Extension Communications 3614 Administrative Services Building Ames, Iowa 50011-3614 (515) 294-9915
7/5/99 Contacts: Cindy Haynes, Horticulture Extension, (515) 294-2751, chaynes@iastate.edu Elaine Edwards, Extension Communication Systems, (515) 294-5168, eedwards@iastate.edu Yard and Garden Column for the Week Beginning July 9 1999 ISU Home Demonstration Gardens By Cindy Haynes Extension Horticulturist Iowa State University Extension Have you ever wondered which tomato variety produces the largest fruit? Are you curious as to how white those white-flowering marigolds really are? Are you looking for a new, low maintenance variety of petunia? What in the world is okra? Does okra taste as bad as it sounds? Let us answer these mind-boggling questions and offer a little history at the ISU Home Demonstration Gardens. The Home Demonstration Gardens are located at eight research farms across the state. At the Allee Garden in Newell, heirloom vegetables, flowers and herbs are being grown organically. The remaining seven gardens feature new or unusual flowers and vegetables that might work well in your garden. The plant materials and garden design are the same for each of the seven gardens. Every year, there are exciting themes in the garden to entice gardeners to visit our field days. This year's themes at the home demonstration garden include: Giant Tomatoes -- See seven varieties of tomatoes noted for their extra large fruit. One variety, 'Delicious', holds the record for a 7 lb.12 oz. tomato. We'll let you be the judge as to which one produces the largest tomato and might be suitable for your garden. White Marigolds -- Compare four varieties of marigolds that are noted for their white- to cream-colored flowers. In addition, 'French Vanilla' is one variety that is advertised as having fragrant, vanilla-scented flowers. Bring your sniffer out to the gardens and decide if these marigolds are worth all the hype. Wave Petunias -- See several colors of the new wave petunias in the garden this year. This series of petunia is noted for its spreading habit and low maintenance. If you haven't seen these beauties yet, check out the colorful wave petunias along the edges of the gardens this year. For a little bit of history, check out a few of the plant species researched by George Washington Carver as ISU celebrates the life and work of one of our most famous alumni and faculty. The Carver plant collection includes peanut, cowpeas, edible soybean, and sweet potatoes. These common southern veggies can perform nicely in Iowa gardens as well. That's not all that we are growing this year. The variety of peppers runs the gamut. We have tiny, giant, mild, hot, stuffing and ornamental types. Last but not least, we have thrown in an All-American Selection winner for good measure. Several new or different varieties of eggplant, summer and winter squash, dwarf sunflowers and, yes, that awful sounding okra are included in the mix. But wait, there's more… To make your visit more informative, we will plant a few experts at each garden field day to answer your questions and point out the differences in the plant varieties. As a special treat this year, several agriculture and extension deans and directors will be at some of the gardens to discuss George Washington Carver's influence on agriculture.   All of the field days are scheduled to begin at 6:30pm. Locations of the farms are available at your local county extension office and on the farm pages on our Web site (www.extension.iastate.edu). Following is a list of dates and farm sites with home demonstration gardens. Also included is the closest town to each farm site. Date Farm Town July 20 Armstrong Lewis July 21 Allee* Newell July 22 Western Castana August 3 Northern Kanawha August 4 Northwest Sutherland August 4 Muscatine Fruitland August 5 Southeast Crawfordsville August 12 Northeast Nashua *organic garden Find a garden in your area and put us on your calendar. Join us at one of the garden field days and maybe you will find some nice ideas to take home to your garden. We hope to see you there! -30- ml: isugarden
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