When we brainstormed what to grow in the Light Lab Solarium, we realized that our students are really fortunate to focus on traditional growing methods with our expansive outdoor garden and farm. Each year they plant seeds, spread compost, weed, harvest, and get their hands dirty outside in all the best ways.
We wanted to give them a different experience in the Solarium by introducing aeroponic and hydroponic methods of farming. Our fifth graders tackle the building and set-up in the fall. The maintenance of our three vertical aeroponic towers in the Solarium is ongoing. They visit as a class weekly to fill the water reservoirs, take pH readings, measure growth, plant seedlings, replace and tend plants, harvest, and most deliciously, eat!
Most of what we harvest is taken to the kitchen where Chef Wadiya incorporates it into our new food program, Lettuce Feed You. We grow basil which is added to her homemade pizza sauce for Fridays and dill that flavors her famous salad dressings.
Swiss chard, arugula, leaf lettuce, and kale make up the hearty variety of greens exploding from the towers. We have a few climbing cucumbers which have proved great for making quick pickles. (Amazing student take away: "You mean pickles are actually cucumbers!") The sweet pepper plants are producing some beautiful baby green peppers that will be ready in the next two weeks.
After finding an avocado seedling self-sprouted in the compost outside, we rooted several more avocados (a lengthy process) and converted some old buckets into hydroponic systems. We now have four beautiful and healthy avocado plants which after another lengthy period of time may yield some fruits that wouldn't be possible in the Pennsylvania climate.
Our aeroponic and hydroponic systems share many things in common. Liquid nutrients must be added to the water to nourish the plants. Each system is soil-less; seeds are sprouted in rock wool pods.
The hydroponic buckets allow the plant roots to sit directly in the water/nutrient solution to take in both as needed. Roots are supported in baskets filled with pebbles.
The aeroponic towers allow the roots to grow out into the air inside each tower column and take in water as it "rains" down from above. A strong pump in the water reservoir forces the water up to the top where it falls through something similar to a shower head. This design allows us to make good use of the vertical space in the Solarium.
Of course, the best part of growing is eating. Tasting new foods is an important way for our students to practice one of our three Lower School guidelines: Be Brave.
Their faces are priceless. Arugula was popular with about half the group, but everyone tried it!
It's truly amazing how much easier it is to take a chance on an unknown food when you've helped bring it to life and tended it through the entire process. Stewardship, one of our Quaker spices, is in action!
The last piece that's been missing in our Solarium is an aquaponic system. Teacher Tiffany and I have been researching and preparing, educating ourselves on how to add fish to our water reservoirs. The fish make is possible to close the system, eliminating the need for us to add liquid nutrients for the plants.
Tune in this spring as our students build an aquaponic system and learn the basics of this new sustainable method.
