The Clay County High School FFA program hosts its annual plant sale Saturday to support student activities and agricultural education.
Agriculture Teacher and FFA Advisor James Matthew Craighead said the project integrates a greenhouse management class where students oversee the entire life cycle of the plants. The program utilizes a large climate-controlled greenhouse on the high school campus to facilitate the hands-on curriculum.
“I can’t think of a better way to learn about the greenhouse industry than to actually be involved in a greenhouse and get to watch it go from seeding plants all the way to selling those plants and getting to see the work you’ve put in go back and support the school and your chapter,” Craighead said.
Craighead said the inventory includes annual flowers, bedding plants, and three varieties of ferns. The sale also features a wide selection of vegetables, including peppers and more than 10 varieties of tomatoes.
“So if we can give them at least some knowledge and some insight to that industry, that’s going to help them make decisions throughout their life,” Craighead said. “And then my true hope is they all have the opportunity to at least have a garden or some pets or some farm animals and they’ve got a basis of knowledge here that’s going to allow them to be successful in that at some point in their life.”
Craighead said approximately 15 students in the greenhouse class and 10 dual enrollment students manage the daily operations. He said nearly every student in the agriculture program contributes to the project at some point during the semester through planting or volunteering on sale days.
“So our plant sale is our main fundraiser for our FFA chapter, and it also ties in with our agriculture education program,” Craighead said. “So we have a greenhouse management class in which they plant these plants as seeds or as small seedlings, and they will grow them all the way out, and then we will sell them, and all of those proceeds will go back to the FFA chapter.”
Craighead said the chapter uses the greenhouse to support the community garden at the Clay County fairgrounds and partners with UT Extension for plant giveaways. Students also grow and plant flowers at the local nursing home for the residents.
“One of the biggest ways you can support our program is by showing up and buying plants at the plant sale, because that is providing the funding for students to go out and do these contests and win these awards and make these contacts and find success within the agricultural industry,” Craighead said.
The sale opens Saturday from 8am to Noon at the Clay County High School greenhouse located near the tennis courts. Craighead said the sale will continue for the following three Saturdays or until the inventory is sold out. All proceeds directly funding student participation in contests and industry networking opportunities throughout the year.