Education Matters: Students Grow Food Hydroponically
By: SUSANNE BRUNNER
September 24, 2018
CABOT, Ark. - Growing food without soil? It's happening at Cabot High School.
"It most definitely grabs their attention," says Griffin Prior, Cabot High Senior.
When you're walking down the halls, it's hard to miss these plant towers.
"It teaches us so much responsibility because if we don't take care of it, then it's just going to die," says Cora Hicks, Cabot High Senior.
Using a pH System, students in Plant Science Class are testing out their new hydroponic grow tower. The lettuce sprouts without soil. Instead, these teens use mineral nutrients in water and light.
"It's easier than to dig in dirt to show kids how the root system grows, how the plant itself grows, on what it uses to grow," says Prior.
Prior and his classmates are nurturing the leafy greens with a pH System. Periodically, students will test the pH in the water to see if the plant is getting the right amount of nutrients it needs. The process was a lot of trial and error.
Since July, students have harvested about 9 pounds of organic lettuce. With 6 of these plant towers on hand, there's enough lettuce for everyone.
"We kind of share it throughout the district. It is good! It tastes just like a salad," says Hicks.
From tower to table, Plant Science is growing with interest and this method is planting the seed to something bigger in agriculture education. Cabot High School received the towers during the summer and they hope to get more in the future.
To keep up with Susanne Brunner's Education Matters Reports, you can like her page here