Every year, we have a plant sale here at Potosi High School. This year's plant sale is just around the corner and Mrs. Brunton has already started preparations. I was able to schedule an interview with Mrs. Brunton to figure these preparations out.
In the fall, Mrs. Brunton and her Horticulture class clean everything out of the greenhouse. After everything in the greenhouse is gone, the greenhouse is closed down. They allow it to freeze which helps to kill all of the pathogens before the heater is turned on. She also starts the ordering process in the fall. She usually has to order pots, soils, all different types of plants, and other useful items. Before ordering her plants for the year, Mrs. Brunton looks through a book to figure out an inventory. She tries to pick out plants that she thinks will sell well based upon what sold well that year and what didn’t. This includes some plants like hanging baskets, grasses, and planter pots. This year Gerbera Daisies were added to the plant sale because there have been multiple requests for them.
In the past year, there have been some improvements done to the Greenhouse. There is now a phone and speaker in it. Drip Lines were also installed to transport water from the valve to the plants. We also got a fertilizer injector, and temperature sensor. All of these improvements will help with the success of this year's plant sale.
Mrs. Brunton does not only figure out plant orders for Potosi High School. She also orders the plants for 12 different schools, Holiday Gardens, and Potosi Chamber. These 12 other schools also have their own individual plant sales. In previous years, another school was in charge of all the orders. When that teacher left teaching, Mrs. Brunton decided to take on the task of doing all the ordering. They also hold plant sales and pick up their plants here. This helps our school save money as we’re discounted for her work.
This Greenhouse fundraiser helps our school out in all kinds of different ways. It is a major fundraiser for FFA, and helps support competitions and activities. The fundraiser will also pay for our FFA jackets for officers. This year, it will be helping fund our soils team at their national competition and the national convention.
This year, Potosi high school is having their plant sale’s opening day on May 7th. If all plants are not sold out on the 7th, the sale will be extended into Saturday, May 8th too.