Midland Valley High School is starting the school year with a larger greenhouse, and Agricultural Education teacher Jean Smith says it is time for a change. “It’s twice the size of the greenhouse we had, and the other one pretty much was just falling apart,” she said.

The original 1,344-square-foot greenhouse was replaced with one nearly double its size, a 2,592-square-foot facility with an irrigation system.

Smith said that last year the school wasn’t able to plant ferns because they had no room to grow – a stark contrast between the 200 that have been planted this semester in the new facility.

There are plans to use the greenhouse for plants like geraniums, Gerbera daisies, tomatoes, and peppers. In the space where the previous greenhouse sat, Smith said Midland Valley hopes to start a community garden with cabbage, broccoli, collards, and blueberries. “That’s kind of our intention for this whole area,” she said.

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