CCST Landscape & Horticulture Production Greenhouse

10/06/2026

Today was the day our tilapia fry came from St. Augustine Florida! We spent the day acclimating the tilapia to the tank temperature before releasing them. This is our first time raising fish in the new Aquaculture tank that we were able to secure through our 2025-2026 greenhouse sales! Thanks to our community support we are able to continue to building our program and give opportunities to students that they can’t get elsewhere.

The juniors already have some names but I’m sure our seniors will be just as excited on Thursday to meet our new fishy friends. Quite frankly I’m not sure how we will even tell them apart but that’s the fun of it :)

10/05/2026

It’s Green Careers Week!

Today our senior horticulturist got to spend the day at North Creek Nurseries exploring the many careers that make this business successful! From greenhouse growers to plant propagators, Integrated Pest Management specialist to grounds keepers, garden bed trial specialist to general managers, maintenance technicians that keep the technology efficient and purchasers to sell and buy in product! We saw that this career field is more than … mowing!

We also learned that this area of the country that we reside in is one of the BEST places to live in to pursue this career! Also, that unfortunately many parents not understanding the careers students can go into is often a barrier. So parents, community leaders, teachers, school counselors, anyone reading this. Learn along with us this week and beyond so we support our students on their journeys to Green Careers.

Let’s help “germinate” a new generation of green professionals!

Thank you to Seed Your Future North Creek Nurseries staff for helping connect our students to a large nursery facility! This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship!

10/02/2026

It’s TIIIIIMMMMMMEEE!

Our Fall Plant Sale is here! We will be open starting this Tuesday, October 6th - October 15th for in person sales at our CCST Greenhouse! Come support our students as they work on customer service, register, and plant knowledge skills while getting the benefit of great pricing!

Hours: Monday - Friday 10am to 2pm
CLOSED WEEKENDS

Thursday, October 8th Extended Hours!!!
10am - 8:00pm

Cecil County School of Technology
912 Appleton Road
Elkton, MD 21921

Go all the way around the back of the building and keep going until you are in front of our greenhouse and next to our construction program! There is a small Parking lot right there, you can follow the teal signs.

Payment options: CASH, CARD, or CHECKS

09/30/2026

Update: 10/1/26

Our flower club is now filled. Thank you all for your support!

We have 10 openings in our Flower of the Month Club for the 2026-2027 school year that we are opening to the community for the first time ever. Please read the regulations below before reaching out. I will update this post once we have 10 customers confirmed.

Cost is $220.00 for 8 arrangements. One every month from October - May.

1) You must be available to pick up your flower arrangement from CCST prior to 3:00pm during week days. We will send an email early that week so that you know which day your arrangement will be ready and can plan accordingly. If you cannot pick up your item before 3pm, I’m so sorry but we cannot accommodate you.

2) In the case that you do not pick up your arrangement after 2 days it will be forfeited and you will not recieve a new one in its place.

3) All club members are aware that these are student made and that the purpose of the club is for students to practice skills and gain experience. If you receive an arrangement that is sub par you, will contact the program teacher with your concerns that they will find a solution. Members will not bash student work or the Flower Club on social media. If this happens you will be removed from the club and refunded for the remainder of the year.

4) As a club member, each arrangement will come with a QR code to give your florist your feedback. This is an educational program, KIND feedback helps our students grow and when students don’t get feedback they feel slighted and that they didn’t;t do a good job.

If you read all of these important factors and would like to join the floral club to help grow students skills, please email Mrs. Rigdon. Again, we will post once all 10 remaining spots are filled. Commenting on this post will not hold a spot for you.

Brittany Rigdon
[email protected]

09/30/2026

Next week starts the beginning of Green Careers Week! There are a vast number of careers in the horticulture industry but many people on scratch the surface of what they know can be a career in this field. Follow along next week as we share Green Careers!

We’re proud to shine a light on the floral industry and the many career opportunities that exist within a sector we love in partnership with Seed Your Future.

Floriculture is powered by passionate, dedicated professionals working across a wide range of fields from IT, science and research to accounting, sales, design, logistics and so much more.

It’s an industry where you can find great people, meaningful work and plenty of opportunities to innovate. If you’re looking for a career that combines creativity, collaboration and growth, there’s a place for you in floriculture.

Help us spread the word! https://youtu.be/pPLmDk5izVI..

09/22/2026

The outreach that happens with Green Career Week can only happen because of the continued investment from the supportive horticulture industry. Learn how you can get involved by clicking here!

https://www.seedyourfuture.org/green-career-week

09/20/2026

Seniors in our Landscaping and Horticulture Production program 💙💛💙💛

We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments at The Big E this week, but above all the awards, plaques, and placings, I am most proud of their character and the way they represented themselves, our program, CCST, and Maryland FFA.

Throughout the week, they were enthusiastic, professional, and willing to step outside of their comfort zones. They introduced themselves, started conversations, and networked with FFA members from across the Eastern Region. They truly embraced the opportunity to meet new people and make connections that went far beyond the competition.

Before heading to Massachusetts, they made more than 150 clothespins to “clip” onto other FFA members throughout the fair. What started as something that is shared at most state conventions amongst the membership quickly became a way to connect with members from other states—and apparently gave Maryland FFA a little bit of a reputation as “the ones with the clips.” 😂

In other words, we might just have been the “Merriest” state at The Big E! ❤️🤍💙

Awards are exciting and accomplishments deserve to be celebrated, but those things will eventually sit on a shelf. What I hope these students carry with them is the confidence to introduce themselves, the ability to represent something bigger than themselves, and the understanding that their character will always speak louder than any plaque.

This week, they represented Maryland well, and this teacher/advisor could not be more proud of them. 💙💛

It’s not JUST about the jacket—it’s about the journey.

🎉 Congratulations to our CCST FFA Nursery/Landscape Team on placing 3rd at The Big E! 🌱🏆

Today, our students put their horticulture knowledge and hands-on skills to the test against teams from across the Eastern region. Competitors were challenged in general knowledge, landscape estimating, plant identification, disease and pest identification, as well as several practical skills, including verbal customer assistance, selling lawn fertilizers, and potting nursery plants.

We are also incredibly proud to recognize two of our members for earning Top Individual honors:

🌿 Cassidy Pulliam — 7th Overall
🌿 Seth Davies — 9th Overall

Placing 3rd as a team at this level of competition is an incredible accomplishment and a reflection of the knowledge, skills, and hard work these students have put into preparing for this opportunity.

Congratulations to our Nursery/Landscape team for representing CCST, Cecil County, and the state of Maryland with pride at The Big E! 💙💛

Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve. 🌱

CCSchoolofTech Cecil County Public Schools Maryland FFA Association

09/19/2026

Best of luck to our Nursery Landscape team!

09/11/2026

Juniors made it to the CCST Greenhouse for the first time this year to transplant some plugs from North Carolina Farm Inc.

Have a great weekend!

08/15/2026

Our Nursery Landscape team will be representing MARYLAND FFA at the Big E in September. Help us send our students from Cecil County by reading our sponsorship letter and contacting Mrs. Rigdon.

We appreciate ANY support we can get to make this opportunity happen for our Cecil County Kids!

UPDATE!

We have secured funds from multiple organizations and individuals to attend the Big E! We will have a post in the upcoming weeks to share who those sponsors are that are helping us on the ROAD TO THE BIG E!

Thank you all for your likes and shares, that really helped us get the word out.

Dear Cecil County Businesses, Community Organizations, and Supporters:

We are excited to share an incredible opportunity that is ahead for several members of the Cecil County School of Technology FFA Chapter. This September, our students will travel to Springfield, Massachusetts, to represent Maryland at The Big Eastern Expo (The Big E), in competition at one of the largest agricultural fairs in the country.

Our students have earned the opportunity to compete at The Big E in Nursery/Landscaping and Dairy Handling by placing at States this past Spring and Summer putting their knowledge and skills they have developed through agricultural education and FFA to the test against students from across the region. This is an experience that goes far beyond a competition. It is an opportunity for our students to represent Cecil County, the state of Maryland, our school, and the agricultural industry that they are preparing to enter.

At the Cecil County School of Technology within our FFA Chapter, we strive to be living proof of the FFA mission: “To make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education.” Opportunities such as The Big E allow our students to put that mission into action.

Traveling to Massachusetts for this competition comes with significant expenses, including transportation, lodging, meals, competition fees, and other costs associated with allowing our students to participate. We do not want the financial cost of this opportunity to prevent any qualified student from being able to attend.

This is where our community can make a difference.
We are reaching out to local businesses, agricultural organizations, community groups, and individuals who believe in investing in the next generation of agricultural and horticultural leaders. Your sponsorship will directly help our students travel to The Big E and experience an opportunity that they will carry with them long after the competition is over.

When you support the CCST FFA, you are not simply helping send students on a trip. You are investing in hands-on education, career development, leadership, agriculture, and the future workforce of our community. You are giving students the chance to stand on a much larger stage and proudly say that they are from Cecil County, Maryland.

We are grateful for contributions of any size. Every dollar helps us get one step closer to our goal of ensuring that our students can fully participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If you would like to support our students, donations can be made payable to CCST and mailed to:

Cecil County School of Technology FFA
912 Appleton Road
Elkton, MD 21921

We would also be happy to recognize our sponsors and share the journey of our students as they prepare for and compete at The Big E. We will have sponsors and names placed on the back of our competition shirts while also including you in our journey with mention in our social media post throughout our trip. (instagram)

Thank you for considering supporting the CCST FFA and these students as they take their talents beyond Maryland. We are incredibly proud of the work they have put in to earn this opportunity, and we hope our community will help us send them to Massachusetts knowing that they have an entire community cheering them on.

Together, we can help our students grow, compete, lead, and represent Maryland agriculture with pride.

With gratitude,

Danica Timmons, Seth Davies, Mackenzie Long, Madison Klevinsky, Owen Pleger, and Cassidy Pulliam; CCST FFA Members

Brittany Rigdon CCST Co-Advisor Landscaping and Horticulture Production Instructor
[email protected]

Kelly Reisler CCST FFA Co-Advisor Agricultural Science Instructor
[email protected]