Published in the Asheville Citizen-Times, April 29, 2020
Though Appalachian wisdom has it to hold off on moving seedlings to the garden until Mother's Day, The Old Farmer's Almanac says the last average frost date for the Asheville area is April 16.
Whichever resource you follow, if you have a scrap of land, you might be one of the millions of people contributing to a surge in demand for seeds and other gardening accoutrements.
And if you still need some plants to put in your victory garden, there's a sale for that.
Each year the Biology Department at A-B Tech hosts the Gnilka Memorial Plant Sale in honor of former biology teachers Sarah and Arnie Gnilka.
The proceeds go to the Gnilka Scholarship, which provides funding to biology majors.
This year, the plant sale turns 15. Just like in every previous year, biology faculty plant seeds in the campus greenhouse in February in preparation for the April event.
But this spring would turn out to be irregular.
Coronavirus almost shut down sale
“We began preparing for the sale as scheduled with the assistance of two Federal Work-Study students,” said biology instructor Joe Allowas.
In March, state orders closed down face-to-face instruction in schools.
"It was touch and go for several weeks, but I was eventually given clearance as a critical employee to maintain the greenhouse," Allowas said.
Allowas has largely worked solo. Though the sale's stock will be slightly diminished this year, A-B Tech communications coordinator Martha Ball said hundreds of plants, including herbs, flowers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucurbits and other vegetables, will be available.
That's despite another hurdle: how to get the plants to the public in a time of social distancing.
Enter the ASAP Farmers Market, which gathers farmers together — but not too closely — at A-B Tech on Thursdays and Saturdays using COVID-19 protocols approved by Buncombe County Health and Human Services.
The A-B Tech plant sale will join the market from 9 a.m.-noon April 30.
Per market rules, buyers may not pay onsite. Instead, pay for plants online after the sale at Plant Sale.
The market will be located in A-B Tech parking lots A2, A3, and A7 with limited access from the end of Persistence Dr. off Victoria Road.