Hill Top Haven WV - Agricenter

06/12/2026

We regret to say but we need to reschedule the Bird House building.

The event tent and garden fence came down with the last 2 storms.

We need any volunteers willing to lend a hand to help set things back up and repair.

Thank you so much!

06/11/2026

Reminder the Second Saturday series each month is a FREE opportunity to come
Learn, make and take home something special from HTH.

See you in a few days when we make Bird Houses.

06/07/2026

Today is the day!!!

Join us at 6:00 pm as we top off in at HTH with a bon fire open to the public.

Help me give a giant shout out to …. Adam Keeling performing LIVE!

Bring a chair and a friend!

1557 Valley Rd, Berkeley Springs across from McDonald’s.

06/03/2026

Join us Sunday at 6:00 for Hey Girlfriend weekend final fun of the day. 💜

Bring a chair and a friend. 🔥

05/31/2026

Good Ole fashioned tent raising… 🙌🏽

The garden is beautiful and now, we are prepping for a community Bon Fire on June 7th at 6:00 as part of “Hey Girlfriend” weekend.

All are welcome. 🤗

BTW… this space is available for your events.

05/18/2026

Second Saturday series presents: Build. Bird House. June 13th from 10-12.

1557 Valley Rd. Berkeley Springs

Each month we provide a FREE workshop that includes a “make and take”.

If you haven’t figured it out or perhaps weren’t able to make it before….. do NOT miss out on this fun “take away”.

05/09/2026

Garden is 95% complete. We plan to add some decorative aspects since this will double function as an event center.

Check out the garden plan. We created companion beds. Functional and beautiful. 😍

Thanks Alyssa and Kristin for help with planting and Roy for helping Craig with 400 sq ft of fencing. 🙌🏽

05/09/2026

I saw this article and wanted to share.

The lavender that died after pruning didn't die from cold. It died from scissors in the wrong place. 🌿

The one rule that protects every lavender plant: always cut into green, never into brown.

Lavender builds woody basal stems over time, and those woody stems don't have dormant buds. Cut below the green zone and the branch is finished — nothing regrows from bare wood. This is why lavender plants open up in the center and die back in sections — each dead branch is a cut made too deep.

Three pruning windows for US gardeners:

Spring (April–May): a light shaping cut just before bloom. Remove dried winter tips and restore the plant's mounded silhouette. This is not a major reduction — it's a wake-up cut. Stay well above the woody base.

After first bloom (June–July): the most important cut of the year. Once the first flush of flowers fades, cut stems back by roughly one-third of the plant's total volume. This often triggers a second flush of bloom in August–September. Cut into the green growth only, leaving at least 2 inches of leafy stems above the woody base.

Fall (October): a light volume reduction to reduce wind damage over winter. In zones 5–6 where hard freezes are common, keep this cut minimal — fresh cuts exposed to hard freezing can weaken the plant going into winter. In zones 7–9, you can cut more confidently in fall.

Where exactly to cut: find the point where soft gray-green growth meets the brown woody base. Measure 2–3 inches above that junction on the green stem. Cut there. Not lower.

Shape as you cut: aim for a rounded dome profile. This compact form sheds snow, reduces wind resistance, and maintains structure for years.

Lavender planted in the right spot — full sun, sharp drainage, lean soil — and pruned correctly in the green lives for decades. Cut into the wood once and that branch is done. 🌸

05/08/2026

Second Saturday workshop series happens tomorrow, May 9th from 10-12 at

1557 Valley Rd up the hill at the traffic light by Food Lion.

We will be creating lettuce barrels, transplanting our baby seedlings and sowing seeds in our new raised beds.

Free and open to the public and while you’re here, come play with our new baby chicks.

05/04/2026

This is so cool! 😎

Fifty salad plants in a two-foot circle. No raised bed, no dedicated garden space — just a barrel, a PVC pipe, and a bag of potting mix. 🌿

How to build a salad barrel tower:

Start with a large plastic barrel or trash can — 30 to 55 gallons works well. Drill 2-inch holes in a staggered pattern around the sides, spacing them 6 to 8 inches apart in every direction. These become the planting pockets.

Cut a 4-inch diameter PVC pipe or roll hardware cloth into a cylinder about 3 inches across. This goes in the center of the barrel as a watering core. Cap the bottom end. Once the barrel is filled, water goes into this central tube and wicks outward to roots throughout the entire barrel — without it, the interior stays dry while the outside stays wet.

Fill with a mix of organic potting soil and compost as you go, planting a seedling into each hole as you fill up to that level. Work from the bottom up. Gently guide the roots inward, pack soil around the collar of each plant, and continue filling. Plant the top of the barrel with the largest heads — lettuce varieties, kale, or chard.

What grows well in the holes: loose-leaf lettuce in any variety, spinach, arugula, herbs like parsley and cilantro, strawberries along the lower holes where runners can hang freely, and green onions in the uppermost holes.

Harvest method: walk around the barrel with scissors and clip outer leaves from each plant as needed. Cut-and-come-again varieties like loose-leaf lettuce will regrow 5 to 8 times from the same plant. 🌱

A single barrel in full sun produces more salad greens than most 4×8 raised beds. Two feet of floor space. No weeding. No bending. 🥬