Greenhouse Sale Still A Success
For the past decade, locals surrounding Rocky Comfort have looked forward to the sale of vegetables, annuals and perennials from the elementary school’s greenhouse each spring.
Agriculture teacher Lizzi Wilkinson has overseen the greenhouse for nine years and remembers the first sale started small, generating just a few hundred dollars in revenue. Since then the sale has amassed a loyal following — even midst a pandemic. The event normally takes place in late April, but with new procedures and social distancing suggestions in place, Wilkinson was unsure if and when the plant sale would happen.
“I was getting five to 10 messages a day, asking about the sale. And I was waiting on word, relying on the wisdom of our administration so I didn’t know what to tell those asking,” Wilkinson said.
The school campus that houses the greenhouse is closed, so the question of where the event would happen also loomed overhead. Until business owners Mary and Tim Littlefield caught wind of the situation and readily offered to host the sale in the parking lot of the Longview Mill.
“The mill is an essential business, providing feed and supplies
to farmers and they sell a few plants of their own, so it was a perfect fit,” Wilkinson said.
The sale was scheduled for 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, and Saturday, May 9. Last Saturday, Wilkinson and volunteers began setting up at Longview Mill. By 8:30 a.m., she said there was a steady line of people waiting to shop the sale. By 2 p.m., every plant in the greenhouse had sold — 12,000 of them including 500 assorted hanging baskets.
“There were three people hauling plants from the greenhouse to the mill and there were women in the parking lot, waiting on loads of plants,” Wilkinson said, laughing. “When they arrived, the women would dart to the back of the trailer to see what had been brought. They were snatching trays.”
“We expected to cover costs maybe,” Wilkinson said. At the end of the day, the greenhouse sale generated close to $8,000 after expenses.
Seventh- and eighth-grade students work in the greenhouse year-round to provide a wide variety of vegetables, flowers and greenery at a reasonable price and earn real-life gardening experience. From weeding and preparing the ground each Fall to mixing the soil and planting the seeds in late Winter and cutting new starts and arranging hanging baskets each Spring.
Revenue from the plant sale is used to purchase necessary supplies for the next season and maintain the greenhouse. The surplus goes directly back into the school to meet any needs that may need filled.
“If third grade needs iPads for new students, or a classroom needs flexible seating or the library needs new books,” Wilkinson said. “Whatever needs done.”
Despite the pandemic and plant sale sweep on Saturday, Wilkinson found relief in the scenery.
“It was really cool to step back and watch everyone. They’ve all been cooped up, scared to go out, scared to interact with others. But, despite the chaos, it was the most normal feeling day I’ve had since Spring Break,” she said. “To see people out and together was good.”