Published: November 05, 2009 03:50 pm         

Organic Gardening Day coming up Nov. 21

Organic gardening experts will present five educational sessions to inspire herb gardening at this year’s Organic Gardening Day, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Hawthorn Hotel and Suites in Champaign, Ill.

“The lineup of this year’s speakers will include Jim Schmidt, a home horticulture specialist from the Department of Crop Sciences here at the University of Illinois. Jim’s presentation, entitled ‘Pest-Free Posies,’ will detail some relatively trouble-free flowers for organic gardens,” said Chuck Voigt, University of Illinois vegetable and crops specialist and coordinator of the event.

Other presenters:

• John Biernbaum from Michigan State University works with organics, herbs, greenhouses and a student farm. In the morning, his talk is “Soil Building Techniques.” In the afternoon, he will give a second presentation on “Year-Round Production in Unheated Greenhouses.”

• Anne Patterson from Living Earth Farm in Farmington, Ill., will explain how to eat healthy to be healthy in “Real Health Care Reform — From Your Garden.”

• Niall and Kristie Campbell are the owners of Firefly Grill in Effingham, Ill.

They will co-present “From Garden to Table: Savoring the Fruits of Your Labors.” Their presentation will include a discussion and cooking demonstration featuring recipes that incorporate fresh herbs and organic produce.

A retail area with a broad spectrum of gardening products also will be available.

Advance registration of $59, which includes an organic lunch, must be received by Friday.

Contact Tracey Malkovich at (217) 333-3420 or malkovic@illinois.edu for more information or to register.

On-site registration on Nov. 21 begins at 8 a.m. as space allows and does not include lunch.

The first educational session begins at 9 am.