It was a much smaller crowd this year but as always a great time. I was glad to see you come Dar. To fill in the gaps as best as possible I will start from the left. Bill Best the home we meet at and founder of SMAC(Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center www.heirlooms.org ) Bill is the absoltely the authority, in my book, when it comes to appalachian beans. He has a couple of books due out in the next year on Appalachia and its vegetable diversity,history and stories. Next is myself. Rodger Winn Behind me is Maria of Blue Ribbon Tomatoes. She is a tomato seed grower for Southern Exposure Seeds and runs her own tomato seed buisiness on line at ebay. Next to her in the back is a friend of Marias But I don't remember her name. Next to me is Ira Wallace- Manager of Southern Exposure Seeds and an authority in Alliums. Ira is one of those persons that you instantly fall in love with she is sincere and down to earth. A great person to know and work with. To the Right of Ira is Brook Elliot ( Gardenlad). Brook was a starter of many of the earlier posts here on GW, especially in the bean forum and founder of the Appalchian Heirloom Seed Conservancy, which is how this group in the picture first came together. Brook is another Authority on a wide array of Garden topics. He has written many articles for Mother earth news and other publications. Next in the rust colored shirt is Tony West (Bluefint) Tony's forte is Cherokee heirlooms especially corns. He and his wife live in South central Ohio. My Wife and I look forward to meeting everyone each year but especially Tony and his wife Mary. In front of Tony is another member of the Southern Exposure Seeds Team (SESE) Ken Bezilia. Ken is the seed inventory guy and my liason as a seed grower. Ken is a resident expert in leafy greens and fall/winter crops. He grows specialty greens for market and high end resturants in Va. Behind Ken is John Woodworth. John is a full time farmer and runs a local CSA and farmers market in Virginia. He is also a grower for SESE. John raises Dairy goats and makes specialty cheeses. We can talk for hours on growing for market. Next to John in the Green pants I can not remember his name, but he is there each year. He is local to Berea Ky and a grower and friend of Bill Best and the next gentleman Frank Barnett Frank Barnett is another person like many of use who enjoy growing as a hobby and preserving and passing along seeds. I beleieve I remembered reading a post on Tenn Cutshorts that Mentioned growing the Frank Barnett bean. And finally Darjons (fussionpower). He stole the show with all the varieties of tomatoes corn and beans. I kept having flashes of buying more land to plant all the varieties Dar brought. Dar is another person I could spend hours talking to and I have enjoyed visiting with him at his home in Ala the past two summers. There were many longtime members who were not in attendance and I would like to mention two of them in particular. Gary Millwood a good friend and retired Minister from Louisville KY and originally from down my way in Spartanburg SC. Gary has been having health issues and was not able to attend but he is diffently an authority when it comes to Tomatoes and especially Kentucky heirloom tomatoes. He passes his finds of great Kentucky tomatoes to people like Maria of Blue Ribbon Tomatoes and myself to grow out so that those great varieties can be enjoyed by all thru seed companies like Blue Ribbon Tomatoes, SESE and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed. Last to mention is John Coykendal. John is a Life long seed saver and member of SSE. To me he is the Butterbean man he has a collection of Butterbeans and seeds that would make any gardener envious and he will gladly share anything he has to a total stranger. He works for Blackberry farms outside Knoxville Tn he is their Heirloom Gardener and consultant for heirloom vegetables. Do a search for Blackberry farms and you can find some you tube videos made this past spring featuring John. John was unable to attend because he is in Eastern Europe on a seed finding vacation but he can always be found each spring at the Southern Legacy Seed swap in Crawford Ga. This seed swap is sponsered by the Univ of Ga heirloom seed program PASS (Pass along southern seeds). John is a person that can tell a story of a seed and how it was grown and used that can captivate any audience. I hope he writes a book. It would be ashame to lose at that information he has collected in his life on Southern Vegetable varieties and peopole. It was a great day as always and I look forward to next year and everyone is invited so mark your calenders for the first saturday in Oct. Rodger

What a day! I picked up 9 unique beans I have never heard of, most from Jackson County Kentucky. Bill had warned me to bring extra seed, glad I did as many of the items went fast. I even ran out of small seed bags and certain labels. Bill told me the other day there were between 250 and 300 people as many did not sign in. The parking was all the way up the driveway and out into the field by the road. It has taken 10 years of swaps and with the beautiful weather and extra publicity, it really came together this year. We all appreciate what Bill, his grandson Brian and the family does for all of us. This is a major undertaking and expense to host this. All the cleanup (before and after), the portable potties, etc. Bill asks nothing from any of us but to show up with seed and to enjoy the day with friends. That evening, Mary and I get together with Rodger and Caren Winn and Caren's brother and sister-in-law for dinner before they headed back. It was very enjoyable to sit and talk with them. I wish we could get together more often. Rodger and Caren brought with them a watermelon that until recently was thought to be extinct. "Bradshaw" is very large, dark green, ribbed (like a pumpkin), light colored seed, sweet and this thing was picked 6 weeks ago! It was just starting to get mealy from age but I was impressed. It has been grown by the same family for 8 generations (I think) and is one of the base genetic stocks for modern watermelon. Listed in literature going back to the 1840's. Rodger has more information on this (and correct any miss-information I have). Overall...a fantastic time and BUSY. Good to see everyone. Tony

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The Spring meeting of the Kentucky Nut Growers Association(KNGA) will be held Saturday, April 22, 2006, at the Hardin Co. Agricultural Extension offic in Elizabethtown, KY, beginning at 9:30 EDT. The Extension Office is located just off U.S. 62, about two miles west from downtown Elizabethtown - directly behind the Cecelia Auto Sales lot on Peterson Dr. KNGA signs will be posted. Luncheon is potluck - if you bring something that needs to be heated/warmed, there is a well-equipped kitchen available I've not received the official agenda yet, but suspect it will be similar to in years past: Program I. Board of Directors Meeting II. General meeting & report on the association III. Nut display - one of the main attractions, an exhibit of the various nut species and specimens of many of the named varieties. As available, members usually bring in bags/baskets of nuts for the attendees to crack and compare. A wide variety of nutcrackers are usually available for use/trial/comparison. IV. Scionwood swap - members bring in dormant-collected scionwood from their favorite nut, pawpaw, persimmon, and fruit trees to trade with other enthusiasts. Also frequently available are pawpaw seeds and other plant materials. Be sure to bring plastic bags, moisture-proof wrappings, rubber bands, tape, permanent markers, etc. to ensure proper identification of scionwood varieties and to preserve viability of plant materials you'd like to share or take home. V. Door Prizes/Auction - members and nurserymen donate plant materials, nuts, and other items for door prizes, or to go into the plant auction held annually to help raise operating funds for KNGA. Grafted and seedling fruit & nut trees, berry plants, flowers, and ornamental plants are commonly available for purchase during the auction. 50-100 northern pecan seedlings are anticipated to be available as door prizes. VI. Grafting demonstration - members who are accomplished grafters usually conduct demonstrations on proper technique for grafting nut trees. The Spring KNGA meeting is the social event of the year for me - a chance to meet up with old friends, discuss the previous year's production, procure new fruit/nut varieties, and I always learn something new. Hope to see you there. Lucky