Ready, Set, Grow: Central FFA Plant Sale Starts Friday
Final touches are being made for opening day of the Central Campus FFA Plant Sale.
On your mark … get set … GROW!
Friday morning the Central Campus FFA chapter opens its annual plant sale at the program’s greenhouse on County Line Road, next door to McCombs Middle School.
The hours are:
- Monday-Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturdays: 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
The plant sale continues through June 6th.
Craig Nelson directs the chapter’s horticulture branch and this time of year he and his students are all (green) thumbs. They are stocked up on flowers, herbs, shrubs, saplings, fruits, vegetables, etc. and everything’s for sale. Print the flyer at the link below and take it with you as a 10% off coupon.
“Every year we take a trip during the summer and the proceeds from the plant sale help us with that if there’s any leftover after we buy program materials and supplies,” Nelson said on Thursday afternoon in the midst of last minute preparations for Friday’s opening bell.
This year’s trip is to Russia. A week after the sale wraps up Nelson’s traveling party of nine departs for ten days in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
“There is a connection to plant science built into the trip but mostly I pitch it to the kids as a reward to be worked for throughout the year. If we don’t do a lot of work year round the plant sale wouldn’t be possible,” he said.
Like a homegrown carrot, Russia dangled through the fall and winter. Now it’s practically within reach.
Besides the plant sale hubbub and readying for the junket overseas another big event is looming. Next weekend at the state FFA convention the DMPS chapter will observe its 50th anniversary. The roots run that deep.
It felt tropical inside the greenhouse on Thursday. Water dripped from couplings of hose and faucet. Freshly doused flower baskets swayed overhead and piles of potting soil mounded on workbenches looked like cake mixes dumped on kitchen counters, except sweeter maybe.
A chart listed the varieties of traditional tomato starters available: Supersonic, Jet Star, Early Girl, Beefsteak, Roma, Champion, etc. On another wall hung pictures of several heirlooms, one of which in particular stood out: Russian Rose.
For more details, and a 10% off coupon, download the 2015 FFA Plant Sale flyer.
