 |
        |
CURRENT
PROJECTS:
Now in its second year, the project is working with 31 growers in five counties in western North Carolina (Haywood, Henderson, Transylvania, Madison, and Buncombe Counties). These farmers are providing valuable information on how they make decisions about how they keep their farms profitable and what they are doing to keep their land in farming. Workshops will be held throughout the last two years of the project to provide information to all farmers in the region on farmland preservation and new crops. Contact project technician Vicky Heatherly at 828-684-3562, ext 125, Or by email: vicky_heatherly@ncsu.edu
The program that is funding our project is called "Agricultural Prosperity for Small and Medium-Sized Farms Program" MEDICINAL HERBS FOR COMMERCE PROJECT (visit project website)
Project
History The
Future of the Project The Principal Investigator for this project is Dr. Jeanine Davis, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at North Carolina State University, and Coordinator of the NC Specialty Crops Program. Contact project coordinator Amy Hamilton at amy_hamilton@ncsu.edu (828) 684-3562 ext.257 or visit project website for details. Funders of this project include: Golden Leaf Foundation | NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission | NC Rural Economic Development Center | NCDA
At this time we do not know if truffles can be a profitable crop in North Carolina. That is the reason for the truffle grant project--to determine if sufficient yields can be obtained to be profitable. We do know, however, that truffles can be grown on a hobby scale in many parts of the state. Commercial
sources of truffle inoculated seedlings and additional information: Garland
Gourmet Mushrooms and Truffles An article
on the Garlands, their truffles, and one of their clients can be
found at: Truffle forming fungi detection service from Mycorrhiza Biotech Coveted, French, and Now in Tennessee Funding for this project provided by: NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission
Introduction: There is a strong market for heirloom tomatoes. Consumers say they taste better and have thinner skins than "regular tomatoes". There is a nostalgic attraction for the "ole timey' varieties that Grandma used to grow. Heirloom varieties also come in many interesting colors and shapes and have fun names that just make them different from the standard tomato. The market for ORGANIC heirloom tomatoes is particularly strong. This should be an excellent opportunity for local growers, except that heirloom tomatoes have several production problems. Most heirloom tomatoes have little or no disease resistance. This makes organic production, in particular, very difficult. In a wet season, like we are having this year, heirloom varieties fall victim to blight before they get the chance to yield much fruit. Heirloom varieties have a tendency to crack and are very rough in appearance, which makes them difficult to pack and sell commercially. Tomato breeder, Dr. Randy Gardner, has developed several new disease resistant experimental hybrids with heirloom qualities. Hopefully, these new hybrids will have the flavor of heirlooms but with the desired qualities of standard commercial tomatoes, e.g., disease resistance, uniform size, and good shipping characteristics. Objectives: To determine if the new heirloom-type hybrids 1) have consumer acceptance as having the flavor of heirloom tomatoes and 2) can be successfully grown in organic and conventional production systems. Experiment: Seven varieties of tomatoes are being grown in two plots. In one plot the tomatoes are being grown using conventional practices as recommended by the NC Cooperative Extensive Service, including synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides. In the other plot, tomatoes are being grown using organic practices as approved by the National Organic Program, including organic soil amendments and organic disease control. In both plots, the tomatoes are grown on raised beds with black plastic and drip-irrigation and high trellises. The varieties grown are German Johnson, Mr. Stripey, Cherokee Purple, NC 0455, NC 0571, NC 0576, and NC 05114. Transplants were set on June 2, 10 plants per plot, and pruned to a single stem. Preliminary Results:
Taste Test Results (56 people):
This study is a project of the N.C. Specialty Crops Program, a cooperative venture between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University and the Marketing Division at the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This project is funded in part by a grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. We wish to thank the staff at the Mountain Research Station for all their support without which, this would not be possible. Technical support has been provided by Candice Anderson, Beth Dixon, David Grimsley, Vicky Heatherly, Agatha Kaplan, Chris Leek, and Erica Piela. Marketing assistance is provided by Stephanie Wise, NCDA&CS. Funding
for this project provided by: Golden Leaf Foundation
Home | About the Program | Current Projects | Research & Publications | Marketing | Links | Calendar | Contact The
Specialty Crops Program is funded in part by: a
special thanks to: |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Medicinal
Herbs for Commerce project teaches farmers how to effectively
produce, harvest, package, and market medicinal herbs. Project staff
recruit buyers, identify the herbs to be grown, obtain the seeds,
and guide the growers throughout the production and marketing process.
Growers learn how to communicate with buyers and secure markets
for their crops. This project is part of the North Carolina Specialty
Crops Program, a cooperative program between the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences at NC State University and the Marketing Division
of the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The
2005 project is funded with grants from the NC Tobacco Trust Fund
Commission, the Golden Leaf Foundation, the NC Rural Economic Development
Center through the Land of Sky Regional Council, and the NC Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services Plant Industry Division.
Truffles
are a highly prized, edible fungus that grows in association with
the roots of several species of trees. In North Carolina, filberts
are often used as the host tree. Roots of filbert seedlings are
inoculated with the fungus and the young trees are planted in an
orchard. Truffles need a temperate environment where freezing temperatures
occur but not where the ground freezes solid. The soil must have
a pH of 7.9 to 8.1 for truffle fruiting to occur. Because soils
in North Carolina are naturally acidic, they must be heavily limed
to slowly raise the pH. A good site for a truffle orchard should
also be well drained and be irrigated. Once the trees are planted,
the orchards are maintained with light cultivation several times
per year. An organic mulch is helpful to keep down weeds, retain
soil moisture, and moderate soil temperatures. The first truffles
should appear the fourth to sixth year after planting. They are
usually about six inches deep in the soil and dogs can be trained
to find them during the winter and early spring.
