By Elise Brown and Chuck Gill, Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK – Relevant, localized gardening advice can be hard to find on the Internet, but visitors to Ag Progress Days, Aug. 14-16, can easily find answers to their questions at the Yard and Garden Tent.
Molly Sturniolo, Master Gardener coordinator for Penn State Extension in Centre County, pointed out that it is often not easy to sort through information about home gardens.
“There is so much out there,” she said. “Here, the information is in one place.”
Master Gardeners — Penn State-trained volunteers who educate the public about horticultural practices — horticulture extension educators and faculty members from the College of Agricultural Sciences will be available to answer the public’s inquiries.
Visitors looking for help with plant or insect identification can find it at the Yard and Garden Tent. They also can bring samples of diseased plants for diagnosis, Sturniolo noted.
The area also showcases practices gardeners can use in their own landscape, such as trellised apple and pear trees. The branches are tied to wires and grown low so that the fruit is easier to pick.
Sturniolo said a pollinator garden also has been planted to show plants that support native beneficial insects. A tour will be given on Tuesday and Wednesday.
New this year are handicapped-accessible raised beds, which were built to allow more people to appreciate the various methods that can be used to create raised beds.
The Yard and Garden Tent also will feature flower-arranging demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on both days. A series of compost bins are part of an area demonstrating the composting process.
The Yard and Garden Tent is located on West 11th Street at the Ag Progress Days site.
Sponsored by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 14; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 15; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 16. Admission and parking are free.
For more information, visit the Ag Progress Days website at http://apd.psu.edu. Twitter users can find and share information about the event by using the hashtag #agprogress.