ABOVE: Seniors Parker Garrison, left, and Bennett Flohrs tend to the flowers in the school’s greenhouse right before the flower sale begins May 1. The event, which will run through May 8, is seeking to raise money for tuition assistance.

NORTHROP – Since 2018, Martin Luther High School (MLHS) has been able to utilize a combination greenhouse and classroom area built by students and featuring aquaponics and hydroponics for growing plants and fish. Now, they’re using it to grow plants for their first ever plant sale.

Using the systems, science teacher Nathaniel Watt said they have been able to grow lettuce and tilapia, both of which they have been able to serve as part of lunch and for fish fries, respectively.

As for the greenhouse space as a whole, Watt said they have been working with Austin Philipp of Janzen’s Greenhouse, who has brought out the variety of flowers and plants available for the plant sale. This partnership is new, and Watt said it has been very beneficial for the school.

“I don’t know what’s the best kind and he does,” he said. “Which is why we’re doing much better than we have in the past, because we have a greenhouse guy, and he knows which flowers to do.”

The plants were brought in by Philipp around a month ago, and Watt said it has been a daily endeavor for the students to check the plants, along with their other greenhouse tasks.

“We at least check,” Watt said. “They’ve got to take care of the aquaponics system, and we’ve got to get data off of the aquaponics system to measure its health every day. They’re out here every day. They don’t water every day because our greenhouse guy says that’s not a good idea. He says, ‘You need to let it get a little drier before you water again.'”

Through the greenhouse, Watt said they are able to have space for multiple student projects.

“These guys are in a project-based science class, and we do projects like these plants for sale,” he said. “The alcohol car is a project that is still in progress. We got some wiring to do, but it runs on alcohol, and the still is there to produce alcohol for the car. We have a student who is building his own aquaponics system for 4-H. We got these two agricultural tanks. One of them will have plants in, the other one will have the fish in, and we’ll combine them together.”

Outside of these projects, the space is also integrated into everyday learning.

“There is a lot of science in aquaponics,” Watt said. “Lots of chemistry and knowing how the water works, lots of biology and understanding how the fish grow and what type of food they need, and the environment they need, and the biology for growing the plants. We have different types of insulation, so we can take measurements off of these three different types of insulation, and we can talk about heat moving through, in and out of this part of the greenhouse.”

Even with all of this utilization, Watt said he wished he had the energy to use it even more.

“So much stuff that could be done out here,” he said. “The potential is wider.”

One of the ways they will be doing that is through the plant sale. Director of Development Marge Thiesse said the proceeds from the sales will go into student tuition aid to help provide aid for students who need it.

“We are going to start sales on Friday,” she said. “People can just call the school and come in, we’ll bring them in here, they can pick out the plants they want, and it’ll go until they’re gone.”

Available will be hanging baskets and a variety of potted plants and herbs.

With this new sale program and the greenhouse as a whole, Watt said the hope is it continues to grow every year.

“We’re getting our feet wet this year to see how things go,” he said. “Hopefully, it gets better and better every year. Whatever will lend itself to hands-on learning for the students and the greenhouse is useful for, I think we will jump in and do, especially helping agricultural-based projects that the students want to do.”

For more information or to inquire about the sale, call 507-436-5249.