Announcer:	The Missouri State Journal, a weekly program keeping you in touch with Missouri State University.
Emily Yeap:	With spring comes gardening, and if you're looking to buy seeds or plants to grow, put Missouri State University's upcoming plant sale from May 4th to 6th on your calendar. Held each spring for more than 15 years, Dr. Clydette Alsup-Egbers, associate professor of environmental plant science from MSU's Darr College of Agriculture, leads the event with help from her students. I'm Emily Yeap. Alsup-Egbers joins me today to share more about the event and what customers can expect this year. 
Dr. Alsup :	I went to Oklahoma State University for all of my degrees, and their Horticulture Club every year would hold an enormous plant sale. It gave them a chance to grow on a larger scale but also to be on the marketing end and assist with sales when you had huge amounts of customers coming in. I wanted to give that chance to my students, especially in my Plant Propagation class and my Greenhouse Management class. 
Emily Yeap:	There are plants everywhere, according to Alsup-Egbers.
Dr. Alsup :	Our greenhouse is bursting at the seams already. We have stock plants. Those are things we take cuttings from or divide to grow more for the sale, and then also I get seed donations from some companies, and that's a source of seeds. And I spend a fair portion of the winter just pouring over seed catalogs trying to find the most unusual or best or just newest things to try. 
	It's really nice what we're doing because we can sell plants that some of the bigger stores don't because with us it's smaller quantities, but we can afford to experiment with things that may or may not turn out to be the best sellers.
Emily Yeap:	So how are her students involved? Alsup-Egbers explains.
Dr. Alsup :	From day one we start planting which crops they're going to grow, and they have at least, especially in Greenhouse Management, an active role in choosing what to grow. Then, I order the seeds and we do it or we do the cuttings. 
	In the Greenhouse M anagement class, at least some of those students are Ag education majors. They're going to be going to high schools, most of which have greenhouses, and they're expected to conduct sales, so this gives them the experience. Others of my students are planning to have a greenhouse operation, often on their family farms, so this gives them experience from the very start, all aspects.
Emily Yeap:	In addition, they also engage in marketing. 
Dr. Alsup :	We have brainstorming sessions and I've asked them what can we do as value added projects to help increase sales. They've come up with ideas to put together what we call salsa packs; four to six vegetables and herbs common in salsa ingredients in a single sale pack. This year, aromatherapy packs; obviously, a selection of plants that smell good. Mosquito repellent packs, mixed containers, vegetables trellised in pots and vining flowers in pots, hanging baskets. They also help get customers' input. The sale has generated a lot of loyal customers, so word of mouth is very helpful for us and the students help with that as well.
Emily Yeap:	Some of the special items that will be on sale in limited quantities at the event are part of a variety trial where Ball Horticulture, a large seed company, sends seeds to Alsup-Egbers and other locations across the United States.
Dr. Alsup :	We grow and plant them outdoors to evaluate how they're going to perform in each of the locations. Many of those crops aren't even available to the public until the following year. I have two partners with the trial, Nancy Underhill, who's one of our groundskeepers and her zone includes Karls Hall, and Katie Keith who operates our Springfield-Greene County Botanical Garden. It's a win-win for all of us really. They get the newest plants to show off for free, and I get their monthly ratings and don't have to maintain the plants myself. 
	We're going to offer some Carolina Reaper peppers, which is the Guinness World Records hottest pepper on earth. You need to be brave to grow those. Wave Petunias. A lot of kinds of mint and other herbs that you may or may not have heard of. Some gorgeous coleus, which are plants that brighten up shady locations. This year, trying Raspberry bushes, Canna Lilies. If I say so myself, a rather stunning array of ornamental peppers, and then gourmet tomatoes and peppers, both hybrid and heirloom. Also, vegetable varieties bred to stay smaller than usual and really great for those who grow in containers on their patios.
Emily Yeap:	The sale will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 4th and 5th, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 6th at the Greenhouse in Karls Hall on the MSU Campus. For more information, contact Alsup-Egbers at 417-836-5095. I'm Emily Yeap for the Missouri State Journal.
Announcer:	For more information, contact the Office of University Communications at 417-836-6397. The Missouri State Journal is available online at ksmu.org.