Annual plant fair to return
Event this weekend
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The growing season begins for hundreds of gardeners at the annual plant fair hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs this weekend.
More than 2,000 plants — including lettuce, kale, broccoli, peppers, and heirloom tomatoes — will be displayed on tables in the church parking lot at 624 North Broadway. Perennials from local garden thinnings will make up about half the fair’s offerings, a news release said.
“These plants have the advantage of local healthy survival, making them great choices for gardens in this climate zone,” said Murray Penney, the retired GE engineer who has spearheaded the event for seven years.
For the first time, garden supplies and tools will be sold.
The event, which began in 2011, runs from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, May 26 and from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Sunday, May 27.
Preparations started last fall with a meeting of key volunteers. After devoting most of January to studying 20 seed catalogs, Penney ordered $250 of seeds in early February.
Penney attributes the success of the event to Wayne and Cookie Bakken, who each year make
available to UU Saratoga 50 square feet of growing space in their greenhouse at Olde Saratoga Home & Garden on Route 29. Church volunteers started watchfully tending the plants in mid-April, the release said.
Noting that heirloom tomatoes today are being bred for both beauty and flavor, Penney takes particular pride in the 20 varieties that gardeners will find at this year’s sale. Among those Penney prizes most are Berkeley Tie Dye, Paul Robeson, Mortgage Lifter and Atomic Grape.
“These are the varieties that are both artistic and will explode in your mouth with deep tomato flavor and sweetness,” said Penney. “That’s what’s fun about giving people the opportunity to try them. They say, ‘Wow! I didn’t know that was a tomato.’”