Idaho Matters

High school plant sales give Boise horticulture students a chance to show off

High school plant sales are a great way to deck out your garden while helping students.

Broadcast on:: 02 May 2024

Every spring, students plant thousands of plants, everything from tomatoes to peppers to flowers and herbs, as part of horticulture classes at Boise area high schools. The kids grow the better known varieties of plants like Romas and Beefsteak, but they also get to experiment with tomatoes with names like Boxcar Willie, Siberian Cool Weather and Brandywine Pink.

The Borah High greenhouse is full of plants before the annual sale.(Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio )

Then when the flowers and veggies are ready, the high schools hold plant sales which are open to the public, giving everyone a chance to pick up some plants for much less than they would cost in a store.

We headed to Borah High School's greenhouse to meet with Jeremy Thompson, biology and horticulture teacher, to preview one of this year's upcoming sales. He said the kids learn how to garden from the ground up.

“We go really slow and they work with a partner and, like, hey, this is how you measure how deep this is, and this is how much potting mix you have to put in there. And this is how wet it has to be. And we do that a few times. And then after that it's like, okay, you're planting your own flat and this is what you need to do,” said Thompson.

All the plants are grown by high school students who plant seed after seed each spring.(Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio)

The greenhouse behind Borah High is filled with rows and rows of flowers and vegetables. There is a long line of tomatoes including Golden Nugget, Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano and Oregon Spring.

Who doesn't want a flower named after Dracula in their yard?(Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio)

He says the kids learn a lot as they start taking care of their own plants and they get to choose what plants they put into their hanging baskets.

“It's a learning process and yeah, sometimes it probably would be, I guess if it was in it for the profit, it might be better to say, hey, you're going to plant these things. But I think it's important for them to learn what they're planting and how well it's going to work,” Thompson said.

Rows of pepper plants are popping up including Hot Lemon, Hungarian Hot Wax and Jupiter Bell. The flowers are dazzling, from a Speedy Sonnet Mix Snapdragon to a Darlin Orange Flare Dahlia. One of the favorites for kids and buyers alike is the Dracula Celosia plant, which is a bright red-purple folded spike nestled on blood-red veined leaves.

He says at first, it’s hard for kids to see the results of all their hard work planting seed after seed, until a few weeks go by.

“All of a sudden there's all these little baby plants popping up, and then they start to get excited. And then when the flowers are all blooming, I think they find enjoyment in that and get some sort of satisfaction from, hey, I did that,” said Thompson.

The students make sure all the plants come with descriptions and tips on how they will grow.(Samantha Wright / Boise State Public Radio)

He says everyone is welcome to the sales, where you can pick up plants for $1 or $3 apiece. All the money raised goes back into the horticulture programs to buy more things like seeds and pots for next year’s growing season.

Borah High School Plant Sale:

Friday, May 3 10-5 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 12-4:00 p.m.

Capital High School Plant Sale:

Friday, May 10 3-6 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 10-2 p.m.

Frank Church High School Plant Sale:

Thursday, May 9 2:30-6 p.m.
Friday, May 10 12-5 p.m.
Saturday, May 11 11-2 p.m.