By KELLY L. HECKAMAN
Purdue Extension, Kosciusko County Extension Director, Agricultural & Natural Resources Educator

The Kosciusko County Master Gardeners and Purdue Extension are excited to offer Garden “U” – a day filled with everything related to the garden.

Join us from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Extension Office in Warsaw. We have something planned for the entire family. Garden “U” will feature topics for the garden, how to use what you grow in the garden and hands-on activities for the children.

Whether you are new to gardening or have been doing it for years, you are sure to learn numerous great ideas to have a successful garden in 2015.

The objective of Garden “U” is to increase the knowledge and skills of participants in the areas of home vegetable and flower gardening while offering the opportunity to learn about preserving, growing methods, insects, and diseases .

We are featuring three educational tracks going on at the same time. Highlights of each session are:

Growing Great Gardens

The Wonderful World of Tomatoes highlight the gardening presentations. Tomatoes are truly one of the most popular “fruits” or vegetables grown in our area. Whether you have grown them for years or just thinking of getting started, this session is for you!

Other sessions feature greenhouses and cold frames, container gardening with spillers, thrillers and fillers, and bountiful gardens 101 – tips and tricks to have a successful and bountiful garden this year.

Preserving & Using Your Harvest from the Garden

Having a bountiful garden means lots of produce to utilize. Canning and Food Preservation highlight this series of breakout sessions. There is something for the beginner in “Canning & Food Preservation 101” and the advanced canner in the advanced food preservation session. We also take a look at the healthful aspects of the items grown in the garden.

“Making Delicious Smoothies from the Garden” and “Eat Your Colors” highlight the nutritional value and ways we can utilize what we grown in garden.

Session for Children

We will have sessions for children from 10 a.m.—noon and 1—3 p.m. Children will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities to learn more about seeds, planting, how gardening fits in the 4-H program and much more.

This series is open to the public. The registration fee is $5 per person for the day or $10 per family received by March 20. This includes four hours of educational instruction, handout, and other gardening related information. The registration fee does not include lunch but can be purchased for an additional fee. We also hope to have vendors available to showcase many of the new vegetable varieties available this growing season.

If you have any questions or would like a copy of the registration flyer with complete session and speaker details, contact the Purdue Extension – Kosciusko County Office at (574) 372-2340 or visit the office’s website at http://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/kosciusko/pages/default.aspx and look under Current Events or our Facebook page.