Spring Plant Sale Will Go On!

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Spring Plant Sale to be held May 17 at Ithaca Farmers’ Market

(ITHACA, NY – May 4, 202 )  Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County will host the 2020 Spring Plant Sale on Sunday, May 17 from 9:00am to 2:00pm at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market Pavilion at Steamboat Landing. The new location allows a more “social-distancing friendly” event with new procedures that have been designed in consultation with the Tompkins County Health Department.

Organized since 1982 by Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener volunteers, the annual Spring Garden Fair & Plant Sale is highly anticipated among local gardening enthusiasts. This year, dozens of vendors will be on hand with a wide variety of plants for edible gardens, including veggie starts, fruiting shrubs and trees, as well as some ornamental plants that support pollination of food gardens or help keep pests away. 

While the Spring Plant Sale normally includes a large number of regional ornamental plant nurseries and specialty gardening groups, this year’s event will feature growers who primarily sell food-producing plants, due to NY State limits on businesses that may operate during the CoVid-19 outbreak. A growing list of participating vendors – including many Plant Sale regulars -- can be found at: http://ccetompkins.org/2020PlantSale . Unfortunately the Master Gardener volunteers will not be a vendor at the Plant Sale this year.

To support social distancing, vendor spaces will be spread out, and timed entry admissions on the hour will allow only 100 shoppers into the Plant Sale at a time. The Pavilion will be cleared of all shoppers shortly before each hour to allow vendors time to sanitize their areas and prepare for the next group of 100 to arrive. Admission is free, but to guarantee entry to the Plant Sale, please preregister online at: https://mahaplatform.com/events/2020plantsale . You will be asked to select your entry time (on the hour, from 9:00am to 1:00pm) when you register. Those who are unable to register online or who require special assistance may contact Mila Fournier at ymf5@cornell.edu or call (607) 272-2292 ext. 194. A limited number of "at-the-door" entry slots will be available on the day of the sale, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

As in past years, shoppers should bring baskets, wagons and other containers to assist them in transporting plants to their cars. For more information, please visit: http://ccetompkins.org/2020PlantSale .

Last updated December 1, 2022