The institute will be tabling at the Wisconsin Garden Expo from Friday, February 7th to Sunday, February 9th in Madison. The event has workshops, seminars, demonstrations, and hundreds of vendors. Stop by and say “hi” to us at booth 333.
Presentations
Institute staff will be presenting four different presentations over the weekend:
Beginning Beekeeping for Gardeners — 1:15 p.m., Feb. 7, 2020 (Demo Stage B)
We all understand the benefits of bees in our gardens and environment. In this demonstration, you’ll learn how to start planning to add honeybees to your garden. We’ll cover basic bee biology, practical and legal considerations, and how to set up and install your first hive, as well as resources for further learning.
Gardening Through History: The Original Social Safety Net — 3:00 p.m., Feb. 7, 2020 (Monona/Wingra)
Gardening has been an essential part of every civilization since permanent settlements began 10,000 years ago, but for the first time in history, we have become disconnected from our own food production. In this seminar, we’ll look at the role of gardening in plant domestication, cities, and large-scale societies including the Romans, Mayas, Medieval Europeans, and today’s industrial society (among others).
Tracking the Nutrient Cycle in your Garden — 12:30 p.m., Feb. 8, 2020 (Demo Stage B)
Composting is a popular way to recycle nutrients in the garden, but we have many things coming in and out of our growing space. In this demonstration, you’ll learn how to create nutrient-cycle flow charts of your gardens. This helps identify places to improve the garden’s circulatory system: for example: adding vermicompost, chickens, or other components will keep you from having to buy fertilizer.
Best Plants to Grow to Combat Climate Emissions — 10:15 p.m., Feb. 9, 2020 (Mendota 5)
In this presentation, Scott will discuss the carbon footprint of industrially grown crops and how we can help cut down on emissions by growing the most carbon-intensive plants in our own gardens. He will start with crops with short shelf life that are difficult to harvest with machines before moving on to other plants and growing methods.
Items for Sale
At the booth, we’ll be selling beeswax food wraps as a fundraiser for the institute (you can also buy them online at our store).
Hours
Friday: 12:00–7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.