Tech: Hydroponics + agri-robotsJob: Vertical-farm growerAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Hydroponics + agri-robotsThe job: Vertical-Farm GrowerLocation: SkySprout Tower, a glass-walled farm above the downtown bus depot
The Hook
SkySprout Tower grows lettuce in stacked indoor gardens above the bus depot, but its lunch harvest is drooping. Dr. Lila Sprout hires the crew as growers—if Jay quits taste-testing the wall.
Cast in this issue
Tray — checklist captain and droop investigator.
Jay — eager grower whose stomach has lettuce opinions.
Rae — engineer, pay negotiator, and keeper of the new Nutrient Nudge Pipette.
Dr. Lila Sprout — SkySprout Tower manager and plant scientist.
Comic Pages
PAGE 1
PANEL 1A glass elevator rises past stacked basil, strawberries, and lettuce; buses below look tiny. JAY grips the rail. GAG: His knees tap-dance while he claims they are “standing still professionally.”JAY: "This farm has floors, but the floors are salad. Unexpected vibe check."
PANEL 2Dr. Sprout meets them by a misty row and rolling agri-robots. DR. SPROUT: "Vertical-Farm Growers: goggles, washed hands, no touching robots, log every change. Twelve coins each when harvest is packed." RAE: "Pay us properly, and we’ll grow greatness." TRAY: "Plan first, panic later. Rules are in the app."
PAGE 2
PANEL 3Rae shows pale roots in a water channel. RAE: "Hydroponics grows plants with roots in water, not dirt. The water brings plant-food minerals; pumps move it, and lights act like an indoor sun." JAY holds a spoon. "Soup?" RAE: "Plant soup. Spoon off duty."
PANEL 4A robot scans leaves and harvests one into a crate: “LEAF STATUS: FABULOUS.” GLITCH: "Beginning emotional lifting! You are enough, romaine!" GAG: Every lettuce has a tiny motivational paper crown.DR. SPROUT: "Oddly supportive."
PAGE 3
PANEL 5Tray finds three amber-flashing trays. TRAY: "Lights and water level look okay, but these leaves sag. Sus." Jay snags a pouch on a harvest cart and rolls backward through mist. GAG: Wearing a lettuce crown, Jay rolls through mist.JAY: "Hold my juice box—I have become the farm!"
PANEL 6The cart softly bumps a padded crate. A scanner labels Rae’s new tool “SMOOTHIE?” RAE: "New belt tool: Nutrient Nudge Pipette, a squeeze tool for a teeny water sample." TRAY: "The nutrient reading is low. These trays are getting plain water."
PAGE 4
PANEL 7Rae tests the mixing tank, Tray reads the chart, and Jay presses the approved mixer button. RAE: "Measure before adjusting." JAY: "Careful Jay has entered the chat." Corrected water flows. GLITCH: "LEAF STATUS: LESS DRAMATIC." JAY: "Big brain water fix!" TRAY: "That tracks."
PANEL 8They pack crisp lettuce as the city glows. DR. SPROUT: "Twelve coins each, plus four for a careful correction." JAY: "Forty coins for salad? Lettuce celebrate!" RAE: "That joke was compostable." TRAY writes: "Ledger line: 06, Vertical-farm grower wages, plus 40 coins. Total: 132 coins." JAY: "Cargo-bike job next. Dibs on bell!"
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S TOOL-BELT BOX: Hydroponics sends mineral-rich water past plant roots. Pumps circulate it, sensors check the setup, and agri-robots can scan or harvest. Humans still check the results; a sensor cannot taste-test a problem. TRY IT: Put celery in colored water and watch the color climb.
The Job Board
Job title: Vertical-Farm Grower
Who hired us: Dr. Lila Sprout, SkySprout Tower manager
Rules of the job: Goggles; clean hands; no moving-robot touching; measure and log first.
What went wrong: Three trays got plain water; Jay also became cart cargo.
How we fixed it: Tray found the reading; Rae tested with the new Nutrient Nudge Pipette; Jay used the approved mixer.
What we got paid: 12 coins each + 4-coin correction bonus = 40 coins. Crew Bank ledger total: 132 coins.
Slang Decoder
Vibe check** — a check of how something feels or is going.Sus** — suspicious or not quite right.Big brain** — a clever move.Hold my juice box** — a funny warning before a daring try.That tracks** — that makes sense.
Every floor at SkySprout Tower is a farm—and every farm needs growers. Rae has a new pipette, Tray has a plan, and Jay has a lettuce crown he absolutely did not request. Can the crew solve a droopy harvest before the robot gives the basil another pep talk? Next stop: a cargo bike!
Full-colour modern children’s graphic-novel cartoon with thick clean ink and saturated mustard, teal, lime, purple, orange, and coral: at SkySprout Tower, Tray is a warm-brown-skinned 10-year-old with short curly black hair and a lightning-bolt shaved part on the LEFT, chunky blue-framed smart glasses with a camera dot on the right lens, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, bright orange sneakers, and slim drone-zipper-pull backpack, studying a plant chart. Jay is a lighter-brown-skinned freckled 8-year-old with wild messy black hair, one missing front tooth, lime rocket-print T-shirt, red gadget-pocket shorts, mismatched striped and polka-dot socks, and chunky glowing-lace purple sneakers, riding a cart in a lettuce crown. Rae is a dark-brown-skinned 12-year-old with two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, safety goggles on her forehead, smartwatch on her right wrist, silver-and-pink high-tops, and a tool belt holding a wrench, Propeller Gauge, Dough Scraper, Fold-Out Safety Whistle, Pocket Tripod Clamp, and Sunlight Meter, and Nutrient Nudge Pipette, testing water. Include stacked greens, friendly robots, mist, and city below.
Issue 06 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
