Julie Sanderson: Eco-Gardening Symposium speaker of note

The fifth annual Columbia Basin Eco-Gardening Symposium promises to offer a sensational diversity of speakers, resource exhibitors, door prizes, and food. The event takes place Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Technical Skills Center at 900 Yonezawa Blvd. in Moses Lake. It is co-sponsored by the Grant County Conservation District and the Grant-Adams Master Gardener Foundation.

There will be three dynamic speakers with impeccable credentials. The second speaker on the docket is Julie Sanderson, Chelan County Noxious Weed Control Board Botanist. Sanderson’s presentation is entitled “Weed Worries.”

The talk will be an overview of weed worries everyone who gardens has and will cover noxious versus nuisance weeds, what controls work where, how to come up with a comprehensive weed management plan for any size property, and how to get integrated weed management (IWM) to work in your garden.

The first speaker, Kurt Braunwart, will discuss the benefits of using cover crops in the garden while the third speaker, Isaac Madsen, will discuss soil health and fertility for increased productivity in Columbia Basin gardens. Each of the three talks will be accompanied by question and answer periods for those who have questions.

In addition to the three keynote speakers, there will be more than a dozen resource exhibitors who will be there to discuss their products or organizations, door prizes to be given away during breaks and a variety of food for the participants.

Space at the symposium is limited so applicants are encouraged to pre-register as soon as possible through Grant County Conservation District by calling (509) 765-9618, by signing up in person (or through the mail) at the Conservation District office at 1107 S. Juniper Dr., Moses Lake, or by registering online at www.columbiabasincds.org.