By Cynthia Haynes, Susan DeBlieck
Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms will hold their annual Demonstration Home Garden tours and local food tastings Sept. 10-21, at various locations throughout Iowa. Visitors may enjoy a tour through the ISU Research and Demonstration Farm garden and taste locally-sourced food.
“This year’s theme is “Gardens of North and South America,” said Cynthia Haynes, associate professor in horticulture at Iowa State University. “Food tastings will feature dishes prepared from heirloom tomatoes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, corn, beans and squash.”
“Homeowners looking for new and heirloom plants to try in their yards and gardens will have a nice variety of vegetables and flowers to view at the annual field days,” said Haynes. The tours are open to the public and often qualify for Iowa Master Gardener program continuing education.
Garden tour dates, times and locations
- Sept. 10, 6 p.m. – Northern Research and Demonstration Farm, 310 S. Main Street, Kanawha. Go 1 mile south of Kanawha on County Road R35.
- Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m. – Muscatine Island Research and Demonstration Farm, 111 North Street, Fruitland. From U.S. Highway 61/Iowa Highway 92, turn east at County Road G38/Fruitland Road, which becomes North Street at the city limits. The farm is on the south side of the road.
- Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m. – Horticulture Research Station, 55519 170th Street, Gilbert. Go 3 miles north of Ames on Iowa Highway 69; go 1.5 miles east on 170th Street (gravel).
- Sept. 19, 4 p.m. – Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm, 3321 290th Street, Nashua. Take the Nashua exit off of U.S. Highway 218/Iowa Highway 27, go 1 mile west on County Road B60, 1 mile south on Windfall Avenue (gravel) and two-tenths of a mile east on 290th Street.
- Sept. 21, 6:30 p.m. – Armstrong Research and Demonstration Farm, 53020 Hitchcock Avenue, Lewis. Go 11 miles southwest of Atlantic on U.S. Highway 6, half a mile south on County Road M53 and three-quarters of a mile east on Hitchcock Avenue.
Visitors are asked to follow biosecurity policies when attending the field day at the Armstrong Farm in Lewis, which contains livestock. Change clothing and footwear after being at another livestock operation and refrain from bringing any food items to the farm. Those who have recently returned from a trip abroad are asked to wait five days before visiting the farm.