The Hastings High School plant sale is happening Saturday, May 9. KDWA connected with high school
horticulture instructor John Dewall for insight into this event.
“So, our plant sale is going to be Saturday, May 9, and it starts at nine o’clock and it goes to three in the afternoon. And we usually have a lot of people from the community that come in and support our horticulture kids, and we’re looking forward to it. Hopefully it’s gonna be a nice day.”
And when it comes to paying for the plans, what should people know when they’re purchasing?
“Most people either check or cash. We don’t do Venmo, but basically checks to District 200 cash, and so we try to do even change. So basically, we don’t do coins and all that, but it’s always just, you know, dollar bills and whatever.”
And what are some of the plants that they can select from?
“Oh my gosh, this year we have the biggest of any of the years we’ve ever grown plants. We have lots of
annuals. We have some perennials, lots of coleus. We have impatiens. We have a lot of geraniums, salvias, Vinca vines, Gerbera daisies, and New Guinea Impatiens. So, we got a really, really big variety of plants in here this year.
I’m looking around right now, and this looks like a professional greenhouse. Who grew these?
“Yeah, we started back in February. Our students—we have about 90 kids in greenhouse class, three classes, and most of this stuff has been started by seed. I always order my seed about six months ahead of time. We got a lot of new varieties this year. And then we also have cuttings. So, we have cuttings for our hanging baskets and our planters and then some individual ones we put into four-inch pots. So, all this stuff has been started by students, like I just told my students this last hour, this is the best that I’ve done this for a lot of years. This year is by far the best.”
And the funds for the greenhouse sale, where does that money go?
“Yeah. So, we have the plant sale, and it goes right back into our horticulture program. We have a floral design class in the fall where our floral design students—we have probably close to 200 floral design students—and all these students are actually working with live cut flowers from our wholesale florist, Koehler & Dramm, in Minneapolis. So, all of the proceeds go back. So when we run labs, probably unlike any other high school, our horticulture students at Hastings are running live, cut flower labs that most schools would never be able to pull off because of the cost. But this whole plant sale funds that program, funds the greenhouse program, and then students get to bring tons of this stuff home that we’ve never had… You know, a situation where we sold everything out and the students are literally loaded up with plants for their own home gardens at the end of the quarter/semester.”
I think this is the year people need to get here and buy these plants.
“Yeah, I have tomato plants that I’ve never had. Tomato plants look as good as they ever have; peppers, lots of great herbs. Yeah, this is the year. I always say last year was good, but when I look at it in here every day and I’m like, Oh my gosh, it is as good as—it’s better than most professional greenhouses. To tell you the truth, I’ve seen a lot of companies, and what these students have grown in here this year—the students have been very meticulous in the fertilizing and the watering and the care of the plants. They’ve just done a phenomenal job. So hats off to all of them for really spending the time to make a quality, productive greenhouse this year.”
Absolutely, and the students should definitely be proud. And I actually didn’t even know that there was a greenhouse that existed here at Hastings High School. So, this is a gem. It really is a gem to find.
“Yeah, it was interesting. I had a bunch of students. Another teacher came down from the Alternative Learning Center this afternoon, and it was about 20 students, and he brought them in here, and they were absolutely shocked. They had no idea that there was even a greenhouse in the high school, and they were just blown away by all the plants. And they go, “Do you mean all these kids in our high school grew all these?” And I said, “Yeah.” And I had some of the students that were in the class in my six-hour class, and they were talking to these ALC students, and they were just blown away that these students are growing all these plants.”
What other details should folks know about the plant sale?
“We’re running Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. And then every day beyond that day, we are open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day until everything is gone; there probably will be stuff left over. You know, every day after May 9, Monday through Friday, every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., we will be open. On Saturday morning, the best place to park is in the north parking lot of the high school. If you kind of went from the front, from General Sieben, you go counterclockwise around the school, and then again, you’re on the north side. And then you take a left, where it says deliveries in the greenhouses on your left by the track. So easy to access, park on the north side. Usually, a lot of people will be here, so it’s just easier to park there than right behind the greenhouse.”
[To listen to the broadcast, click the soundbite.]