Eric Tanner Hydroponics

View the project final report

Commodities

• Vegetables: greens (lettuces)

Practices

• Crop Production: greenhouses, nutrient management, water management
• Education and Training: demonstration, display, workshop, youth education
• Production Systems: hydroponics

This project helped me to show my students and our small agricultural community the value, efficiency, and sustainability of the practice of growing hydroponically. The students built, grew, maintained, solved problems, marketed, and shared their experiences with our agricultural community showing an alternative method to traditional agriculture. The students are learning the benefits to using a sustainable hydroponic method as a possible source to combat the food deserts that are prevalent in our area.  

1. Introduced students to the idea of sustainable agriculture through hands-on activities in our greenhouses by implementing a hydroponic leafy greens production program. Students planned, built, grew, maintained, and marketed the crop. 
2. Take students on school funded field trips to local hydroponic commercial growers to learn their best demonstrated practices on how to implement sustainable practices in their businesses. This will also introduce them to the various agricultural career pathways. This trip is planned for spring of 2025.
3. Hosted open houses and gave student-led tours of our facilities. This included district elementary and middle schools. We planned to have community workshops and tours, but our pest pressure has prevented this from happening so far. We hope to do this in the spring this year as long as we can keep our crop looking good.