What Are Hydroponics?
Hydroponic systems allow plants to be grown without the use of soil. Instead, they utilize light, water, and a fertilizer solution which means they can be grown indoors. The Tower Gardens at the Bear Pantry are an aeroponic style system that will only use about 2% of the water that is typically required in traditional farming. These unique systems conserve water while increasing produce growth by 3%.
How Will They Be Used at the Bear Pantry?
The hydroponic systems will be kept at the Bear Pantry. Indoor systems can grow plants year-round which will allow more produce to be available during winter months when the MSU Campus Garden’s harvest begins to slow.
Fresh produce items are some of the most sought-after products stocked at the Bear Pantry. Fruits and vegetables in this form tend to be more appealing and flavorful while also being more expensive at the store, making them less accessible. Fresh produce can also be served in ways that frozen and canned items cannot – salads are a fitting example as frozen greens aren’t able to make a crisp salad base.
We hope to start off our hydroponics by growing leafy greens and add a variety of other plants as time goes on.
How Will We Get There?
We are need of students with hydroponic knowledge or experience to help us start our systems, please email the Bear Pantry team (bearpantry@missouristate.edu) if interested.
Students who participate in this project would receive volunteer hours for time spent at the pantry setting up the system and educating staff on growing procedures.
Follow along to learn what’s happening at the pantry on our social platforms – @mostatebearpantry on Instagram, MSU Bear Pantry on Facebook, and @MSU_BearPantry on Twitter.
