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Spring emergence checks, new workshops, and herbal collaborations
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Crew removes dead branches to reveal new shoots of Chrysanthemum morifolium

New shoots of juhua (Chrysanthemum morifolium) emerge in late winter. Last season's dead branches should be cut back at this time.

Photo Credit: NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program 2025.

Signs of Life with NC Alternative Crops & Organics


Spring is around the corner, and the NC Alternative Crops & Organics program is focused on emergence.The team has been eagerly scouting the woods for signs of life in our woodland botanical beds, and recording the first baishao (Paeonia lactiflora) and juhua (Chrysanthemum morifolium) shoots of the New Year in our Chinese herb plots.


Documenting emergence and developmental stages of perennial crops is a powerful tool for understanding annual patterns, management timing and variability at a specific site.


This spring we invite you to emerge from the farms, forests and fields you love to join us at a conference or training. We are recruiting members for the WNC Medicinal Herb Growers, a dedicated group connecting you with workshops, educational resources and a lively community of herb growers. Click this link to learn more at our website:


https://newcropsorganics.ces.ncsu.edu/herb/wnc-medicinal-herb-growers/


Read below for more updates, events, and opportunities! 


Happy Spring.


 tour participants watch a logging demonstration at Banks Mountain Forest Farm

Learning about horse logging history, applications, and ecological benefits, tour participants watch a demonstration at Banks Mountain Forest Farm in Hendersonville, NC. We'll host two more free agroforestry tours in 2025 through the ARKx network, in partnership with Edwards Mother Earth Foundation and Virginia Tech.

Photo Credit: NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program 2025.

Events and Opportunities


Workshops and conferences are in full swing this month. Connect with other growers and find your farming inspiration at an upcoming event!

Growing Green Gold in Your Woods

Fri Mar 14 - Sun Mar 16, John C. Campbell Folk School

Register for Growing Green Gold Workshop, Fri Mar 14 - Sun Mar 16, John C. Campbell Folk School

Join Jeanine and research associate Katie Learn for a weekend of fun and education about how to grow some of the most popular native woodland botanicals. Learn how to plan a forest farm or garden, how to grow and propagate, make a plant voucher specimen, and make some value-added products.

Growing Green Gold Workshop

Organic Growers School Spring Conference

Fri Mar 14 - Sun Mar 16, Mars Hill University

Register for Organic Growers School Spring Conference, Fri Mar 14 - Sun Mar 16, Mars Hill University

It's Spring Conference week! Resilience, Recovery, and Renewal is the theme for 2025 Organic Growers School Spring Conference, on March 14-16 2025 at Mars Hill University. The event features nine tracks, new classes, respected teachers, and community spaces.


Margaret Bloomquist and David Brown will be teaching a half day workshop on Propagation and Cultivation of Woodland Botanicals on Friday at Warren Wilson College.

OGS Spring Conference
Friday March 14 Workshop Only

So You Want to Grow Medicinal Herbs!
March 17, 2025 – 2 p.m.-4 p.m.

WNC Medicinal Herbs workshop: So You Want to Grow Medicinal Herbs! March 17, 2025 – 2 p.m.-4 p.m.

Western NC Medicinal Herb Growers presents a free workshop with Meghan Baker.

Hybrid Zoom and in-person event at the NC Extension Buncombe County Center. Register below:

So You Want to Grow Medicinal Herbs!

Western NC Farm Succession School

Thurs Mar 27 · 9:00am - 3:30pm EST, WNC Regional Livestock Center

Western NC Farm Succession School March 27, 2025.. Secure your farm's future and leave a legacy for future generations. Learn about Farm Legacy Planning!

Don’t let the complexities of farm succession put your family’s future at risk. Join Stephen and the NC Farmlink team to ensure your farm remains a thriving part of North Carolina’s agricultural heritage for generations to come.

Western NC Farm Succession School

Forest Farming Office Hours (virtual)

Fri April 4, 12:00-1:30pm EST

Forest Farming Office Hours Spring 2025, Friday April 4, 12:00-1:30 pm EST. Join the Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition and NC State University Extension for Q&A, resources and conversation.

Join the Appalachian Forest Farmer Coalition and NC State University Extension for Q&A, resources, and conversation about forest farming. All regions and experience levels are welcome. Registration is free and required. 


Upcoming Forest Farming Office Hours 

Friday, April 4th, 2025

12:00 - 1:30 PM EST

Friday, May 9th, 2025

12:00 - 1:30 PM EST

Forest Farming Office Hours

Do You Learn by Doing? Volunteer with Us!


We have a wonderful group of volunteers and are seeking a few more for specific opportunities this year including monthly hops focused days starting in April and running through harvest season. Learn how to train, string, manage, scout, and harvest hops in our 14-year old hop yard, located in Mills River, NC. 


For more information and to stay updated on opportunities, please email: Katie_Learn@ncsu.edu

Handful of fresh hops picked in summer 2024 from the demonstration hop yard in Mills River.

Fresh hops picked in summer 2024 from the research hopyard in Mills River.

Photo Credit: NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program 2024.

Contour Lines Agroforestry Tree Grant


Contour Lines provides trees and technical assistance to landowners interested in transitioning to agroforestry and are able to implement certain simple soil conservation practices. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. For more information or to apply please visit: www.contourlines.org/USA.

ASSETS Grant Program


The Accelerating Silvopasture Adoption and Carbon Sequestration (ASSETS) grant program is available to farmers in North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to assist in the adoption of silvopasture. Qualified applicants will receive one on one design support, silvopasture technical assistance, up to $1,500/acre for practice adoption and earn up to $90/acre annually from carbon credit sales. Visit Working Trees for more information and to apply today.

Helping Farmers Service Opportunity

Rugged and smiling service crew at a volunteer work day at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC

Rugged and smiling service crew at a volunteer work day at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC.

Photo Credit: Pete Erb 2025

In partnership with Organic Growers School, we've continued post-hurricane hands-on service days, recently cleaning up nursery beds at Warren Wilson College's Guaranteed From Seed Project.


Additional resources for affected farmers are listed on the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association website.

Program Highlight:


Quality Assessment of Chinese Herb Samples with Practitioners

Lilly weighs out dried juhua flowers in the Horticulture lab for sample packets.

Lilly weighs out dried juhua flowers in the Horticulture lab for sample packets.

Photo Credit: NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program 2025.

As we continue to support growers of domestically produced Chinese Medicinal Herbs, our research extends beyond the fields and into the marketplace. Recently we packed and shipped samples of NC-grown Chinese Medicinal Herbs to selected practitioners of Eastern medicine across the US for quality assessment.


Read more on our website: https://newcropsorganics.ces.ncsu.edu/2024/12/chinese-medicinal-herb-project-highlighted-in-local-news/


Dried Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua) flowers for distribution to practitioner evaluators.

North Carolina grown Chinese herbs like these dried Chrysanthemum morifolium flowers are shipped to practitioners across the US to see, smell, taste, use and provide feedback.

Photo Credit: NC Alternative Crops & Organics Program 2025.

Support Our Work


Our work is made possible by your support. Please consider donating to the NC Alternative Crops and Organics Program to help us continue our efforts for a sustainable future. Become a friend of the program, every contribution counts—thank you for being part of our community!

Donate Now


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