Cary, NC- Over the past few years there has been a lot of talk about chickens in Cary. Michael and Alissa Manfre spearheaded the campaign to legalize chicken coops in Cary and were some of the first in Town to build a coop and raise chickens on their property.
They open their coop, along with 25 others in Wake County, as part of the 10th Annual Tour D’Coop (www.tourdcoop.com) this Saturday, May 17, 2014. Read more
Cary, NC- We are fortunate in Cary to live where we can easily shop for healthful food selections. We have organic grocers, international grocers and giant grocers. We also have 3 (count ’em) farmers markets. Two of them open this weekend, with the third opening later this month. Read more
Cary, NC – Want to eat locally? Want to eat well? You may be able to own a share of the harvest from your favorite local farm with a program called CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. Read more
Cary, NC — For this month’s post, First United Methodist Church in Cary sent in a story about “gleaning” – harvesting food left in the fields by farmers. Read more
Cary, NC — If you’re not careful, you’ll miss it – the Gracious Harvest Community Garden across the Waldo Street parking lot from the First United Methodist Church in Downtown Cary. First started in November of 2009, the Garden is now well-established and producing a bounty of food for the community. Read more
Cary, NC — Backyard chickens crossed the road to legality about a year ago in Cary after years of discussion and debate among citizens and Town Council members. Pro and anti-chicken “special interests”—as Mayor Weinbrecht called them—ruffled quite a few feathers as they lobbied for and against Cary residents’ right to keep hens for eggs and companionship. Read more
Cary, NC – Good news for local agriculture: farmers who do business in Cary are on the rise. Here are three of their stories: a cheese maker, a grower of fresh produce and a farmer of lambs and turkeys. Read more
Story and photos by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – On Monday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Culinary Farm at SAS Campus. This gem-of-a-garden supplies fresh vegetables and fruit for Herons, An and the SAS cafeterias.
I had heard about the farm at SAS a while back. Two years ago, the effort got a full-time Culinary farmer. Her name is Maggie Lawrence and she gave me the full tour on a bright morning.
“This is a culinary farm,” Maggie told me. “Everything we grow is for the table.” The farm supplies fresh-picked, organically grown vegetables and fruits to The Umstead Hotel, Herons and An Restaurant. The farm also supplies produce to the employee cafeterias at SAS and The Umstead.
“This is a late-spring garden,” Maggie told me. She’s growing broccoli, fennel, lots of lettuce, turnips, beets, peas and a whole lot more.
I saw cilantro blossoms and red vein sorrel; comfy, tarragon and chervil; opal basil and red Russian kale.
Maggie showed me red bok choi, Napa cabbage and rainbow chard. She has blueberry and blackberry shrubs just getting started with hopes to produce fruit in a couple of years. She even has a small stand of asparagus for future production.
The culinary farm also includes plants like Salvia and butterfly bush, grown not for the table but to attract pollinators like wild honey bees and butterflies.
Looking toward summer, Maggie plans to grown different varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes and other hot weather crops. She even grows produce for the Hotel bar, including mint and the aforementioned opal basil. “I’ve been consulting with a mixologist,” she explained.
The plot I saw was one of two on the SAS campus. Maggie and her co-worker Ariel Greenwood plant, pick and cultivate it all themselves.
As a guy who loves gardening, it was heaven. But all too soon, we all had to get back to work. Maybe I’ll get invited to visit again.
Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – When it comes to food, the winter of our discontent is giving way to eminent joy – the return of all three Cary farmer’s markets. Two open this weekend (April 6, 2013) and the other opens on April 20, 2013. Read more
Lindsey Chester edits the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events. Photo by Susy Morris.
Cary, NC – Summer lull is over, citizens! Get ready for the autumn’s first big harvest of weekend events on the CaryCitizen Calendar. Read more