MaryBeth Matzek: UW-Oshkosh debuts indoor garden for dining services

This is an excerpt from a column posted at BizOpinion

UW-Oshkosh has made a name for itself with its sustainability initiatives, which helped it make the list of the top five “greenest” universities compiled by BestColleges.org earlier this year.

Tower Gardens, a vertical gardening system, is the latest example of the college’s sustainability culture. Located in Blackhawk Commons, the campus’ main dining hall, the new gardening system features three towers, which have so far been used to grow chard, lettuce and herbs that are being used right in the dining hall, says Marty Strand, assistant director of dining services at UW-Oshkosh.

“I had been looking awhile for a way that we could bring a garden inside and I came upon this idea and then talked with a friend who uses it at Ripon College and everything just clicked,” he says.

Tower Gardens are standing habitats for plants that use aeroponics, a plant cultivation technique, to grow food at a faster rate than in a conventional garden, Strand says. The tower works by pumping Tower Tonic, a liquid plant nutrient mixture, up the tower and then cascading it over the plant roots. He says this provides the plants with ample oxygen, nutrients and water.

The gardening systems were installed over the summer and students already are reaping their benefits.

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