US (FL): Tampa company donates vertical growing units to school
The 10 units — valued at about $2,000 total — will grow 200 plants at a time that Emilyn Sharpless' classes plan to sell to other classes to raise money for their agriculture department. The units will last five to seven years in the school's greenhouse, growing lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries.
But the units aren't just a source of future fundraising, they're also part of the students' lessons. TECO workers helped students install the units Wednesday in the school's greenhouse.
The units are made of Styrofoam stackers, held up by steel rods and hooked up to an electric water and nutrient pump. The pump runs on a timer, making hydroponics gardening easier and more efficient than traditional hand watering.
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