LUMBERTON — With just under three weeks to go until the opening of the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, local children and their families are finishing up final projects to be judged in a variety of categories.

Thomas Underwood’s sunflowers still have growing time before they are fair worthy, but he said he’s not worried. If his sunflowers don’t win, he also plans to enter his grape jelly. He said he’s also got some paintings to enter. Thomas, 10, has been keeping a close watch on his sunflower plants and how they compare to those in a test plot at the NC Cooperative Extension Robeson County Center, which has some plants reaching as tall as 10 feet or more.

Thomas said his sunflowers may be about half that size. Fortunately, judges are looking at the size and quality of the plant’s head, its bloom.

Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development, said Tropical Storm Debby didn’t help any of the children growing sunflowers for the fair this year.

“They’re out of sync because of the weather,” Ann DeJarnette said.

Thomas and his family employed some strategy this year anticipating the sketchy weather.

“We planted our sunflowers in buckets,” Thomas said. “When the storm came, we moved them to safety.”

Meanwhile, while the sunflowers continue growing, Thomas has at least one more project ready to enter; grape jelly.

DeJarnette recently brought in some muscadine grapes for 4-H members. Thomas was working on canning a batch of jelly while talking with The Robesonian. One by one each jar of grape jelly began to pop, signaling that it was time to remove them from the hot water on the stove top.

As instructed, Thomas began moving the jars from the stock pot to the counter top. One project done.