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Show ' ' 4 t ; ? v ... .... , ' " , f ' -,... n'i;v - . . a - ... . .... , -w.-,. ' ; ' ' . .' -f1; ' - . - - ; . ' u , s - ' ... ' ; ; ' ' - , , x - , 7 i - t ' 7 ? . ; . a v - .;, a ? 7 1' ' - r'l i - . , , i j i I t t I "if.4 U V' r i xff jf - V V EXTENSION STATION Ky MARK I). M1CKKI.SKN I ARMING ION A lot of people don't know it, but the most beautiful garden in Utah is right here in Davis County. SKVF.N DAYS a week until sunset, residents can walk through a forest, learn how to landscape their homes, find out w hat tomatoes grow best in our climate, and see the most hiilhant and colorful flowers for a handled miles. It's really no secret. The Utah State University Extension Exten-sion Office started an experimental ex-perimental agricultural station in Farmington in 1920. Back then, the whole idea was to plant different kinds of trees and see if they could grow in the Utah climate. NOW, 60 years later, acres and acres of land h ive been set aside in Oavis County so that the extension service can ggrow thousands of different species of plants, flowers, vegetables and trees. The station is just north of Farmington city, up Main Street and on the left hand side of the road. The gardens are manned by Have Whiting, urban horticulturist. If the title seems confusing, Mr. Whiting says it shouldn't be. He's merely ar expert on local gai-dening. gai-dening. "THKRE'S BEEN a tremendous tremen-dous increase in gardening interest," in-terest," he said. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that four million new gardeners will emerge next ear if the economy continues to get worse." Mr. Whiting welcomes the increase, but blames it onto the Carter Administration. Jokingly Jok-ingly he said, "If Carter would have gotten the hostages out of Iran, there would be fewer gardens." gar-dens." He emphasized that a lot of people are panicking about ab-out the economy and w ant the security of being able to grow their ow n food. WITH SO many "first time" farmers coming into view, Mr. Whiting said a major problem emerges. A lot of them are sincere sin-cere in their effort to garden, but they don't know what to plant, how to plant it and espe-'cially espe-'cially how to take care of it once it is in the ground. This is where the extension service comes in. Under the direction of USU and the federal fed-eral government, the Farming-ton Farming-ton office gives advice to anyone any-one who wants to learn about agriculture at home. But the counseling isn't necessarily verbal. ANYONE OF any age can visit the experimental station any day of the week. And this is where Mr. Whiting says "we can show people how to plant just about anything." He stressed that in the last couple of months the extension exten-sion service phone has been ringing constantly, people asking why their flowers died, why their cucumbers didn't grow as well, why the grasshoppers gras-shoppers are so bad this year, and a thousand other problems. prob-lems. FORTUNATELY, the service ser-vice has been experimenting with different kinds of plants and vegetables since the mid-1950's mid-1950's and they know what will and will not grow in Utah. Mr. Whiting emphasized that his department concentrates concen-trates on items important to the home gardener or land-scaper land-scaper who needs day to day information about certain plants and shrubs. FOR THIS reason, he said all kinds of flowers and shrubs and trees have been planted at the station. They have been watched over the years and monitored for disease and insect in-sect infestation. For the average citizen, the station appears to be one big garden. But the plan is more intricate. Each area of the acreage is set aside for a different diffe-rent purpose. FOR INSTANCE, rows and rows of corn can be spotted from the highway. But the corn isn't all the same. Each plot of approximately ten feet accommodates accom-modates a different species. Mr. Whiting said, "Last year Lots of room for observing the many kinds of foliage planted at the farm. we planted and tried 52 varieties of tomatoes." With i this kind of constant ex- perimentation the department i is always aware of Utah's agri- cultural capabilities. i In another area, the station i personnel have planted every imaginable type of shrubbery so that the incoming residents can 'see what looks best and grows best in the county. Hundreds Hun-dreds of huge trees, planted in the 1920's, are a constant reminder re-minder to visitors that their backyard oaks and spruces are a part of Utah heritage. PROBABLY THE most spectacular part of the station is centered around dozens of bright flowers, all in bloom. Here, the visitor can easily see what perennials and annuals are available, and more importantly, impor-tantly, how they look. Mr. Whiting said every year the station has an open house on Labor Day with a large turnout. But a lot of people don't even know the service exists, he noted. "They know the place is here, but they don't think they can visit." "GROUPS ARE welcome," he said. There is a pavilion in the center' of the grounds where visitors can have refreshments re-freshments if they wish. He also said the extension service serves over 300,000 people in Davis and Weber counties, which means an average av-erage of 50-100 calls a day. "People have to realize that they might have to wait in line," he noted. BEFORE THE end of the ;ummer,orbythebeginningof through on the grounds, lext summer, Mr. Whiting With the tour, the visitors said he hopes his office can fin- could see the display gardens sh a self-guiding tour pam- ontheirownatanytime.andat phlet. He said there just isn't the same time have most of ;nough time to give everyone their questions answered ab- Lhat comes in a full walk out plants and vegetables. |