Students in the Tucker County High School FFA work to grow green year round. TCHS FFA students Lindsey Knotts and Lydia Mullenax tend to the plants growing in the greenhouse including Swiss chard, beets, onions, lettuce and cauliflower.
By Beth Christian Broschart
The Parsons Advocate
HAMBLETON – As the cold weather begins to set in, most of the crops have been harvested and sold, canned or preserved for future use. But one entity is continuing to grow and use crops, and will do so all through the cold winter months.
Tucker County High School FFA Instructor Terry Hauser said the group is growing things like lettuce, onions, beets, greens and Swiss chard in the greenhouse through the winter.
“We are increasing our lettuce production to justify heating the greenhouse in the winter,” Hauser said. “We sell the lettuce first to the school cafeteria, not only at the high school, but at the other two county schools. Then, we sell what we have left to the general public.”
Hauser said they will advertise the produce for sale one they have a steady supply.
“Typically we grow Bibb lettuce because it is a nice head with a good flavor and it does well on hydroponics,” Hauser said. “We would also like to experiment with spinach – it’s a green they use a lot of in salad bars. We have a student who is also going to grow some basil.”
Hauser said down the road, Lindsey Knotts and Lydia Mullenax may try growing soilless cucumbers.
During the spring, the group sells annuals, vegetables from cucumbers to pumpkins, tomatoes and peppers. In fall, the group sells mums.
“We try to make as many plants as we can available to the students to get their gardens growing at home,” Hauser said. “Lydia did the pink pumpkin project. We have several who plant vegetables to go into the school cafeteria and several that participate in the local farmer’s markets. Plants are provided free to students who plan to do either of those projects.”
He said the group sells strawberries, fruit, nuts and host dinners throughout the year to raise funds for their projects.
Another project the students are excited about is growing hogs. They said they are getting two hogs, which will include a science experiment.
“One hog will be fed table scraps from the high school and we will monitor them to see his growth rate compared to the other hog, which will receive grain and feed,” Lydia said. “It will be a great project to work on.”
Additional information about the Tucker County FFA is available online on Facebook or by calling Tucker County High School at 304-478-3111.
