I wanted to take this month’s article opportunity to inform the community of some new and exciting installations here at Bastion! Some of you may have noticed our Headway participants working hard with wood and power tools in the front lawn; or perhaps you’ve attended an education session from ReCirculating Farms on “tower growing” for our new…HYDROPONICS SYSTEM!
What Is Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is a way of growing plants quickly and efficiently without using soil & dirt. This growing method focuses on only using water with balanced nutrients, sunlight, and pH levels to grow healthy and nutritious produce.
Hydroponic growing has several benefits which include:
• Grows plants at rapid speeds
• Provides larger amounts of healthier produce
• Low maintenance: only requires weekly water
• Checks to monitor water pH and nutrient levels
• Improved pest and disease control
Hydroponics At Bastion
The Headway participants attended several education sessions at Recirculating Farms, where they learned about the benefits and techniques of hydroponic growing. Through the generous donations of the City Park Gardening Club, Bastion obtained an eight tower growing system (located on the walkway of the Purple Heart Room). Our eight tower system pumps water and organic nutrient solution up from the bottom tray and circulates through small nozzles which continuously stream down the towers to feed the plants. The Headway Group (with the assistance of volunteer Sean LeBlanc) also built a new teal wooden rack with wheels, to ensure our ability to move the growing tower based on our needs. We officially planted our first round of produce in our tower last week, and we should expect our first harvest in the middle of June!
You may have also noticed the new tabletop hydroponic systems located in the center. These are smaller systems similar to our tower system, that will also be used to grow more herbs/produce for our food pantry. If you have any questions or suggestions on items you’d like to be grown, please let us know!
