The 2022 Southwest Michigan Horticultural Days will be Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 2-3, at Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan, hosted by the Michigan Grape Society, Michigan State University Extension, and Lake Michigan College Wine and Viticulture Technology. There will be a trade show located in the Grand Upton Hall.

MSU Extension educators, commercial growers, and outside experts will provide informative talks and answer questions in educational sessions. RUP credits will be included for many of the sessions.

Vegetable, tree fruit, grape, and blueberry sessions will cover topics like pest and disease updates, soil health, water management, horticulture, and crop insurance.

There are two special sessions this year. One session will cover marketing. This will address opportunities for growers to market their farms and the foods they produce. The other special session is for wine grapes growers. It will discuss the interactions between grower practices and their effects on wine production.

The full program will be available on the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension website soon.

Registration and the trade show begin at 8 a.m. and the educational sessions start at 9 a.m. on both days. Educational sessions end at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and 3 p.m. on Thursday. Drawing for door prizes will be held on both days.

Due to the current rise in local COVID-19 cases, the Mendel Center and the event organizers are requiring masks at all times while attending Southwest Michigan Horticulture Days programs. Please support and respect your fellow attendees by complying.

Preregister online or by mail (contact Renee Tinkey at 269-944-1477 ext. 201 or tinkeyre@msu.edu for a preregistration application). Preregistration is $60 per person; on-site registration is $75 per person. Lunch on both days is included in the registration fee. Registrations postmarked after Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, are $75 per person.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).