As the science and art of growing garden plants for the economic, aesthetic, and nutritional well-being of society, horticulture has its roots in the simple joy of having a green thumb, but it goes much deeper.  At NCTC, the sustainable horticulture program approaches the life-celebrating field with an emphasis on permaculture, a philosophy of working with nature rather than against it....

Sustainability is a central theme of NCTC’s agricultural programs, and Science division chair Lisa Bellows says it’s a crucial issue facing the next generation of farmers and ranchers. “Sustainable farming is very different than the traditional model,” Bellows explains. “We really need to adopt an approach of allowing our land to tell us what to do instead of us telling the land what...