The 13th Annual Spring Plant Sale at Crabtree Farms will take place Saturday, April 13 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, April 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free and open to the public, the festival will offer gardeners sustainably-grown fruit, vegetable, flower, and herb plant starts for their spring or summer garden. Guests will also be able to attend free gardening workshops, see the farm on a hayride tour, and enjoy live music, food, and crafts from local vendors and artisans.
Crabtree is a non-profit urban farm. For the past 15 years, Crabtree has provided educational opportunities and advocacy programs that inform the public about growing food sustainably and choosing local produce.
“As farmers, our work centers around food,” says Sara McIntyre, Urban Farmer at Crabtree Farms, “The plant sale ensures that Crabtree can continue to bring fresh, healthy foods to our city and to share our knowledge of sustainable farming and gardening with our neighbors and volunteers.”
For the plant sale, Crabtree selects varieties that are well-suited for Chattanooga’s climate, including drought-tolerant and disease resistant varieties. Among the more than 200 varieties of plants that will be available are Brandywine tomatoes (a favorite heirloom variety of many gardeners and chefs), Carmen Sweet Peppers, Pawpaw and chestnut trees, and thornless blackberries. Herbs offered for sale include four varieties of Basil, Chocolate Mint, Sweetgrass, and Asian ginger. Several beautiful perennial and annual flowers will be on sale as well, notably the White Butterfly Bush, Lamb’s Ear, Cramer’s Amazon Celosia, and Empress of India Nasturtium.
“I encourage everyone to plant flowers next to their vegetables and fruit plants,” says Andrea Jaeger, Crabtree’s Programs Coordinator, “It adds color to your garden and attracts helpful pollinators who will help you to get more food out of your plants.”
Among the vendors attending the plant sale are Fair Share Urban Growers, Silvers-Elbert Nursery, Down to Earth Farm, the Sequatchie Valley Institute, 423 Soaps, and Rising Dawn Boutique.
“I’ve been selling my handcrafted soaps at Crabtree’s plant sale for years,” says CeCe McDermott of 423 Soaps, “You meet many interesting people, and it’s a lot of fun for my family and me.”
McDermott will be one of the several workshop leaders at this year’s plant sale. She will teach a class on easy lotion making at home from noon to 12:30 p.m. Additionally, Master Gardener Bud Hines will share his expertise in backyard composting from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., and local mushroom hunter Matt Shikegawa will present on identifying edible mushrooms in the wild from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Sunday workshops will start at 11 a.m. with Jon Geerlings’ workshop on growing grapes sustainably. Ivana Patterson of Lavender ‘n’ Rust Herb Farm will teach the basics of gardening from noon to 1 p.m. Holli Richie, herbal wellness consultant for the Center for Integrated Medicine, will teach how to grow a medicinal herb garden. Finally, Master Gardener Dee Clark will share her expertise on creating gardens that encourage backyard wildlife from 2 to 2:30 p.m.
Guests who decide to make a day out of the plant sale will not go hungry. Some of the finest food artisans in Chattanooga will be selling tasty treats. There will be pies from Sugar Pie, sandwiches from Famous Nater’s World Famous, hot boiled and fresh roasted peanuts from Rusty’s Nutz, and falafel from the Missing Link. Sugar Pie’s owner, Sarah Miller, says she’ll be bringing both breakfast-style pies for folks who arrive early as well as lunch-style pies for later in the day. Pies-by-the slice and whole pies will be available for take-home.
Also at the sale, the new edition of the TasteBuds Local Food Guide will be released. TasteBuds is the regional guide for finding foods grown and made within 100 miles of Chattanooga. The new issue features an article focused on the importance and plight of local honeybees and includes recipes that incorporate local ingredients. Free copies will be available both days of the plant sale.
For a schedule of events, a list of vendors, directions to Crabtree, and a list of available plants, visit crabtreefarms.org/events/spring-plant-sale.
Source: Crabtree Farms