story: Toban Weibe

After a surprisingly successful gardening attempt last year, we've really expanded our ambitions this year. We have a small city lot without much space for a garden, but we've managed to garden on a few smaller plots. First, we converted a flower bed in the backyard...