Reaping the rewards of enriching our soil and using our water wisely along will be the focus of the 11th Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference, Aug. 27-28, at the Mazatzal Casino in Payson. The conference, titled "Sustainable Gardening for Homes and Communities," will feature outstanding speakers, tours and workshops.
Four Sustainability Demonstration Tours begin at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 27. Conducted simultaneously, the tours are mostly in residential areas and participants are urged to carpool and rotate on schedule to avoid congestion. Directions will be given to those who register. The four tours are: "Xeric Plants for the Rim Country," "Square-Foot Gardening," "Rainwater Harvesting" and "Firewise Landscaping."
Saturday, the 28th, there will be two keynote speakers at 9 a.m. and at 1 p.m., and three concurrent programs will be later in the morning, in the middle of the afternoon and late in the afternoon. Participants can choose which of the concurrent sessions to attend.
The morning keynote speaker, Greg Peterson, will speak on "Simple Sustainability: My Ordinary Extraordinary Yard!" Peterson, a writer, teacher and lecturer on sustainability, is a contributing writer for Phoenix Magazine and Edible Phoenix and host of the television show "Smart Spaces: Inside & Out." Peterson will "explore our gardens beyond the plot and then beyond our yard and into the world," sharing how his "Urban Farm" has affected the community and offering guidance in creating an urban farm.
The afternoon keynote speaker will be David Wann, who will address "Why We Garden." A freelance writer and filmmaker who has been gardening 30 years, Wann is a Master Gardener and coordinates a community garden in Golden, Colo. "In the garden," he says, "life's struggles, snags and snafus decompose into rich, black earth as we touch, smell, see and taste where we live." He will speak on creating more sustainable communities, policies and designs.
The three concurrent sessions scheduled for 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. are "Construction and Uses of a Moveable Hoophouse: extending the season and modifying the growing environment" by Dr. Ed Page, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension; "Songbird Gardens" by Tice Supplee, currently with the National Audubon Society and previously with the Arizona Game and Fish Department for 29 years; and "Wonderful Worms," presented jointly by Lauren Cathcart and Fred Jimenez, Gila County Master Gardeners.
From 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. the three sessions will be "Farmers' Markets as Food Democracy" by Valerie McCaffrey, manager of the Sierra Vista Farmers Market in Cochise County; "Gravity-fed Irrigation" by Ed Martin, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Service; and "Vegetables for Sustainable Gardens," by Cayci Vuksanovich, lifelong gardener of Globe and Master Gardener and graduate of the University of Arizona in horticulture and animal science.
The last break-out session from 4 to 5 p.m. will be "One Plot, Many Stories: The Power and Possibilities of Community Gardens" by Rebekah Doyle, agroecology instructor at Prescott College; "How to Make Salves & Tinctures Using Wild Herbs" by Leilah Breitler, herb educator and researcher in Europe, Canada and the United States on herbs and founder of The Herb Stop; and "Home Orchard Success," by Terry Mikel and Jeff Schalau, with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.
Also, an outdoor demonstration will be conducted by Valerie McCaffrey on "How to Cook with the Sun," explaining and showing energy-saving and clean solar cooking.
The fee for the conference is $25 for the tours on Friday and $75 for the Saturday speakers, which includes breakfast and lunch Saturday and coffee, drinks and snacks during breaks and welcome bags and door prizes. Cost will go up after July 30 to $30 for Friday and $105 for Saturday. Vendors will be in the casino meeting rooms with garden-related goods on Saturday.
Pre-registration is required since seating is limited. For more information or to register online for the conference, visit http://extension.arizona.edu/gila/horticulture. Phone the Gila County Cooperative Extension at (928)-402-8585
Accommodations are limited at the Mazatzal Casino. Call (800) 777-7529 and mention the Arizona Highlands Garden Conference before July 27 for the $99/night rate. Days Inn & Suites of Payson has rooms for $79.99. Call (877) 474-9800.
Bob Zache is a Master Gardener from Gila County. Dana Prom Smith, editor for the Master Gardener column, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For gardening questions, call the Master Gardener Hotline at 774-1868, Ext. 190. For more information about the program, call Hattie Braun, coordinator of the Master Gardener Program, at 774-1868, Ext.170, or visit the website highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.