Plant sale returns to Daleville

A plant sale is coming back to Daleville High School, bring greenery to the community and reinforcement to students’ education.

According to agriscience teacher Franky Jackson, letting the students grow the plants allows them to understand what they learn in the classroom.

“In the classroom, we talk about seed germination and being able to propagate plants from seeds,” he said. “Some seeds will germinate in a few days, and some, it takes eight to 10 days and some even longer than that.

“(The students) start getting kind of excited when they start to see the seeds come up.”

He said the students in two horticulture classes and one greenhouse production class help grow the plants and vegetable starters that are available for purchase beginning on Monday, April 1.

All plants are grown in the school’s greenhouse, which Jackson says is helpful to grow starters for community members to purchase.

“You can start plants in the greenhouse and have plants when the last frost is gone, ready to go in the ground, as opposed to waiting to plant a seed in the ground at that point,” he said. “The greenhouse gives us a chance to get plants ready early for people when they want to buy them.

“It’s good for us to have plants for sale and show the public that we are doing things in school that are meaningful. We’re not just doing textbook work.”

Horticulture student Alyssa Ibarra said she learned the importance of caring for the plants she learned about in the classroom.

“Plants are kind of like humans,” she said. “They need certain things to survive.”

She said the work done in the greenhouse supports the knowledge the students get in the classroom, and she encouraged the community to come and purchase the plants and enjoy the result of the students’ hard work.

Jackson said money raised from the plant sale will go back into the agriscience department, helping purchase needed seeds and other materials to prepare for next year’s plant sale.

Plants will be available for purchase from April 1 until all plants have been sold, according to Jackson.

Tomato and pepper plants are available at $2.50 per six pack. Squash, zucchini and eggplants cost fifty cents per plants.

Several types of flowering plants and ferns are also available for purchase. Zinnia and marigolds are priced at $2.50 per six pack. Kalanchoe in red or yellow are priced at $2 a plant. Florida ruffles ferns are priced at $5 a plant, and foxtail ferns are priced at $5 a plant.

To purchase a plant from the agriscience department, stop by the front office at DHS or call the school at (334) 598-4461.