Re: Decline in edible gardening

**Tom Alexander t*@growingedge.com**

The problem is being solved by hundreds of public and private schools  
growing gardens during the school year using hydroponics. In  
elementary schools simple homemade hydro systems are used and in high  
schools commercial greenhouses are used where the ag/science students  
grow the produce, the art students design and produce the packaging  
and the business students sell it to the restaurants and  
supermarkets. The bigger operations make tens of thousands of dollars  
(due to the slave labor of the students). Board of Education members  
were hesitant to fund the projects but after the first year profits  
were tallied, the Board said whatever you want you got. We have done  
stories on all kinds and sizes of schools who utilize hydroponics in  
their curriculums. Hydro teaches math, geometry, physics, chemistry  
and ag science. It truly is a multi-disciplinary subject. Hydroponics  
is becoming a very popular subject in schools. Despite what the media  
portrays and what most people think, it is not just for pot growers  
anymore.

Any garden writers out there who have a story on a school using hydro  
or aquaponics (hydroponics and aquaculture together) please contact  
me because we try and have a story on schools in every issue. The  
common thread of the stories is how excited the kids and teachers are  
about learning and how the whole school gets behind the project. It  
literally is the most popular class in the school.

http://www.growingedge.com/magazine/comp_index/view.php3? 
category=9&Go=Go

http://www.growingedge.com/kids/index.html

http://www.growingedge.com/kids/educators/index.html

http://www.kidsgardening.com/HYDROPONICSGUIDE/hydro8-1-resources.asp

Tom Alexander, Publisher                      PO Box 1027
New Moon Publishing, Inc.                    Corvallis, OR. 97339
Growing Edge Magazine                        541-745-7773
Since 1980, publishers of unique hydroponic & greenhouse books &  
magazines
                          http://www.growingedge.com
                              tom@growingedge.com

On Mar 24, 2006, at 9:00 AM, gardenwriters-request@lists.ibiblio.org  
wrote:

> The problem with elementary school gardens is that school gets out
> for summer vacation so early in the season and most schools don't
> have the ability to keep the garden going thru the summer so the kids
> could pick up the fall season.  I've always thought the Master
> Gardeners would be a good resource for maintaining the school's
> garden during the summer.
>
> Jeff

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