From the Ground Up

Join us Saturday, September 26th, 2026!

Registration for 2026 is now closed

About the 2026 Program

Join us for this year’s event "From the Ground Up" (formerly Fall Fling) in which we focus on Vegetable Gardening. Topics will include:

  • Soil Health

  • Natural Pest Control

  • Container Gardening with New Technology

  • Flowers for Vegetable Gardening

  • and more!

We will have more details about the presentations and speakers as the event nears.

Logistics

DATE
Saturday, September 26th, 2026

TIME
Doors Open: 8:30 a.m.
Program: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

LOCATION
Ivy Tech Community College, Shreve Hall
200 Daniels Way
Bloomington, Indiana

FEE
$20.00 - Early Bird Registration before August 29th

$25.00 - Standard Registration - ends September 18th

CONTACT
monroeces@purdue.edu

2026 Speakers

Ginger Davis: Soil Health & Testing, A Hands-On Demonstration

Ginger Davis is a Licensed Professional Geologist who currently works for the City of Bloomington Utilities Department as a Utilities Engineer. Ginger was previously a research hydrogeologist at Indiana Geological and Water Survey working to understand and share information on surface and ground water resources in Indiana. She has also worked in water resources and conservation with various state and local agencies for over 20 years focusing her work and research on Indiana Water Resources. Ginger has her master’s degrees in both geology and civil engineering and holds professional certifications in sediment and erosion control, floodplain management, watershed leadership, and natural resource training. 


Coleman Burnett and Marie O’Neill: Community Gardening

Coleman Burnett has served as a Community Garden Specialist with the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department for the last two growing seasons. Coleman's passion for gardening started small, by reading books about nature and gardening, while living and working in New Mexico. High desert gardening was quite a challenge. Her gardening experiences really took off when she returned to Bloomington about 12 years ago. Since that time, she has experimented with growing native plants, soft fruits, and vegetables in her yard as well as in the community garden setting. She loves to engage with fellow gardeners, especially about the multitude of benefits that can be experienced in the garden. 

Marie O'Neill has spent the past 6 years as a co-owner operator of Outlier Farmstead, a market farm in Bloomington, Indiana. She has experience growing a range of vegetables, from kale to artichokes and, of course, lots of lettuce mix. While she was not raised with an agricultural background, she grew to love gardening through her love of cooking and her work with food systems research at Indiana University. She started her position as a Community Garden Coordinator with the Bloomington Community Garden Program in 2026.


Elisha Hardy: Vegetable Garden Planning in an Urban Setting

Elisha has been a farmer for over a decade. She currently runs a community based urban farm in the Green Acres neighborhood offering work/trade days every Sunday (8-10am) where you can volunteer and get free veggies. She also volunteers with the Bloomington Community Orchard, an all volunteer organization which offers free fruits to the community, also with weekly volunteer workdays, summer potlucks and fun events. She also regularly teaches classes at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard, a free food pantry for the community.  


Ken Steffen, PhD: Natural Pest Control

Ken Steffen (PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1987) has been farming in Parke County, Indiana, since 1996. Since 2006, he and his wife, Patsy Steffen, have owned and operated Steffen Farms, a partnership encompassing two Indiana farms: Quiet Springs and Pearson’s Melon Farm.

Over the years, Ken’s career has spanned both farming and academia, including work as a certified organic farmer, a CSA provider serving the Rockville and Bloomington communities, and a professor at Penn State. For many years, he farmed approximately 30 acres of watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, sweet corn, and pumpkins—what he calls the “Big Five.” He is especially passionate about putting his academic and laboratory background in season-extension growing techniques to work in real-world farming situations.

Ken believes strongly in the power of gardening and agriculture to build healthier people and stronger communities. As a longtime grower of sensitive produce, he has developed extensive experience in pest management. He is eager to share what he has learned about managing wildlife, insects, and plant diseases through prevention, careful planning, and environmentally friendly control strategies.

Sheila Dean: Container Gardening

Sheila retired from teaching at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana about 3 years ago and moved to Columbus for retirement. Her primary retirement activity is volunteering for the Columbus Visitor Center as a tour guide for their architecture tours and a Master Gardener volunteer. 


Mark Wessel: Seed Starting/Tips and Tricks for Vegetable Gardening

Mark spent the first 38 years of his career doing finer gardening for private estates in Cincinnati. This led to many opportunities to garden in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Maine and Italy. In 2014, Mark started working for the Gardens Alive! company of brands, traveling the world in search of new plants, products and techniques to enrich the gardening experience for all of its customers.

Panel Discussion/Q&A

Join us for a wrap up session to discuss all of our topics, and have a chance to ask questions.

Directions to Shreve Hall, Ivy Tech Community College