With expert speakers, food samples, music and door prizes, you”ll find plenty to do at this year”s Horticultural Field Day at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station, Saturday, August 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you”ve got a question about gardening, you can probably find the answer at the field day. Experts will be on hand to identify weeds, plant diseases or insects; visitors are encouraged to bring samples in plastic baggies. Garden experts and master gardeners will also be available for questions, and there will be a talk on rain gardens.

Research staff from the lab of Phil Simon, a USDA researcher in the horticulture department, will exhibit red, yellow, white and purple carrots, as well as discuss the significance to consumers. The station also has an assortment of plants to view, including dozens of types of heirloom tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers. You can learn how to grow these incredible, edible ornamentals in your own garden.

Don”t forget to bring your appetite-there”ll be lots of free food to try. You”ll be able to sample many vegetables grown at the station, including tomatoes, peppers and whatever else is ripe. Bill Tracy, a sweet corn breeder in the agronomy department, will offer several different types of corn, and you can vote for your favorite. There will also be an assortment of herbal vinegars, olive oils and butters, along with a variety of fresh greens.

Jim Nienhuis and Irwin Goldman, professors of horticulture, will offer a program about Mezo-American gardening. They”ll explain how older varieties of vegetables from that region influence production in this country, and will offer roasted tomatoes and salsa. Area restaurants will match their salsas against Nienhuis” secret recipe-and your vote will decide the winner. Radio La Movida will broadcast live from the event at 3:00 p.m. to announce the results.

The field day is sponsored by station staff, researchers at the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and UW-Extension staff. It is held in conjunction with a field day at the nearby O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research Facility, located on Hwy M south of Mineral Point Road. The West Madison station is at 8052 Mineral Point Road, about a mile west of the Beltline.