A tasty experiment at Phoenix Academy of growing fresh produce indoors could see students eating salads by March — and they don’t have to battle the weather or bugs to do it, either.
Moose Jaw businesswoman Kim Ehman with Fox Towers and Seedlings delivered 28 seedlings on Jan. 19 as part of the school’s tower garden project. The school received $3,000 from the Whole Kids Foundation in December to purchase the equipment. The foundation supports schools and helps increase access to and consumption of fresh, nutritious, whole foods.
Some types of seedlings the students received include micro kale, gourmet lettuce, arugula, broccoli, rainbow chard, herbs, and tomatoes. There is even an edible viola flower.
Students planted 12 seeds in wool pods, while the remaining seedlings were planted in the two tower gardens — each can told 20 seedlings — so the youths can compare how fast the produce grows and the differences in growing methods, explained teacher Nichole Cornea.
“Many of our students have never grown a garden (or helped their parents grow one). They are actually finding it quite interesting because the plants have really grown in the week (since they were planted),” she continued. “I actually am having a hard time believing they’re growing so fast — and I grow a garden at home.”
At the rate the vegetables are growing, students could be eating healthy and fresh salads by late February or early March.
Maintenance of the towers is quite simple, Cornea explained. There is a large tub on the bottom filled with water. An RV filter strains the water while a pump circulates the liquid. Students pour two types of nutrients into the water, which the pump then circulates every hour for 15 minutes. The liquid becomes mist and is sprayed over the seedlings.
It’s fantastic that the seedlings have arrived, Cornea said. She lives on a farm and is a gardener, so she knows that excited expectation of wondering when the plants will grow. Similarly, the students — who sometimes have a non-committal teen attitude — have also had a sense of wonderment watching the plants grow.
The growth of the plants since Jan. 19 has impressed the high school teacher.
“I’m looking at it right now and the mini broccoli is 10 times the size it was when we got it … ,” she added. “(So) yeah, it’s exciting.”
Ehman has provided plenty of information to help the project grow and move it forward so that the seedlings can mature quickly, said Cornea. One suggestion that the students implemented included wrapping an emergency blanket around one of the towers since this is supposed to increase the plants’ size quickly.
Cornea is certain that the plants will double in size if the reflective blanket is left on for two weeks. However, students will check the plants after a week to see whether the growth has been exponential or only a little. They will also compare those plants with those in the uncovered tower.
“It’s funny because some students weren’t here when we planted them and they (the towers) weren’t turned on,” she said. “When you have something built in a room, you kind of start ignoring it because it’s been there. And then all of a sudden they (the students) came in and the lights are on it.”
Cornea’s classroom is illuminated with dull lighting. However, the towers’ lights have brightened the space, which has surprised students who walk into the room. They have become curious about the plants growing in the towers and have wondered what will be done with them.
The towers’ lights are on from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., giving the plants plenty of artificial sunlight.
“(That’s) a lot more sun than any of us are getting, that’s for sure,” joked Cornea.
