CORNER—The Corner High School greenhouse has opened for the season, offering bedding plants, vegetables, herbs, ferns and hanging baskets to the public, much as they have since the 1940s.

The project, which serves as a fundraiser for the agriscience department and the Future Farmers of America club, lets the students work on the plants and sell them to the public.

Alan Thomas, who oversees the program and club, said he has been doing the greenhouse since 1998 when he came to the school but it predates him by about 50 years. Thomas said it has always been a good fundraiser for the groups but it did take a hit when the school moved from its previous location nine years ago.

The greenhouse sits behind the school on Warrior Jasper Road. Each year, the greenhouse opens the first school day in April and is open every weekday that school is in session until they run out of plants or leave for the summer.

The plant prices are $.40 per plant for the peppers, tomatoes and bedding plants, $4 for a hanging basket of plants, $14 for the ferns and $5 for a geranium.

This year, the flowers being offered are begonias, marigold, dianthus, coleus, impatiens, dusty miller, verbena, petunia and zinnia. There are also five varieties of pepper: bell, cayenne, cow horn, jalapeño and sweet banana and seven varieties of tomatoes. This year, there is also an increased herb offering with chives, sage, dill, oregano, parsley, mint and basil.

Thomas said those prices are made possible largely by their supplier, Shane Wilson of K&C Plant Farms, who starts the seeds and provides them to the school each year.

“He helps us with the propagation and then we transplant them into the cells,” Thomas said.

Thomas also said the group gets a lot of help from Larry Brymer, a master gardener who advises the group throughout the project.

In addition to providing materials for the agriscience shop, it also pays to send the FFA officers to the annual convention each year in Montgomery.

The greenhouse is open each day the school is open from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will also be a Saturday sale on April 13 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Thomas hopes the public will continue to support the students’ efforts with this project each year.