HARVEY, N.D. (KXNET) — In spring, we plant our crops ahead of harvest time — but right now, one city is laying the groundwork for community growth, honoring all our growers both big and small. Tractor Supply Co in Harvey hosted an event on Saturday to get the community together and celebrate the start of Spring.

“We like to hold these events every year,” said manager Cindy Roerick. “We’ve named this one our Spring Fling. Basically, this is probably the first one we’ve had probably in about three years since COVID hit. It is very important to have these. It is touching out to our community, reaching out to our community, and as you can see, we have a great community involvement. It’s showcasing all of the homemade items, the handcrafted items, all their homegrown plants that they do.”

There were many different vendors selling various goods including handmade jewelry, greeting cards, even freeze-dried treats. L&D Gardens was at the event selling plants, seedlings, and more.

“We have a lot of wave petunias, crazytunias, some Calibrachoa, geraniums, we have some hanging baskets, some planters for your patio,” L&D Gardens proprietor David Harness states. “The hanging baskets are pretty nice this year. We also do vegetable plants, tomatoes, few marigolds, bell peppers, and jalapeños.”

Harness added that he even helped with the partnership for the first three years to get it up and running.

First-grade students from BM Hanson Elementary School were also present at the event, showing everyone the plants they grew during the school year through the Get Growing with Kids partnership, which is in its 6th year. Tractor Supply Co in Harvey gives the first-grade class a $200 gift card each year to buy seeds and supplies to grow plants.

“This is when we started day four,” recalls first-grader William Meranda. “It was sunny, and then we saw little green sprouts. And then we didn’t water them that day.”

“My favorite part was the planting and watering,” said fellow first-grader Justice Flood.

“We watched them grow, and when they were watching and planting them,” said student Easton Goodman.

When asked about the hardest part of growing these plants, Justice answered “Waiting”.