LOOKING FOR HOURS? Consider attending UW Dept. of Horticulture Field Days

This year the UW Dept. of Horticulture will see not one, but two different field day events at the UW’s West Madison Ag Research Station in the month of August.

West Madison 2016 Field Day.

The first is the general Horticultural Open House & Garden Field Day on Saturday, August 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

A free, family-friendly event, visitors can tour the station’s vineyard, vegetable garden and extensive flowerbeds, and participate in a taste evaluation of fruits and vegetables.

UW–Madison and UW-Extension experts will share information and answer questions about pollinators and beneficial insects, plant diseases, turf-grass and general gardening. It’s an event that’s always worth attending.

The second focuses solely on organic vegetables and takes place on Monday, August 20, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

“This is a great opportunity for vegetable growers to see new varieties out in the field,” says event organizer Julie Dawson, a UW–Madison assistant professor of horticulture and UW-Extension urban and regional food systems specialist. “They can talk with plant breeders and seed company staff to learn what’s in development and express their priorities and preferences for new varieties.”

You’ll have a chance to learn about the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative, a UW–Madison-led collaboration of local chefs, farmers, and plant breeders that is working to develop full-flavored vegetable varieties with high culinary quality. Also featured will be trials for sweet corn, bell peppers, acorn and delicata squash, cabbage, and tomatoes grown as part of the Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) project, as well as potato variety trials for organic systems, and tomato trials under organic high tunnel, caterpillar tunnel and field management. You’ll have to opportunity to help select beet varieties for high or low “earthy” flavor, and learn about breeding efforts to improve carrots for organic systems and culinary corn breeding. MGVs who’ve gone in the past rave about the information they got from this event!

These are approved continuing education events.  MGVs and Interns will earn one (1) Continuing Education Unit (CEU) per hour of participation.

NOTE:  Ruth Flescher and Mary Kay Thompson will be going up to Madison to visit the Field Days.  If you are interested in attending we can car pool!!  Send Ruth an email at yafello2@gmail.com or Mary Kay at mastergardenermary@gmail.com to make arrangements.