Three MUSD schools; Joshua Tree Elementary, Twenty-Nine Palms Elementary, and Yucca Valley Elementary, along with district offices, have been growing their own farm to table food, or, rather, from seed to salad bar.
Lead by MUSD Director of Nutritional Services Janet Barth, this hydroponic gardening program utilizes indoor growing tower, starting romaine, green-leaf lettuce and basil seeds in trays until two-days strong. Once transplanted into the water-filled towers, the seedlings grow without soil, for four weeks. When fully grown the produce is harvested, then offered on the fruit and veggie bars in the school cafeterias.
Joshua Tree Elementary and the district office enjoyed their first harvest last week, and students and faculty testify they can see and taste the difference from store bought lettuce. Barth sees the project being expanded to all MUSD schools and hopes to include other varieties of fruits and vegetables.
For teachers wishing to incorporate water gardening into their classrooms, the MUSD Nutritional Services Department have educational materials available.
