From Georgia Roots to Carolina Soil: Steve Pettis Dishes the Dirt
In this episode of the Kudzu Project, I sit down with fellow Marine and podcaster Steve Pettis, Commercial and Consumer Horticulture Agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Henderson County. Steve helps farmers, gardeners, and landscapers make sense of the soil, plants, insects, and growing seasons that make this area unique. We talk about his upbringing in small-town Georgia, the red clay that shaped him, and how his time in the Marine Corps still influences the way he works, educates, and makes his bed each morning.
We dish the dirt on what makes the soil in this corner of North Carolina so unique, and why the region has such a strong agricultural identity. Whether you’ve planted a garden, wondered why apples thrive here, or just care about how the land shapes the people who live on it, this episode is all about roots, resilience, and the connection between where we live and what we grow.
Recorded in Hendersonville, NC — where stories grow wild.
