Just Local

06/08/2026

Do you dream about making food to sell and have questions about the ins and outs of the state's cottage food rules? This is a great opportunity to dig deeper into how to manifest your dreams

"Can I make this at home and sell it?"

Do you know when a product can be made at home and when a commercial kitchen is required? Are you familiar with North Carolina's food regulations, labeling requirements, and food safety expectations?

Join us for our Commercial Kitchen Safety & Orientation Class at Reconciliation House on Monday, June 8, at 5:30 PM.

This FREE class is required for anyone planning to use the commercial kitchen and is open to anyone interested in learning more about producing food products for sale.

Topics include:
✅ North Carolina food regulations and requirements
✅ When a commercial kitchen may be required
✅ Labeling and packaging requirements
✅ Food safety basics, including preventing cross-contamination
✅ Best practices for producing value-added food products
✅ Commercial kitchen policies, procedures, and scheduling

Whether you're exploring a new business idea, expanding your farm operation, or simply wanting to better understand the rules surrounding food production, this class will help you get started on the right foot.

This class is offered by Niki Maness, Family & Consumer Sciences Extension Agent with Yancey Cooperative Extension. No registration is required, but we will start promptly at 5:30. If you have any questions, please call Niki at 828.682.6186.

05/11/2026

It's Mother's Day.
That is the day to plant tender vegetables and flowers according to Mountain Lore.

But, it's not been the best time for nearly the past decade.

Every year is different, but it's been leaning colder longer for years now.

I know, I know, those crazy warm days get you itching to plant, but STOP IT!

Those plants need 60-degree soil and no night temperatures below 50-degrees to become their happiest, most productive selves.

Wait.
Watch.
Be patient.

I'm going to wait until Friday and then look at the longer range projections before I plant any tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, corn, beans, okra, peppers, basil, etc.

P.S. every extra summer squash plant you put in means that you'll need 10 friends to share extras with 🤣

05/08/2026

You miss Stormie's beautiful bouquets AND there's so many reasons to grab something beautiful to share (or enliven your own space)🩷💐🩷

Looking for locally grown flowers for Mother’s Day? I’ll have wrapped bouquets and jar arrangements available in two places around Mitchell county!

Here’s the when and where:

💐 Friday + Saturday -
I’ll be dropping off flowers at 7am on Friday and will aim to restock on Saturday if they sell out! Get ‘em early!

💐 Sunday - come see me in person @ Tractor Food & Farms on 226 in Spruce Pine for a Mother’s Day Celebration event with and ! Maria will have the tastiest handmade ice cream and Penland community collaborations will be setup with a craft for kids!

The weekend deliveries kicked off with these cutie jar arrangements ordered for several beloved teachers at Gouge. 🥹

05/07/2026

We haven't stopped with beef since the store closed. Holler at Ray if you want to fill your freezer.

P.S. My husband and I often disagree on the language of how we feed our cattle.
They aren't grain fed like a feed lot system. We give them about 10-15% of their daily food intake in a mixed ration of grains to make sure they have adequate protein and trace nutrients.
We implement rotational grazing to make sure there's always plenty of good grass to make up the majority of their diet 🌱

Hey folks, I just wanted to let you know I'm still here. After the hurricane, and repairing the damage on the farm I decided to slow down a bit. I am still selling quarters and halves of beef. For the last year and a half I've been selling to repeat customers. We also closed our store in Bakersville at the end of 2025. So if you want to buy beef through us, you can still do so by letting me know on here so I can let you know availability. I'm averaging about 1 cow a month now. My price now is $7.25 a pound hanging weight for halves and $7.45 a pound hanging weight for quarters. And as always, our beef is pasture raised and grain fed. USDA inspected and vacuum sealed. Thanks to everyone who has supported and kept us going through the last few years!!!

05/03/2026

Blackberry winter is one of the few things that are predictable in these mountains.
Thankfully, it's just frost expected tonight.
Cover all those plants, friends.
Pray for the fruits that have already set.
And, dog gone in, stop planting all those summer seedlings and flowers so darn early!

For those with fruit trees, spraying them with water to remove the frost before the morning sun gets on them is a tip worth trying 😉
Best of luck 💚🌱💚

05/01/2026

I sure know how to party on a Friday night 😉

Black Locust trees put out beautiful cascades of flowers this time of year.
They have a slight grape soda kind of smell.

I'm processing them to make a Locust Flower Sugar and a Syrup.

A slight pinch to the very bottom makes it easy to pull the whole flower out.

Capturing the essence of the season is something special indeed.

04/26/2026

How about another moment of zen?

These little guys hatched about a week and a half ago.
They are peacefully co-habitating in my little goldfish/koi pond in the garden.
I look forward to watching them grow 💚