Appalachian Native Plants Inc (ANP) is a non-profit corporation that has entered into collaboration with, Johnson County TN, Appalachian State University, University of Tennessee and the local school system, with the intent of starting a regional horticultural “Native Plant”-“Organic Vegetable/Fruit” Initiative.

Johnson County Tennessee has been on the ARC list of most distressed communities for years.  Johnson County is also designated as a USDA Champion Community. Johnson County Champion Community Board will be acting as the fiscal agent for this project. The Johnson County government has granted ANP a twenty two year lease on the thirty nine acre landfill site which has been “capped” and closed for nine years.   On this site ANP will demonstrate the commercial viability of producing native plants and organic vegetable crops in passive solar growing structures. University of Tennessee would conduct the energy studies on these structures.

Many initiatives of this type have met with limited success due to a lack of planning for the marketing of the crops produced.  ANP is developing a WEB based marketing plan with the help of the University of Tennessee.  A Co-op style marketing system will help the growers find outlets for their products.

 
There are plans for both display and trial gardens to demonstrate the use and suitability of the chosen crops.  Two commercial size passive solar greenhouses and adjoining classroom will be the Nexus of the project.

Sustainable Agricultural production is labor intensive.  ANP expects to hire 4 full time employees within two years.  Many other jobs will be created in nursery, food growing and landscaping trades in the county and region.  The jobs that are created will create wealth.

The purpose of this project is to provide commercially viable horticultural crops and technical assistance to interested farmers in the region.  The “Native” plants of Southern Appalachia are one of the most important economic and cultural assets of this region.  Collecting these plants from the wild has long been the predominate means of production of many of these plants.  ANP has been mapping “superior” forms of the native azaleas with GPS,.   Several seedling crops have been produced and the best plants have been kept for stock plants to be used in this project.  This is a most viable method of plant preservation. By producing these plants from seed the impact from collecting from the wild is greatly reduced.  Plant preservation is the end result.
 

 The ANP will produce native plant “liners” for other farmers to “grow on” to finished landscape size plants. Liners are small “unfinished plants” that are purchased and grown on to larger size for added value and later sale.

Understanding that many farmers will not be interested in ornamental nursery crop production, there will also be practical demonstrations of organic fruit and vegetable crop production in passive solar growing structures and raised beds on the landfill capped area. 

ANP hopes to start a “Native Plant Initiative” by generating interest in growing native ornamental horticultural crops and by demonstrating methods of production from seed of many of the commercially viable native woody plant species.  With the use of the planned Horticultural Education Center, information, technical assistance and the production of commercially viable native plant seedlings, interest in growing these crops will be generated.