UW-Platteville’s 1,500-square-foot hydroponics facility can house up to 7,000 plants in varying stages. The facility was set up by students and is entirely operated by students, who use it to run one of the School of Agriculture’s three student-managed businesses. Students grow lettuce in the lab and supply it to the campus dining operations. Students also grow different herbs, strawberries, and more on an experimental basis. The advanced hydroponics system is nearly fully automated and online; leak detectors, cameras, grow lights, and carbon dioxide and oxygen monitors are accessible from a smartphone.
Equipment
See what makes UW-Platteville's lab unique
Water storage and hydroponics system
Water runs into smaller tanks, which feed the entire room, including four independent growing benches. A 300-gallon feed tank automatically tops off these benches and gives a reserve supply of filtered water for use in a quarterly water change. During full production with 6,000 plants, about 25 gallons of water are used daily. This is a 95% water saving, when compared to a field production.
Smart lights
Software can be used to turn on or off the growing lights from any smartphone. Additionally, the software displays the wattage of every light and whether it is online or offline. This allows students to set up different zones for each bench, enabling them to create individual programs for every zone, customized down to the minute and percentage of the white, red, and blue lights.
Hands on learning
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Ribbon-cutting ceremony set for new hydroponics student-managed businessDr. Rami Reddy Reddy conceived the idea after he visited EARTH University, in Costa Rica. “We were very impressed by their student-managed businesses and projects,” he said. “But they are in the tropics, and can do anything outside, unlike us here.” Reddy’s solution, at that time, was to create a small hydroponics unit. |