Soil health, food security and composting are only a few of the topics to be covered at the 2018 Southeast Garden Conference.

The three-day conference starting Feb. 16 at Harriett Hall will bring gardeners together to learn about growing produce in Alaska’s short and challenging growing season.

Organizer Mardell Gunn said 120 people are registered for the conference, with about 40 people coming from other Southeast communities.

“There have been several garden conferences that were hit or miss through the years in Southeast,” Gunn said. The last conference in Haines was five or six years ago. “I have just had an interest in making this a regular event.”

Gunn said her goal is to plan a gardeners’ conference every other year, switching off with the Farmer’s Summit that took place in Haines last February.

The conference will focus on home gardening and small-scale farms and will include presentations on soil health, gardening practices, storage and preservation, composting and food security. Attendees will also have an opportunity to join break-out sessions and sharing forums.

“I really wanted to make it accessible to both novice and experienced gardeners,” Gunn said. “I’ve created sessions so that we’re actually dividing that up for an exchange of basic or more advanced ideas.”

The event’s keynote speaker is Jeff Lowenfels, acclaimed Alaskan author of “The Teaming Series Books on Organic Growing” and long-time author of the award-winning Alaska Dispatch News Garden Column. Lowenfels is also the founder of Plant a Row for the Hungry, a program that encourages gardeners to donate a row of crops to feed the hungry.

Gunn said Lowenfels will speak Friday evening about how plants access nutrients from the soil. The public is welcome to attend his presentation.

“Jeff is an interesting, knowledgeable and entertaining speaker who we’re lucky to have in Alaska,” Gunn said. “He’s revolutionary and has changed the way of thinking about soil health.”

Gunn said she is also excited to hear from 82-year-old Chris Bartsch of Yukon who has developed a low-cost system to heat the root zone of a plant bed that has been proven to help his crops grow.

Other Haines speakers include library education coordinator Zephyr Sincerny, who has helped to organize the event, Takshanuk Watershed Council’s Jolanta Ryan and Haines School 6th graders, discussing the Starvin’ Marvin Project, Melissa Aronson, Rebecca Brewer, dietician Kate Fossman, Erika Merklin, and Lia Heifetz.

Local sponsors include The Haines Borough Public Library, Haines Farmer’s Market, Southeast Alaska State Fair and Southeast Regional Health Consortium.

Registration is full, but the public is invited to attend a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16 and Lowenfels’ presentation “How Plants Eat” from 7-8:15 p.m. at Harriett Hall. Admission is $10.

Visit eventbrite.com and search Southeast Garden Conference for more information. Learn more about Lowenfels at jefflowenfels.com.