Convention says we need soil to grow our veggies. Tower Gardens, a project at Grant MacEwan University in Alberta, Canada, says we don’t.
The pilot project uses aeroponics to grow the plants in rigs that look like towers, sans soil—a practice which was actually developed and put in place by Disney for its EPCOT attractions. Instead of the soil, a nutrient solution is used, Global News reports. “There’s no soil, no pests and everything is grown from seed on site,” Kris Bruckmann, Retail and Hospitality Director for MacEwan, told Global News.
MacEwan University’s food services are run by Aramark, and the company will also purchase the products – which include peppers, tomatoes, dill, herbs, cucumbers, basil and sage – grown in the Tower Gardens. The food grown there will be used in catered events, prepackaged meals and the school’s cafeteria salad bar, Global News reports. For MacEwan Service Director Nathan Richuk, having the garden in close proximity to the kitchen is wonderful.
“To be able to walk through the parkade, just a couple hundred feet after harvesting, to preparing a product, is something most places can’t do,” he told Global News.
Screenshot via Global News
The Tower Gardens project will run for six months before the university makes a decision on if the project will be utilized in the future.
What do you think of the Tower Gardens project? Should it be implemented in colleges and universities everywhere?
