WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Wagons galore, colorful fruits and veggies, and of course, pumpkins. This is what you can expect to see at the Midlands Plant and Flower Festival this weekend at the State Farmer’s Market in West Columbia.

“I just came out here to basically get porch decorations and pumpkins,” Beverly Goins, Lexington resident said.

Beverly Goins from Lexington showed up early Friday morning to get the best-looking pumpkin to take home.

“This one sold me because of the stem,” Goins said.

Laura Rinker and her kids searched through all shapes and sizes of pumpkins. They just moved to Irmo two months ago from New York.

“We get them earlier there cause they last longer cause it’s not as hot but we had to wait longer here because we don’t want them to rot too quickly,” Rinker said.

If you don’t know what to pick out at this fall festival frenzy, no worries. The Richland County Master Gardeners Association has you covered.

“We’re giving out free soil sample bags because before you plant anything in your yard, you need to know what type of soil that you have, so that you make sure that they have all the nutrients that you need to plant a particular flower or shrub,” said Isha Kirton, president of the Richland County Master Gardeners Association.

They explain you can mail in the sample or drop it off at the Clemson Extension on Two Notch Road for $6 to learn what’s in the soil and what’s missing. You can also stop by their table at the Festival to ask them any kind of gardening questions you might have. 

“It could be about powdery mildew, it could be about what time of year to prune their crepe myrtle,” Kirton said.

If you’re not planting this fall, but want to in the spring, the gardeners explain, “It’s really a good idea to plant a cover crop like rye or white or red clover and basically, those particular seeds that you plant, put nutrients back into your soil.”

The festival runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.