Grand Valley State University Sustainable Agriculture Project to have year-round growing climate

It might be low-tech, but the planned hoop house for Grand Valley State University's Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) will extend the growing season of food crops so more students can experience organic farming first-hand.

The 30-ft. by 72-ft. Rimol Nor'easter hoop house uses passive solar heat to keep temperatures10 to 15 degrees higher than the outside air. That could extend the growing season by 16 weeks, starting with planting in early February and harvest in late November, says Levi Gardner, SAP project manager. Those extra weeks stretch the normal summer growing season into the academic year, allowing students from disciplines such as natural resource management, biology, sustainable agriculture, economics and climatology to have a more holistic learning experience.

About 30 students and staff will invest eight hours a day building the hoop house beginning Fri., Aug. 12. Gardner hopes to have it completed on Weds., Aug. 17.

The SAP program has access to a 40-acre former cornfield in Allendale, but currently works a one-half acre plot.

"Right now, it's not much more than an oversized backyard garden with beans, chard, garlic, cukes, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and other vegetables," Gardner says. "This year, about 150 students have worked with the project, including students from Grand Rapids Public Schools who lived at GVSU for five weeks doing gardening and attending classes on cultivation, organic management of pest controls and organic food production."

To raise funding, the SAP sells the vegetables to customers who pick up the produce when it's harvested.

"There's a sustainability factor of trying to localize food crops year-round using passive solar heating," Gardner says. "Part of the danger of academic education is that it teaches us that our value is in our heads and not our hands; students want to experience what they're learning about and not just read about it."

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for 3 p.m., Aug. 19 at the SAP field on Luce St., Allendale.

Source: Levi Gardner, Grand Valley State University Sustainable Agriculture Project
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor