Hello Gardeners,

And, a Great Big Thank You for everyone who has sent in donations to help us get this garden going. We have no idea when the grant funds will be released by the State, but we are confident that they will eventually release it. However, we don’t want to wait any longer. So, I am releasing the plot adoption contract, and the garden rules and expectations here on The Cullowhee Community Garden Blog.

Yes! The adoption process is now open and plots will be made available as soon as we are able to acquire some basic tools, equipment and supplies. The full budgetary procurement will follow once the grant funds are in our account.

For an application to join The Cullowhee Community Garden, please email me at bigelownc@gmail.com and I will send a copy of the application, along with some other documents. You can then send the completed application back to me via email, or you can print it, fill it out and send it to me at: Cullowhee Community Garden C/O Adam Bigelow 284 Keener St Sylva, NC 28779

Again, there is no fee for adopting a plot in our garden. Gardeners will agree to donate approximately half of their produce to The Community Table of Sylva, as well as to other organizations or people in need. Our aim is to provide space, tools, materials and assistance to members of our community while providing fresh, local, organic produce to our neighbors in need and to the organizations that serve them.  Truly, a win-win for everyone.

Gardeners will need to provide their own seeds, plants or starts for their own plots. However, often we in the Sylva Community Garden are blessed by donations of plant starts, seeds, and perennial plants from this great community that we live in. In the future, we will be growing some of our own plant starts, and a saving/collecting seed from our and other’s gardens. Locally adapted seeds, heirlooms passed down through families, and open-pollinated seeds will perform the best in our gardens. As we grow from year to year, we may be able to have our own collection of local seeds with local genetic provenance and adaptations.

While the window is slowly closing on being able to get in a Fall garden, there is still time to grow lettuces, winter greens like kale and collards, plant garlic, and to prepare your beds for overwintering and Spring planting. But, the window is closing, so lets not wait.

Please email me with any questions or concerns, and get your applications in as soon as you can. Thank You again to all that have donated to The Cullowhee Community Garden, and please feel free to send in monetary donations along with your applications. We need all the help that we can get, and appreciate it greatly!

LET'S GET GROWING!

Hello Gardeners and Supporters of The Cullowhee Community Garden. Well, we hit the ground running, and have completed a whole bunch of the preliminary work to get the garden up and running. All documents and forms have been created, the land has been cleared (twice!), the soil has been turned (and is Beautiful! Loamy Goodness and Rich!), and we have seeded out a cover crop blend consisting of annual grains, clover, winter pea, and others. However, we have hit a bit of a slowdown because the State has yet to release our funds. So, we are unable to make any purchases of necessary materials and equipment. Unless, that is, we rise up as a community, and come together to make this happen. Towards that end, I am going to post here a short-list of tools and equipment that we feel are necessary to getting started. If we can raise funds on our own to get started, we will be able to make the State money go farther, and maybe purchase items that had to be removed from the initial budget requests, like a greenhouse.

All donations made to The Cullowhee Community Garden are tax deductable, and will be greatly appreciated by the community. To reduce our future costs and expenditures, and in keeping with our intent to make the garden as sustainable as possible, all tools and equipment will be of the highest quality and construction. We could save initial money by purchasing poorly constructed tools made in far away lands. But, through my experience with other gardens, they tend to break and are difficult to use, making for an unpleasant experience gardening. On the flip side, well-made tools are a treat to use, and last a long, long time. Therefore you only need to buy the tool once. I have sourced out some really well-made tools, hand forged and of heirloom quality. You can find them at

http://www.gardentoolcompany.com/brands/DeWit-Garden-Tools.html?gclid=CLzX3_vWrbICFVOQ7QodGk4APg

The Garden Tool Company also has well made tools from other suppliers, all handcrafted and easy to use. This is an example of the type of tools and equipment that we will be using at The Cullowhee Community Garden.

Following, you will find a list of the tools that will get us started in the garden. We are also looking for donations of materials like hardwood mulch; straw mulch; organic fertilizers; fish and algae based fertilizers; wire fencing materials; split rail fencing materials; and any other gardening supplies that can help us get started.

If we come together as a community to raise these required funds and materials, then we may still be able to divide up the plots for adoption in time to get in a fall garden. So, please consider a tax-deductable donation to The Cullowhee Community Garden and help this worthwhile project to grow and thrive. We are hoping to raise approximately $3,000.00

Please make checks out to: The Jackson County Department of Public Health, and put Cullowhee Community Garden in the info line. 

Donation checks may be mailed to: Adam Bigelow 284 Keener St. Sylva, NC 28779

Thank you for considering a donation to help kick off The Cullowhee Community Garden

ITEM	QTY.	JUSTIFICATION
Straw	20	bales of straw for each garden
Fish/kelp Emulsion fertilizer	1	to provide plants with nutrients
Organic fertilizer	2	to provide plants with nutrients
Leaf Rake	2	to move leaves and grass clippings
Hard Rake	2	to move soil and gravel
Scuffle Hoe	2	to remove weeds
Hoe	2	to remove weeds
Digging Fork	2	for tilling soil and digging weeds
Pitch Fork	2	for moving mulch, turning compost, etc.
Scale	1	to weigh produce for donation
Flat shovel	2	to move soil and gravel
Round shovel	2	for digging in soil, compost, etc.
root jack	1	for removing exotic invasive plant species
hand pruner	2	for pruning trees
Pruning saws	2	for pruning trees
loper	2	for pruning trees
hand trowel	3	for digging in soil, compost, etc.
hand cultivator	3	for tilling soil and digging weeds
gloves s, m, l, xl	1	for use by volunteers and gardeners
manual weedwhacker	2	to control weeds
Wheelbarrows	2	to haul materials
Garden Hose	2	for irrigation
watering cans	5	for irrigation
garden shears	2	to remove weeds

Hey Garden Fans,
Just "got back" from The 2012 Cullowhee Native Plants Conference, and as with every year, I return all fired up and inspired about native plants and their use in the landscape. I say that I am "Away" at this conference because every year around 300 of my fellow Native Plant Nerds come from all over the Southeastern US to travel to Cullowhee and spend 4-5 days botanizing, networking, and celebrating the beautiful and diverse wildflowers, shrubs, trees, mosses, lichens, liverworts, and fungi of these beautiful Southern Appalachian Mountains where we live. Check out The Cullowhee Native Plants Conference  or find us on the Cullowhee Native Plants Conference Facebook Page. Next year is our 30th Anniversary for the Cullowhee

Now, why would I be featuring this conference about native plants here on the Cullowhee Community Garden Blog? Well, I am glad you asked. Two of my greatest passions are Organic Community Gardening, and Native Wildflowers. With the Cullowhee Community Garden Project, I get to combine these two loves into one location. Our intention is to use many native plants in the landscaping installations connected with the Jackson County Greenway (Find More Info Here). We will also be actively removing Exotic-Invasive plants, and enhancing the many wonderful native plants already onsite.

Native Plants are also very beneficial for organic gardening, in general. Native plants, once established, will not tax your water resources. They are wonderful attractors of and shelter for pollinators and other beneficial insects. Plus, as opposed to non-native plant species, they are even food for beneficial insects like predators and pollinators that are so very necessary for a successful and thriving organic garden. Learn More About The Benefits Of Using Native Plants Here


One of our visions for the property where The Cullowhee Community Garden will be located, is to plant many different species of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees and to enhance the many native plants already onsite. We will also be performing active removal of Exotic Invasive Plants using manual and cultural methods, instead of the usual treatment using toxic synthetic herbicides. While Exotic-Invasive Plants are damaging to the environment, and cost countless dollars each year to our economy, I don't know of a single exotic-invasive plant species that is linked with birth defects. Now, the herbicides used in many management plans, on the other hand...

Hello Garden Fans!  I want to tell you a little bit about The Cullowhee Community Garden and how it is going to work. We are still in the planning phase for exactly where the gardens will be on site, and when we will be able to start the first round of plot adoptions. So, to tide you all over until that time comes (mid August? Hopefully. By October? At the latest!) here is some information on the garden and how this will all work.

The Cullowhee Community Garden will be managed using organic cultural methods. There will be NO synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, or any other -cides (The English suffix comes from the Latin verb 'caedere', which means to 'cut or strike down'. In English, the suffix is used in the sense of murder). Instead we will work with natural systems to try to establish an equilibrium in the garden. 

The first step to a healthy garden is healthy soil.  Compost will be made on site by gardeners and by me, the garden manager. This is the best food for the soil, providing the raw materials for creating soil, and infusing the soil with the microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, and attracting macroorganisms, like earthworms. Compost can be added to the top of garden soil that will act as a mulch helping to reduce water loss, and to keep the soil cool. Compost can also be worked into the soil during bed construction or through tilling. Compost feeds the soil, increasing water and nutrient retention, helping with drainage, and can fix problem soils. We will be making actively aerated compost teas for soil drenching and foliar feeding. Compost tea is an amazing product, and very easy to make. Learn About Actively Aerated Compost Tea Here 

We will also provide other organic amendments for soil, including composted animal manures, leaves and grass clippings, purchased organic fertilizers like fish and kelp emulsions and other purchased products. Instruction on the best use of these fertilizers will be provided to gardeners, including when and how to feed different crops, foliar feeding, etc.

All tools and equipment will be provided for gardeners and stored onsite in a tool shed. Gardeners will have access to, and instruction about the use of all the tools. All tools purchased will be of the highest quality and construction. This is one area we will not skimp on. It is better to buy a more expensive and well-made tool once, than to buy cheap tools that break and are frustrating to use.

Adoption of plots will require NO Money on the part of the gardeners. Using the model of The Sylva Community Garden, all gardeners will agree to donate half of their produce to The Community Table of Sylva to help feed our neighbors in need. In exchange for the produce donations, gardeners will be provided garden tools and equipment, organic fertilizers and mulches, and help and assistance from me, the garden manager.  We will also be offering educational workshops and demonstrations from area gardening experts, from the NC Cooperative Extension, and by the garden manager.

Individual gardens will be managed using organic cultural methods. Outside of this, each garden will be run by the gardener-member who adopts the plot. The specific methods of what is grown and how it is organically managed will be up to each gardener. As the garden develops, the individual style and expression of each gardener will be evident in their plots.

There will be common areas that will be maintained by members of the garden and by community volunteers. This will include the paths among the plots, flower gardens, trails, fruit trees and bushes and other perennial food crop areas (like asparagus, rhubarb, and others.) Weekly volunteer days will be advertised to bring in helpers and interested groups.

One of the goals of the Cullowhee Community Garden will be to make the gardens bountiful, beautiful and successful, and to help gardeners achieve their goals and to become better gardeners.  What we want is to make it as fun and easy to grow beautiful, nutritious and delicious food as possible. And, to do it in a way that benefits the environment and leaves the soil healthier than when we start.

Hello Garden Fans. I want to share with y'all another Community Garden in our region that will be serving as a model for our garden. The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden 
Dr John Wilson Community Garden


The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden is a space for the community to come together to grow food, learn, and share their harvest with others. Plots are privately rented on a seasonal basis. The public can get involved in the garden through volunteering, or attending a workshop or event.

The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain, NC.                                                   Photo by Mark Combs

This beautiful garden is managed by Dianna Schmitt McCall through the Town of Black Mountain Parks and Recreation department. It has recently been named in honor of one of the founders and champions of the garden, Dr. John Wilson. Here is a link to a youtube video about the garden: Dr John Wilson on Community Gardening

I have had the pleasure of touring this garden, and hearing Dr. Wilson presenting about the garden at a Carolina Farm Stewards Association Conference in Black Mountain a few years ago. It was very inspirational!


One of my favorite aspects of Community Gardening is being able to see all the different philosophies and ideas about organic gardening, and borrowing ideas and methods for use in our own garden.  I started vertical gardening in my plot in The Sylva Community based on ideas from one of the garden plots at Black Mountain, and now I can grow sugar peas and climbing beans to ten feet tall! 


If you are visiting Black Mountain, I recommend going to visit this beautiful example of Community Gardening. But, be careful...they might just put you to work. And, you might just like it!

Hey Everybody! In case you've been wondering just where this New Cullowhee Community garden is going to be located, I am posting a couple of photos that will show you where, and show just how close this project will be to the university, and to you.

Here is a Google Maps Image of the garden location in relation to WCU Campus, and Old Cullowhee Rd

And, here is a close-up picture of the garden site. The borders of the property are S Painter rd; Monteith Gap Rd. and Cullowhee Creek. This will be a shared use property with the Jackson County Greenways

More Info To Come...

While we are in the planning and design phase for The Cullowhee Community Garden, I thought that I would draw your attention to some of my favorite Community Gardens in the region. these gardens will all serve as models for our project in Cullowhee, and have laid the groundwork for us today. If we succeed, it is because we are standing on the soil of gardens that have come before us.

The first garden to be profiled is The Sylva Community Garden, located on Storybook Ln.  in beautiful downtown Sylva, NC.  The Sylva Community Garden was started, according to volunteer Marsha Crites, in 2006 by a group of Master Gardeners on land in the community once known as "The Pumpkin Patch." Recently we learned more of the history of the land on which we garden, thanks to a recent presentation by long time resident, and former Sylva Mayor, Brenda Oliver. It seems that the land where the garden is located has been gardened for almost a hundred years in some form or another.

When The Sylva Community Garden was first established, it was one big garden run by volunteers, with all produce grown being donated to The Community Table of Sylva. While this was a great endeavor, with many volunteers and people excited to help out in the Spring, by Summertime when it gets hot and buggy there were only a few dedicated volunteers showing up to work the garden. It got a little overwhelming. So, a decision was made to break up the 1/3rd acre garden into individual plots, 15 feet by 30 feet. These plots were then offered to community members to adopt, under the agreement that they would donate produce to those in need.

This model has worked out wonderfully. Each year, the Sylva community Garden has grown bigger and more beautiful. There are now 23 individual plots, all adopted and lovingly cared for with organic and natural methods. In 2010, 800 pounds of produce was donated to The Community Table.  Last year, we donated almost 1100 pounds. That's 1100 pounds of produce grown without synthetic chemicals, and then walked across the street to be used in helping to feed our community. What a great feeling it is to garden in community, and know that your efforts are helping your neighbors in need.

Aerial Photograph of The Sylva Community Garden.          Photo by WCU Center for Shoreline Development

Can't wait to see how this beautiful garden grows in the future. For more information on how you can get involved and help The Sylva Community Garden please contact Jennifer Cooper @ jacooper@email.wcu.edu  or Adam Bigelow @ bigelownc@gmail.com  Or, you can always come join our weekly volunteer workdays, every Wednesday evening starting at 5:00 pm.

Hi everybody, we are getting really excited about the new Cullowhee Community Garden! We have started a blog to document the development of this new project, and to share our story with the community. In time, this blog will become a gardening journal for the garden, tracking frosts and thaws, blooming time of flowers, planting schedules, pest sightings, weather, and any other pertinent information.  Please share any suggestions or feedback you may have on the garden, the blog page, and individual posts. An open dialogue is essential to our success.

Work has begun on the garden site. There are two designated wetlands on the property, and they have been spared from the bush hog's blades. We also spared a few nice shrubs and small trees, including silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) and redbud (Cercis canadensis).  There are beautiful populations of smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), Carolina rose (Rosa carolina), and mountain mint (Pycanthemum sp.).  Site appropriate native plantings are on our list for project phases, and we can't wait to get started planting and growing beautiful native plants!

But, the main focus of our garden will be to grow abundant organic vegetables and fruits. Perennial foods, such as fruit trees and shrubs, asparagus, rhubarb and other plants that, once established, will continue to provide food for our community for a long time. Annual foods will be grown according to natural and organic methods in the individual plots. Other than the prohibition on using synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, gardeners will be free to use whatever cultural practices that they want in their respective garden plots.

In exchange for use of garden space, tools, equipment, natural fertilizers, and assistance from the garden manager; gardeners will donate one half of all produce grown to help serve nutritious and delicious meals at The Community Table of Sylva, NC.  This way we are able to increase the amount of fresh produce available to those in need, increase the amount of public land used for food production, and provide space and assistance to those interested in organic gardening. The garden will be open to everyone in the community, with plots being assigned on a first come, first served basis. Returning gardeners will get site preference, so that the fruits of their soil building labors and efforts will be enjoyed for many years to come.

Here are a couple of pictures to Wet Your Whistle!

Garden Site Prior To Clearing

Cleared Garden Site 

More to come, including the first organizational meeting, more site preparation, and the first round of plot assignments!  Very Exciting!