Starting A Vegetable Garden

There’s nothing quite like picking up a fresh-off-the-vine tomato or enjoying a salad made with leafy greens you’ve grown yourself. Getting started on your own vegetable garden is easy and rewarding.

Start by choosing a spot that gets six or more hours of sunlight a day. Most vegetables need that much sun to thrive.

Mark your calendar for the 21st Annual Master Gardener Foundation of Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties Home and Garden Show on Saturday May 20 and Sunday May 21 at the Elma Fairgrounds Pavilion.

This family friendly event is being offered once again with free parking and admission, according to a news release.

“We are expecting vendor space to sell out and fill the entire pavilion at the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma,” said event organizer Terri Small, a WSU Master Gardener.

The show will feature a diverse array of businesses to help folks transform their homes, inside and out. New nursery vendors are being added to the show’s garden side while the home side will offer a bigger variety of home improvement focused businesses.

Presentations on relevant gardening issues unique to our maritime and inland valley climates will take place over the two-day show culminating with the Pacific Northwest’s perennial favorite garden expert, Ciscoe Morris, on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Topics covering vegetable gardening, pruning, growing fruit, and best plants for pollinators and birds are among the numerous talks being featured. There will even be a presentation on poultry raising featuring Pam Watson, WSU Lewis County Extension. Watson has raised meat and layers chickens on a small scale for close to 40 years and also breeds and shows exhibition poultry regionally and nationally. Check the website, www.pnwmg.org for a schedule of presentations and times.

At the show’s Master Gardener Store, color pots and garden accessories will be sold to support the foundation. Proceeds are used for public education and workshops in both Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, including the Demonstration Garden at the Elma Fairgrounds, Demo beds at Garden by the Sea in Ocean Shores, South Bend Demo Gardens, and Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum on the Long Beach Peninsula.

Master Gardeners will be available throughout the show to answer gardening questions. Be sure to stop by the Plant Clinic Table for more in-depth discussions on your perplexing garden issues.

As you browse the show, be sure to pick up some coffee and treats from the refreshments table, stop by the children’s booth with the kids, and take a few minutes outside to see what’s popping up in the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden on the fairgrounds just south of the Pavilion.

And don’t forget the “home” portion of the Home and Garden Show. Located just around the corner from the garden section, vendors featuring cabinetry, construction, HVAC, solar, financing and landscaping will be featured down the long corridor. This is a great opportunity to find all your resources under one roof.

The show will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Source: thedailyworld.com