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Union County announces third annual garden show
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The third annual Union County Home and Garden Show will be held at the Union County fairgrounds on March 25 and March 26.
The event will run Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. No registration is required, and most events are free to the public. The show had 1,200 participants last year—up from 500 in 2009—and organizers expect an even bigger crowd this year.
The show, hosted by Union County Master Gardeners, will include presentations, demonstrations, exhibits, workshops, vendors, and activities for children. This year’s keynote speakers are Nellie Neal, the author and radio personality better known as Garden Mama, and Gary Bachman, an assistant professor at Mississippi State University’s Coastal Research and Extension Center and the host of the Southern Gardening Radio program.
“We’ve really grown,” said event organizer and Master Gardener Tim Burress. “This is our first year to cover two days. We’ve added children’s activities this year because we’re trying to broaden our scope to children and young adults.”
This year’s theme is Celebrating Art in the Garden, but the show will also focus on edible gardening. David Nagel, an MSU plant and soil sciences professor, will give a presentation called Vegetable Gardening for Beginners, and the culinary class at New Albany Vocational Center will demonstrate how to prepare fresh vegetables.
“Specifically, we’ll talk about selecting a location, soil quality, what to plant when, how to build a raised bed and the basics of pest management,” Nagel said. “There’s an interest in home food production right now, so we’re just trying to help people do what they want to do.”
There will also be a high tunnel, or unheated greenhouse, and a Master Gardener on hand to chat with participants about how to build their own high tunnels.
“My family built one last year, and we had fresh tomatoes until Christmas,” Burress said.
For more information on the Union County Home and Garden Show, contact Burress at (662) 316-0088 or visit http://www.newalbanygardening.com.
Writer: Cheree Franco
