麻豆影院

A new aeroponic garden in the Village Center Dining and Community Commons is the first in the nation to provide students, staff and faculty with fresh salad greens grown on site in a high-tech greenhouse attached to a dining hall.

The 鈥渁ir garden鈥� will help the university reduce its carbon footprint, cut energy costs and eliminate the need for harvesting, cleaning, packing and transporting food from outside farms.

The greenhouse in CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Village Center Dining and Community Commons occupies nearly 3,000 south-facing square feet and consists of 137 grow towers able to produce 44 plants each without soil.

鈥淟ocally grown food just tastes better,鈥� said Farm Manager Alex Macmillan, a horticulturalist and organic farmer who will oversee the greenhouse and its production schedule.

Macmillan and student-assistants will start by growing romaine lettuce and other vegetables in stages to ensure a continuous supply of fresh greens.

The inaugural harvest in March produced 15 pounds of kale, 10 pounds of all-star lettuce and 10 pounds of arugula that dining hall employees served to students, staff and faculty.

The aeroponic system at CU 麻豆影院 relies on water and 鈥渟oilless media鈥� to provide nutrients to plants, allowing them to grow faster and produce greater yields on average.

Vertical farming allows for better space usage and efficiency, and automated operations help maintain optimal sunlight, shade, temperature and humidity levels, creating the best year-round growing conditions.

Sensors will monitor conditions to prevent fans, lights and other equipment from running unnecessarily when natural sunlight and other conditions are sufficient.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to get growing and hope this new greenhouse inspires people to be informed about where their food comes from,鈥� Macmillan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not grown by someone you鈥檝e never met on some faraway farm with unknown farming practices. It鈥檚 me, right here, and you can literally see how I鈥檓 growing your food.鈥�