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 NC-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.

Links to Our Projects and Other Web Sites

Farm Prosperity Project — Helpful decision making tools, production information, surveys, and presentations pertaining to choosing new crops and farmland protection.
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. Includes step-by-step "So you want to grow medicinal herbs" process for you to read through and decide if herbs are right for your situation.
NC Medicinal Herbs — North Carolina Consortium on Natural Medicines. Information on herbs for consumers, health professionals and growers.
WNC Forest Producers Marketing Project — Information for local forest products producers (timber and non-timber)and resources for them. Including videos of local businesses and two directories.
WNC Natural Products Project — Resources from many local organizations supporting the WNC industry.
Eastern Broccoli Industry Project — Information about this multi-state project to develop this industry on the East Coast.
NC Hops Project - Information about the hops research project in eastern and western North Carolina led by researchers in Horticulture and Soil Science.

Resources for Extension Agents and Other Educators

Medicinal Herbs and Natural Products - Resource materials on growing, wild-harvesting, and manufacturing for educators and advisors working with people in this industry. Information would be useful for everyone, but the target audience is educators.

Keep Current By Following Our Blog!

At the end of May, our webcrafter retired, and because of the state budget situation, she will not be replaced. So, Jeanine is learning how to manage all her own websites. As she masters this new skill, we welcome you to follow our activities on the Organic Unit, as well as in other parts of our program, by following us on our NC Alternative Crops and Organics blog.

Organizations

— Due to budget cuts, I'm having to get creative to keep my program funded and maintain the level of activity that we've had for the past ten years. If you would like to help, please go to my blog page for more information. Thank you for your continuing support!

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

News

Videos of our WNC Forest Products Project and the businesses we worked with! January 2012.
Abstract of our research paper on Goldenseal published in November 2011 in International Immunopharmacology
Our research paper on Echinacea, published in October 2010 in International Immunopharmacology
Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost, and Grass Clippings: Caution to Hay Producers, Livestock Owners, Farmers and Home Gardeners (PDF) – Updated April 2010

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


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
Maintained by: Bryan A. Konsler~ Email: bryan_konsler@ncsu.edu Updated January 27, 2012 by Jeanine Davis