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In its place attached to Elings Hall at the far end of campus, Grand View University’s greenhouse is out of the way enough to escape many people’s notice. Yet many Biology majors are familiar with it as a place to get hands-on experience with plants and agriculture and to experiment in their field. The greenhouse offers a place to learn about proper plant propagation techniques, pest management and the use of specialized equipment for maintaining plant health.   

Apart from its uses for research, the greenhouse is a beautiful space in its own right. Sun shines in through the ceiling to facilitate growth year-round, and temperature controls ensure that plants can thrive even in the harsher winter months. Keeping careful tabs on the environment inside is necessary to protect the plants, which is also why no external objects are allowed inside, especially food and drink. 

Dr. Edmund Crane, an instructor of Biology at GVU, discussed some specifics of what different plants were being used for. Some plants were described as mutants, as they contained nonfunctional genes. 

“Some have hormones that control branching, some hormones that control interactions with bacteria in the soil, and none of them grow normally,” Crane said. 

Seeing these irregular cases can provide insight to students on the intricacies of how plants grow. They can also seem bizarre when they are more obvious than bacterial interactions. 

“These guys have a gene inserted that glows if you put a floruescent light on it. They have particular tissues that glow,” Crane said.  

Greenhouses also allow for year-round growth, unlike traditional farming or gardening. Because they utilize artificial lighting to maintain heat throughout cold and dark Iowa winters, the greenhouse requires significant energy use. They also require a human influence. 

Crane admits it can be a struggle to keep the greenhouse neat, as he and his students clean dead plant matter, unexpected plant spills and even have to sanitize to prevent bugs. 

The greenhouse works so well at keeping things warm that in the summer months it can become too hot for the plants to thrive. 

Crane mitigates this by running vents and fans to keep things cool, especially when temperatures soar to over 100 degrees. Crane also moves plants inside to a cooler environment if they still appear to be struggling. 

Not all plants need constant care, though. One remarkable story Crane relayed was a plant that lived through the pandemic. 

“People walked away and it didn’t get watered for about a year and a half. Now, it’s pretty happy and it’s made a bunch of flowers,” Crane said. 

The variety of plants present in the greenhouse is also notable. Housed inside is everything from liver worts (small veiny plants that collect moisture) to sweet corn, which students and faculty are using to conduct experiments on photosynthesis. 

Even plants that seem common or unexciting can contribute to research. 

“That’s what we do in science. I think something might be true, so let’s try and see if it’s not true,” Crane said. 

With the number of plants and concurrent experiments that students conduct, collected data constantly proves hypotheses true or false. 

The GVU greenhouse is a research space that carefully tends to each individual plant’s needs to maximize growth. In helping with this process, Biology students also have the unique opportunity to learn and improve their skills. In this way, the greenhouse cultivates both the plants within it and the students helping them grow.