By Vanya Saksena, Year 12
After building and monitoring it for months, in the week before the December holidays, Meghna Anand, Year 13 was able to reap the benefits of her hydroponic plant system.
Hydroponics, as Meghna explained, is a way of growing plants without using soil. Instead, the plants are grown using nutrient-rich solutions. “Essentially, we are growing plants in water, and using electronics to make the process easier.” It is said that hydroponics has many benefits: larger yields, better quality crops, and quicker growth.
Meghna explained that she joined the project in 2019, when she was in Year 11. “I learned about it in a brochure, and was interested so I decided to check it out.” That year, working with Max, a teacher at the STEM center, Meghna monitored the system and produced good results: a basil plant that was almost as tall as Meghna herself! Sadly, when the school was in lockdown from COVID-19 in early 2020, the majority of the plants in the system ended up dying.
“Once we returned to school, we decided to scrap that system and start from scratch to build a new one,” Meghna explained. The old system had been vertical, with the water flowing straight down. “Because the system was vertical, it was quite a task to clean it,” she said. “The plants would grow all the way down the pipes.” Learning from their past experiences, they decided that the new system would be horizontal, but tilted at a slight angle to ensure that the water could still flow downwards.
This new system took around five months to construct, and was finished around January 2021. According to Meghna, the process was more than enjoyable. “It was so cool!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I was able to learn all about electronics and even had the opportunity to use power tools!”
The layout of the system is actually quite simple. “Essentially, there is a water tank and three pipes that lay horizontally, to the left of the tank, at a slight angle so the water runs down them,” Meghna explained. “Inside the tank, there is a motor, and there is a pipe that connects the tank with the tubes, so that water can be pumped in from the top, and travel down through the other tubes.” (see picture)
After all the parts were attached and the system was finished, they began planting. “We planted for the first time around March 2021. Then the summer break happened, and when we returned to school, we started planting the second round of lettuce in October.” After the system was built, there was relatively little to do. “It was very low maintenance. The only issue was that the system attracted lots of bugs. In the beginning, they didn’t seem to be hurting the plants, but after some time we realized that they were. Aside from that, we also found that the lettuce had begun to grow into the water tank, which we had to work to control a bit.”
Other than that, everything went smoothly, and within two months, the lettuce was ready to be harvested. “I’d say it was a very successful salad. It wasn’t enough to make a meal out of, but it was a great snack.”
Meghna explained that there are actually many ecological benefits of using hydroponic systems to grow plants. “When you use hydroponics, you actually conserve a lot of water. When you plant in the ground, not all of the water goes to the plant. By using hydroponics, you can ensure that all of the water goes to the plant and doesn’t get wasted.” Furthermore, when a plant is grown in soil, the roots are always searching for the necessary nutrients, but when the plant is directly exposed to the water and nutrients it needs, it is able to conserve energy and water at the same time.
Finally, more than anything, Meghna hopes that in learning about this project, the students at LGB recognize and understand the opportunities the STEM center provides us with. “They have all kinds of resources and technology available for us to use, so why not make the most of it? The possibilities are endless.”
If you are interested, please give the plants a visit at the STEM center! Contact meghna.anand@learninge.colint.ch for more information!
