Category: Wake SWCD (Page 7 of 12)

from NewsObserver.com

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/10/2740660/irregardless-cafe-owner-seeks.html

Irregardless Cafe owner seeks OK for Southwest Raleigh produce garden

By Colin Campbell —  ccampbell@newsobserver.com

RALEIGH — The owners of downtown’s Irregardless Cafe will find out Monday whether they can move ahead with an organic garden in Southwest Raleigh that would feed the restaurant.

The Raleigh Board of Adjustment will review a variance request for the garden on Athens Drive during its 1 p.m. meeting. The variance would allow Arthur Gordon and his wife to run a large garden in a neighborhood and have a greenhouse and parking. If the request is denied, the Gordons say they will have to tear down the greenhouse, which is already growing seedlings. Continue reading

For a quick look, check out the picture below. The green represents 119,000 acres of Agriculture (light green) and Forest (dk green)

That’s about 37% of Wake County land!

Download the pdf to see the full map and legend.

Wake_County_Farm_and_Forest_Bar_Graph.pdf

is another local CSA

from their website: http://www.theproducebox.com/
5 great reasons to join The Produce Box now!

1. Guarantee your membership spot for next season! And this will help us to work with our local farmers in understanding the amount of produce we will need beginning in April.
2. By joining now, it helps us provide grants to our farmers. Your $18 enrollment helps us provide provide grants for seed, equipment and other aids for our local growers. This past year we gave over $20,000 in grants!
3. You’ll receive a monthly on-line newsletter complete with news from the farms, what’s new for the upcoming season, recipes, off-season events, pre-season specials and more.
4. You’ll have MEMBERS ONLY access to our brand new on-line recipe library. Coming soon…want a yummy recipe for butternut squash that you can look up in seconds? Want to share one of your own delicious recipes with fellow members? Stay tuned for our upcoming member recipe contest beginning in February!
5. Why wait to join the rest of us fans of the local food movement? Don’t miss out on another season of the delicious fresh, local food your friends and neighbors have been enjoying for years! (It’s our 6th!) You’ll be connected to a community of healthy-eating folks who are supporting good-for-the-earth sustainability and our local economy.

Turn on your TV!

Meteorologist Greg Fishel has selected 5 of our winning water cycle posters to spotlight this week!

These 5 posters will be shown on WRAL-TV 5’s 6 o’Clock News this week of Feb. 18-22.

Greg will present the weather forecast, then spotlight one poster each evening.

TV = channel 5
or
radio = MIX 101.5 FM

the schedule is attached below

Congratulations to our Top 5 on WRAL-TV 5!

Posters on TV with Greg Fishel 2013.pdf

Vollmer Farm has CSA membership available.
If you know another CSA you’d like to see listed here on the blog, post it in the replies and I’ll make sure to run a new blog post.

Vollmer Farm still has membership opportunities available for our 2013 CSA program. If you have considered joining, don’t delay, register today! Once our membership is full, we will begin a waiting list for 2014. We have plans for a wonderful garden this year and we so look forward to sharing it with our CSA members. The strawberries are growing and we are working daily to make sure the blooms stay warm and healthy. Our blue- and blackberry plants will be pruned in the coming weeks and we are excited for another good crop of these organic berries.

Registration for Vollmer Farm’s CSA program is easy. Just log on to our secure website at www.vollmerfarm.com/csaopen.html and click the box at the bottom of the page for the CSA Registration Area. We are accepting on-line payments, or you can download and print the forms and mail in with your payment. Our past members know what a good value our program is and we look forward to sharing this with you…it’s our seventh anniversary of CSA!

Memberships are available for a small share, large share, or market share. Details about these different shares are available on our website. Whatever share you select, your satisfaction is guaranteed!

If you have questions about our program, please email Debbie at csa.
Thank you for your support of our family farm.

Peas on Earth,
Farmer John

Nominate a Tree-mendous Tree in Wake County
If you have a majestic tree that graces your land, you are invited to nominate it to be a "Wake County Capital Tree."

The Capital Trees Program recognizes the largest, rarest, oldest and most beautiful trees of various species. Winners receive a plaque at the biannual awards program, as well as a small tag to attach to the tree.

In order for a tree or group of trees in Wake County to be considered for an award, it must be:

• A species, subspecies, variety or cultivar proven to be relatively long-lived and adapted to our geographic region, and
• Must be judged by a representative of the Capital Trees Program, to be in such good health and condition to have a reasonable prospect of continuing useful life.

Here’s the link for the nomination form.

http://www.tjcog.org/Data/Sites/1/media/member-services/ctp/ctp-nomination-form.pdf

The deadline has been extended until March 31, 2013.
All tree nominations welcome!

Wake County Commissioners Phil Matthews and Chair Joe Bryan join County  Manager David Cooke and Deputy County Manager Joe Durham showing off  their Friends of the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District stickers.

The 2013 Come to the Table Conferences: People of Faith Relieving Hunger and Supporting Local Agriculture.
These conferences include inspiring plenaries, topical breakout sessions, lunch, and a unique chance to meet partners engaged in local food systems and hunger relief  work.       Continue reading

8th Annual Keeping The Farm Workshop

for Wake County Landowners and Operators

Topics include:

• property taxes in 2013
• safety issues and your rights Continue reading

The Wake SWCD annual poster contest contributed to the education of over 1100 Wake County 5th graders who participated. This year’s theme: “Water: The Cycle of Life”, featuring runoff and the urban water cycle. Novozymes Nature’s GREEN-RELEAF Composting provided prizes for the top winners. The top ten winners were honored at the 47th Annual Conservation Awards Celebration. The winning poster will compete at the regional level with 10 other counties.

Top 10 Poster Winners / Teacher / School Continue reading