By Blake Jackson
In the near future, you might not need to go to the garden or the grocery store to get your favorite salad fixings. Instead, you might be able to pluck them from your desktop or kitchen countertop.
Horticulture educators from University of Missouri Extension and Lincoln University Cooperative Extension soon will teach classes in hydroponics, a system for growing plants without the usual constraints of the outdoors – temperature, water, sunlight soil or location.
MU Extension horticulturist Donna Aufdenberg and 16 other educators from MU Extension and Lincoln University participated in “teach the teachers” training, thanks to a Specialty Crop Block Grant through the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
In November, Aufdenberg will be teaching two hydroponics workshops next month: Nov. 6 in Perryville and Nov. 13 in Jackson. Other dates and locations are to follow.
Each educator received a hydroponic unit for growing salad greens. Most units fit on a desktop and use the nutrient flow technique, in which plants grow in a nutrient solution that circulates around the root system. Units require electricity and plants need some type of lighting, preferably LED lighting.
Another option for greens is a deep water culture system. Plants sit in net cups suspended from holes in a Styrofoam mat. The roots hang from the net cup in a solution of water and nutrients.
The third choice was a Dutch bucket system, which is a square bucket containing perlite or expanded clay pebbles. It is suitable for growing tomatoes or cucumbers.
Aufdenberg says hydroponic systems in county extension centers have piqued a lot of curiosity and conversation. Greens and herbs grow quickly – about 30 days from seed to salad. Tomatoes and cucumbers take longer.
Benefits are many – convenience, sustainability, and no supply chain issues or constraints associated with traditional gardening, Aufdenberg says.
Photo Credit: pexels-greta-hoffman
Categories: Missouri, Crops, Education, Weather