Fresh produce can have high levels of pesticide residue, but students at California State University Long Beach have found a solution.

Caleb Grant is an urban farmer. To harvest what he’s planted, he removes the entire plant from its perch on a hydroponic tower, throws out the roots, and collects the leafy green part. He wakes up very early to do this work each week.

“Once you get out of bed it’s fine,” said Grant.

He also checks the pH balance for each of the 20 towers at CSULB. Each tower has a pool of water at the bottom and a timer decides when to pump the water up the shaft to get water directly to the roots.

They have a lot of control over these plants; they know exactly what goes into growing them and they don’t use pesticides.

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group found that nearly 70 percent of produce tested was contaminated with pesticide residues. Some of the highest concentrations were found on spinach, one of the crops they’re planting on campus.

Each time they harvest they replant.

Caleb has been farming since he was little.

They’re washing and watching the hydroponic towers closely. Recently the harvest has been lighter. They think it’s because it’s not as warm and productive as the summer months. Grant started growing at CSULB in August. He’s got one year to figure out if this is worth it for the school financially.

Everything grown here stays on campus: chives, kale, butter, lettuce, and spinach just to name a few. There’s a lot of variety and they frequently change crops out to see what grows best. The greens get washed and go straight to the kitchen. Then it’s in the chef’s hands. Most of the produce grown by Grant and his team gets prepped for the campus salad bar.