Jester Garden—a small plot behind the residence halls where students grow produce for UT Farm Stand—is now home to white vertical towers for growing vegetables. The towers are part of a partnership between University Housing and Dining (UHD) and Lettuce Grow.
“It is exciting to bring folks into the UT Farm Stand space and raise issues around sustainable agriculture and promoting innovation,” says Neil Kaufman, the sustainability coordinator for University Housing and Dining. “We are the first university in Texas to have these towers!”
After a successful pilot project balancing water and pH for three towers, UT Farm Stand team members spent the summer reconfiguring their vegetable garden to accommodate 17 additional towers. Lettuce Grow helps maintain and service the vertical farm, and their towers produce greens three times more quickly than traditional in-ground farming while using 90% less space and 90% less water.
So far, UT Farm Stand has harvested 200 pounds of fresh greens for dining hall salads and meals. The team expects to harvest greens throughout the year, so look out for campus-grown broccolini, kale, arugula, mustard, Swiss chard, parsley, and more.
The project grew from a Green Fund grant awarded to University Housing and Dining in June of 2019. Green Fund is a competitive grant program that allows a student-majority committee to fund sustainable projects on campus using a pool of money that comes from each enrolled student.
“For those who are curious about the system, we bring a tower to the UT Farm Stand markets so that patrons can harvest and purchase fresh greens,” says Kaufman.
The next UT Farm Stand is on Wednesday, October 9 from 11 am to 4 pm in Jester Plaza. Check out the photo album on Flickr:
Written by Kristin Phillips, Communications Coordinator in the Office of Sustainability
