For the third year in a row the NC Cooperative Extension Center in Buncombe County received a generous and anonymous donation of over 1,000 vegetable, flower and herb seed packets. The timing of this donation could not have been better as gardeners were busy preparing the soil and making plans for spring and summer gardens.

In addition to being made available for visitors and program attendees at the office, seeds were shared with gardeners of all ages in the following ways:

Youth Projects and Events:

Pumpkin seeds were used for the 4-H Pumpkin Project, allowing 30 youth to grow pumpkins and enter them in the NC Mountain State Fair, held September 11-20 at the WNC Ag Center.

Pumpkin seeds were also distributed at youth outreach events, creating hundreds of mini seed "terrariums" for children to take home. Events included:

• Arbor Day celebration at Pisgah Elementary school
• Enka-Candler library Garden Party
• Asheville Herb Fest

Vegetable seeds were used for the 4-H Small Garden Project. Through this project, fifteen youth will start their own 10ftx10ft garden at their home. Participants will care for their vegetable gardens throughout the summer and maintain a garden journal of their progress. 4-H volunteers will visit participants’ gardens twice throughout the program to provide feedback and answer questions.

Community Distribution Events:

Seeds were distributed for free at events and share markets including:

• NC State Extension Master Gardener events
• Local tailgate markets and plant sales
• MANNA FoodBank events
• Montford Share Market where seeds, plantings, and produce from home gardens are shared among neighbors.