Tuker County High School greenhouse is supplying lettuce to the school cafeteria as part of the farm to school program. Two years ago, the TCHS Carpentry class collaborated with the TCHS Agriculture class to create a hydroponic system to grow lettuce. They used four inch PVC pipes, a water pump and a 100-gallon Rubbermaid cattle tough along with some water pipe and fittings to build the system.
The students started to grow lettuce and we all know what happened.” 2020”. So, in the fall of 2021 the AG. class finally got to grow a round of lettuce trying out the system and it worked as good as they thought it would.
The system is not too complicated. The students drilled two inch holes in the PVC pipe every 12 inches for the growing cups to set in, they used oneinch rockwool cubes to start the lettuce in and after the roots develop, they transfer the plant over into the system by placing them into the growing cups.
The students learned how to balance the nutrition of the water in the system which is stored in the cattle tough and pumped throughout the pipes. As the water moves around the lettuce roots, it picks up the needed nutrients.
This was the first crop this year that has been used by the TCHS cafeteria with the hope of a continues supply of lettuce for this project. As the students advance the plan is to move from a hydroponics to aquaponics system, which will have live fish supplying the nutrients needed to grow lettuce.