By Matthew Jackson
Staff Reporter
HUNTSVILLE — The Walker County Master Gardeners are preparing for their 7th Annual Spring Plant Sale set for Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Texas AgriLife Extension Office at 102 TAM Road, two miles north of the Pilot Truck Stop on state Highway 75.
The sale will feature thousands of vegetables, herbs, perennials, native plants, fruit trees and more, all being sold to benefit Master Gardeners’ community service and scholarship programs.
Residents are urged to show up at the site with a little red wagon in tow to pick out their plants.
The Master Gardeners hold two plant sales each year to offer high quality products for local gardens, and offer their own advice on the best way to care for each plant.
According to WCMG President Rhonda Hanks, among the many highlights of this year’s spring sale are the 1,400 heirloom tomato plants that will be offered.
“Heirloom tomatoes are a tomato variety that has not been altered genetically. They’re an old world variety, so their flavor is much better,” Hanks said. “They may not always be as productive, and they don’t always hold a uniform shape, but they have a better flavor. We wanted to offer something to the public that they won’t find at retail stores.”
Among the native plants available at the sale will be Copper Canyon Daises and Mexican Bush Sage, both of which provide beautiful and aromatic blooms that thrive in Walker County’s climate.
A bake sale will also be held alongside the plant sale, in which homemade cookies, cakes and breads — all made by Master Gardeners — will be offered.
A composting demonstration will also be held throughout the sale, where Master Gardeners will share their personal tips and methods for homemade compost, and offer home compost bins for sale.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to continue the Master Gardeners’ mission to provide public education on gardening, and offer scholarships to local high school and university students studying horticulture.
“We provide education back to the public in the form of seminars,” Hanks said. “We do this with schools, with civic groups, with any one that requests it. We put on 48 programs in 2009, and we’ve already hit the ground running this year. Every dime from this sale goes right back into public service.”
