Hall High School learns basics of hydroponics

Have you ever tried to grow celery in a glass jar? If your answer is yes, then you have dabbled in hydroponics.

Students in the Spring Valley Hall High School biology classes learned the basics of hydroponics during an extended program delivered by the Bureau, La Salle, Marshall-Putnam 4-H and Master Gardener program.

The high school teachers and students, assisted by master gardener volunteers, participated in the hydroponics program over the course of the fall semester.

As it becomes too cold to grow vegetables, flowers and herbs outside, it’s important that people learn to look for alternatives. Students learned firsthand how to start seedlings, how to regulate plant nutrient and light requirements, as well as how to manage the relationship between nutrient solution and pH.

The result of their efforts was healthy vegetation grown in aeroponic towers.

The University of Illinois Extension hydroponics program uses direct classroom instruction focused on content and application aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards for high school.

Each session provided learners with the knowledge and practices needed to start and grow healthy plants indoors in a balanced nutrient solution. Throughout this program, students learn the value of soil as a valuable but limited resource.

The University of Illinois Extension is looking to bring this opportunity to another school this spring.

For information on the program, contact Sara Poignant, 4-H youth development coordinator, at 815-875-2878 or poignant@illinois.edu, or Bettyann Harrison, master gardener/master naturalist coordinator, at 309-364-2356 or bettyann@illinois.edu.