Organic Gardens

Fresh! Local! Healthy!

The Organic Gardens at Hospitality House were created to increase access to fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs for the Bread of Life Community Kitchen, Food Pantry, and Remote Food Locker programs operated by Hospitality House. Residents, volunteers, and interns work side by side to maintain the gardens, growing not only food, but meaningful friendships as well. The garden is grown using biodynamic, organic, and beneficial insect companion planting methods in mostly raised beds, and is a key part of the Hospitality House’s overall local food initiative and commitment to the sustainability of life, community and environment.

The Organic Gardens were initiated in the summer of 2011 with funding from the Appalachian District Health Department as part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative from the Center for Disease Control. This funding created 9 wheelchair accessible raised beds in the Upper Garden courtyard of the Brook Hollow Complex. In May 2012, Hospitality House entered into lease with Watauga County for an additional 1/2 acre plot below the Brook Hollow Complex, adjacent to the parking lot for the CCCTI Small Business Center. Working with N.C. Cooperative Extension Watauga County office, Farm Bureau, and local Master Gardeners 14 raised beds were created and filled.

In 2013, the international non-profit, Heifer International, Seeds of Change Appalachia Initiative provided funding for a national pilot project that included a garden coordinator and engaged in a Hoop House building workshop for two hoop houses (high tunnels) that added an additional 7 raised beds. That was the first summer of full production with beds full of fresh greens, berries, herbs and many other vegetables.

That same year, Appalachian State's AIM High Honors Society received a grant and planted a small orchard of 24 fruit trees to further grow the vision for our Organic Gardens.

In 2015, Sigma Kappa Sorority at Appalachian State University won a grant, “Turning the Blue Ridge Green,” to design and build a passive solar greenhouse. Hunter Smith, a senior Interior Design and Building Science major, did the design and construction. Completed in the fall of that year, the 8x12 polycarbonate wood frame greenhouse provides a place to start seedlings and use water for rain barrel water catchment.

2016 saw the addition of twenty-four egg-laying hens, Henry's Hen House. The chicken coop was designed and constructed by Avery High School Agriculture students; with the chicken run built by St. Luke's Deacon Greg Erickson and the Keller Williams RED Day team.

Since then we have continued to expand our garden spaces by utilizing the surrounding grounds of the Brook Hollow Complex. Utilizing the edible landscaping model, we have added blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes and a mushroom plot, a sensory gardens, a pollinator garden and a memorial garden at the front door.

A collection of visionary community partners and grant funders have allowed us to expand from a garden space to a small urban farm. Our gardens have extended our efforts to engage members in the community by hosting mulching, planting, pruning, garden tool, and composting workshops; as well as teaching community members how to create home gardens, children's gardens, bucket gardens, and community gardens.

The Gardens at Hospitality House actively involves clients, volunteers, community collaborators, Appalachian State Community Engaged Leadership (CEL), student interns, clubs, classes, fraternities and sororities. Annually, around 4,500 hours of volunteer service is completed in our gardens and yield about 2,500 pounds of fresh, local, healthy food and 180 dozen eggs.