Diners’ curiosity sparked at the Northsider this semester regarding the glass-door refrigerator containing sprouts and seedlings, called the Grow Shelf, located next to the deli section.
The Grow Shelf is an experimental project that grows plants without using soil. Instead, it uses nutrient-rich water and other liquids to grow plants–otherwise known as a hydroponic system.
The fridge has been running for two months and has shown an immense amount of sprout growth, according to Samuel Vigil, the student manager on the project. The shelf is currently growing beet roots, peas and other vegetables needing to be tested.
Beet roots and peas are microgreens, which are young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs. Microgreens are used as garnishes, toppings or sides for dishes and can range from parsley to cabbage. The density of nutrients is why the Grow Shelf team, Jason Cole and Samuel Vigil, chose to grow microgreens.
Cole is the production chef at the Northsider dining hall, and Vigil is the student worker of the Grow Shelf. The project was conducted by Vigil due to his passion for aquaponic and hydroponic systems.
“I’ve built my own in the past,” Vigil said. “I saw the hydroponic machine in the Northsider, found a listing for a student worker position on ICMS and applied for it.”
The seedlings are currently being grown in water, FloraGro Micro (a liquid-nutrient mix) and sparsely placed perlite, a natural porous material used for gardening.
The shelf is used to grow garnishes, but it’s also being used to decrease the carbon footprint made from the process of obtaining microgreens through the market. By growing these greens on campus, the dining halls can use only what they need.
Vigil said there is not much information on the consistency of the shelf, but the focus now is to experiment with the microgreens, holding on to the hope of producing garnishes for future meals at the Northsider.
“We’re trying to figure out what grows well, what the maintenance cycle needs and how we get it to run consistently,” Vigil said.
Gwynnevere Vang can be reached at vang5129@stthomas.edu.