SLP Seeds begins new hydroponics initiative
Seniors sow seeds for new growing systems
Senior Liz Hodges is a part of the SLP Seed Hydroponics team. Once a week, the team checks on their green houses where the plants are grown and makes any improvements to their environment.
November 1, 2020
SLP Seeds, an organization dedicated to providing sustainable and healthy food to the St. Louis Park community, has begun a new initiative called hydroponics. This will aid in feeding families this coming winter.
According to senior Elizabeth Hodges, the new hydroponic systems allow SLP Seeds to grow and distribute fresh produce throughout the colder seasons.
“Since we’re growing in Minnesota, the growing season is short and in winter, we can’t grow outside — so a hydroponic system is a main alternative that will help us get food to folks that need it,” Hodges said.
The systems are being used for the first time this year. Senior Zoe Frank, an intern with SLP Seeds, said that this was the perfect time to try hydroponics.
“We have been wanting to do indoor growing for a while. Since we’re finally operating out of a warehouse, it seemed like a good time to try something new,” Frank said.
The hydroponics project is student-led and run by seniors Zoe Frank, Elizabeth Hodges and Audrey Long. According to Hodges, the seniors tend to the plants multiple times a week to make sure that the water has enough nutrients and to guide the plants along the right path.
“The system requires that we monitor the ph balance of the water — but in general we try and keep a range of 6.5 to 7.2 pH in the water, so we check the pH twice a week at least, but generally it’s more like three or four times,” Hodges said.
Because the system is new, SLP Seeds is currently growing ¨starter plants,’ which are plants that grow easily in many conditions. Frank said the plants are growing so well that soon they plan on growing crops that are more challenging and distributing them to the community later in the year.
“We’re starting with two easy to grow crops, which are lettuce and bok choy, and they’re doing great. We will most likely expand, we’re going to start peppers and tomatoes soon, which are more difficult because they produce fruits,” Frank said.
SLP Seeds started using the hydroponic systems primarily to grow food indoors, but learned that growing plants in water has many other benefits, according to Frank.
“We wanted a way to grow things inside, and sometimes with soil, growing it’s harder to get plants to actually produce fruit inside — so this is a better alternative method than soil,” Frank said.
Because the new growing method has been successful, Hodges said they are excited about the possibility of expanding the horizons of the hydroponic system.
“I’m super excited about it as a project and exploring alternative growing methods is a really important part in promoting a shift in our agriculture and food systems to a more sustainable world,” Hodges said.
If you want more information about SLP Seeds, you can visit the website.