Liberty High School’s agriculture department is hosting their annual plant sale next week on May 3 through May 7.

The Agriculture Department has been preparing their plants since January, starting by washing, cleaning pots, ordering soil and plants. Students began planting young plants, also referred to as plugs, and seeding vegetables like tomatoes and peppers. 

By mid-April most of their plants are grown. 

 “In the past month, we’ve been de-budding all the plants so they can grow faster,” said FFA officer Hannah Winegardner.

The de-budding process takes up the most time to prepare for the plant sale since there are loads of plants that the students most look after. 

Winegardner is most excited to sell a lot of plants and even buy some herself, as the plant sale is very enjoyable to her.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn how to grow everything and I love that the profits go right back into our department,” says Winegardner.

Her favorite plant in the greenhouse is the spearmint. 

For Ana Gomez, the most enjoyable part is taking care of the plants. This past week, she has been watering and fertilizing the plants to keep them growing strong. The class fertilizes the plants weekly and waters them daily to keep the plants healthy. Gomez’s favorite plants to take care of are the succulents because of their simple but alluring structure. 

Growing plants is fun but it can have some challenges.

Aphids are little green bugs that eat the leaves of plants, and were found crawling around rocks and soils in the greenhouse. The students spent their time removing the rocks and washing everything to get rid of the bugs. They used a simple solution of water, lemon, and dish soap to repel the Aphids. 

Nonetheless, Mrs. Stephanie Loring and the rest of the agriculture department are excited for the sale to begin.

“Anybody is welcome to come in and support their community and Liberty High School’s hard-working students,” says Mrs. Loring.

The plants will be sold in the greenhouse from 9am to 5pm on May 3 through the 6. On May 7, plants may be bought between 9am and 2pm. The prices range between $2-$3 a pot or $20 for a hanging basket. 

Plants like spearmint, various tomato and pepper plants, herbs, and seasonal flowers will be available for purchase.