Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis Club And Others Collaborate On Hydroponic Garden

Kiwanis International is pleased to collaborate with Lettuce Grow to offer Kiwanis clubs a self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic garden called the Farmstand. The Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis club collaborated with the UW Madison Extension, Fond du Lac County Junior Master Gardener program at the UWO Fond du Lac Campus.  They received more than $615 of plants, seedlings and pH testing and nutrient kits — all that was needed to get started to help kids in our community grow food and learn about health and nutrition.

This opportunity is a result of a program called Lettuce Give, which was created by Lettuce Grow for nonprofits, schools and community-based organizations who want to help make fresh, healthy food accessible to everyone. 

The Farmstand is a hydroponic garden made from ocean-bound plastic milk jugs. It requires only 5-15 minutes of weekly maintenance. In three to four weeks, the produce is ready to harvest for fresh, healthy meals. The hydroponic system uses less than one gallon of water per plant to grow. (Traditional gardening uses 20 gallons of water per plant.)  

The Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Program consists of 25 youth (boys and girls) that are ages 8-12. Youth that have an interest in active outdoor activities, “digging” in the dirt, caring for plants, cooking in the kitchen, eating healthy snacks, and meeting new friends are welcome to join JMG. The JMG Program is offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. It is a collaboration between the Fond du Lac County Master Gardeners and the FoodWIse Program. Participants are from Fond du Lac and the surrounding areas. The Boys and Girls Club also brings over youth to participate in the JMG Program.

Since JMG is about GARDENING – with guidance from the Master Gardeners, youth are involved in the entire gardening process, from selecting and planting seeds to harvesting. This year the youth will be introduced to hydroponics by using the Farmstand. Then, with the assistance of Nutrition Educators, youth will prepare and cook healthy foods from the garden and the Farmstand. JMG is about HEALTHY FOOD, so the youth will learn how it makes it from the ground or the Farmstand to the dinner table. JMG is about TEAM WORK and FRIENDSHIP – how to work together as a team in the garden and in the kitchen. JMG is about COMMUNITY SERVICE – how to give back to the community through donations of food and flowers to area food pantries and senior centers. With the Farmstand this year, the youth will be able to have a new experience, and they will be able to donate more food to the community.

Photos: Kathy Strong Langolf, President of the Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis joined the JMG for their first harvest of the season along with UW-Extension Master Gardeners and club advisors.

Fond du Lac Noon Kiwanis is proud to be a partner on this Farmstand educational project.  The excitement of the day for the JMG as they harvested certain plants today for an afternoon snack.