School gardens are an excellent resource for students as they provide fresh foods, learning opportunities, and a sense of responsibility. However, traditional outdoor school gardens can be challenging to maintain due to space constraints, inclement weather, and the need for maintenance during the summer when schools are closed. To address these issues, many schools are turning to indoor hydroponic school gardens that reliably grow fruits and vegetables all year round. These gardens provide a wealth of learning opportunities for students, making them both a school garden and a learning garden.
The benefits of using indoor hydroponic farms as a preferred school garden include sustainability, affordability, reliability, and ease of maintenance. Hydroponic farms offer environmental benefits such as using 98 percent less water and 98 percent less land than traditional agriculture, while also providing 45 times more food production. They are also more cost-effective than purchasing fresh produce and are highly reliable, consistent, and predictable in their yields. Hydroponic gardens are also easy to maintain and can be left alone for days while the fresh foods continue to grow and flourish.
Hydroponic School Gardens are More Reliable Than an Outdoor Garden
Hydroponic farms are highly reliable and consistent because they are immune to factors such as weather, natural disasters, and pest infestation. Once the hydroponic farm is set up, the majority of time spent with the system is simply watching the plants grow. A single Flex Farm can produce more than 25 pounds of fresh leafy greens in less than one month. Herbs such as basil, parsley, mint, and cilantro all thrive in a hydroponic growing environment, as do fruiting plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. The yields and outcomes of fresh foods are highly predictable in a hydroponic environment, which creates high-quality foods, less waste, and profitability.
School Garden Learning & Curriculum
Indoor hydroponic farms can be instructional and placed in the classroom or school cafeteria, allowing learning to occur without distractions. Fork Farms has designed a complete, turnkey curriculum package for grades K-12 to be used in conjunction with the growing Flex Farms. These packages provide educators with all the necessary tools to teach students about biology, chemistry, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and agriculture. Students take ownership of the growing process and are engaged in the progression of the project, which increases their willingness to try fresh fruits and vegetables.
Hands-On Community Engagement With A Hydroponic Garden
When students are engaged, they are happy. They connect with the subject matter and are inspired to deepen their learning and then apply what they learn in school to the world outside the classroom. It has been proven that connecting students to fresh food can have a positive, transformative impact on their health, education, and community. A school garden program offers benefits like academic growth and community connection. Indoor hydroponic gardening provides a practical solution, offering a simple, impactful way to create transformative hands-on learning opportunities.
Start Your Hydroponic School Garden
Outdoor school gardens have their benefits, but they also face challenges. Indoor hydroponic school gardens offer many advantages, such as year-round growing, hands-on learning, resource efficiency, easy setup, and integration with STEM education. With indoor hydroponics, schools can overcome the challenges of outdoor gardens and provide an engaging learning experience for students.
Fork Farms' user-friendly hydroponic growing systems are designed for anyone, offering everyone, from aspiring farmers to teachers, the ability to grow nutritious vegetables, herbs, and fruit without using soil.
If you are interested in bringing a hydroponic school garden into your school, the Fork Farms team is here to help and is dedicated to your success. Contact us directly for more information.
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