March 12, 2009 Issue
Local Agricultural Opportunities
Shady Grove Gardens will again offer summer-long subscriptions for fresh flowers this year. Photo courtesy of Shady Grove Gardens
Several upcoming events will interest local agricultural producers and consumers, including a Christmas Tree Marketing Conference, a seed swap and CSA subscriptions for flowers and winter produce.
Christmas Tree Marketing Conference March 19
Registration Deadline is Friday
Need to sell trees in 2009? Come learn from the experts at the Christmas Tree Marketing Conference, held on Thursday, March 19, at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone. This all-day conference is designed to help the small and medium wholesale Christmas tree grower to develop or expand a buyer-focused marketing plan. Participants will learn ways to reach more customers as well as strategies to improve customer retention.
Topics include niche marketing, proven strategies, advertising, Internet marketing, guerrilla marketing, public and customer relations and developing marketing plans. Speakers include N.C. Cooperative Extension agents and specialists, NCDA marketing specialists and regional tree growers. Participants will receive a marketing resource notebook that includes the steps to build a marketing plan.
The registration deadline for this conference is Friday, March 13. Registration costs $15 per person and includes the resource notebook, lunch and refreshments. Contact Meghan Baker at the Watauga Cooperative Extension Office for more information at 828-264-3061 or Meghan_baker@ncsu.edu.
Seed Swap at Valle Crucis Apple Barn March 26
A free Seed Swap will take place in the Apple Barn basement in Valle Crucis on Thursday, March 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you collect and trade seeds, be sure to bring them with you. For more information, contact Richard Boylan at 828-264-3061.
Shady Grove Gardens Offers Fresh Flower, Winter Veggie CSAs
This summer, Shady Grove Gardens & Nursery will offer a CSA (community supported agriculture) subscription to its best fresh flower bouquets. Bouquets to be transported home in their buckets will be delivered to the Wednesday Watauga County Farmers’ Market in Boone.
The flowers are fresh, and locally grown without pesticides. Members will receive $25 worth of flowers for 10, 15 or 20 weeks starting June 17 and ending October 28. The late season bouquets will include orange and red winterberry holly for the holidays. Subscription members will be invited to join Susan Wright and Brent Cochran for a farm tour to see where their flowers are grown and to learn more about flower farming.
Shady Grove Gardens will also offer a Winter Vegetable CSA with pickup available in October or November. Shares will weigh approximately 55 pounds and include apples, large yellow storage onions, yellow and red potatoes, four to five types of winter squash and garlic. In addition, pumpkins will be in the October package. Favorite recipes for soups, delicious casseroles and pies will be included. The cost is $90 a share.
The vegetables and fruit offered will store for at least two months—most will store even longer. Boxes of winter storage vegetable shares will be available for pickup at the last Watauga County Farmers Market on October 31 and just in time for Thanksgiving on November 21. Signup must be complete by June 1.
For more information about the flower or winter vegetable CSAs, call 828-297-4098 or email sggarden@skybest.com.
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