In a white shipping container on a tucked-away corner of Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus, students are growing fresh food. Inside the container is Yujin Park's vertical farm, where racks of lettuce and strawberries grow under exotic lighting right out of a rave.
The College of Integrative Sciences and Arts will begin offering a certificate program in vertical farming in fall 2022. It will be an applied biological sciences degree with a focus on controlled environmental agriculture.
“Vertical farming companies are growing, so there are more job openings in the industry,” said Park, an assistant professor in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.
Photos by Deanna Dent/ASU News
The perfect growing conditions for lettuce have been established – the right combination of light, humidity and temperature – but no one has cracked the secret to growing great strawberries. Park is testing three different combinations of light on strawberries.
“We can grow big strawberries, and very flavorful,” she said. “Our lab is at a very advanced stage.” A head of lettuce can be grown in one month. Strawberry plants produce fruit in two months, but after that, they grow continuously.
There is one problem with growing in a closed system: there are no bees, so Park pollinates using an electric toothbrush. But growing inside cuts out the need for herbicides or pesticides. The food grown in a vertical farm is not certified organic, but potentially could be, according to Park.
Right now Park is experimenting with food waste fertilizer obtained from the Polytechnic campus dining hall. “It can be a way of saving water,” she said.
Assistant Professor Yujin Park (Photos by Deanna Dent/ASU News)
The next step in Park’s research will be growing in substrates instead of liquid. Applied biological sciences graduate student Nick McClintic works in Park’s lab. He is studying microorganisms in soil.
McClintic said he is researching whether the microorganisms can unlock the nutrients in food waste. His goal is to optimize food waste’s contribution; so far the preliminary results have been promising.
For more information:
Polytechnic Campus at University of Arizona
www.arizona.edu
