Turkey Valley Community School District and its students are excited to utilize the school’s greenhouse for a second year and all the projects, ideas, and experiences it brings. With one full greenhouse year under their belts, valuable lessons were learned, and second-year plans are underway.
“We had a very successful last year,” noted TV Agriculture Education Teacher Steve Pfaffle. “We grew a wide assortment of vegetables, over 250 baskets and 500 pots of flowers. That thing was full when we had our Open House this spring, but we were very successful and sold out of almost everything.” He noted that at Turkey Valley, the Career Technical Education program is very strong. “Anything we can do to get everyone involved at any age, help the students to witness opportunities and different learning experiences, that’s what we’ll do, and we have such great support for that from our principal.”
The greenhouse was planned to be self-sufficient, and more than $6,000 from the plant sales will help support the greenhouse for propane to heat it (if necessary) and new equipment or student-led projects. “This community is so supportive. We wouldn’t be doing some of these things without community support.”
Last year, Pfaffle noted they “went whole-hog and tried everything we could think of and continued to ‘grow’ and learn. We planted a bit too early last year and ended up with four-foot-tall tomato plants at the open house on April 26. They had started to flower too. So, we’ll wait another month before starting seeds for the Open House this year. Maybe we’ll start in March instead of February.”
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