When meeting your friends for dinner at Burge, you might have noticed that as you walk in, some greenery hits your eyeline. But this isn’t just for show; these greens are actually being used in some of the meals at Burge Marketplace.
Starting this year Burge’s dining hall has implemented microgarden systems to help grow some of the produce being used in the dining hall. And how are they being grown? Hydroponics.
So, what is hydroponics? Hydroponics is a gardening system that uses nutrient water solutions to grow plants, instead of using soil. While a few varieties may use a soil base, like perlite, the roots still rest in the solution, soaking up the nutrients. To grow, plants primarily need three things: water, light, and nutrients. In the microgarden system at Burge, lights shine down in the closed case, while the plants sit in the nutrient water, thus receiving their three pillars of growth. When broken down linguistically, hydroponics literally means water labor.
But why use hydroponics instead of soil-based gardening? Some of the advantages listed by Oklahoma State University include reduced water waste, increased production of produce due to available nutrients, and better controlled conditions, including water, nutrients, and oxygen. Another advantage lies in the location of these gardens; they can be grown in particularly dry, arid conditions, places with infertile soil, and even places with minimal soil available for soil-based gardening.
And while space was one consideration for the Burge microgarden, Don Stanwick, director of dining services at the University of Iowa, also mentioned the importance of having plants readily available and grown like this for all to see. When considering a project like the microgarden, Stanwick said his team wanted to “look at what we can do that makes [campus] more sustainable”.
Stanwick mentioned that not only does this system cut down on costs for transportation and the produce they would otherwise get from third-party vendors, but it also helps students feel more connected with nature, even in indoor locations like marketplaces.
“When winter comes and you’ve got snow on the ground, you walk in and see something fresh and green—mentally it does something to your brain”, Stanwick commented.
And he’s absolutely right. Seeing fresh, green vegetables and herbs induces a biophilic response in people, where they feel more connected and closer to nature. So, when things seem drab and dreary outside, Burge Marketplace will be a haven for all those looking to see some green and growth during those long winter months.
The biophilic effect though is not the only green thing about the microgardens. The system itself uses green technology. David Von Holten, the Dining Operations manager for Burge Marketplace, discussed how the system can function with an app, sending a notification to the system’s managers about water temperature, humidity levels, nutrient content, when to transplant seedlings, and even the scheduled harvest time.
“So, when we start some seeds off, they all start at the bottom with a dome lid. Then, the first notification will be to remove the humidity dome”, Von Holten said, outlining the growing steps for a plant in the microgarden. “After that the plants will keep moving up the levels of the microgarden until they are ready to be harvested.”
With a system like this, where notifications are sent regarding any updates or warnings about the plants’ growth, the microgarden can run more efficiently. System managers can reduce the amount of waste produced from potentially overwatered or bad produce, as the system will remind and notify them of these growing factors. This efficiency makes the technology more water friendly, energy friendly, and overall, greener.
Growing in the garden right now is Thai basil, microgreens, cilantro, Green Butterhead lettuce, and more. When harvested, these plants will be supplemented into the dining hall meals “as much as possible” Von Holten said.
“A lot of this stuff right now is just things we can use: the microgreens for garnishes, basil—we go through a lot of basil—for various meals, and the leaf lettuces go into our [salad] mixes”, Von Holten listed. He even mentioned using the produce from the microgardens as specialty pop-up meals, where the greens can be purposefully grown and harvested for that specific date.
As of right now, the project is in its initial phases, with the dining staff taking note of what is going well with the gardens and what may need to be improved in the future. While the amount of food produced in these gardens will not support a whole dining hall, Stanwick was optimistic about what it meant for campus now.
“To be able to grow some of the produce here is going to be beneficial”, Stanwick said.
Beneficial, and green. This project is yet another example of a sustainable initiative on campus that students and faculty can observe, learn about, and in this case, eat.
So, whether you are a freshmen headed to a dining hall for dinner, a senior ready to graduate, or a faculty member curious about the system, check out the microgardens located in Burge Marketplace to see our green friends’ growth and the awesome science that is hydroponics.
Sources used in writing and researching this article: