gardening Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

WVU Extension Offering Free Seeds, Statewide Competition

West Virginia University Extension is again sending free seeds to West Virginians who fill out a short online survey, but the program has a new focus in 2024.

The “Grow This: West Virginia Garden Challenge” is a project of the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program that aims to teach West Virginians how to grow their own food.

Zack Harold, the program’s multimedia specialist, said in 2023 the program provided seeds to more than 60,000 state residents. This year, the program is launching the “Grow This Throwdown,” a statewide competition that aims to get West Virginians to move more and build community around food.

“There was already a community around ‘Grow This,’ it was just an online community,” Harold said. “It’s trying to take that community and turn it into a real world thing so that people know their neighbors and can be part of a real-world initiative and help people.”

The “Throwdown” will be a county competition with challenges set throughout the year, ranging from sharing vegetables with your neighbor, or setting up a seed exchange, to more involved challenges like creating a seed or tool library.

“But if you complete those challenges, you earn points,” Harold said. “At the end of the season, we’ll compile all those points, and the counties with the most points will win grant money for community improvement projects.”

The only two requirements to qualify for “Grow This” are to live in West Virginia and to fill out the program survey. Harold said replies to prior years’ surveys, particularly responses around wanting more access to affordable produce, inspired this year’s Throwdown and its community centered challenges.

“We wanted to find a way to take the energy surrounding this and the passion that people have for this and use that to try to tackle the food insecurity issue in some small way,” he said. “It’s not going to solve food insecurity in West Virginia, but it’ll help in some small way. And it might open people’s eyes to the needs around them that they might not have seen before.”

This year’s “Grow This” crops of carrots, peppers and kale will be familiar to participants from last year. Harold said although the seeds will be new varieties of the same vegetables, participants should be more familiar with their requirements now.

“The idea was that people kind of had a practice round last year, they learned about the unique challenges that are involved in growing those particular vegetables, so they can do it better this year and have a more successful garden in addition to competing in these challenges,” Harold said.

Harold says signups fill up fast, but even those who don’t get the free seeds from the survey can participate in Throwdown challenges.

Editor’s note: Zack Harold also reports for the Inside Appalachia Folkways Project.

Virtual Fall Gardening Workshop Explores Mountain State

The arrival of fall might not have most people thinking about gardening, but the members of the Kanawha County Extension Master Gardener Association think it is the perfect time.

The organization is hosting a free virtual workshop called Fall Into Gardening. In a press release, the organization says you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home or join others at the main Kanawha County Public Library.

The workshop will cover things like what tree to buy so your yard glows orange in the fall, growing vegetables in the winter and a garden near Morgantown with four miles of scenic trails, a butterfly garden and more.

The program is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 30. It’s not necessary to register if you plan to attend in person, but you will need to register if you plan to attend virtually.

Registration is open by clicking on the following link: http://bit.ly/FallIntoGardening23Registration

Or, you may call the Main Library at 304-343-4646 ext. 1259 and ask for adult programming librarian Amanda Gibson to learn more details about the virtual workshop, which will be broadcast in Room 311C. Attendees may bring their lunches.

The four speakers are:

Eden Clymire-Stern, Extension Educator at West Virginia State University on how to select a tree for fall color;
John Porter, an Extension leader at the University of Nebraska and former Kanawha County Extension Agent on preparing your garden for winter;
Lewis Jett, a WVU Extension Specialist, on winter vegetables;
Keynote speaker Philip Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Botanic Garden near Morgantown. Smith will lead participants on a virtual visit of the 85-acre park – seven different gardens and several blazed trails located at Tibbs Run Preserve. The nonprofit preserve was founded in 1983 and is open 365 days each year.

World Record Attempt Brings Attention To Home Gardening, Food Access

History could be made Friday night at a baseball game in Morgantown — but it won’t have anything to do with the ball game.

The West Virginia University Extension Family Nutrition Program will attempt to break the record for the “world’s largest gardening lesson” when the West Virginia Black Bears play the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Friday night.

Zack Harold, the multimedia specialist with the WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program, said the attempt is a way to increase awareness of the Grow This: West Virginia Garden Challenge program that sends free seats to West Virginians.

“We thought, ‘What better way to get people excited and try to make history with home gardening?’” he said. “As much as it is about getting outside and enjoying the process of gardening, it’s also a food access issue for us.”

Harold said the main objective at the Family Nutrition Program is to teach West Virginia families how to feed their families better and healthier. One of the best ways to do that is to feed your family fresh fruits and vegetables.

“As we all know, that’s gonna be really hard to come across in West Virginia. We have a lot of areas of the state that are food deserts,” he said. “But if you learn to grow that food, it becomes not an issue of getting in the car and driving an hour to the nearest grocery store, it becomes just a matter of walking out to your backyard and picking it off the vine.”

The focus of the gardening lesson will be using recycled materials in the garden, which Harold said is meant to dispel the misconception that gardening requires a lot of upfront investment and cost.

“But really, if you got seeds, and you got some soil and water, you can use containers around your house to start seeds and grow them in,” he said. “You just got to get a little bit creative and West Virginians are great at that kind of creativity.”

The lesson will be taught by Sherry Weaver, winner of the recent Grow This Has Talent contest, and will aim to beat the current record, set in Turkmenistan in October 2022, where 569 people learned how to plant grape vines.
Editor’s note: Zack Harold also works as a Folkways reporter for the Inside Appalachia Folkways Project.

Keeping Water Pipes Clean And Growing Food With Kids This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, WVU professor and researcher Emily Garner looks into micro-organisms in water systems, and a children’s book on urban farming and getting kids excited about growing their own food.

On this West Virginia Morning, most of us turn on the water faucet and clean water comes out. But you may not realize the water pipes that deliver the water to you have micro slime inside them.

WVU professor and researcher Emily Garner has a grant from the National Science Foundation to look into micro-organisms in water systems. She spoke with News Director Eric Douglas to explain what she is finding.

And, from The Allegheny Front in Pittsburgh, their latest story about a children’s book on urban farming and getting kids excited about growing their own food.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Landslides, Climate Change And Gardening By The Signs, Inside Appalachia

After last year’s flooding in Eastern Kentucky, some people had trouble getting insurance reimbursement. But it wasn’t just flood waters that destroyed homes. The rains also brought landslides. We also visit with scientists in North Carolina, who explain how the language we use can lead to misunderstandings about climate change. And, in Appalachia, farmers have long planted their gardens by celestial signs. Berea College professor Sarah Hall has a new book about how that knowledge is still in use today.

After last year’s flooding in Eastern Kentucky, some people had trouble getting insurance reimbursement. But it wasn’t just flood waters that destroyed homes. The rains also brought landslides.

We also visit with scientists in North Carolina, who explain how the language we use can lead to misunderstandings about climate change.

And, in Appalachia, farmers have long planted their gardens by celestial signs. Berea College professor Sarah Hall has a new book about how that knowledge is still in use today.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Floodwaters Lead To Landslides
The Appalachian Accent In The Language Of Climate Change
Book Bans In Prison
Gardening By The Signs

Floodwaters Lead To Landslides

We’ve shared several stories on Inside Appalachia about the historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky and people’s ongoing efforts to rebuild their homes and lives. But there’s another, less discussed aspect of the story — landslides — and how tricky it can be trying to get insurance reimbursement.

Host Mason Adams spoke with Kentucky journalist Austyn Gaffney, who’s written about the issue.

The Appalachian Accent In The Language Of Climate Change

Climate change means disruptions to global weather patterns — heavier rain, more intense storms, flooding and extreme heat — among other symptoms. Much of the research behind climate change uses data stored at the National Center for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina, the world’s largest repository of climate data.

Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Helen Chickering spoke with scientists about the trouble with the language of climate change.

Book Bans In Prison

Restricting access to books in school libraries is a national conversation, but what about book bans in prisons?

The Marshall Project is a nonprofit newsroom focused on the criminal justice system. It’s published a searchable database of the books banned in 18 state prison systems, including several in the Appalachian region.

WVPB’s Eric Douglas spoke with Marshall Project journalist Andrew Calderón about the project and what it could mean in West Virginia prisons.

Gardening By The Signs

It’s that time of year when people start planting their gardens. But when should you plant?

Sarah Hall is an associate professor of agriculture and natural resources at Berea College. She’s the author of “Sown in the Stars: Planting by the Signs,” a new book that blends Appalachian oral storytelling with the very old method of gardening by the stars.

Producer Bill Lynch spoke to her about learning about gardening by astrology.

Sarah Hall, a professor at Berea College, has a new book that explores planting by the signs through oral storytelling. *Courtesy*

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jesse Milnes, Chris Knight, Tyler Childers, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., and Marteka and William.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Eric Douglas is our executive producer. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Using Astrology For Gardening And Our Song Of The Week On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, it’s spring planting season. Sarah Hall, an associate professor of agriculture and natural resources at Berea College, is the author of a new book, “Sown in the Stars: Planting by the Signs.” Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Hall about gardening using astrology.

On this West Virginia Morning, it’s spring planting season. Sarah Hall, an associate professor of agriculture and natural resources at Berea College, is the author of a new book, “Sown in the Stars: Planting by the Signs.” Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Hall about gardening using astrology.

Also, in this show, this week’s episode of Mountain Stage was recorded at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C. Our Song of the Week is by acoustic music icon Peter Rowan, who has been coming to Mountain Stage since 1985. On this version of “From My Mountain (Calling You),” Rowan is accompanied on fiddle by The High Hawks’ Tim Carbone, who you’ll also hear on this week’s episode.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Curtis Tate, Chris Schulz, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, Randy Yohe, and Shepherd Snyder.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.

Eric Douglas is our news director.

Teresa Wills and Chuck Anziulewicz are our hosts.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning