07/27/2006

Chilton Research Center Hosts Farm, Home Expo

CLANTON, Ala. — Presentations on everything from heirloom tomatoes to shotgun safety to free-range chickens, along with activities such as garden tours and fruit tasting, await those who travel to Clanton Saturday, Aug. 5, for the Chilton Research and Extension Center’s 2006 Farm, Home and Wildlife Expo. The expo, which will run from noon to 5 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Jim Pitts, superintendent of the center, said the jam-packed schedule offers something for just about everyone. Hunters, for instance, can enjoy gundog demonstrations featuring top-notch Labrador retrievers, while homeowners and home management enthusiasts will benefit from presentations on turfgrass management for the home lawn, a summer flower evaluation and the latest in biological methods for fire ant control.

For horticulturalists and gardeners, presentations will focus on pruning and training fruit trees and growing tomatoes, blackberries, satsuma oranges, kiwifruit, muscadines and grapes. Individuals who have farm ponds on their land, meanwhile, can attend sessions on farm pond management, beaver control and cage fish culture.

Of general interest will be catfish and tilapia cooking demonstrations, tours of the Chilton County Master Gardeners’ demonstration garden, milking demonstrations and free samples of fruits grown at the research center.

Most of the sessions will be repeated throughout the afternoon so that visitors can attend as many of the presentations as possible, Pitts said. Trailers will be available to shuttle visitors among the presentations. The expo will wrap up with a free hamburger dinner and the awarding of door prizes.

The Chilton Research and Extension Center is located on Chilton County Road 29 in Clanton. For more information on the expo, contact Pitts at 205-646-3610, or pittsja@auburn.edu.

The expo is open to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, religion or national origin. It is co-sponsored by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

For immediate release