Hartselle High students learn agriscience skills from recent graduate

Apr. 5—HARTSELLE — Students at Hartselle High's agriculture program learn how to grow plants during cold weather and how to preserve crops after they're harvested, and their new teacher is a product of the same program.

First-year agriscience teacher Austyn Randolph graduated from Hartselle High in 2020 and was active in both agriscience courses and Future Farmers of America during his time as a student. This year, he was hired to lead the program of 85 students in grades 9 through 12.

"Dr. (Brad) Cooper was the principal here when I was here and still is," Randolph said. "Most of the teachers I had are still here, too. So I tell my students that I've walked in their shoes before."

Several agriscience students were in the school's greenhouse on Monday selling plants for their annual plant sale. Randolph said all 85 students were involved in growing and nurturing the plants that were sold.

Juniors Chesney Taylor and Cierra Schultz have been active with the school's FFA program since they were in seventh grade and have been growing plants in the greenhouse since they were freshmen.

They say they've learned valuable and practical lessons during their years studying agriscience, like how to ensure the safety of plants during a cold front.

"One year, we had a cold front that came in and killed everything, so we had to learn to plant some stuff inside," Taylor said.

Schultz said the damage from the cold front caused them to use new soil and build new planter boxes for their flowerbeds.

"When we got here it was just clay dirt and we had to dig all of it out and replace it with new soil and dirt," Schultz said.

According to these students, the most important lesson students can learn from the agriscience program is self-reliance.

"This program really prepares you for life," Taylor said. "Learning how to put hard work and dedication into plants like this can also teach you skills for your future job or whatever you choose to do for the rest of your life."

Taylor and Schultz were keeping notes throughout the day Monday on the most popular plants customers were buying. They had also introduced new plants for the sale.

"I like the black mamba petunias, those are new this year," Schultz said.

Randolph said they sold a lot of tomato plants and impatiens on Monday morning.

"We actually had a lady come in here and bought every flat of impatiens we had," Randolph said.

Taylor and Schultz were among eight juniors in the agriscience program who received their skid steer certification last month, and they were able to use the skid steer loaders to till a small patch of ground on campus for a new school garden.

"We took a layer of dirt off the ground and put it in the flowerbeds that are located in front of the greenhouse and we had a pile of dirt to cover it back up," Taylor said.

Randolph said next year they will grow vegetables like squash, cucumbers, okra, corn and a wide variety of peppers in the school's new garden.

"The main thing I want to do with that is ... to teach a canning and preservation class," Randolph said. "Like how you can pickle and how you preserve these vegetables so once you pick them, they don't just rot."

He said a nursery and landscaping course will be available for students next year, where students will be responsible for maintaining the shrubs and flowers around Hartselle High School.

"I'm working with the state right now to build the curriculum for that class," Randolph said.

— wes.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.