Future Farmers of America (FFA) students at Jones County High School are holding a spring plant sale in their greenhouses March 25 - 29 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to raise money for their FFA chapter.
Callie Lankford, agriculture teacher/FFA advisor at the high school, said she is excited for the sale. She said there will be lots of garden vegetables available for sale, because they are what seemed to be best sellers in the past.
“The greenhouse plant sale helps to generate funds to pay for a variety of FFA events and activities throughout the year. We also use funds generated from the greenhouse sale to purchase plants and materials for the next year so that students always have access to hands-on learning opportunities,” she said. “This plant sale is important to our horticulture program because the horticulture program is mostly self-sustaining. It’s through the plant sale that we are able to raise funds to purchase plants and materials for the next school year, and then continue to allow students to have opportunities to work in the greenhouse.”
Shelby McCranie, a tenthgrade student in the FFA, said growing plants is important, because they are able to show Jones County what they can do and get the funds they need by doing so. She said they learn a lot from horticulture, like how to grow their own food and other various plants.
“We’re selling all of the plants we grew this year. We grew a good variety of plants people from the community can purchase, such as jalapeno peppers, sweet banana peppers, better boy tomatoes, beefmaster tomatoes, aloe, calliope dark red geraniums, lemon balm, antigua yellow marigolds, and a lot more,” the student said.
The teacher said people from Jones County enjoy coming to the sale every year. She said they have repeat customers, and they look forward to coming out to the spring plant sale.
“The public should come out and support the plant sale because the students work so hard to produce strong and healthy plants,” Lankford said. “Every year, we receive comments from customers who state that our vegetable plants have lived longer and produced better produce than any that they have grown before.”
Another tenth-grade student in the FFA, Ansley Ard, said they use the money raised from the plant sale at the Jones County High School for field trips, show teams, chapter meetings, and things they need to better their education within FFA. She said everything within FFA is very hands-on.
“People like seeing students have planted and worked with these plants themselves. We’ve learned how to work in a greenhouse and understand how much responsibility it takes to grow these plants. People seem to really enjoy the sale, and sometimes we sell out,” she said.
Lankford said FFA is an intracurricular organization that provides students with opportunities to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success. She said FFA provides students with many opportunities to learn not only about agriculture, but also leadership skills.
“My favorite thing about this plant sale is watching the students be able to take the knowledge that they gain through the horticulture class, and then be able to convey that knowledge to the customers who come to the plant sale,” the teacher said. “Students provide all the daily care for the plants, including watering, fertilizing and checking the health of the plant. Students learn how to identify plant pests and the overall health of plants.”
For more information about the plant sale, contact Callie Lankford at clankford@jones. k12.ga.us.
