When Realityworks marketers Emily and Allen started growing with hydroponics last month, they knew their plants would grow quickly. After all, fast growth rates are one of the many benefits of hydroponics. For instance, did you know that hydroponic plants can grow 40-50 percent faster than plants in soil?
Of course, it’s one thing to read that fact and another to witness it live! Not quite one month after germinating her seeds, Emily’s lettuce plants are almost ready for harvesting – and Allen’s herbs appear eager to follow suit.
2 weeks ago:
This week:
Just imagine how excited your students would be to see a shock of greenery upon returning to school after a few days away! (In fact, that’s exactly what happened in this agriculture teacher’s Illinois classroom.)
“Lettuce” explain how we got here
Following the instructions in her Quick Start Guide, which accompanies all Realityworks hydroponics systems, Emily has been diligently monitoring her Plant Lab Educational Hydroponics System’s pH and EC levels. Her diligence is paying off with rapid growth of both her lettuce and kale.
Additionally, Emily is germinating more spinach as well as rosemary in the bottom tray of her Plant Lab system. Why? The space is available after the first batch of spinach seeds failed (find out why in our previous post).
And as our Subject Matter Expert reminded her recently: If something doesn’t work the first time, try it again! It might take off the next time.
Emily is also using these new plants to test the impact of Rapidstart™, a hydroponics plant nutrient used to promote root growth.
Watch Emily’s video update below to learn more and see her system in action:
Consistency is key
After losing some seeds due to lack of root growth, Allen added lettuce and kale to the rosemary, dill, oregano and basil he’s already growing. Like Emily, Allen is consistently testing the pH and EC in his Plant Mini Educational Hydroponics System.
Because he’s monitoring his plants so closely, Allen has had several opportunities to measure the impact of small adjustments to his system.
Find out what he did to give his taller herbs more support, improve root growth and prevent mildew in his latest vlog:
Teacher tips
What can we learn from these two novice hydroponics growers? Teachers, consider these tips and tricks for your own classroom:
- Start with a rapidly growing plant like lettuce to get student buy-in fast. We were all impressed with the gorgeous green leaves exploding from Emily’s Plant Lab system after what seemed like no time at all. Grab your students’ attention with a this easy-to-grow plant, celebrate with healthy salads, then consider other varieties of greens to grow.
- Engage students with experimentation. Hydroponics systems offer countless opportunities to engage students in observation, measurement and experimentation (plus soft skills like teamwork and collaboration)! Notice droopy plants? Consider DIY paper clip support, like Allen did. Anxious for speedy plant growth? Devote one level of your lab unit to extra nutrients like Rapidstart™ and one level without, then have students hypothesize, measure and record.
- Foster collaboration with group work. Emily and Allen have learned that regular monitoring is vital. Assign a different group of students to monitor your system each week, or every other class period, and work together to create verbal or written reports for the rest of the class.
- Let your Quick Start Guide be your guide! Our hydroponics systems come with detailed Quick Start Guides to ensure you know how often to check your pH and EC levels, how to use your nutrients and more.
Coming up
As Emily gets ready for vacation, she’ll share how she prepares a colleague to care for her Plant Lab system while she’s gone. Stay tuned for substitute teacher tips, whether Rapidstart™ is making a difference, and how Emily and Allen’s first harvest went.
Resources for learning more about growing with hydroponics
- Catch up on our journey by reading our previous posts
- Download our Educational Hydroponics Systems Overview to get a better understanding of how hydroponics works and what makes the systems Emily and Allen are using so unique
- You can also watch our recent webinar, “Grow Learning with Hydroponics Educational Systems: A Panel Discussion.” During this 40-minute presentation, you’ll hear from Realityworks marketers Emily and Allen about their hydroponics growing experience and Realityworks Education Programs Manager Jamey McIntosh on the best ways to teach with hydroponics. You’ll also discover a variety of free hydroponics resources:
