In the corner of Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya Coley’s office suite stands an odd-looking, futuristic contraption.
At first glance, it looks like it could be a robot or communications satellite. But instead of solar panels or antennae, it has flexible arms with bright LED lamps that fold over. Leafy greens and herbs grow in little black pots on the gleaming white plastic body.
The appliance is a sustainable aeroponic vertical garden that was donated to the president’s office by LA Urban Farms, a company that is a leader in the local food growing movement.
The company assists customers in creating their own tower farms. It has helped create urban farms at UCLA and USC, which help supply produce for campus dining operations, including dining halls, restaurants, and food pantries.
“Inspiring and educating students who are our future world changers about the joy and benefits of growing your own food in a sustainable way is the heart and soul of LA Urban Farms,” said Wendy Coleman, the organization’s founder.
The vertical garden is made with FDA-approved food-grade plastic and is free of harmful components found in some other plastics.
It features a low-wattage, submersible pump that internally circulates water from its squat 20-gallon-basin, up through the trunk, to trickle down into the pots where the plants are situated, providing them with the nutrients and water they need.
“These gardens use up to 90 percent less land by growing vertically and 90 percent less water as compared with conventional organic gardening and farming, because the water is recirculated in the system until the plants absorb it or it evaporates,” said Gina Osborne, partner of LA Urban Farms, who installed the vertical garden in the president’s office.
Because most windows have tinting to screen out the sun’s ultraviolet rays, the lighting system provides full-spectrum light to assist the plants in growing indoors. The aeroponic vertical garden uses water, oxygen and nutrients without any soil, and the plants grow two to three weeks faster than in traditional gardens.
“A single vertical garden like the one in the president’s office can grow beautiful produce for a family and can fit conveniently in a kitchen,” Osborne said.
The connection between Cal Poly Pomona and LA Urban Farms was facilitated through plant science Lecturer Kathleen Blakistone, who created an urban farm in Compton.
Their discussions led to the donation of the vertical garden as a demonstration tool in the president’s office.
Cal Poly Pomona plant science students are maintaining the vertical garden in the president’s office, Plant Science Associate Professor Aaron Fox said.
The garden was planted with basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme, and lettuce. Student Gebriel Ashenafi maintains the tower and harvests the produce for the Poly Pantry, which distributes the vegetables to students experiencing food insecurity.
The university is seeking funding to purchase more vertical gardens and hopes to build a “tower garden” to supply produce to Centerpointe Dining Commons and the Poly Pantry with fresh produce, Fox said. And the relationship with LA Urban Farms could lead to internships for students, he added.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity there,” he said.