Sanders 1

HYDROPONIC HERB GARDEN PROJECT

A comprehensive breakdown and analysis of the semester-long research, methods, and processes involved toward the development of Muhlenberg

College’s first Hydroponic Herb Garden system

By: Nina Sanders

Dr. Niesenbaum Sustainable Solutions

Spring 2013

Sanders 2

Hydroponic Herb Garden Project

Hydroponic farming is on its way to becoming a viable future for agriculture and farmers around the world. The future for hydroponic systems appears more positive today than any time

over the last 50 years, becoming increasingly popular especially in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and parts of Japan (“Hydroponics Worldwide”). Although the practice has been around far before the term became coined and more widely used in the 1930’s, today

hydroponics is quickly taking off in the realms of agriculture, urban development, and business. It is a highly productive, capital intensive method of crop production, technologically sound, and

friendly to the environment. The practice has been praised for its sustainable elements in contrast to its conventional and organic farming counterparts. But what exactly is Hydroponics, and what makes it a better, more “sustainable” system compared to open field agriculture (OFA)?

Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants using water and nutrient solutions, rather than soil. In a hydroponics system, the nutrients that plants normally derive from the soil are dissolved into

water, and depending on the type of hydroponic system used, the plant's roots are suspended in, flooded with, or sprayed with the nutrient solution (“Hydroponics”). Hydroponics is commonly used for the production of vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, but it is most

common for leafy vegetables and herbs, which leads us to Muhlenberg College’s interest in hydroponics. Before the start of the 2013-14 academic year, Head Chef of Culinary Operations

and Sodexo at Muhlenberg College, John Middleton, proposed that the College’s campus restaurant make use of its own hydroponic herb garden. As part of an ongoing group project for Dr. Niesenbaum’s Sustainable Solutions course, myself, and team members Emily Paulus and

Katie Bradley have spent the past three months creating, devising, and implementing a proposed plan for such a system. The following paper will serve as a comprehensive breakdown and

analysis of the semester-long research, methods, dissemination, results, future projections, and limitations involved toward the development of Muhlenberg College’s first Hydroponic Herb Garden system.

As part of the initial agenda for Dr. Niesenbaum’s Sustainable Solutions course, our class

devised an inclusive definition for “sustainability,” which was used throughout the semester as a reference point when trying to assess whether “X” is sustainable or not. Before delving into the details of research and methods used to make this garden come to fruition, it is important that our

class definition be clearly stated, as the word “sustainability” will be referred to throughout this paper in reference to the variety of requirements listed below:

‘ “X” is sustainable if: Its goals, principles, and outcomes are designed to meet the needs of today without compromising our ability to do so in the future. This is best achieved using a

participatory, inclusive process with good governance that ensures: 1. Effective resource and waste management, and environmental protection

2. Economic opportunity and development, and 3. An improved standard of human well-being (education, public health, equitable quality of life, and social justice.) Sustainability is best assessed through measurable indicators that show

improvement in the above criteria.’

Sanders 3

The importance and benefits of installing a hydroponic herb garden at the Campus Restaurant are wide-ranging and many-sided. The proposed garden will produce a variety of on-

site grown herbs to be used in Sodexo’s cooking, but it will also offer benefits beyond these self-sustaining advantages. Such benefits include: an educational component, economic advantages,

both for the students, College, and other stakeholders, and of course, increasing Muhlenberg’s sustainability factor. What about a hydroponic herb garden at Muhlenberg is sustainable, and how is a hydroponics system overall a sustainable method? The following factors below list

some of the most prominent, scientifically proven “sustainable” benefits of hydroponics, and throughout this paper, the benefits hydroponics will bring to the college will be further explored.

Hydroponic Farming Benefits in regards to Sustainability

Less land degradation: Hydroponics farming is “sustainable” in the sense that without the use of soil, there is no degradation of the land, or soil erosion issues that Open Field Agriculture (OFA)

systems cause. Conventional farms cause runoff in surrounding waterways and impact the natural environment around the farm. No soil also means no crop rotation or problems associated with soil quality will occur, such as disease and droughts. With conventional farming practices,

years of farming the same fields with the same strands of commercially produced crops diminishes soil quality, as well as nutrient level of the produce. Growing plants in soil requires

renewing the dirt and rotating crops between different harvests so this does not happen, but when growing hydroponically, every essential nutrient is fed to the plants, and natural land is preserved in the process (Gething, 1985).

Water efficiency: A sustainable hydroponics system can provide a bountiful amount of crops, if

not more than the same yield as organic farming, using less water than it would take to grow

those crops in soil outdoors. Water is recycled throughout the system. There is also less nutrition

waste due to water run-off, which can lead to eutrophication in nearby rivers and waterways

(“Hydroponic Systems”). According to Crop King President Paul Brentlinger, Hydroponic

farming “yields ten times the harvest of broad acre or traditional field farming and the

environmental footprint is much smaller. You do not have to worry about soil degradation,

fertilizer runoff and resulting waterway pollution, you do not have to use as many pesticides in

hydroponic farming, and believe it or not you use less water” (BioWish Technologies)

Land efficiency: Hydroponically grown plants require less land surface since they are grown in a built greenhouse set up. The plants can be placed in greenhouses that use space in an efficient

way, or plants can be grown in virtually any indoor location wherever there is power to operate the automated watering and feeding system. Furthermore, the method can be implanted in places where the soil is not ideal for the desired crop. Hydroponics systems can be used not only in

greenhouses, but in places with limited space such as urban areas and rooftop farming (“Hydroponics Worldwide”).

Reduced need for pesticides: Because hydroponic greenhouses are much more controlled in nearly every aspect, from the watering, temperature, to feeding systems, the need for any sort of

pesticide is often eliminated. Hydroponic fertilizers contain the proper amounts of all the essential micro-nutrients which synthetic fertilizers intended for use with soil do not. Therefore,

hydroponics is not only better for the land, but healthier for the plants (“Hydroponics”).

Sanders 4

Higher Yields: Despite its often high operational costs, the productivity of a hydroponics system

in comparison to open fried agriculture has historically been drastic. Yield data have been

reported that typical yields for crops grown hydroponically in greenhouses are significantly

higher because of the more controlled and optimal growing conditions, nutrient maintenance, as

well as ability for year-round production( BioWish Technologies)

*The following data shown in the table below was taken from an academic article published by Merle H. Jensen on

behalf of the University of Arizona’s School of Agriculture in 1997. It shows the rates of hydroponic versus OFA

tomato crops over an 11 month period in 1966 ("Hydroponics Worldwide: A Technical Overview").

Less frequent occurrence of diseases: The absence of soil, a bacteria growth media, reduces

disease that could spread and cause crop failure.

Reduced transportation: Due to container mobility, hydroponics enables the farmer to grow crops near the area of use, thus reducing transportation costs and the harmful environmental

effects that come from the automobile and transportation industries (excess Carbon Dioxide emissions, burning of fossil fuels, global warming, etc.) (“Hydroponic Systems”).

Reduced Energy use: Since water and nutrients have to be pumped to the plants, this requires

energy, and not all of the light used for the plants is going to be natural light. However, not nearly as much energy is being used in hydroponics as on a conventional farm, considering all of the equipment needed to harvest and water plants in soil. For instance, the watering system for

hydroponics, although varies depending on the type of hydroponics used, only requires about 10% of the amount of water used on conventional farming. Although greenhouses require

plumbing, are geothermal and propane heated, and use solar power pumped diesel generators, the energy used still doesn’t amount to that of a conventional farm.

Sanders 5

In addition, the growing medium of rock wool and a perfectly balanced, pH adjusted nutrient solution allows the plants to uptake food with very little effort. For plants grown in soil, the

roots must seek out the nutrients and extract them. The energy expended by the roots in conventional farming processes becomes “energy better spent on vegetative growth and fruit and

flower production” in hydroponics (ButterValleyHarvest.com).

Future Possibilities: Because of the advanced technology used for hydroponics, hydroponics provides more opportunities for research and development. For example, NASA has also looked

to utilize hydroponics in the space program. Ray Wheeler, plant physiologist at Kennedy Space Center’s Space Life Science Lab, believes that hydroponics will “create advances within space

travel. He terms this as a bioregenerative life support system” (“Hydroponic Systems”)

Less labor intensive/labor costs: Hydroponics does not require tilling, cultivating, fumigation, or watering, as most advanced hydroponics systems are automated using pumps (BioWish

Technologies)

World Hunger/Social Justice Component: Hydroponics can combat world hunger and provide

food to those developing nations in need; “We can farm in cities, on barren land and we can

potentially put a stop to rising food prices and in turn poverty by creating year-round growing seasons

with high yields” (BioWish Technologies).

Objective/Scope

Hydroponics can be done on a small scale, like on a window sill. Other colleges have

successfully integrated hydroponic systems into their food supply stream, including Swarthmore

College and Goucher College. Muhlenberg and Sodexo identified a need for a hydroponic system on the campus for the purpose of growing herbs to use in dressings and other recipes used

in the Wood Dining Commons. This paper will outline the planning of this garden, including information collected during talks with stakeholders on campus, as well as the rationale for the chosen plant gutters donated by farmer Ryan Ehst that will be purchased and installed. It will

also identify how the project is being implemented, followed by how the garden will be marketed to current and prospective students, faculty, staff, and members of the Allentown community.

Finally, we outline future mechanisms and indicators to assess the sustainability of the garden, and how the project can contribute to the overall sustainability goals of the campus community.

Background

An overview of how Hydroponics farming at Butter Valley Harvest operates will help to better explain how, on a much more condensed level, we plan on implementing the garden at

Muhlenberg. At Butter Valley Harvest, farmer Ryan Ehst extends his business to be involved in the local economy economy through his stakeholders; the suppliers, distributors, customers, and

everyone in between. CropKing and American Hydroponics are two of the companies that help provide the necessary technology, nutrients, seeds, and equipment to run a hydroponics system. Nothing is automated, so it must be checked and calibrated three times a day. The water has to be

measured and tended to constantly by workers in this kind of geothermal system. At Butter Valley Harvest, the hydroponics system is very self-sustaining, as the entire system is sloped

Sanders 6

slightly downhill to allow for a more closed-loop process of reusing and remixing water and nutrients. Below are two images taken by Katie Bradley at one of the main greenhouses growing

hydroponic lettuce during October 2013:

On the subject of its stakeholders, Butter Valley Harvest supports these companies, which are known to serve the economy in ways other than their main source of income that comes from

farmers. For instance, CropKing, located in central Ohio, gives public school tours. Other distributors include JR Peters Lab, which sends the farm its all natural and organic based pesticide sprays and nutrients. These companies are constantly developing new ideas and

innovative approaches to hydroponics, which in effect, help the business of hydroponics remain economically active. Of course, each hydroponics farm is different and its potential to be self-

sustaining and technologically advanced depends on preference, but since virtually every aspect of hydroponics management can be automated, the opportunities for development are never ending. In addition to the local community members who frequent the market on the farm, Butter

Valley Harvest customers include several grocery stores, wholesalers, and other mom and pop stores. One of our hopes for this project is that Muhlenberg College can be inspired by Ryan’s

model of being connected with his stakeholders. We would also like to learn from the areas of weakness that our class observed during our farm visit, which included the lack of connection to the sustainability factor of “improving the quality of life and well-being of the community.”

(*see Suggestions for Future Work under the Discussion Heading of this paper)

Of the other colleges have successfully integrated hydroponic systems into their food

system, one example is Swarthmore College, which has a hydroponic window farm. This farm is made from stacks of plastic bottles, each of which contain a dirt filter and a small plant. Water runs down the stack until it reaches the bottom, where a pump recycles it back to the top of the

stack (Hopkins). Another example is Goucher College, where students have raised lettuce in a hydroponic system on campus since 2011. The lettuce is sold to Bon Appétit, Goucher’s

equivalent of Sodexo, and it is served to students in the college's dining halls (“Hydroponics”).

Sanders 7

When we visited Butter Valley Harvest and were able to see how a small hydroponic farm operated system looked, we were unsure at first of how the system would look in the Campus

Restaurant (specifically if the aesthetics of it would appeal to our stakeholders) so we decided to look further to see if there was something that would look better and would be easier to maintain.

After looking into building our own versus something pre-made and not being completely satisfied with what we were finding, I discovered a product called Modern Sprout. It was created by a couple in Chicago, and originally started as a Kickstarter campaign, but is now a full-

fledged business (“Modern Sprout”). Modern Sprout comes fully assembled, has all of the components that are needed, is self-contained, and looks like a modern planter box. Although

this idea seemed promising at the time, future issues arose which will be discussed later and explain why we are no longer using Modern Sprout Planters.

Goals

Originally, our main goal for this project was to have the entire hydroponic garden installed and fully operating by the end of the Fall 2013 semester. However, this goal ended up not being attainable in this time frame. Therefore, proposed a new timeline and implementation

plan for our revised goals for this semester, which is detailed below. One main goal is to have a thorough understanding of the hydroponic herb system functions. We also aim to have a written

plan in place for steps to be taken next semester to finish implementation. Overall, we are looking to create a self-sustaining process with long-term success that is aesthetically pleasing (since it will have a prominent place in the Campus Restaurant).

Method

Approach

Unfortunately, given the constricting time frame of the Fall 2013 semester, there was not enough time to complete this project; however, our group has put in place a plan for how this project will be carried out in the near future. Specifically, both myself and Katie Bradley will

take on independent studies that will allow us to continue work into the Spring 2014 semester. We will consult with Dr. Niesenbaum to lay out a specific syllabus or timeline for the following

semester of what we need to complete in order to satisfy the requirements for an independent study. These independent studies will allow our group to begin testing the gutter system chosen over Modern Sprout. Also, it would allow for a proper budget proposal to be made, as well as for

additional educational and advertising related projects to educate and inform Muhlenberg students about hydroponics. We will also investigate how to present this project in a

sustainability related conference that will be held sometime in February 2014 (See Suggestions

for Future Work)

Sanders 8

Stakeholders

Throughout the semester, we arranged a series of meetings with the following stakeholders:

Kalyna Procyk- Sustainability Coordinator

Glenn Gerchman- Director of Seegers Union and Campus events

Jon Middleton- Director of culinary operations/Sodexo

Jim Bolton- one of the directors of Plant Operations

Farmer Ryan Ehst from Butter Valley Harvest

Upon a final meeting with Glenn and farmer Ryan two days before our final presentation, Glenn and Jon decided they wanted to use the gutters like at Butter Valley Harvest, instead of the Modern Sprout Planters. Farmer Ryan visited our campus and graciously offered to

contribute two hydroponic gutter sections for our project during this meeting. During his visit, Farmer Ryan also gave input on design and maintenance for the system as well as potential costs.

More research still needs to be done for the design and inner workings of the garden, which will happen next semester.

Dissemination Plan

As a business major, I intend on writing a formal marketing plan as a key part of the

dissemination of this project. The main developments of this marketing plan will be to:

Identifying who the main “customers” are and target market to find customers’ needs.

Evaluate whether we can meet those needs in some way that allows for customer and

stakeholder satisfaction

Create some sort of formal mission statement/strategy centered on those needs.

The marketing plan will require some market research, as well as looking into other schools that have successful hydroponic systems. It will be important to establish how we will form

connections to ensure successful delivery of future materials. This means creating a strategy for supply chain management. In order to pursue advertising, promotional, and public relations

campaigns (which will be in the form of online and visual physical displays) I will also have to develop a plan. The actual marketing plan will be written primarily for the staff and stakeholders, who will use the forecasts in my plan to make budgeting decisions, but also for other people- in

admissions, future sustainability interns and marketing interns for Sodexo/other staff responsible for promotional school wide campaigns.

Other parts of the Dissemination strategy:

Make sure that when we graduate, the system is still meaningful and of value to

students and staff

Showcase the garden on admissions tours of the campus- work with admissions

tour guides, for example and inform them on what this is and how to explain it to perspective students

Sanders 9

Incorporate the garden into other classes (specifically future Local Sustainability

and Sustainable Solutions classes)- to encourage hands on learning

Make Use of a new monitor located at the Croutons station that will include a Powerpoint presentation, pictures, and videos.

Assessment Plan

The assessment strategy for our project is going to have to have an ongoing objective. Following the construction and set-up of the garden in the Spring of 2014, Katie and myself will:

• Develop a set of protocols for evaluating the health/status of the herbs, seeds,

water, technology, etc. and to determine the factors that will affect their growth

within a sustainable hydroponic system under a controlled environment

• Determine a way to assess the mineral nutrient solution formulations and come up with a calculated estimate of yield rates, growth, and quality of selected herbs

• Determine student and faculty usage of space and effectiveness of marketing/dissemination plan

Finding a way to grow herbs as a sustainable rate is key for this project. By sustainable, I

mean that the system should be able to produce herbs and function on a consistent basis time and again, with both the help of a marketing plan direction, and with a set plan for Sodexo staff to understand and operate the system. The assessment plan will be further developed in the

independent research done in the spring as well.

Anticipated Impact

Working on this project and the research that we discover through the project will not only help Sodexo enhance its self-sustaining abilities, but also help Muhlenberg College and the

local community, and serve as an influential signal to future sustainable agriculture developments on this campus and beyond. Our work on this project will be a marketable selling point for the school in general, and we also hope to have the system showcased to the public and

visitors as an educational tool. The project will be an interactive, as well as functional display. Visitors and students will be able to see exactly how hydroponics works, and read about its

sustainable environmental impacts and how Muhlenberg’s hydroponic system is contributing to sustainability, just as large scale hydroponic farms contribute to the sustainable commercial development of the farming industry. Our proposed objectives will also seek to meet our class’s

specific sustainability ideals of enhancing the economic, educational, and social justice opportunities for the community. As an interactive and educational tool for the public, hopefully

we can develop a way to use our system to improve the quality of life for citizens and the community in the future. The system will also have a research and educational capacity for future students enrolled in a wide range of disciplines, including Sustainability Studies, Business,

and Environmental Science courses. Hopefully, professors will be able to incorporate the

Sanders 10

hydroponic garden into their course curriculum, whether it is through a horticulture research capacity, marketing/advertising approach, or something else. We want this system to be of value

to the students and staff in more ways than just through the enjoyment of a home grown ingredient. We do not want the impacts of the garden limited to Muhlenberg College, and we

will find a way to do this through our own hands on learning experience and dissemination of research findings.

Implementation Plan

Unfortunately, given the time frame left in the Fall 2013 semester, there is not enough time to complete this project; however, we put in place a plan for how this project will be carried out in the near future. Next semester, the components and seeds will be ordered. Construction

will begin after all materials have been received. These materials include: the monitor, electrical work, seeds, and other items to be identified with farmer Ryan. The monitor and all components

will be installed by OIT, and plant operations will complete required electrical and facade work. The main steps that need to be taken by myself and Katie together, as we continue doing independent research on the herb garden in the spring, are as follows. Each of us will be doing

separate research that is stemmed from our own areas of expertise and interest, but these are the goals that need to be looked at together as a continuation of this semester’s work:

● Obtain all required components- equipment from Ryan, seeds, electricity factors, etc. ● Construction and set-up- decide how to go about construction, who we need to contact,

and when and where this will take place. ● Contact stakeholders- More meetings, emails, and phone calls are required (see

Suggestions for Future Work) ● Install gutters- identify specifics such as which herbs, learn how to operate and monitor

the inner workings of the system- likely a learning process with Ryan ● Figure out when to plant the first set of herbs- also along these lines will be to project a

time period when the planting will be done

● Write out estimates and create a manual monitoring method to track and record progress of the garden

● Create a calendar of times and dates for Katie and I to agree upon when the above work should be completed by

● Divide ways among each of us to implement the dissemination plan ● Develop educational outreach and advertising components- perhaps create a webpage and

install signage in the dining hall for additional advertising to educate and inform campus, as well as work in conjunction with the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement to develop a way for students to use the garden to serve the local

community.

Sanders 11

Results

Accomplishments

Throughout the semester, although our group was not able to accomplish what we hoped for at the beginning of the semester, we did create a solid foundation for future work. We identified and met with our main stakeholders throughout the semester, which took up a large bulk of the

time. We also obtained two trial Modern Sprout planters, which were funded by Dr. Niesenbaum. We formulated an implementation plan and set goals for the semester, and were

successful in altering these goals along the way when we came to roadblocks. Our estimated budget and materials deemed necessary at the beginning of the semester were very useful to have throughout the process and while meeting with stakeholders, especially the Student Government

meeting that allowed us to secure the $5,000 funds, which are outlined in detail below. Following our SGA meeting, when Glenn Gerchman informed us that our group had officially

secured these funds for the initial investment of this project, we did not need to do much work because we had already successfully outlined the steps required to finish the project. Knowing what our goals were and what was going to be required of us prior to receiving budgeting

approval was very helpful. This will also make it easier while conducting independent research and needing to outline necessary steps. We will now be able to easily refer back to our clearly

stated dissemination and assessment strategies for all future work.

Specific Budget Details

Money Being Requested from SGA - $5,000 • Breakdown:

• “Gutters” = donated by Ryan Ehst from Butter Valley Harvest

• Pumps = $200.00 for main pumps and backups if one fails • pH monitor/thermometer = $150.00

• Monitor, box, and hanging hardware = $700.00 • Nutrient formula(s) = $50.00 each per gallon

• Rock wool (for planting seeds) = $7.00 per sheet • Tubing = $150.00

• 5 gallon or greater containers for water reservoir = donated by Sodexo • Labor and construction costs = TBD in Spring 2014

• Additional money left in the budget will be used to purchase seeds and planting materials

Limitations

As for limitations throughout the project, we did face some levels of disagreement among the stakeholders. For example, all of our stakeholders had approved the idea of using Modern

Sprout, until one week before the final presentation when farmer Ryan came to campus and offered to donate his gutter system. Also on that note, the time between ordering the Modern Sprout and its arrival at our college left our group unable to test the planters before the semester

ended. After Ryan’s visit, it appeared clear to us and Glenn that the gutters were the better way

Sanders 12

to go, in order to conserve water and make the system function as a single unit, instead of using separate planters that would be operated independently from one another. Another limitation we

faced was certainly availability of our stakeholders. We faced much difficulty in getting all of them together in one ideal meeting, so had to have separate meetings with each of them. In

addition, it was hard to schedule times that worked for my two group members and I. Unfortunately, due to extracurricular activities and health concerns, I had to miss a few important stakeholder meetings that I would have liked to have more of a voice in.

Discussion

Upon completion of the semester, our group encountered various strong points, and

despite some of our initial pitfalls, it was the strengths that allowed us to push through and find continued successes. While our Modern Sprout idea eventually fell through, we looked at this as

one of our strengths of the project. Without having explored this hydroponic design option, we would not have been able to come to a final decision to use Ryan’s gutters. Our failure, in fact, became an important event on our path to success, as it gave us the opportunity to work harder

and try again. Another main strength of ours was our ability to effectively communicate our goals, needs, and layout specific desires for the project to our stakeholders. Our scheduled

meetings were extremely helpful in moving on with the later steps of the project. We were able to include the opinions and ideas of all of our stakeholders after meeting with them, and discussing their opinions and finding a common ground amongst one another. In addition, we

were able to balance the costs, logistics and aesthetic desires of the stakeholders, which was especially a success through the secured funding of $5,000 from Student Government. Finally,

the long-term maintenance plan we established to sustain the herb garden and promote educational opportunities appears to hold a promising future for the garden that will be explored through independent research.

Sustainability

Now that it has been discussed how the system will be disseminated and implemented, it is

important to refer back to and clearly state how a hydroponics system will benefit Muhlenberg

College within the context of sustainability. First off, we know the garden provides many educational opportunities. Professors across the board can use the garden, in addition to those

who already incorporate the Community Garden/Garden House as part of a hands on learning component of their class. Other ways classes can use the garden include helping with the ongoing designing, building, and installing the Garden work that will be done through me and

Katie’s independent research. Beyond the spring semester, student volunteers will provide maintenance as well. There are also the many advertising opportunities that the garden will bring

for the College; perspective students, ability for community members to experience and learn about the garden, sustainability, and cultivation/how to grow their own food through proposed student-guided tours of the Dining Hall. Finally, the advertising done directly on campus using

the monitoring screen system in front of the Croutons Station will be a focus of advertising. Below is a simplified breakdown of ways in which the system will benefit the campus,

Muhlenberg students, and community:

Sanders 13

Sodexo will enhance its self-sustaining abilities Cost effective

The garden will set a precedent for other future sustainable developments on campus The project will be a marketable selling point for the school- it will make the Wood

Dining Commons stand out as it is showcased to the public and visitors Educational tool for students, visitors and public- potential to incorporate into outside of

the classroom learning

Muhlenberg College is taking more steps to reduce its “Carbon Footprint” The Independent Research associated with the garden will expand its capacity to educate

and serve the Allentown Community in addition to students

Once the garden is completed, through my independent research, I will develop a method to

assess the utilization of the space. The space will be assessed in relation to how it is used by students, Sodexo, and faculty. I will also be able to evaluate all aspects of the project using our

course definition of sustainability after the garden has been running in full operation for a consistent period of time, perhaps one month. A final assessment for sustainability will be to complete a life-cycle analysis of the project to determine the sustainability of other components

and materials required that need to be sourced from other providers, such as the seeds to grow the herbs.

*Bottom Line: We want this system to be of value to the students and staff in more ways than just through the enjoyment of a home grown ingredient. We do not want the impacts of the

garden limited to Muhlenberg College’s food system, and we will do this through our own hands on learning experience and dissemination of research findings.

Suggestions for Future Work

Once of the main goals for the future of this system, which I plan on exploring through independent research, is to use the garden as a way to improve Allentown and the surrounding

cities’ economic opportunities. This was one of the main areas of weakness our class observed at Butter Valley Harvest, so I would like to consider this when working on our school’s garden. The garden can help serve the community and bring community awareness about gardening,

through getting the school to partner with, support, or sponsor other businesses in the area (non-profits, schools, hospitals, etc.). Also the College’s Department of Community Service and Civic

Engagement may want to look into setting up a program where students who work on the Community Garden and Hydroponics garden can travel to local inner city neighborhoods and areas where fresh produce is not as accessible. Perhaps they can distribute the excess food grown

on this campus to them for free, or sell it at a reduced price to residents, who will also be informed about what hydroponics is through student interactions, and informational handouts.

After our class visit to Butter Valley harvest, I found myself asking, “How do we measure whether the farm meets the various psychological, spiritual, and emotional needs of the families who live in the surrounding community?” This question is difficult to tackle, yet the

farm did offer educational days to schools, and Ryan told us that various church groups, soup kitchens, and non-profit representatives come to collect large bulks of food that are not fit for

Sanders 14

wholesale. However, there was no program instituted by the farm itself to provide such outreach. As a result, this is a main area of improvement I saw that would benefit Butter Valley Harvest,

and hope to better address in relation to Muhlenberg College’s hydroponic garden. Furthermore, Butter Valley Harvest’s involvement with improving human well-being, specifically social

justice and education, in addition to economic development, are all areas of sustainability that the hydroponics farm did not sufficiently meet. Although the farm provides food to primarily local entities, there is was no way to identify who and which groups of people were getting access to

this food. There are certainly poor, minority neighborhoods in the local area that are lacking an affordable source of healthy food, so hopefully a strong relationship with the Office of

Community Service can help identify a plan to work with our garden, college, and student volunteers to do so.

Finally, another set of future endeavors for the garden will be to expanding the

hydroponic system for more than just herbs. Possibilities for other growth include flowers, fruits, and vegetables. These products could also be used at Sodexo sponsered events on campus. In

addition, seeing that Dr. Niesenbaum already ordered two Modern Sprout systems which have yet to be activated, a last goal would be to incorporate the planters in other areas on campus where they can be used by the Sustainability Studies/Environmental Science Departments, such

as in the New Science Building, Moyer, and the Garden House.

Reiteration of current goals for the future of the hydroponic herb garden:

Me and Katie shall each write written proposals and devise what each of us would like to

do during next semester’s independent research. While each of us will be working independently, a joint portion of our research should be a collaboration of writing a plan for future students on how to effectively continue working on the system

More research to better understand the inner workings of a hydroponic design

Complete a written budget

Contact Jon at the beginning of next semester to start working out days/times to construct and install the garden, as well as consider contacting Plant Ops

Contact Glenn & Christine at the beginning of next semester to continue more work on this project after Katie and I finalize what our independent study will consist of with Dr.

Niesenbaum.

Figure out who is in charge of placing the orders for the parts/materials

Remember the bottom line of this project and its main purpose while doing future independent research; to provide fresh herbs in the Wood Dining Commons while

reconnecting students to their food, making the campus more “sustainable” and through the process seek to educate students and enhance the community through sustainability.

Sanders 15

References

“Biowish Technologies combats food shortages and world hunger" - BiOWiSH Technologies. <www.biowishtechnologies.com/hydroponic-farming-combats-food-short...? Dec. 2013

Hopkins, William. "Good Food Project Goes Extremely Local with Hydroponic Window Farm." 25 June 2010. Swarthmore College. 28 Oct. 2013 <http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-and-

events/good-food-project-goes-extremely- local-with-hydroponic-garden.xml>.

"How to Assemble a Homemade Hydroponic System." DIY Network. 17 Oct. 2013

<http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/how-to-assemble-a-homemade-hydroponic-system/index.html>

"Hydroponics." Terrascope Websites. <2013http://12.000.scripts.mit.edu/mission2014/solutions/hydroponics> Dec 2013

"Hydroponics." Goucher College. 27 Oct. 2013 <http://www.goucher.edu/academics/environmental-studies/opportunities-and-

internships/goucher-college-hydroponics>.

"Hydroponic Systems." University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 24 Oct. 2013 <http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/vista/html_pubs/hydro/hydroponic.html>.

Jensen, Merle H. "Hydroponics Worldwide: A Technical Overview." University of Arizona School of Agriculture (1997)< ag.arizona.edu/ceac/sites/ag.arizona.edu.ceac/>. Dec

2013 Gething, Frank, and Edward P. Glenn. "Method and apparatus for hydroponic farming." U.S.

Patent No. 4,513,533. 30 Apr. 1985.

"Modern Sprout." Modern Sprout Planter. 29 Oct. 2013 <http://modernsproutplanter.com/>. Sweat, M., R. Tyson, and R. Hochmuth. "Building a Floating Hydroponic Garden." June 2003.

University of Florida. 26 Oct. 2013 <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs184>.