The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will present a fun and informative event that can help gardeners of all skill levels be more successful.
This year’s Fall Gardeners Festival has been planned to be bigger and better than ever, with 16 scheduled presentations. The UT Gardens, Crossville, in collaboration with the Cumberland County Master Gardeners, will host the day-long event at Plateau AgResearch and Education Center.
This free event is scheduled from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Aug. 26, with registration beginning at 8 a.m., for those not preregistered.
Featured at the event are educational presentations and demonstrations, workshops, wagon tours of the Plateau Center and exhibits. Attendees may also enjoy garden and craft vendors selling their wares at a trade show. UT Extension will also host an Ask-the-Expert tent with entomologists and plant pathologists on hand to help visitors with their questions about pests and plant diseases.
The 16 tent presentations include:
• Making the Most of Your Home Greenhouse • Tennessee Vegetable Garden Trial Favorites • Tips and Tricks for a Successful Fall Garden • Raised Beds and Container Gardening • Sustainable Landscape Design • Invasive Plants of Tennessee • Fruit for the Home Garden • Understanding Soil Health • How to Grow a Cutting Garden • Living Screens for the Landscape • Herbs: Creative Culinary Companions • Home Turf Advantage: Winning at Lawn Care • Pollinator and Plant Companions of Tennessee • Duds and Studs: Woody Ornamental Plant Selection • Friends in the Shade: Keeping Your Hosta Company • Garden Defenders: Beneficial Insects in Your Landscape
Shalena Durkot, gardens coordinator at the Plateau Center, confirms that Chris Cooper, developer of the “The Family Plot Garden,” website and a weekly gardening show, will be a featured presenter.
“We are excited to have Dr. Chris Cooper on board to present this year. He is the director of UT-TSU Extension in Shelby County, but is also largely recognized as the host of The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South, a weekly public television gardening program that is also available on YouTube,” she said.
The Fall Gardeners’ Festival is free to attend, and food is available for purchase. The Plateau AgResearch and Education Center is at 320 Experiment Station Road in Crossville. Visit plateau.tennessee.edu for more about the center’s work and public events. Online registration for the Fall Gardeners’ Festival is encouraged but not required. Visit the Cumberland County Master Gardeners website at ccmga.org for more information and to register. The festival is listed under the “programs” tab. The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.