As part of this SAVOR OUR SOUTH weekend, the Starkville Area Arts Council ushers in Spring in the South with the EVERYTHING GARDEN EXPO on Saturday & Sunday at the Mississippi Horse Park. You’ll enjoy garden arts vendors, lectures and presentations by gardening experts and tons of fun for the kids.

Show hours are 8am – 6pm on Saturday and 11am – 5pm on Sunday. Admission is $5 and children under 6 are admitted free!

Just take a look at this awesome schedule of activities:

Saturday March 24th
Speaker Agenda
8:45 – 9:45am
Dr. Eric Stafne of the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service will address Growing Pecans

10 – 11am
Dr. Blake Layton will discuss Bugs – Both Beneficial and Harmful

11:15 – Noon
Gail Barton is a native plant guru and former horticulture instructor who will discuss the Easiest Plants to Grow Successfully in the South.

1 – 2pm
Dr. Rick Snyder will address Vegetable Gardening with an Emphasis on Tomatoes

2:15 – 3:15
Pat Drackett will discuss Landscaping with Ornamentals.

3:30 – 4:15 pm
Janet Chapman, of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will talk about Water Quality Issues in your Garden and Community.

4:30 – 5:30pm
Felder Rushing – always a crowd favorite, will discuss Slow Gardening: Getting the Most Out of the Garden All Year Long.

Gaining Ground Exhibits
Saturday March 24th
The talks listed below are fifteen minute short segments, but the speaker will remain for the rest of that hour to answer questions on their topic.

9:15am
Compost 101 – Marion Sansing
10:15am
Worm Bins – Hosted by Bountiful Harvest Farms, Sam McLemore
11:30am
Starting Seeds – Hosted by Old Well Organics, Phil Otto
12:15pm
Fermented Foods – Nancy Woodruff
2-3pm
Seed Swap – Hosted by Beaverdam Farms, Dustin and Ali
3:15pm
Soil Amendments – Mountain Man Organics, Chris Oswalt
All Day
Mississippi Mobile Farm Bus Tours – Bobby Glenn

Children in the Garden
Saturday March 24th

Hands on activities:
9:00 to 4:00
Lowes Build & Grow Children will learn how to build a project at the Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic. Lowes provides the kits, hammers, and protective goggles for each child.

Lowe’s employees and volunteers will help them through each stage of the project. Most clinics are held for first through fifth graders. Parents must stay with their children to help. Children 5 and under may build a the project with their parent’s help.

9:00 to 4:00
Let’s make Paper with Weyerhaeuser. Each child will be making their own sheet of paper decorating it with confetti and fun stickers!

Newspaper Pots with Gaining Ground.
Chicken Brooders from Mississippi State Department of Poultry Science will bring two incubators so children can see the hatching process.

Speakers:
9 to 10 am
Gerald McKibben, retired entomologist, will bring one of his amazing ants and talk about how he makes his amazing concrete creations. His ants and bears can be seen at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson and at the Farmer’s Markets in Starkville and West Point , and other places around town.

10:30 to 11:30
Leslie Burger—Learn how to identify mammals using skulls, fur and tracks. All ages will enjoy Leslie Burger, an Extension Associate with the Mississippi State University Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, as she educates us about Mississippi native mammals and ecology and conservation natural resources.
12:45-1:15
Audrey Sheridan will be joining us again this year. Honey bees are the perfect complement to both flower and vegetable gardens. A single back yard hive can double vegetable yields and supply the beekeepers with two or three gallons of honey per year. Entomologist Audrey Sheridan will be discussing the wide variety of native and non-native flowers and vegetable plants that the gardener can plant to attracts honey bees. An observation hive will be available for attendees to watch bees at work.

1:30-2:30
Buren and Luanne Blankenship will engage children with a puppet and story program called “The Birds Around Us.”

3:00-4pm
Mandi Sanders, Southern Medicinal Herb Gardens: how families can grow their own natural pharmacies for use in herbal teas, insect repellants, first aid salves, tinctures, oils, and more!

Sunday March 25th
Speakers from Gaining Ground
1:00
O Gardens! Occupy Your Lawn – Cary Lindsey
O Gardens! is a project that was founded to teach individuals how to grow a portion of their own food in limited spaces. The project empowers individuals with all the skills necessary to have a natural garden thus saving money and increasing personal health and sustainability.

Cary Lindsey is a Geo-sciences full-time student at Mississippi State University, a mother of three beautiful children, and garden guerrilla. She is passionate about helping people with limited resources access fresh, healthy food.

2:15
Super Soils:The Secret’s in the Sauce – Sam McLemore;
Bountiful Harvest Farms and Chris Oswalt; Mountain Man Organics Every organic grower will tell you, “Your plants are only as strong as your soil.” Sam and Chris are experts at turning Northeast Mississippi Clay into beautiful harvests without chemicals that ultimately deplete soil. Plants grown in strong soils are able to more successfully withstand pests and disease. Learn how to supercharge your garden this spring.

Chris Oswalt, aka Mountain Man, is a self-professed Jack of All Trades. He remodels homes, operates a small CSA, hunts, fishes, sells wild-craft, and lives off the land. Chris’s goal is to grow the best tasting organic vegetables in the state of Mississippi. He is an avid reader and an expert on soil building.

Sam McLemore is an Urban Gardener. He graduated with a degree at Mississippi State University in Lanscape Contracting and worked in traditional landscaping before he decided to follow his dream of starting a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture in
Starkville.

3:30
Barnyard in Your Backyard: How Animals Benefit Gardens – Marion Sansing, Dustin Pinion – Beaverdam Farms, Mike Buehler. Find out which small-scale animal is right for you. Bees, a backyard chicken flock, or bunnies all have incredible benefits for home gardens.

All Day
Mississippi Mobile Farm Tours – Bobby Glen
2-3pm
Seed Swap – Hosted by Beaverdam Farms
Children’s Events:
Build and Grow Workshop with Lowes
Newspaper pots with Gaining Ground