Seventh-grade students at Longfellow Middle School are getting hands-on experience with modern farming techniques through a new hydroponic growing system that allows them to grow food indoors year-round.
The agriculture class uses the school's new EdRack hydroponic growing system, which features multiple levels that expose plants to different combinations of light and nutrients. The system demonstrates to students how various growing conditions affect plant development and how food production can continue regardless of weather or season.
"It's another way of growing food a lot of students aren't as familiar with," said Jared Mickelson, the school's agroscience teacher. "They may see some community gardening, but the EdRack gives a lot of opportunities on each of the shelves, giving more experiments the students can run."
Throughout the semester, students rotate through different responsibilities including planting seeds, monitoring nutrient levels in the water solutions, and tracking plant growth over time. This hands-on approach gives students direct experience with the scientific method while learning about food production.
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