UNH Macfarlane Research Greenhouses Open House March 31-April 1

Monday, March 13, 2017

tilapia

The NH Agricultural Experiment Station has an ongoing aquaponics research project at the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses. Open house attendees will learn how to make their own aquaponics system using household materials.

 

DURHAM, N.H. – Learn how to make an aquaponics system using household materials at the spring open house of the University of New Hampshire’s Macfarlane Research Greenhouses Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1, 2017. The greenhouses will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days, and the event is free and open to the public.

UNH faculty, staff and students will present displays and lectures of interest to home gardeners, greenhouse producers, and landscapers. In addition to learning about aquaponics, visitors will learn how to create a water feature in a home garden, why they should be eating more berries and other fruits and find creative ways to integrate them into a daily diet, and how to grow small fruits in a home garden. Garden show-quality displays will showcase the landscape of Peter Pan.

This year’s spring open house celebrates the year of the pansy. According to the National Garden Bureau, pansies were considered a weed until the 19th century. Today, pansies are a hybrid plant cultivated from those wildflowers in Europe and western Asia.

In addition, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station will host a research field day from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 31. Researchers will be available to discuss the latest in UNH research at the greenhouses on vegetable and fruit breeding, aquaponics, and more.

The UNH Plant Diagnostic Lab and Cooperative Extension Plant Health Program will have a display on common diseases and problems of garden and landscape plants. Attendees are encouraged to come with questions about plant health problems.

Other open house activities include a plant sale hosted by the Thompson School horticulture program and tours of both the greenhouses and the high tunnels, two greenhouse-style structures where students produce greens for on-campus consumption. The Greenhouse Café will serve coffee, lunch, and homemade treats.

On Saturday, April 1, the Open House coincides with the Seacoast Home and Garden Show.

The greenhouses are located off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Seminars will take place in Putnam Hall across the parking lot from the greenhouses. On Friday, metered parking is available at the UNH Visitor Center across from the greenhouses; parking on Saturday is free. Handicap parking spaces and short-term parking for plant pickup will be available near the main greenhouse entrance. The greenhouses are also served by Wildcat Transit’s shuttle service: https://www.unh.edu/transportation/wildcat-transit.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/nhaes/ and https://www.facebook.com/UNHMacfarlaneResearchGreenhouses/.

The UNH Greenhouse Open House is sponsored by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, the Thompson School of Applied Science, the biological and sustainable agriculture programs of the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and UNH Cooperative Extension.

Founded in 1887, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture is UNH’s original research center and an elemental component of New Hampshire's land-grant university heritage and mission.

The University of New Hampshire is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH’s research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, receiving more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. 

Editor's Notes: 

PHOTOS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

https://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/sites/colsa.unh.edu.nhaes/files/media/images/tilapia.jpg
https://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/sites/colsa.unh.edu.nhaes/files/media/images/unhaquaponics.jpg
The NH Agricultural Experiment Station has an ongoing aquaponics research project at the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses. Open house attendees will learn how to make their own aquaponics system using household materials.

https://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/sites/colsa.unh.edu.nhaes/files/media/images/unhpansies.jpg
The UNH Spring Open House will celebrate the year of the pansy March 31 and April 1, 2017.