The annual FFA plant sale is upon us, West Liberty. It’s time to get those gardens ready while supporting the hard work of our local high school students.
The West Liberty High School greenhouse currently houses more than 1,200 vegetable plants and nearly 11,500 flowers across 50 varieties of plants.
“The students have worked incredibly hard,” says FFA Director Zach Morris. “It’s a great way for the kids to showcase what they can do while at the same time our customers can come away with something,” he says.
The plant sale will occur Thursday through Friday, May 2-3, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the following Monday through Friday, May 6-10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The sale is run by the third trimester Green House Management class, a college credit course, aided by the second trimester horticulture class back in December.
“They manage all of it,” says Morris. “They make the baskets, they put everything in packs, they start the seed, they make the fliers. They learn about business from start to finish.”
Plants can be ordered ahead of time online at www.westlibertyffachapter.com/greenhouse. However, the traditional walk-in is welcome as well at the greenhouse behind the high school.
The organizers want to make it clear, even though they reserve plants, they still have an adequate amount of plants and vegetables for people to come in.
For sale are varieties of peppers, hybrid tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, spikes, spillers, coleus, geraniums, and more than 20 types of flowers including petunias and impatiens.
There are 17 students in the class, carrying on what has become a long-standing tradition in West Liberty. Mercedes Brockert is the greenhouse manager this season.
The process begins in early December for the plants that start as seeds. Others are started as plugs, or small plants. Either way, they require maintenance, watering and care.
The annual plant sale can generate as much as $20,000 a season, but it’s incredibly expensive to start. Ultimately, FFA will make around $5-7,000 in profit.
“It connects the school with the community,” says Morris. “With the amount of people that come in and out of our greenhouse, it’s really important for our students to build relationships with the community.”
It allows students to not only learn how to work with people but take ownership of their work. Fred’s Feed also plays a helpful role, aiding the students how it can.
While this is a fundraiser, the class attempts to keep prices reasonable. That way they can make money for FFA, but community members aren’t overcharged for the plants.
The funds made during the plant sale support the FFA high school horticulture program all year long, not just the next plant sale. That also includes updating the greenhouse when needed.
As for the online aspect, that’s still relatively new. It was born out of necessity in 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. People made orders and students delivered them to their cars.
“We created a form,” says Morris. “What that did is allow people who couldn’t come early on to still come, knowing they had an order waiting.”
“The fundraiser has grown so much,” adds Morris. “We don’t even have enough room for it all; we’ve got stuff stacked everywhere.”
When the fundraiser began years ago, it was tough to guess how much to grow. In the early days, the sale would run out in a couple of days.
While vegetables and flowers still go fast, the FFA program has gotten better about ordering the right amount of seeds and starts to accommodate the community.
All of that to say this, come early if you can. But don’t give up if you can’t. There are forms online, and a huge selection of plants that should last through the sale.
The FFA plant sale is the perfect way to support our community.
