SC Organic Growing Conference Placeholder

I taught two classes at last Saturday’s SC Organic Growing Conference — one on farmscaping and the other on southern passalong plants for permaculturists. I promised everyone to put the handouts online, which is still on my todo list. Being me, I got sidetracked reading some new studies and expanding my farmscaping spreadsheet so the official blog post with the…

How to Help Bats in SC… We Hope

In 2011, I wrote about White Nose Syndrome, and what people can do to help. We knew then it was only a matter of time before the deadly bat disease turned up in South Carolina. On March 11th, 2013, DNR reported that Table Rock State Park near Pickens is the location of South Carolina’s first confirmed WNS case. We feel…

How to Grow Tasty Citrus Outside in Zone 7+ (Tangerines, Grapefruit, Oranges, & More)

On Friday, February 25th we left our Appalachian foothills home at 9:30am and drove to a nursery that grows tangerines, satsuma mandarins, naval oranges, kumquats, grapefruits, and other citrus in an outdoor orchard.  No, not Florida! Even after touring the nursery for over an hour, stopping for lunch, driving slowly through heavy thunderstorms, and navigating rush-hour traffic, we still made…