Parsons High School’s horticulture class is hoping to plant seeds to grow philanthropic support from the community to help them in further development of their plans for Viking Farms.
In November, students from the class went with their teacher Kelsey Fabrycky to the K-State
Extension Lab and presented to the Grow Labette Committee about their desire for a
greenhouse to expand learning opportunities for students. Unbeknownst to the district, Lauren Coover, with Grow Labette, graciously applied for a grant on behalf of the class, helping them secure $8,000 in funding for a gothic style high tunnel, hoop house/greenhouse. Unlike a framed greenhouse with polycarbonate or glass panels, the flexible sides of a hoop house are raised in summer months to ventilate and are rolled down in the winter.
Fabrycky said she is elated to be awarded the grant, but then came the surprise cost of having the electricity installed to the hoophouse. Estimates came in around $7,800. It is not a cost the district had anticipated or budgeted for. Electricity will be required for its operation throughout the school year though.
“The hoop house is double poly plastic, so we’ll blow air through there to create a barrier
between the outside and inside and help retain the heat in the winter,” Fabrycky said.
There are also the costs of any seeds, soil, fertilizer, and tools and equipment that are not donated, to get the greenhouse project kicked off.
With all that in mind, Fabrycky said fundraising will be the primary focus for her students in these last couple months of school.
“We have a lot of ideas for fundraising,” she said.
Viking Farms is now doing online sales of flower bulbs, seeds, tea kits and herbs right now through flowerpowerfundriaising.com. To check out what is offered click on the following link or scan the QR code in the image above. https://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/index.php/marketplace/seller/profile/shop/phshorticulture
“April 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., we are going to do a fundraiser through The Cardinal Station (at 1301 Main, across from the Cardinal Event Center). What that is going to be is we will have a special tea made, I don’t know what it’s going to be called yet, but they’ll be selling that. We’ll also have succulents, ferns and we’re going to have some tropical plants like banana plants we’re going to sell at a table there, too,” Fabrycky said. “We just planted a bunch of little cabbage seedlings so we thought we could sell those, too. This will be right in time to put those out for spring gardens.”
“Our biggest fundraiser is April 26. We are going to do a community day where we invite people to come and see our hydroponic lab and see the spot where we are going to put the greenhouse. The kids want to call it Farm Fest. We are thinking from 12 to 3 p.m. The kids will introduce people to how we harvest our greens (from the lab). We plan to have face painting, bouncy houses, as well as pulled pork and salads. We also hope to have some tables where kids can plant their own little herb gardens and stuff like that. I think it will be pretty cool. The kids are excited about it and I am too.”
They will have fresh salad mixes for sale for people to take home, harvested directly from their hydroponics lab, so it is all herbicide and pesticide free.
“We’re also going to ask people to sponsor the greenhouse or the container lab to help pay for them,” she said. “Next year we have to cover the costs of seeds and nutrients for the container lab. This year everything except the electricity and water has been paid for by a grant.”
To help with that, she said they are planning to turn Viking Farms into a business that students will operate.
“I have five positions the students can apply for. There are two container managers, two marketing and a product specialist who orders everything and keeps track of what we need,” she said. “Then we plan to have monthly or weekly subscriptions, where people can sign up for five or six weeks of greens. They can choose what mix of lettuces or other greens they want. Hopefully we can bring some money in and keep the container going with that.”
The vertical columns allow for two acres of greens to be grown at once in a small space, so students can grow and distribute fresh greens weekly.
Other fundraisers could potentially include managing a fireworks stand this summer. Additionally, she also filled out an application for the Frontier Farmers Finance Grant for $5,000 and is hopeful they will be approved for that.
Fabrycky is optimistic they can get the greenhouse installed so it can be used next school year.
Once they have the greenhouse in place, she said they will plan to have an annual plant sale as a fundraiser to help them cover costs. She said she wants to plan so they are not selling the exact same thing as Service Valley Charter Academy or The Parsons State Hospital greenhouse, as she doesn’t want to be in competition with them, but rather offer other options.
“The kids really like the tropical plants, so we will probably stick with some of that,” she said. “We kind of want to come up with our own things we can be known for.”