COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Vegetable Grower's Field Day is coming to the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources' Bradford Research Center, with a focus on bringing important information to commercial vegetable farmers and home gardeners.
The event will run 3-5 p.m. Aug. 3, and is free to the public. There will be wagon tours, walking tours and a variety of presentations.
"Over the last few years, my work in vegetable production has focused on commercial farmers," research specialist Steven Kirk said. "Although research has been geared to larger-scale producers, much of this work is applicable to home gardeners and hobbyists. Whether you have a small backyard garden or 10 acres of tomatoes, the Vegetable Grower's Field Day will have something of interest for everyone and will help individuals grow the best veggies on the block or in the county."
Kirk has been involved with the festival since its inception in 2005. That has been an opportunity for Kirk to connect with commercial farmers and backyard gardeners. He wanted to deepen that connection and spearheaded the field day.
This year's event will begin with a presentation at 3 p.m. in the John Poehlmann Educational Center by Kathy McFarland with the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. She will discuss the trend in heirloom vegetables.
The wagon tours begin at 3:45 p.m. and will feature Kirk, who will talk about watermelons and cover crops, while associate professor Xi Xiong and graduate research assistant Waana Kaluwahsa will discuss sweet potatoes.
A walking tour will follow from 4:30-5 p.m. Associate professor David Trinklein, graduate research assistant Jessica Kansman and assistant professor emeritus Benjamin Puttler will lead the tour, which will showcase the tomatoes and peppers at Bradford. The trio will also discuss vegetable culture, insects and diseases.
"Nestled between fields of corn and soybean research plots at the Bradford Research Center are a number of vegetable projects where researchers conduct valuable studies geared toward increasing production, controlling weeds and reducing disease that help our producers grow to their potential," Kirk said. "Much of this work can benefit large producers and home gardeners alike.
"Among the vegetable fields that will be featured during this field day will be the more than 150 varieties of tomatoes and peppers that are grown for the annual Tomato Festival, held on the first Thursday of September. These varieties represent one of the most comprehensive collection of tomato and pepper plantings in the Midwest. This planting includes heirloom, commercial, cherry, husk and processing tomatoes and peppers from the sweetest to the hottest."
For those interested in learning more about the MU Agricultural Research Centers and about vegetables, the South Farm Research Center will also host a tour 5:15-6 p.m. The tour will highlight South Farm's movable high tunnel, grafted tomatoes, raspberries and cut flowers. Tim Reinbott, director of field operations for the MU Agricultural Research Centers, will lead the tours.
The Bradford Research Center is at 4968 Rangeline Road in Columbia. For more information about the vegetable grower's field day, call 573-884-7945 or email Kirk at [email protected]. For more information about the Bradford Research Center, visit bradford.cafnr.org. The South Farm Research Center is at 3600 East New Haven Road in Columbia.