I’m Steve Koontz, owner of Keep It Watered. Since 2015 our mission has been to enhance education through hydroponic gardening. 

I’ve seen what can happen when a child plants a seed. I’ve watched 5th and 6th graders give healthy eating presentations to kindergartners. These students served their younger peers a side-salad from lettuce grown on a Tower Garden in their classroom. The older kids told their younger peers to eat more veggies and eat less sweets. They went through MyPlate’s 4 food groups. It was incredible to watch!

A kindergarten teacher I trained several years ago had her students sell lettuce grown on a Tower Garden as a fundraiser. They made $100 in sales and donations and gave a needy family a gas card. I love the way this teacher wrapped the joy of giving into the experience of growing fresh produce.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a classic children’s book that chronicles the funny things a mouse asks for because of the cookie he gets. When you give a child a seed, the child plants it, takes care of it, and eats what’s grown. This can be an amazing thing in that child’s life. And for me, personally, planting seeds takes me back to my Creator. It points me to the God of the universe who made the tiny seed to grow into an amazing plant.

These stories, and more, are what can take place when schools utilize our soil-less gardening systems. Contact me at steve@keepitwatered.com or call/text 574.366.0939. I would love to talk with you!

“The Tower Gardens have been a wonderful educational tool for our classrooms,” says Dr. Hoffert, Superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools, “and I appreciate Steve’s work greatly!”