The Hobart and William Smith Colleges Winter Greenhouse Project

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1 The Hobart and William Smith Colleges Winter Greenhouse Project JORDAN L. YOUNGMANN H 10 Department of Environmental Studies, Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, New York USA Abstract. A winter greenhouse gardening project was conducted between the months of February and April in 2010 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York as a Senior Integrative Experience for the Environmental Studies major. The project attempted to ascertain the productivity of hardy vegetables in the low light and low temperature climate of Geneva, New York. Results from this study may help determine the feasibility of growing produce at the colleges to supply the dining services with student grown, local food. In order to determine the overall output and efficiency of the greenhouse, growth rate studies were conducted on 6 different types of soil using 6 separate species of vegetables. Additionally, a replication of these soil and plant combinations were sprouted in the growth chambers of the Biology Department as control of the experiment acting as an optimal environment. These soil plots were then carefully tended with daily watering, air temperature measurements, and growth rate calculations. Further research was conducted on the standards set by other schools of similar size who had already implemented their own gardens. Additionally, knowledge was gleaned from the many local farms around the Geneva area that used greenhouses to grow vegetables year round. This research revealed that greenhouse plants grew sufficiently to supply a significant crop. Furthermore it was observed that plants grown with higher ratios of Magix Soil Amendment faired better and produced a higher output then plants grown without or in low ratios. Based on this success it is hoped that the Hobart and William Smith Winter Greenhouse Project may open doors so that one day the colleges could see their own produce grown on site. Introduction: The potential benefits of a greenhouse gardening program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges is manifold. The college s Climate Commitment set the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2025 beginning a large scale effort to bring the campus into the forefront of a green initiative. Though dining services has attempted to build a local food repertoire as well as include recycling and compost in its overall regime, it has not yet begun any attempt to incorporate food grown on campus. This venue has been utilized by many comparable schools in the northeast including Colby and Bowdoin. Hobart and

2 William Smith Colleges, therefore, have an opportunity to not only increase its ability to match its competitive schools but also, and perhaps more importantly, build its own program that will decrease the natural resources used to obtain produce for its dining services as well as utilize a local organic resource. This opportunity may be manifested in the ability of a greenhouse to produce vegetables year round on the colleges campus. The importance of year round growth stems from two-semester system utilized by the colleges that impedes the ability to grow an outdoor garden in the optimal growing season of the late spring and summer months. Instead, a garden must be grown during the short day and low light conditions of the winter of Geneva, New York. This process is already being used all over the Finger Lakes Region by local farmers, many of whom are also certified organic. This project, therefore, attempted to prove the feasibility of a garden grown during the winter months in the Biology Department s personal greenhouse above Eaton Hall. It was hypothesized that a sufficient crop could be produced in order to augment the colleges dining services with produce. If this was possible then the colleges might be able to begin a movement towards a sustainable crop that would ultimately minimize the need for importing goods into the Café and Saga. Colby College, for example, grew over 1,000 pounds of its own produce in 2008 alone. If this is possible in Maine, then it is feasible that Hobart and William Smith could meet that standard. In order to optimize growth potential, research was conducted to determine the best soil types available in the region. Compost was discarded as an option due to the colleges practice of shipping its compost waste down to Cayuga and therefore was unobtainable for use. However when looking into a local business that makes a soil

3 amendment called Magix it was determined that that product might be largely beneficial to the project. It was agreed that the Magix Soil Amendment could be used in the experiment as long as growth studies were conducted in order to observe the effect Magix had on the growth rates of the plants. Therefore an array of soil combinations was determined to effectively measure the growing power of the product. Methods: Using the Biology Department greenhouse, 6 different vegetable types were planted: Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and Turnips. These vegetable types were chosen based on their relatively short growing periods as well as their hardiness in poor environment conditions. The seeds used were Burpee Signature 100% Certified Organic and the directions on the back were followed for the proper planting procedure for each species. Six different soil types were established: Miracle Grow organic soil (NS), organic soil (0%), three-quarters organic soil:one-quarter Magix (25%), one-half organic soil:one-half Magix (50%), one-quarter organic soil:three-quarters Magix (75%), and Magix (100%). The Miracle Grow soil acted as a control for the progression of soil types. Each plant type was planted in three separate holes within each soil environment and multiple seeds were used per hole in the ground to ensure sprouting (Figure 1-A.). A complete replicate of this experiment was established in the Biology Department growth chambers (Figure 1-B.) set at 22 C and with 12 hours of light per 24 hour period. Plants were watered daily and temperature highs and lows were recorded for each 24 hour interval. As sunlight increased in April the greenhouse plants were watered twice

4 daily as needed. In addition, gardens were weeded as necessary as to reduce competition between invasive plant-life. Consequently, due to competition between individual crop plants in a given location an attempt to separate Arugula and Turnip individuals in the 25% soil was made. This process was discarded as being too dangerous for the plants, however, and no further soil variables were modified. Analysis of plant growth was conducted through two different methods. The tallest shoot per individual plant was measured, as well as the total number of shoots per individual. Ultimately, however, only the plant height data was analyzed. Figure 1-A. Greenhouse schematics with plant varieties and soil types shown. Figure 1-B. Growth chamber schematics with plant varieties and soil types shown. Results: A general trend was observed for each plant species that showed an overall increase in plant height with the increase in Magix soil ratios. This trend was pronounced in all but the Beets which showed relatively static height between soil types (Figure 2.). Arugula, Broccoli, and Turnips were observed to fair the best in the

5 greenhouse environment while all species grew substantially in the growth chamber (Figure 2.). Growth chamber plants were also observed to be taller in all species but Arugula and Broccoli. Figure 2. Plant heights for each soil type shown for both the greenhouse (blue) and the growth chamber (purple). A plateau in growth efficiency was noticed at approximately the 50% Magix soil ratio (Figure 2.). This was observed in all plant species and leads to the conclusion that at this point adding more soil amendment is largely unproductive for growth.

6 However, it was noticed that 75% and 100% soils retained more moisture after watering and therefore needed less overall watering than any other soil type. Therefore optimal soil conditions may be hypothesized to be a 75% ratio of Magix Soil Amendment though further testing would have to be conducted to affirm this conclusion. Discussion: The ability of the Biology Department greenhouse to produce vegetables over the winter months is unquestionable. Though the greenhouse never produced plants that could match the growth chamber in size, it can be seen from the results that adequately sized plants were produced and if grown in higher quantities it may be hypothesized that they could supply Dining Services with a crop that might be used on perhaps a monthly schedule. Therefore the question of the feasibility of growing produce in the greenhouse is one that was ultimately answered. Actually convincing Dining Services to use the vegetables as a supplement to their menu is something else entirely. In discussions held with Lynn Pelkey, General Manager for HWS Sodexo branch, it was discovered that the colleges could not utilize crops grown on campus at this juncture due to liability issues. Instead they would have to first go through the outside source that supplies the colleges with their local produce. This would mean first selling the vegetables to this source, having them ascertain the safety of the crop, and then the colleges could buy them back. This process is awkward and something that seems far more trouble than it is worth regardless of the economics of it (which would be undoubtedly expensive). The ability of Dining Services to accept the crop grown on campus is something that is feasible in the long run. Colby College uses Sodexo as their dining service

7 provider and they are able to grow their own vegetables and use them in their cafeterias. Therefore additional research must be done to understand how they do this and then apply it to Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The saying goes, If there is a will there is a way, and truly it would seem that the colleges could actualize this project if they deemed it a benefit to the campus. Convincing the administration that a yearly crop grown on campus is essential to not only remaining on the cutting edge of sustainability but also providing a great service as a public relations tool is paramount. Future studies must be conducted to both increase the efficiency and overall output of a greenhouse garden. Whether this be studies done with Magix Soil Amendment, a product that proved to be invaluable as a resource, or pursuit of other compost possibilities it is an important venture as these plants must be provided with high quality soil to grow sufficiently. Furthermore real numbers must be provided to understand the total poundage of produce that these gardens are able to procure. It may take several years but it is essential that this project be continued and ultimately utilized at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The administration can be convinced but it will take hard evidence and a sufficient cost-benefit analysis. However, this project has hopefully started the ball rolling towards a more sustainable campus.

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