LUXEMBURG, Wis. (WFRV) – Growing hydroponics reached Luxemburg-Casco High School last summer when the school received its shipment of Fork Farms mobile growing stations called the ‘Flex Farm’.
“Fork Farms manufactures the flex farm, which is a controlled environment agriculture,” said Sue Malesa, Fork Farms Associate Vice President of Culinary and Food Services. “It is a nine-square-foot piece of technology that operates solely on one outlet, water and nutrients to grow a variety of crops indoors.”
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Malesa says the name ‘Flex Farm’ was chosen because of the units ability to be transported easily from classroom to classroom, making them portable and flexible to use.
The process begins with filling the basin at the bottom of the unit with water and nutrients. Then, the mixture is directed right at the plant roots, eliminating the amount of evaporation and water leaching into the soil.
A wide variety of crops can be produced from the Flex Farm, including tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, squash, cucumbers, carrots and herbs, but lettuce is the most popular as it is the easiest to grow. After four weeks, these units can produce up to 25 pounds of edible greens.
“The ability to get fresh, organic hyper local greens at a cost that school districts can afford to put on their meal programs is tough in the state of Wisconsin or any northern cold weather state so this brings those hyper local greens right to their door, just feet from their cafeterias,” explained Malesa.
Luxemburg-Casco agricultural science teacher Justine Selk affirmed that lettuce is the highest in demand at the cafeteria’s lunch line. But, they will also grow other commodities like basil and herbs for the Selk’s culinary class.
Selk says the amount of farm land is on a decline so its important for students to learn about that, but also where their food is coming from.
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“My biggest thing is kids understanding that their food doesn’t just come from the grocery store, that’s a big thing for me,” explained Selk. “A lot of kids get excited when they can produce food on their own and use it on their own table in their kitchen or cook with it.”
With this technology being fairly new at the school, Selk says many students aren’t even aware it is there. With another unit arriving next year, Selk hopes more students venture to the schools greenhouse and try it for themselves.
