UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Whether You Are Thinking About Arranging Flowers Or Eating Them, Growing Organic Vegetables Or Trying Out Promising New Varieties Of Tomatoes And Peppers, Or Learning More About Landscape Plants, Pruning, Drip Irrigation Or Conifers, There Is A Presentation For You At The Yard And Garden Area At Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 16-18.

"This year we have scheduled a wide variety of informative presentations and demonstrations at the Yard and Garden Tent," says Rob Crassweller, professor of horticulture. "We hope to offer a topic or two of interest for every gardener or resident who wants to improve their landscape."

Visitors can browse the adjacent flower garden and see the latest varieties for cut-flower use. Demonstrations will cover a range of gardening topics:

Tuesday, Aug. 16 -- 10 a.m. -- "Row Covers and Drip Irrigation in the Garden." Learn about the use of row covers and drip irrigation to improve the success of growing vegetables in the home garden. --Noon -- "Propagating Tree Fruit with T and Chip Budding." The two most-common tree fruit propagation techniques will be demonstrated. Also learn about proper selection of budwood and after-care of the plant. --2 p.m. -- "Organic Gardening: The Fundamentals." Thinking about growing organic fruits and vegetables? Come hear about the basics of organic gardening.

Wednesday, Aug. 17 --10 a.m. -- "Edible flowers: History and Uses." Edible flowers can add color, aroma and flavor to your meals. Information on all aspects of edible flowers -- including folklore, uses and flavors -- will be presented.

--Noon -- "Tips for Propagating Your Landscape Plants." Many of us are potpourri home landscapers; we purchase one plant to try in our yard and once we decide it works, we wished we had more. With a few tips, you can start increasing your landscape plantings or share plants with family and friends. --2 p.m. -- "Flower Arranging." Learn the basics of simple floral arrangement, including mechanics, color, texture and design. See how to use wild and field grown cut flowers to add value to your roadside or farmers market offerings, or simply to bring the beauty of your summer garden indoors. --4 p.m. -- "New Types & Varieties of Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant and Cucumber." Various types and varieties of tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplant and gourmet cucumbers will be compared to some old standards. --6 p.m. -- "Flower Arranging." Learn the basics of simple floral arrangement, including mechanics, color, texture and design. See how to use wild and field-grown cut flowers to add value to roadside or farmers market offerings, or simply to bring the beauty of a summer garden indoors.

Thursday, Aug. 18 --10 a.m. -- "Pruning Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries." Learn the steps that must be taken during the year in order to correctly prune red raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, and the reasons for taking these steps. --Noon -- "Selecting Conifers for your Landscape." Conifers, such as pine, spruce and juniper, are important components of home landscape. This presentation will introduce several new and promising conifer species and include a discussion of proper planting techniques. --2 p.m. -- "Flower Arranging." Learn the basics of simple floral arrangement, including mechanics, color, texture and design. See how to use wild and field-grown cut flowers to add value to roadside or farmers market offerings, or simply to bring the beauty of a summer garden indoors. Penn State's Ag Progress Days is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 16; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 17; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 18. Admission and parking are free.

For information on other events, visit the Ag Progress Days Web site at http://apd.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Robert Crassweller at 814-863-6163 or by e-mail at rmc7@psu.edu.

Editor: Jeff MulhollemOffice 814-863-2719 FAX 814-863-9877