Poway Valley Garden Club to host Garden University at Abraxas High

A Garden University offering lessons in growing plants with the aquaponics method is set for Wednesday, Jan. 21.

The “Aquaponics and In-Ground Produce Production” session hosted by the Poway Valley Garden Club starts at 2 p.m. at Abraxas High School, 12450 Glen Oak Road in Poway.

Abraxas teacher Bob Lutticken will present information about the school’s successful integration of fish and crop production at the campus garden. Attendees will learn how Abraxas’ aquaponics system yields thousands of pounds of produce, which are donated locally and used in the school’s culinary classes.

Reinhold Mueller, a Poway Valley Garden Club member who co-chairs Garden University with fellow garden club member Teresa Bertino, said the university will be of interest to people who want to try aquaponics at home.

“The main target is people of Poway who drive by the garden and want an idea of what’s going on there, and also those looking to try aquaponics,” Mueller said. “Here is an example right in their backyard in Poway.”

The Scripps Ranch resident said Abraxas’ garden was built on a former tennis court in 2015 and includes a pond for Tilapia freshwater fish. When the fish digest their food, their waste circulates through the plants, which filter out nutrients for the plants and provide purified water in the tank for the fish, he said.

“It’s really a circle of life,” he said of the integration of fish and plants.

Part of the filtered material in the fish tank is removed before it clogs up the plants and is used as fertilizer for plants in the ground, Mueller said. Some of the fish water is also removed from the tank to irrigate plants in raised beds, he added.

Lutticken, who has been teaching at Abraxas for 25 years, said he will give attendees a tour of the garden, educate them about their aquaponics system and then make a salad from the garden’s produce for them to taste.

“I’ll share information about aquaponic food sources and how we incorporate our garden in our culinary classes,” Lutticken said.

Mueller, a past president of the Poway Valley Garden Club, said he also co-chairs the Poway Valley Youth Garden Club that has about 2,000 members who are involved in school gardens. Abraxas is one of the garden club’s Schools of Excellence that serve as role models for campus gardening, he said.

Garden University is the Poway Valley Garden Club’s program designed to educate its members and the community about gardening related topics, Mueller said. Typically, at least six sessions are held each year at locations such as Old Poway Park or members’ homes, he said.

For more information or to sign up to attend the Garden University at Abraxas High School, contact Mueller at rmueller01@aol.com.