Very fair trade: Too many zucchini starts and not enough tomatoes? Irises want thinning and you need some hostas for that shady corner? Asheville LETS is holding a Seedling Swap & Potluck at Montford’s Magnolia Park on Sunday, April 15, at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but if you want to participate, you’ll need to bring something—be it seedlings, cuttings, bulbs, seeds, trees, even plants dug right out of the ground—as well as food. Asheville LETS is a Local Exchange Trading System that will stage its official launch in June, but that’s a bit late for seedlings, so they decided to get a jump on trading. Magnolia Park is located at the corner of Flint Street and Magnolia Avenue in Asheville. For more information, visit www.ashevillelets.org or call (800) 627-9060.
Ribbit, ribbit: Robyn at Waynesville’s Frog Holler Organiks offers this handy suggestion for folks creating new garden beds: “Don’t get an aching back from double-digging, rototilling or mixing compost with the soil. Just put down four or five layers of newspaper in your new garden area and add about 10 inches of compost on top. The newspaper will kill the weeds underneath and rot before the plant roots reach it. Top your new bed with two or three inches of shredded hardwood mulch and add your plants.” Visit the frogs (and Robyn) at www.frogholler.net.
