The FCHS Agriculture program is having a soft opening on April 15. The greenhouse will stay open through mid-May or until it sells out. The plants are grown by FCHS Agriculture students, as well as members of Future Farmers of America under the direction of Agriculture teacher Russell Jennings.
” I have about 45 students in all of my classes,” said Jennings. “We started planning back in the fall. But most of the work is done from January till now.”
The Greenhouse is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Saturday sales are on April 27 and May 4, both from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The Greenhouse is closed for lunch from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm during the week. The greenhouse is located behind FCHS.
Interested customers can choose from a variety of different herbs and vegetables including basil, cilantro, parsley, spearmint, lavender, rosemary, over 15 varieties of tomatoes, crookneck and straightneck squash, cucumber, butter crunch lettuce, romaine lettuce, and over 10 varieties of peppers including green bell, banana, jalapeno, habanero, ghost, and Carolina Reaper.
Customers can also choose from a variety of different plants and flowers as well as hanging basket arrangements. Flowers and plants for sale include marigolds, geraniums, over five colors of petunias, begonias, coleus, verbena, Purple Queen, portulaca, salvia, celosia, and vinca. The prices are one dollar for small single pots, four dollars for a four-pack, five dollars for six-inch pots, and $15 for hanging baskets.
Jennings does not change much of the available merchandise from season to season.
“[The only thing different about this year’s sale is] the different colors of flowers that I grow. I try to stay up on the trending color of each variety,” said Jennings.
The proceeds from the sale go towards funding next year’s sale as well as the FFA. As such, Jennings does not have a monetary goal.
“I hope to raise enough money to grow more flowers next year and help fund FFA events during the year. Hard to put a hard figure on it,” said Jennings.
For more information, contact Russell Jennings at (434)-207-6894 or [email protected].
