Welcome

My name is Jeanine Davis and I am an associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. My research and extension programs are dedicated to the development of sustainable and organic production systems for herbs, vegetables, and a wide variety of specialty crops.

The purpose of this website is to provide access to up-to-date, practical information on the production and marketing of these crops and to keep you informed about the current projects in my program. I encourage you to visit the other websites I maintain that are listed below. Also visit NC Medicinal Herbs which is a collaborative site with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Some of the current projects my staff and I are involved in include working on a regional Chinese medicinal herb production study in which we are overseeing the on-farm test sites. One of those test sites is located at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station in Mills River. We are establishing a new organic research unit at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville where we also recently planted a truffle orchard. We are involved in a hops project in cooperation with colleagues in Soil Science. Our responsibility is to work closely with four hop growers in the region. We are cooperating on a two year Southern SARE funded project, led by Tuskegee University, to train extension agents and other agricultural professionals in organic agriculture. We are responsible for the non-timber forest products component of a ARRA (federal stimulus funds) project to put unemployed and underemployed forest workers back to work. For that project, we are reviewing inventories of forest products buyers and sellers in western NC, providing technical and marketing information, and assisting non-timber forest product producers. We are cooperators on a five year, multi-state project to develop an east coast broccoli industry. And we continue to grow a large number of woodland botanicals and ramps under artificial shade and in the woods at our Mills River location.

Projects and Other Web Sites

Farm Prosperity Project — Farmland conservation and new crop program website.
NC Organic — An organic agriculture internet resource for North Carolina farmers.
NC Specialty Crops — A resource for farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers within the specialty crops market.
Medicinal Herbs for Commerce — Information on growing and selling medicinal herbs in North Carolina.
NC Medicinal Herbs — North Carolina Consortium on Natural Medicines. Information on herbs for consumers, health professionals and growers.

Organizations

You will need the free Adobe Reader program to view Adobe PDF formatted publications.

News

NC Cooperative Extension Agent, Sue Colucci, built a hops page just for WNC.
Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost, and Grass Clippings: Caution to Hay Producers, Livestock Owners, Farmers and Home Gardeners (PDF) – Updated April 2010
Salvaging Flooded Crops (PDF)

Alternative and Specialty Enterprise and Crop Production Information

This section includes general production information and resources as well as information on specific topics.

Specialty Crops
NC State and National Resources
Jeanine's Book List

Specific Information

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

What should I grow?
Who can help me?
Organic production
Food Safety
Crop information
Hops, Truffles, and more
Value-added products
Grants
Home gardening


Ramps	Organic and Heirloom Tomatoes	Bloodroot
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Dr. Jeanine Davis Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center 455 Research Drive Mills River, NC 28759 Phone: 828.684.3562 ~ Fax: 828.684.8715 Email: jeanine_davis@ncsu.edu
Web Crafter: Anne S. Napier ~ Email: anne_napier@ncsu.edu Updated July 1, 2010