ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Stearns County Extension Master Gardeners are excited to offer their annual Gardening Education Day. On March 7, 2020, gardening enthusiast from across the county and state will gather at the Gorecki Conference Center at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota to learn from experts about a wide variety of gardening topics. You can join them!
The keynote speaker this year is Mr. Steve Poppe, Horticulture Scientist, from the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC). He will be presenting “University of Minnesota Top Performing Annuals” which covers the top ten performing cultivars of the 400 cultivars at the center. Steve has been employed by the WCROC for 43 years. Steve’s program provides scientific evaluations of annual flowers, herbaceous perennials, high tunnel vegetables, low tunnel day-neutral strawberries, June bearing strawberries, apricots, woody plants, windbreaks and shelterbelts, ornamental grasses, and hardy shrub roses.
In addition to the keynote speaker attendees will have the opportunity to attend breakout sessions led by industry experts. These sessions cover everything from landscaping and lawn care, to vegetables and soil, to container gardening, lilies, and insects and so much more. Stearns County Extension Master Gardener members are also excited to offer three different make-and-take sessions for a hands-on learning experience.
The day also includes vendors offering a wide array of services. Each vendor will have door prizes available for the drawing near the end of the day. The Sauk River Watershed will be providing free water testing for nitrates at their booth. Instruction for how to participate in the testing can be found in the registration materials.
The cost of the event is just $32 and includes all session materials and lunch. New this year the Stearns County Extension Master Gardeners are offering full online registration and payment. To register and pay online visit http://z.umn.edu/GardenEdDay. If you do not wish to pay by credit card you can download a flyer and registration form at http://z.umn.edu/GardenEdFlyer and mail the form and a check to the Stearns County Extension office. For more information or if you have questions please contact the Stearns County Extension office at 320-255-6169 ext. 1.
— Katie Drewitz, University of Minnesota Extension
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