At the beginning of the second semester, Mrs. Woods introduced her horticulture classes to hydroponic systems, so they can learn how to grow plants without soil. The term hydroponic systems and farming was coined by Dr. William F. Gericke at the University of California in 1937, but civilizations all over the world have been using this technique for centuries. 

Many plants can be grown with hydroponic systems, but the ones that survive the best are lettuce, strawberries, cucumbers, spinach, beans, bell peppers, chives, blueberries, tomatoes, kale, basil, grapes, celery, sage, and cantaloupe. The plants that Canton High School’s horticulture classes are planting are lettuce plants, tomatoes, and strawberries. 

“I’m excited to build the hydroponic systems and watch the seeds grow using only water. I also like going out to test the PH and adjust the acidity of the water so that the plants can grow healthier,” Kasidee Pope, Sophomore, said. 

The first step that the horticulture classes took was getting tubs and gluing air stones to the bottom to create airflow in the water. Then they cut holes in the tops of the lids for the tubs and put cups full of clay stones in them. After that, the hydroponic tubs were taken out to the greenhouse so that the students could fill their tubs with water and get the seeds planted in rock wool to help them in the germination and sprouting process. Then they plugged the air pumps in and made sure that the air stones were working properly before placing the lids on top. In a few weeks, the students should be able to see little seedlings appear and start to grow. 

“The tomatoes should start to grow pretty soon, some of the lettuce has already entered the germination period and sprouted. I do predict that we will have tomatoes produced by the end of the school year and of course, the lettuce will have fully matured. We have started to add hormones to the water as well to help them really start to grow and mature,” Mrs. Woods, horticulture teacher, said. 

When it comes to hydroponics, the only problem that can occur is harmful algae that could grow on the roots of the plants and suffocate them, exposing them to pathogens. The PH of the water must be checked before the plants can be placed, and once the seeds start to sprout, the students will add different nutrient systems into the water. One of the nutrient systems helps the plants grow faster and healthier, another helps the plants flower and bloom, and the last one helps the plants produce fruits and vegetables.