“Inch by inch, row by row, I’m gonna make this garden grow…”

Wearing a brown robe and a plant hat, “Spirit of the Earth,” known better as Larry Dolphin, director of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, sang a song and gave a soil profile description for visitors at the Halloween Warm-Up Friday and Saturday. He briefly explained about the makeup of the soil at the nature center, and even revealed a tip for a password visitors would need after each skit: “decompose.”

For the 26th year, members of the Matchbox Children’s Theatre and nature center staged a spooky, fun and informative 45-minute walk through the nature center woods for kids and adults. The hiking trails were lighted with milk jugs as groups bundled in cold-weather clothing waited in line for their tours.

Kayla Jacobsen, 11, and Kate DeBear, 13, performed with other Matchbox Theatre players in a skit.

Each “Prairie Fairy” in the skit was named after a different prairie grass.

“You better watch out, because tonight, all the ghosts come out,” said Kayla, who opened the skit wearing a prairie dog costume, told one group.

The girls explained that Halloween Warm-Up is not just about creepy characters.

Kayla — who believes the scariest skit was the one with three witches at the end, “Hocus Pocus” — said the Warm-Up is “to teach people a little bit more about the nature center.”

“Some of it is education,” Kate said.