CYCLING THROUGH THE ARCTIC | HYDRO PLAYERS OF THE FUTURE C U LT I V A T E Y O U
EXTREME GROWING
ON EARTH AND BEYOND
PREHISTORIC
PRODUCE
PLANTS IN THE TIME OF DINOSAURS
$ 7. 0 0
FOOD FELONIES IS GARDENING A CRIME?
FUTURISTIC
FOXES
THE CURRENT CROP OF SCI-FI STARLETS
SCIENCE FICTION'S
HYDROPONIC LEGACY
EXCLUSIVE ILLUSTRATION:
A GROWER'S
SPACE ODYSSEY
STARRING STAR TREK SIREN ALICE EVE INSIDE THE LAB
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
INDUSTRY EXPERTS EXPOSE THE FUTURE OF GROWING
TAYLOR REINHOLD
OPERATOR 17
GROWER / STREET ARTIST
SKEW PROPER
GROWING
ART
Taylor wears the Method Seven Operator HPS +. The newest offering from Method Seven. Its Fission lens is designed to cut the yellow haze of High Pressure Sodium Lighting and protect your eyes from all damaging UV rays. For Taylor that means seeing his plants in day light like color balance and working in comfort. Outdoors, the Fission lens works like any high-end sunglass – protecting your eyes from the intensity of the sun and reducing glare.
We call them Operators for a reason. See. Believe.
METHODSEVEN.COM
Nutrient Breakthrough Eliminates pH Balancing Forever Reality is... working with pH up and down to balance your nutrients has never been the “fun” part of hydroponics. Frankly, it just makes things more complicated. And, of course, those harsh chemicals burn your skin and put holes in your clothes. To top it off, having to constantly calibrate your pH pens, meters and routinely check your reservoir’s pH, well... it’s just a pain in the ass. Instead... imagine walking into your grow room and seeing the crop you have always dreamed of. And you did it with less effort and more freedom, not once having to touch a single drop of pH up or down, never fooling around with any pH pens or monitoring equipment.
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Gail, Portland, Oregon “The other effect I wanted to thank you for in this Expert bundle is that my plants had more energy and growth in bloom than usual. From what I can figure out, it’s due to the carbohydrates in Bud Candy, and the cleansing of the Final Phase without the loss of the growth energy.” Mark, Orlando, Florida “Well I’ve finally reached the Grand Master level and it feels great! I had always looked at the gardens in the magazines and thought I could never do that, I don’t have the knowledge. But basically all I had to do was get your bundles and together with pH Perfect Connoisseur my yields went up by an extreme amount.”
Pick your base nutrient and start with the Hobbyist Level™.
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Then decide if the next level in the Bundle Box Ascension Ladder is the right choice for you. Choose from the Expert Grower Level™, the Professional Grower Level™ or the Grand Master Grower Level™.
REBEL
YELL! They live life to the beat of a different drummer, are sure of who they are and what they stand for.
They’re the free and forward thinkers, innovators and creators whose ideas and words inspire, polarize, spark imaginations and powerfully connect. They’re rebels, outcasts, Davids in a world of Goliaths, that come from the least likely of places. They tread where others fear to go, dislike conforming to the norm, and don’t care much for the man or his machine because they truly embrace freedom. It’s hard to fool them because they have a clear perspective on the world and see things for what they really are. They’re fiercely aware of what’s right and wrong, speak their minds and take no prisoners.
They look at life differently, society can’t pigeon hole them or put them in box, and they see things where others don’t. Their ideas are sometimes out on the fringe, the ragged edge. They have to be, because they’re open to the possibilities and realities that change the world. Some see them as a fish out of water, trouble makers and oddballs. We see them as gifted, profound and uniquely brilliant.
all NeW
buddy aWards The 2013 Buddy Awards are coming soon, and now is the time for Rosebud readers to let their voices be heard. The all new Buddy Awards dig deeper into the world of hydroponic growing than ever before, honoring not only the tools of our trade, but the techniques that make every grower’s experience exciting. Voting begins January 7, 2013 and runs until February 4, 2013. So log on now at Rosebudmag.com/BuddyVote and cast your vote for the 2013 Buddy Awards, the only hydroponic growers awards chosen by YOU.
Go to rosebudmag.com/buddyvote to cast your vote for a Buddy.
VOLU M E 3 / I SSU E 25
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DEPARTMENTS
12
CONTENTS
{ F R O M T H E TO P }
BIG MIKE
Just look around!
14
{ E D I TO R ’ S N OT E }
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE
It’s a blast.
16
{ F E E D BAC K }
READERS AROUND THE WORLD
See where our readers are checking out Rosebud.
18
{ F E E D BAC K }
LETTERS
Our readers report in.
20
{ FUN }
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BUDDY
We love natural melons. HIGHLIGHTS
78
{ F E AT U R E }
HYDRO HORIZONS
Sci-Fi’s Fascination With Hydroponic Growing.
“LUKE SKYWALKER WAS LITERALLY A DIRT FARMER” 82
{ CO V E R STO RY }
HYPERSPACE HOTTIES
The most beautiful babes in sci-fi today.
86
{ S P O RT S }
BIKING THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
A sub-zero cycling adventure.
92
{ GMO }
FORBIDDEN GARDENS
Who controls what you grow?
96
{ E Y E C A N DY }
ANTONIA
Bulgarian beauty.
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
Rosebud
9
CONTENTS HYDRO+POP
VOLU M E 3 / I SSU E 25
22 MAD SEASONS Growing in global warming.
24 GOING TO EXTREMES Hydroponics in every location.
26 MONEY MATTERS
Turn your growing profits into smart investments.
24
28 TE+NDER LOVING CARE Hydrobot invades U.S. parks.
30 BIONIC MAN
The start of the super humans.
32 MOLD YOUR OWN 3D printers are ripe for growers.
34 CITY SOLUTIONS
New Yorkers digging in the dirt.
36 NUMB3RS OF THE FUTUR3 Tomorrow’s tally today.
66
38 COLD-PRESSED COCKTAILS The raw juice craze.
38 LINGO BINGO
HYDRO FEATURES
Take the Rosebud grower vocabulary challenge.
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FILTER 106
No need for a bow, yo.
{ O PI N I O N }
108
A few words from our hydro editor.
44 44
70
{ I N D USTRY G AB }
112
Django Unchained, Archer, Ricky Gervais.
114
Pour something they’ll remember.
{ A SK ER I K }
116
Stay sharp with your trimming scissors.
102
{ H OT F O R H Y D RO }
{ SWE AT EQ UITY }
PICKING A GYM
Wonder where to work out?
{ E R I K ’ S FI X }
WARM FUZZIES
Giving the gift of hydroponics.
{ 5 E SSENTIAL S }
HOLIDAY LIQUORS
PRECISION PRUNING
GROWER GIFTS
{ H OT STUFF }
COMING SOON
{ FE ATUR E }
100
Launching the ultimate flowering phase.
50
Video games you gotta get.
{ FE ATUR E }
Industry experts reveal what’s next.
{ PL ANTS 101 }
{ G A ME S }
INDOOR ENJOYMENT
IN THE LAB
THE TRANSITION
48
110
Helping the whole world with hydro.
420 million years of plant evolution.
Ask the experts at Hydroponic Shops of America.
46
Great toys for boy (and girl) growers.
{ FE ATUR E }
PREHISTORIC GROWING
WHAT THE SHOPS ARE SAYING
{ G AD G ETS }
GEAR UP
HYDRO PLAYERS OF THE FUTURE
66
HYDRO 101
{ G E AR }
STOCKING STUFFER
THE FUTURE IS NOW
58
116
117
Keep your roots cozy.
{ CULTI VATE YO U }
ADDITIVE AWARENESS
{ HY D RO N EER I N G }
The ghosts in our diets.
CONCENTRATING ON CONCENTRATION A closer look at TDS/EC. DEPARTMENTS
124
{ QUIZ }
WERE YOU LISTENING? What did you learn this issue?
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126
{ R E TA I L }
FIND US
The best spots to find Rosebud.
WHAT’S ISSUE 25
BLOOMING? ROSEBUD’S BEST, WHEREVER YOU ROAM
3001: A GROWER’S ODYSSEY
HYDRO PLAYERS OF THE FUTURE { PAGE 58 }
The next generation of growers and shakers.
DINOSAUR PLANTS
{ PAGE 65 }
{ PAGE 66 }
Exclusive illustration for growers’ imaginations.
It all started 420 million years ago.
In your local hydro shop
CYCLING THE ARCTIC
ILLEGAL GARDENING { ONLINE }
Audio interview with the woman who almost went to jail for growing vegetables.
HYDRO 101 { ONLINE }
Exclusive content for new growers.
{ ONLINE }
DYING IN AMERICA Dodging the dangers of modern living.
rosebudmag.com
EYE CANDY
HOT FOR HYDRO { APP }
Deonna Marie breaks down hydro for newbies.
ASK ERIK
{ APP }
{ APP }
Master growing tips from Erik Biksa.
Rosebud beauties.
MOBILE
iTunes App Store, Google Play Market, Blackberry App World
facebook.com/rosebudmagazine
@rosebudmagazine
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
Rosebud
11
DE ON N AM AR I E.N ET; VASS I L KAR K E LAN OV; B R E K B OU G H TON
{ ONLINE }
ONLINE
CLO CKW I S E F R OM TOP LE FT: CH R I S B U LLO CK; S H U TTE R STO CK; S H U TTE R STO CK;
Video interview with a sub-zero cyclist.
FROM THE TOP
FROM THE PUBLISHER
JUST LOOK AROUND! BY M ICHAE L STRAU M I ETI S
I remember some years ago, when I was a partner in a retail hydroponics store, the future was the past. It was always the same old nutrients…same old lighting systems… same old everything. Nothing changed. But NOW…what a difference the years have made. Just look around. We NOW have nutrients that allow us to throw away pH pens and meters. And more exciting nutrient developments are on the way. Scientific research NOW enables us to take full advantage of the science of chelation and microbes to enhance the effectiveness of nutrients. And more scientific breakthroughs are in the wings. We NOW have advanced plasma, LED and induction lights that provide the spectrum and intensity that helps plants to thrive. And these lights are being constantly
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improved to provide greater intensity using fewer watts. We NOW have an advanced system of communicating scientific and factual hydroponic information in the form of free white papers and reports. These papers, available on the Internet, are tools for achieving higher quality crops with less effort and cost. And this library of information is increasing every month. What’s ahead? More of the same. And, just as in the past, Rosebud will be covering every new development. In fact, you’ll probably read about them first in Rosebud. We’ll also be watching the growing challenge of a changing climate, making hydroponic gardening even more important in the future. In many areas, there will be an increasing marriage of outdoor and indoor gardening techniques to combat weather problems such as late and early frost conditions, lack of water and increasing heat. Because we’re dedicated to helping you be the best grower possible by…meeting new challenges…and taking advantage of industry advances… these new techniques will also be covered in future issues of Rosebud. Be certain to ask your favorite grow store to reserve a copy of every new Rosebud in your name. You’ll want to make each issue part of your growing skills and lifestyle entertainment. Also, as we close out the year, I want to thank you, our reader, for helping to make Rosebud such a publishing success. Your support and feedback have been awesome. Trust me…you are much appreciated. Special appreciation also goes to our retailers and advertisers. Without their support, publishing Rosebud would not be possible. Together, all of us form a strong hydroponic community and that’s another reason why our future is no longer the past, but is NOW. Talk Soon Big Mike :)
EDITOR’S NOTE The Space Shuttle Endeavour over downtown Los Angeles.
Rosebud P U B L ISHERS
MICHAEL “BIG MIKE” STRAUMIETIS ROBERT HIGGINS EUGENE YORDANOV A SSOC IA TE P U B L IS H E R
ALEX LEON
FROM THE EDITOR
WELCOME TO THE FUTURE BY JOS H UA G LAZ E R
EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION E D ITO R I N C H I E F JOSHUA GLAZER ( JOSH@ROSEBUDMAG.COM ) H Y D R O P O N I C S E D I TO R ERIK BIKSA ( ASKERIK@ROSEBUDMAG.COM ) O N L I N E MA N AG I N G E D I TO R HAPPY KRETER ( HAPPY@ROSEBUDMAG.COM ) A RT D I R E CTO R JASON HARYNUK
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SUBSCRIPTIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PHONE: 415.568.2128 • WEB: www.rosebudmag.com EMAIL: info@rosebudmag.com
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ROSEBUD THANKS Big Mike, Rob Higgins, Gino Yordanov, Hiem Pham, Jimmy G, Katie Leon, Tomis Havlicek, Nick Maltchev, Jody Boates, Mom and Dad Leon, Oliver Gettell, Charlie Gonzalez, Leo Paquin, Jeanette Lee, Davinder Singh, AN Sales Angels and Business Buddies (every one of you), Terry Lindsay, Michael Kosty, Jack and Fin Leon, Bobby Toor, Dan Mair, Mike Wywka, Kevin Statham, Chris Bullock, Justin Currie, Glen Schroeder, Theodora Nacheva, Felipe Vega, Paula and Robert Glazer, Srikanth Akella, D.A., Bryan Ward.
Rosebud Magazine is published six times a year by Advanced Nutrients. Current individual copies are available at your local hydroponic store. Rosebud Magazine is also available by individual subscription at the following rates: in the United States, one year $65.00; outside the United States, one year $66.00 (CAN) surface mail (U.S. dollars only). Back issues, when available, are $16.00 each. To subscribe, call 415.568.2128. Rosebud is a registered trademark of Advance Nutrients copyright© Advanced Nutrients All RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. VOLUME 3 ISSUE 25. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without publisher’s written permission. Rosebud Magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Materials will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. For change of address, please include old label with new information, including both old and new ZIP codes. Allow six weeks for address change to take effect.
AN ADVAN CE D N U TR I E N TS PU B LI CATI ON
S H U TTE R STO CK
Editing a magazine like Rosebud is always a good time. But when we stumbled onto the idea to do a future-themed issue several months back, I knew right away that creating this particular edition would be an absolute riot. And I was right. Over the next few months, we had a blast during our weekly calls, letting our imaginations run wild trying to envision what hydroponics will look like in the far-flung future, while having plenty of laughs recalling some of our favorite examples of hydroponics as they’ve appeared in science fiction over the years. The fact that these conversations were happening via Skype, with the Rosebud team spread across three countries on two continents, gave the whole thing a futuristic vibe to begin with. That’s when it hit me: The future is now. Yes, there are still major innovations to be made in the realm of hydroponic growing, including more efficient and powerful lights, more refined nutrients, and novel new techniques for cloning, cooling, venting and trimming — all with the ultimate goal of getting bigger and better yields. You can see these next steps taking place in issue after issue of Rosebud, whether in our articles or via our advertisers. Advancements are happening all the time. So while none of us will likely live long enough to see massive greenhouses feeding colonies on Mars, it’s easy to close your eyes and envision it. And who knows? By living well, taking natural medicines and following the advice of Rosebud health contributors George Robichaud and Cherokee Bridges, maybe we’ll at least get to taste a space tomato one day.
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READERS AROUND THE WORLD
GRAB YOUR CAMERA AND SNAP A PHOTO OF YOURSELF HOLDING UP A COPY OF ROSEBUD MAGAZINE. THEN EMAIL US YOUR BEST SHOT. IF WE LIKE YOUR PHOTO, WE’LL PUBLISH YOUR PICTURE. SEE YOU SOON!
CONTRIBUTORS COREY HALL WRITER
Corey Hall is a writer, comedian and podcaster living near the great rotted hulk of a Midwestern metropolis. He has spent more than a decade trying to keep his eyes open in the dark, as a film critic and entertainment journalist. He has a profound cinema addiction, and has watched, devoured and endured way more movies than any human should, though the one that hurt the most was Fat Albert.
LYZ PFISTER WRITER
Lyz Pfister is a Berlin-based writer and translator. She is the Managing Editor of SAND, Berlin’s English-language literary journal and writes the food and culture blog Eat Me. Drink Me (eatmedrinkmeblog.com). Her work has appeared in Still Journal, Maniac Magazine, Nerd Traveler, New York Family Magazine, and Dine & Cook, among others. She’s currently working on a collection of New York poems while living and writing in Germany.
GEORGE ROBICHAUD WRITER
Clockwise from top: Nick takes Rosebud on vacation, girls grow too, Redman digging Deonna, Rosebud’s gone to the dogs.
HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT AT: PHOTOS@ROSEBUDMAG.COM 16
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With his expertise in growing sought after the world over, George Robichaud is a master of outdoor growing with over 20 years of experience. Over those two decades, he’s seen climate change wreak havoc on the traditional growing seasons. He is also a writer/filmmaker with credits in feature film and documentary film writing. George also has an extensive background in athletics, having been a world class bodybuilder and much sought after fitness consultant in the 1980s. He currently has a fitness column in Rosebud Magazine called “Sweat Equity” and produces highly inspirational fitness videos.
FEEDBACK
LETTERS SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME I was shocked to read your article on “The Drone Threat.” Our privacy is under constant attack these
HAVE YOU ENTERED?
WIN A SAMPLE BOTTLE OF
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days, and this is just another example of things
What do you like about Rosebud? Anything you
growers need to look out for. Thanks to Rosebud
can’t stand? Want to write about it? And, by the
for keeping me one step ahead.
way, have you always wanted to try Big Bud?
TIM FROST, SEATTLE, WASH.
If you screamed YES, grab your mouse and send us an email telling us what you love or hate about Rosebud.
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVES
POSSESSED PLANTS
Rosebud magazine is to me the essential guide to
You forgot the ultimate scary movie plant — the
anyone that has a genuine interest in this subject.
tree from Poltergeist. It scared the crap out of me
It gives good all-round, non-biased advice about
as a kid. I begged my mom to cut our one in the
products that are available out there.
yard down after seeing the film.
NIKKI HAYWARD, VIA EMAIL
JASON KOWALSKI, VIA FACEBOOK
FRIEND US! Join the Rosebud Facebook fan page for the latest updates in the world of hydroponics.
AND THE WINNERS ARE!
BIG BUD GIVES YOU: • Heavier, higher-quality flowers • Flowers with more essential oils, aromatics, terpenoids, phenols and other potency factors
Congratulations to the winners of the Advance Nutrients Winter Fest contest!!! These lucky Rosebud supporters win $5,000 of AN nutrients! Thanks again for partnering with the best nutrient company this side of the Milky Way!
• Measurable, significant increases in overall harvest weight and market value If we publish your letter, we’ll send you a sample bottle of Big Bud! Send your note to: LETTERS@ROSEBUDMAG.COM
249 GARDEN SUPPLY 18
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BUDDY COMIC
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OUTD
OOR
Global warming was barely mentioned in the recent presidential election. But from Superstorm Sandy to the drought of 2012, it has become abundantly clear that the days when you could accurately predict the weather are gone. For most of mankind’s growing history, conditions tended to arise on time and on schedule, as nature’s clock set its reliable rhythms.
MAD SEASONS NO DOUBT THE FUTURE WILL BE HOTTER. WHAT DOES GLOBAL WARMING MEAN FOR OUTDOOR GROWERS?
Today’s outdoor grower has to adapt and adjust to surprises and radical swings in order to survive. Climate change is the single biggest threat to outdoor growing. As seasons shift and extreme weather conditions become more pronounced, the outdoor farming industry is under siege by the very thing that sustains it: nature. Spring weather comes later in some regions, delaying the outplanting process and thereby shortening the vegetative cycle, which in turn diminishes yields. Torrential rains hit areas that traditionally get low precipitation, contributing to poor yields from lack of direct sunlight, and promoting bud rot. Unusual storms, like hail and wind gusts, sweep down without
BY G EORG E ROB ICHAU D
warning and destroy crops. And finally, early and late frosts threaten to take out plants before they have time to get a foothold or finish properly. I have directly experienced these dramatic weather changes in my own growing career. Each year it gets more challenging to battle the elements and bring in a good harvest. I plant later and harvest earlier. My genetics have also evolved to reflect this ominous fact of climate change. Outdoor growing is becoming more and more reliant on genetics that are quick to finish, extremely hardy and disease-resistant because the front and back ends of seasonal changes are the areas most affected by climate change. My best advice to outdoor growers is to seek out genetics that are early to finish and are very hardy, with high-elevation genetics in the mix. Also, rely less on the seasons being predictable, and prepare for problems like early and late frosts by having the setup and materials at hand to make sudden changes to your program. For example, do not commit your plants to the ground before you are certain the frost is gone and there is little chance of a freak spring cooling. Have materials on hand like frost covers or a greenhouse that you can use to protect you plants until the anomaly passes. Changing seasons takes on a whole new meaning these days, so be prepared. Happy harvest!
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Blue Water Alchemy What Is Ormus From Blue Water Alchemy? Ormus is composed of Calcium and Magnesium Hydroxide, as a precipitate, plus 14 elements that from proprietary salt baths, are alkalinized into the diatomic and/or monatomic state. It is these monatomic elements that greatly assist plants in growing into and achieving a higher potential. Expect more fruit at harvest time, healthier plants with resistance to insects, molds and other environmental stresses.
How To Use Ormus: Ormus is sold in the form of a concentrate. Apply the Ormus either as a foliar spray, as a root ball soak doing so at the rate of a one percent solution. One ounce of Ormus concentrate mixed with one gallon of water. If plants are in pots, use Ormus no more than twice per season, in dense bio-rich soils use up to three times per season, and in sandy well drained soils bi-weekly applications are possible. Once you’ve grown with Ormus you’ll understand why we state: “Ormus is the key to future agricultural productivity.” Most often we ship within 24 hours, via USPS Priority Mail. Find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and check out our full line of products at bluewateralchemy.com or contact us at: 719-223-8644
O HYDR
Gotham Greens rooftop garden in Brooklyn.
GOING TO EXTREMES HYDROPONICS FOR EVERY LOCATION BY MAR S EA TR UAN
Agriculture has long been at the core of human civilization, with the ability
GOTHAM GREENS (GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN)
to grow and harvest produce being an important factor in determining
New York City is well known for having just about everything a person
where people take root. For this reason, the most extreme spots on the
could ever need (and more) within a walk or a train ride. Until recently,
planet have remained mostly uninhabited.
however, that excluded truly fresh produce, as the city’s fruits and vegeta-
Now advances in horticulture such as hydroponics and associ-
bles had to be hauled in from elsewhere. But a recent movement toward
ated fields like aquaponics and aeroponics allow farming in places
buying locally grown and manufactured goods has gained momentum in
once thought impossible, from the most arid desert to the densest city,
urban areas nationwide, leading to a surge of rooftop gardens.
and even out into the far reaches of space. Here are some of the most extreme places where hydroponics have a home and a future.
Gotham Greens, located atop an old warehouse in Brooklyn, is the city’s first commercial rooftop hydroponic greenhouse, employing a staff of more than 25 people and supplying stores like Whole Foods
MCMURDO STATION (ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA)
and restaurants throughout the city. The company, led by co-founder and
Finding fresh produce on this barren, ice-covered wasteland, where
to succeed while supplying a high-quality product to the masses.
winter, might seem impossible. However, the station’s heavily insulated 649-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse provides fresh salads and other produce throughout the four months of complete darkness. During peak harvest periods, the garden can yield 250 pounds of fresh greens (and reds) monthly, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, salad greens and chard. As all growers know, a closed system without ventilation can get hot quickly. This is an advantage when the temperature outside is -58°F. Hot air from the lamps is recycled to keep the garden warm. This also makes the greenhouse a popular hangout among residents.
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Ross Island, Antarctica
TOP: WWW.G OTHAM G R E E N S.C OM; B OTTOM :W I K I M E D IA
all supplies for the 250 inhabitants must be brought in by boat before
CEO Viraj Puri, is an example of how entrepreneurs can use hydroponics
NASA (HYDROPONICS IN SPACE) Though travel between the United States and the International Space Station is now being handled solely by private companies like SpaceX, NASA is still alive and researching, and planning for some pretty big things. The agency’s current agenda is pushing toward manned spaceflight beyond the moon, Mars and eventually the solar system. But before humans can travel that far into space, we need to be able to sustain life on long voyages. For the scientists at NASA, hydroponics may play a pivotal role in the future of space exploration. Because plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, they can be an incredibly valuable tool in sustaining life aboard a vessel. Plants act as mini CO2 scrubbers, and in large quantities they can process a lot of the stuff. NASA plans to use what it calls “bioregenerative life support systems” for long flights, using specially chosen plants to regulate gas levels onboard and to provide food and medicine. The agency is currently experimenting with various hydroponic techniques, light sources, temperatures and types of plants to determine how to best equip a manned spacecraft for deep space travel. Hey, NASA—sign us up for that flight as hydroponic specialists. You won’t be sorry!
Negev Desert, Israel
NEGEV DESERT (ISRAEL) At the opposite end of the heat spectrum lies the Negev Desert, which makes up more than half of Israel’s landmass. In this cradle of civilization, man has avoided any kind of farming for millennia, but for the last 30 years intrepid farmers have developed their own system of aquaponics and drip irrigation, growing a variety of plants and raising hearty tilapia for sale to restaurants and markets. Tilapia thrive in all kinds of water, so the
TOP: NASA.G OV; B OTTOM : W I K I M E DIA
brackish well water of the Negev is not a problem. As in all aquaponics, water from the tilapia tank is filtered and used to water the plants multiple times. In a place where water is such a valuable commodity, the ability to use this symbiotic relationship between the fish and plants is truly amazing.
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
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25
BUSIN
ESS
MONEY MATTERS TURN YOUR GROWING PROFITS INTO SMART INVESTMENTS
START A COWORKING SPACE.
FOLLOW YOUR NOSE.
These spaces offer a work environment
developed a discerning grower’s nose,
to anyone who wants one without the
you could put it to use in another line
commitment of a lease or the nagging of
that requires a sharp sense of smell:
actual coworkers. They’re in vogue and
coffee roasting. Home coffee roasting is
perfect for independent designers, techies,
hot nowadays, and it’s highly scalable.
entrepreneurs, traveling businesspeople,
You can easily go from the garage to a
All right, so you’re a grower who has successfully gotten
students and writers. Customers typically
commercial space as sales pick up.
your operation off the ground, and your stalks—and
pay a monthly membership fee that can
profits—are shooting ever skyward. Congratulations.
range from $50 to $500. Many coworking
BY GARY ANG LE B RAN DT
Now what are you going to do with all that cash lying around? To get the most out of your money, you should
spaces also offer hourly and daily rates.
LET SOMEONE ELSE PUT YOUR MONEY TO WORK.
The big cost factor is in getting the
Plenty of people want to turn their passion
put it to work, right? You can expand your operation, but
space—do you buy or lease?—and the chal-
into a job. It could be a friend who wants
a strong financial portfolio is a diverse one. You’ve already
lenge is in finding a hip location. Once you
to start designing furniture and needs
demonstrated your entrepreneurial prowess with your
do, outfit it with trendy coffeehouse furniture,
capital to get equipment and pay the
grow operation; now it’s time to branch out into a side
provide some basic office equipment
bills while getting his business off the
business to generate an additional revenue stream.
and perhaps free coffee and water, and
ground. Or it could be an animal lover who
include any other bells and whistles of your
wants to start a dog grooming business
your baby. You don’t want a massively distracting head-
choosing. Providing keycards to customers
that sends a van to people’s homes. You
ache sucking away all your time and mental resources.
means they can let themselves in, minimizing
provide startup funds, take a percentage
Here are five ideas for low-maintenance, quick-setup busi-
supervision time. But you’ll probably want to
of the business and let the person go
nesses to help you round out your business profile.
hire someone to mind the place.
nuts. There’s a big drawback here, though:
However, your grow operation is and shall remain
26
Considering that you’ve probably
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You have to do serious vetting of the person and the business plan to judge if it’s going to be a viable business. You might also consider getting involved in crowdfunding.
ANYTHING UTILIZING A SKILL YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE. Good at web design? Graphic design? Glassblowing? Doing taxes? Are you handy with tools? All these activities can be formalized into an official business. Set up a limited liability company, and you’re in business. LLCs are the most common form of small businesses and are quick and easy to create. Dial it down at times when the grow operation needs your attention, and dial it up during slow times. It’s also good to have a small network of others who share your skills — people you can subcontract the work out to when you’ve got urgent grow business.
ANYTHING COIN-OPERATED. For low maintenance and schedule flexibility, it’s hard to beat a self-serve car wash or laundry business. It’s not exactly glamorous, but all you have to do is check in every day to collect money, restock and clean. Hiring someone to do this for you shouldn’t cost much either. Listing prices for coin-op car washes and laundry businesses range anywhere from six figures to several million dollars, depending on location, condition and traffic.
POWER-WASHING. Also not glamorous, but all you need is a truck, powerwashing equipment and a little marketing. These guys are needed in all sorts of situations, from residential to commercial. Pay for the stuff and get someone else to do the work. Before jumping into any of these endeavors, it’s important to keep in mind that just because this is a side business, it still requires time and energy, no matter how small it is. Gwendolyn Wright, a San Franciscobased small business consultant, has some wellgrounded advice for anyone who thinks it will be easy: “If you think you’re going to start a business and not put energy and time into it, don’t start it.” Even a business like a coworking space is going to need supervision and plenty of marketing to generate awareness, and hiring people to run a business requires a deep level of trust, even if it’s just a car wash. “Cash moves,” Wright warns. “It’s mysterious.”
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It seems as though you are still in the development stage, but making some pretty great progress. When do you anticipate deploying the TE+ND Rovers to your chosen sites? Johnston: Corey and I are currently working on the mechanical phase of the project — fabricating parts and fitting everything together. We are both learning how to use some pretty skill-specific tools, like the water-jet cutter. I think we’ll finish the first rover by March or April 2013, just in time to start planting here in California. You’re a popular artist, and Corey is quite well-known in the robotics world. What inspired the two of you to work together? Johnston: Corey and I worked together with a team of artists on another project called SWARM, creating semi-autonomous spherical robots with their own on-board light, sound and GPS systems. I’ve had the TE+ND Rover project idea for a few years, trying to marry my interests in robotics and native California habitat. I had been looking for grants to help fund the build, and when I got the grant from the James Irvine Foundation, I presented the TE+ND Rover to my old SWARM team. Corey got really excited about the prospect of another robot project. Corey is most interested in building a simple robotics platform that other artists can use, that is customizable and built with off-the-shelf parts. The project is meant to be open-source, for anyone to build or modify once we’ve completed our research and development.
FUTU
RE
TE+NDER LOVING CARE HYDROPONIC ROBOTS TO INVADE U.S. PARKS NEXT YEAR BY MARCEA TR UAN
It’s a warm, sunny day, and you’ve settled on a park bench. As you allow your mind to wander, your eyes settle on a new addition to the park — a strange new animal, perhaps? The small, multi-legged thing is slowly making its way across the grass, seemingly interacting with other park-goers as it ambles around. As it comes closer, what at first appeared to be an animal is revealed as an eight-legged robot with a small hydroponic ecosystem on its back. You have discovered the elusive TE+ND Rover. It may sound strange, but the TE+ND (Terrestrial Exploration and Nurture
The TE+ND Rover is really a piece of interactive, purposeful art. How do you hope it affects the public with whom it interacts? Johnston: I imagine people acting as participants, trying to herd the rover toward light or actively watering the garden. I hope that participants will sympathize with the rover and its garden when they interact with it and scan the quickresponse code on the rover with their cellphones to learn more about the project. The code will take them to a website that describes all the plants, their native regions, and how they can help preserve or create more native habitat in their everyday lives. Overall, the goal is to educate the public about habitat conservation in a new and interesting way. Why did you choose to include hydroponics in your project? Johnston: It seemed like a no-brainer. Soil and water are very heavy and require more energy for a robot to move all that weight around. Plus, the soil could potentially shift as the rover walks over hills, destroying the plants. Corey and I thought about a material that might be lighter and more efficient. I have two degrees in ceramics and had a great idea for a new ceramic hydroponics material. Here in California, many hydroponic growers use terracotta spheres or pebbles as growing substrate, but those materials would roll around on a moving platform like the one on the rover. So I developed a ceramic sponge material that will retain water and nutrients but will still aerate the roots. Many of us see hydroponics as a way to address some of the problems facing our planet. How do you see the future of hydroponic gardening? Johnston: I didn’t really start the project to advance hydroponic gardening; it just seemed like an elegant solution. Perhaps other growers will look at their options—water use, amount of arable land, need for pesticides and herbicides— and come to the same conclusion.
Designed) Rover, currently in development by renowned Bay Area artist Marnia Johnston
28
and self-proclaimed “geek of all trades” Corey McGuire, may change the way that
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT, VISIT
average folks view hydroponics. Rosebud spoke to Johnston about the project.
WWW.TENDROVER.COM
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E R U T FU
BIONIC MAN
BIOLOGICS By all layman’s logic, biologics should work. The process, which still has FDA hurdles to clear in the U.S., involves taking the body’s natural resources, altering certain properties, and then injecting them back into the body at specific points of ailment. This usually involves either concentrated bone marrow infusions or having blood drawn, heated and spun in a centrifuge to
TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING US BETTER... STRONGER...FASTER, TODAY.
extract magnified levels of its life-giving forces, and finally re-injecting it. In
BY B RAN DON PE R KI N S
patented a form of biologics called Regenokine, and after Bryant’s
the case of Kobe Bryant—the procedure’s highest-profile patient—it gave the Lakers guard the spring in his step that had been missing for half a decade. Dr. Peter Wehling, a spinal surgeon based in Düsseldorf, has success, athletes have flocked to Germany to receive the five-day treat-
30
The future of man is now. Through the magic of science, we have
ment. Part of the appeal is the lack of recovery time associated with
learned how to cultivate professional athletes to be the strongest,
invasive surgeries; another benefit is avoiding synthetic chemical injec-
quickest and most reactive humans in the history of the planet. The
tions like Cortisone. Proponents say the feel-good package can employ
American military has created exoskeletons to aid soldiers in carrying
and improve the body’s existing functions so that patients like Bryant
extra weight over long distances, and scientists believe it’s only a
can jump like a 24-year-old at the advanced NBA age of 34. As with all
matter of time before this helps paraplegic men and women walk again.
medical procedures, there are skeptics about biologics, and rightfully
Technology’s curve is a steep one, and these are just a few of today’s
so. Only time will tell how these methods of refining and re-injecting the
developments toward creating the superhumans of tomorrow.
body’s resources will ultimately affect patients.
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R FO N ME
MALE BIRTH CONTROL While researching a possible cancer drug, scientists may have stumbled upon a way to ease one of society’s great ills: a male birth control pill. In tests by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Baylor College of Medicine, mice “forgot” how to produce sperm while on a hormone-free drug and were able to father normal offspring after it was removed from their system, according to an NBC News article in August. For years, researchers have been able to stop a man’s production
of sperm but unable to kickstart it again, hence the lack of equal opportunity child prevention. However, it only seems inevitable that “Baby, don’t worry, I’m on the pill” will soon be uttered by both sexes.
BIONIC EYE Thirteen years ago, Chris Rock joked, “Stevie Wonder wrote ‘Songs in the Key of Life,’ can’t we just get him a little peek?!” That current impossibility is getting closer and closer to being a reality, especially after a woman in Australia — who had been blind for more than 20 years — got herself a peek this summer with the help of a bionic eye. Researchers at the Bionics Institute in East Melbourne have successfully experimented with the insertion of electrodes into the retinas of visually impaired patients in a groundbreaking study that could literally change the way we see the world.
TESTOSTERONE THERAPY It’s often said — usually with an aggressive eye-roll — that testosterone drives everything men do. While the cliché is mostly about the hormone’s control over a man’s sex drive, testosterone is a vital component in men’s health, affecting everything from bone density to red blood cell production to, yes, sperm production. It is testosterone’s direct effect on so much of the human body — women have testosterone too — that has science exploring options for perfecting the baseline. Could testosterone therapies increase energy levels? Sharpen memory? Stimulate muscle mass? Just see the hat size of baseball players in the late 1990s for the answer to that third question. Even more exciting are the prospects for a potential therapy to reverse the effects of aging. And wouldn’t slam-dunking grandfathers be the epitome of bionic men?
EXOSKELETONS In 2011, the Los Angeles-based company Equipois announced production of the X-Ar, a mechanical arm created to help filmmakers capture steadier shots in an increasingly handheld digital medium. According to Equipois, the X-Ar allows camera operators to “reduce injuries, increase productivity, and decrease costs in the workplace.” In addition, the base technology offers an array of possibilities for numerous professions, from surgeons to tattoo artists. The American military has experimented with exoskeletal devices since the 1960s, and many of the advances are already field-activated. Also known as powered armor or exoframes, they can help soldiers carry their increasingly heavy equipment across the often inhospitable environments soldiers face in places like the Middle East. This technology has also carried over to wounded soldiers returning home, aiding the limb movement that so many of us take for granted. Then there’s the inverse: could these powers be harnessed to create a human capable of leaping 20 feet high and running at 40 mph? Perhaps Tony Starks’ super-suit isn’t so far off.
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
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MOLD YOUR OWN
FUTU
RE
AFFORDABLE 3D PRINTERS ARE RIPE FOR GROWERS BY MARCEA TR UAN
You are setting up your grow room, happily connecting plastic joints to your piping, when “SNAP!” — something cracks. The last thing you want to do is waste time running to your local hydroponic or hardware store. Now there is a better option. Three-dimensional printers are quickly changing the way we think about manufacturing. Now priced at just over $2000, the latest generation of units, like the popular and easily purchased Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer, can be a great investment for medium- to professional-size grow operations, offering 24/7 access to repair parts. And as prices continue to drop, it won’t be long before average home growers can design and fabricate custom parts for their individual hydroponic gardens. Break a pipe? Print a new one. Crack an elbow joint for your watering system? Don’t let that sucker flood your garden when you can instantly create a brand new joint with the push of a button. The applications are nearly endless, and we cannot wait to see what the future of 3D
WWW. MAR K E R B OT.C OM
printing will bring to hydroponics and the world.
32
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It all begins with Eisenia fetida, otherwise known as the red wiggler worm. These fascinating earthworms break down and transform food scraps into nutrient-rich soil. Growing up in Manhattan, Rebecca Louie once believed that composting was just for organic farmers or people who lived in the country. Today, this master-certified gardener is bringing one of nature’s most basic functions to clients in the concrete jungle. “Composting provided me with a powerful connection to nature and the basic cycle of life,” said Louie, whose company, The Compostess, offers organic composting solutions specially designed for urban living. “Learning I could transform my trash into a vital soil resource was incredibly empowering,” she added. “Composting inspires people to think differently about what they throw away. Peels and scraps suddenly become a resource, not trash. This kind of thinking is transforming our society and our environment.” Thanks to Louie, New Yorkers of all stripes are embracing the transformative powers of home composting — even those without much space to work with. The savvy environmentalist pointed out, for example, that worm bins can easily fit inside a closet or under a sink. “I work with clients to set realistic goals and create practical systems that accommodate their space and lifestyle,” Louie said. As for the squeamish who worry about smelly bins, Louie said the only scent her clients detect is “rich and gorgeously earthy.” She has even had success with people who are afraid to handle creepy crawlies. “I have watched a room of 6-year-old Brownies go from squealing and scared to worm-wielding warriors in mere moments,” said Louie, who also hosts eco-tainment events for children. “Instead of putting kids around a table to make a lanyard or paint a T-shirt, have them build a tiny worm bin, learn about the ecosystem, and bring it home as new pets to love and care for,” she said. “It’s fun, creative and educational!”
Contact The Compostess Twitter @TheCompostess | (646) 389-6767 info@thecompostess.com | www.thecompostess.com
34
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“COMPOSTING PROVIDED ME WITH A POWERFUL CONNECTION TO NATURE AND THE BASIC CYCLE OF LIFE”
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NUMB3RS OF THE FUTUR3 TOMORROW’S TALLY TODAY BY JOS H UA G LAZ E R AND ERIK BIKSA
1.2
The acres of farmland needed to feed one person for one year, according to current American Dietary Standards (likely based on current agricultural standards, which aren’t all that sustainable from the looks of things).
11%
FUTU
RE
54.5
The fuel economy standard in miles per gallon (MPG) currently set to go into place in the U.S. by 2025.
1972
100
The number of vegan recipes developed by NASA’s Advanced Food Technology Project to be used for feeding the proposed 2030 manned Mars mission.
1,200
The percentage yield increase in controlled conditions of hydroponically grown rice versus conventional methods.
The year space-based hydroponics first appeared in a science fiction novel, John Brunner’s The Sheep Looked Up.
The expected percentage of under-nourished people in developing countries by 2015 (down from the present rate of 17%).
2040 The year scientists estimate the Arctic might have it’s first ice-free summer.
110,000 9,250,000,000
The predicted increase in U.S. solar The projected number of people that may inhabit planet earth industry jobs by 2016. by 2050. That’s double the population since 1975. Last we checked, the earth’s resources haven’t doubled since then.
150,000,000,000 The predicted bioenergy market, in USD, by 2050.
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HEAL
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LINGO BINGO BY E R I K BIKSA
DRINKING THE FOOD PYRAMID
HEALTHY LIVING AND THE COLD-PRESSED JUICE CRAZE
GAME
S
C’mon down and join us here in Hydro Lingo Bingo — the game where you get to show your level of hip talk in hydroponics. In modern hydroponics, “induction” refers to: (a) getting plants to bloom by changing lighting cycles. (b) a type of crop-lighting technology. (c) a premature harvest.
B Y LY Z P F I S T E R
(d) none of the above. (e) answers A and B.
Admit it. At one time or another, you have spent somewhere between $6 and $10 on a
A “show” in the Canadian Pacific
fresh-pressed organic juice and guiltily slunk down the street, trying not to let anyone see
Northwest is what they call:
you’re a yuppie at heart. But damn it, those rows of pretty rainbow-colored bottles are just
(a) a strong bloom response.
so eye-catching! Then again, maybe you’re not such a sucker for snazzy packaging.
(b) a growing operation.
We’re undeniably in the middle of a juicing revolution that is reaching raw foodists and Big Mac weekenders alike. Hype aside, getting your seven daily servings of fruits
(c) harvest labor. (d) honey wrestling.
and vegetables in liquid form is one of the most effective ways to extract vitamins and nutrients from your food. Juicing, which is being touted as a means to lose weight, detoxify and elevate
When weighing out fertilizer amounts, which of the following
phytochemical levels, retains nutrients generally lost when food is cooked. It also
are common slang for various
extracts fiber, which, though an integral part of eating well, impedes digestion and slows
measurements?
nutrient absorption when consumed in large quantities. Juicing allows these vitamins,
(a) Oscar
minerals and proteins to be absorbed more readily into the bloodstream.
(b) half a zip
Cold-pressed juices in particular have been receiving a good deal of attention.
(c) elbow
Proponents claim that compressing food, rather than roughly pulverizing it as with a
(d) kegger
standard centrifugal juicer, slows oxidation, allowing fruits and vegetables to keep their
(e) you’re talking crazy!
enzymes and nutrients intact. Though cold-press juicers are more expensive, their slower and more thorough extraction means higher juice yields and better-quality juice, which can be preserved for a longer period of time. Apparently, however, just cold-pressing juice isn’t enough to eke out every last bit of health benefits from your drink. Chewing each time you take a sip activates the secretion of saliva and enzymes that inform your body that it’s time to process and absorb the nutrients you’ve just consumed. Bottoms up!
38
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DROP US A LINE AT
letters@rosebudmag.com and tell us some of the more colorful lingo you’ve heard in the world of hydroponics. We might use one in a future column.
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Tim Balogh, Gabriola Island “I mix up some Iguana Juice Grow and Voodoo Juice in four liters of water and fertilize the more advanced seedlings. They seem to thrive on the stuff, and their white roots are sticking out from the bottoms of the bio-degradable pots.” Kaptain Kindbud, Amazon Verified Purchase “Iguana Juice is one of the best organic nutrients that u can buy. It is safe for your girls. It wont burn them. Unlike some of the chemical nutrients... This is my 6th grow using it and I will use it until I find something better, however I might be waiting a while.” Matt, Amazon Verified Purchase “... It QUADRUPLED my production! I used a 2 gallon mixture of it which is only 30 ml, once a week. this made the 40$ price tag more bearable. The two gallons fertilized 1 grape tomato, 2 jet star, 1 Arkansas Traveller heirloom, 4 cucumbers, 2 bell peppers, an eggplant and 2 pickler cukes. It makes these plants fruit like crazy!”
Ask your local hydroponic retailer about what Iguana Juice can do for your garden today!
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HYDRO
101
HYDRO • I N D U S T R Y G A B Q: WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT CHALLENGES?
B A G Y R T S U IND
R E SAYING
JF: Misinformation from shops that tend to hire people off the street with no hydro or growing knowledge. Also, a lot of people find their information on the Internet, and it tends not to be the right information. When they finally come in they are almost starting from scratch, and we like that as we can give them solid information that is tried and true. We test our products.
HOPS A WHAT TH E S
TNER, L AY, P A R JON FIN E R ICA S OF AM C SHOP I N O P O HYDR
Q: WHERE DO YOU SEE THE HYDROPONICS INDUSTRY GOING IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? JF: Everything that a supermarket sells is going to be sold more locally. I am positive that the industry is going to broaden into many different kinds of companies, and we’ll see more hydroponic farms and more food grown locally, and we’ll see prices for food come down.
Q: WHAT’S THE ODDEST REQUEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN ASKED?
WWW.HYDROPONICSHOPSOFAMERICA.COM
JF: I had a request two weeks ago from a guy who wanted to put together a 38-lamp grow. I spoke with him for two and a half hours, and when we finished our conversation he wanted to know if he could buy a book on growing plants … because he had never done it before.
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HYDRO
101
HYDRO • P L A N T S 1 0 1
THE THE TRANSITION TRANSITION LAUNCHING THE ULTIMATE FLOWERING PHASE BY CAS EY JON E S FRAS E R
M
oving plants from the vegetative stage into flowering is one of the most exciting times for a grower. Once nutrients and light schedules have been adjusted for flower production rather than leaf and stem growth, the beauty of these plants can fully develop. Flowering is the reproductive stage of the plant’s life; plants flower in an attempt to produce offspring. Hormonal changes leading into procreation cause the plant to grow bigger, stronger and faster once flowering is initiated. So what are your plants trying to do at this phase, and how can you help them grow bigger and faster? Rooting is one of the first considerations. If you grow strong, healthy vegetative plants, they’ll already have an excellent mass of roots. Most growers transplant into larger containers or hydro systems for the flowering phase, and with good reason. As the plant senses the changed light cycle and a bigger rooting space, more energy is given to root production. This allows the plant to feed more while creating stability for heavy branches down the line. You will notice in the first several days of a 12/12 light cycle that plants are getting taller and wider at a hurried pace. The roots will be doing the same thing, growing long and strong in the increased space provided.
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VEGETATIVE STAGE
FLOWERING STAGE
The production of roots during this transitional phase will determine the flower size. More roots equal more fruits. Use beneficial fungi and bacteria to encourage a massive root zone. Stem growth will increase as well. Plants will need enough vertical space to triple in size before harvest. You may see a foot or more of vertical growth during this early transition. The plants will bulk up to produce great big blooms. Plants have the ability to use more phosphorus during the transition. A boost of phosphorous will encourage an explosion of roots and the initial production of flowers. Phosphorus uptake is partially determined by the amount of oxygen available to the roots, and both muddy soil and warm water can reduce available oxygen. On the other hand, highly oxygenated roots will grow faster and flip the plant into flowering more quickly. While roots want an oxygen-rich environment, the leaves want CO2. Think of it this way: When athletes train, they
breathe more heavily. Fast-growing plants react the same way as they begin flowering. Under bright lights, plants can take in increased CO2 to develop a heavy biomass. Though it may be invisible to the human eye, sunlight has a bit more red during the fall. As a result, plants have evolved to ripen or increase reproduction when blasted with autumn sunlight. In grow rooms, we can choose lights that lean toward the blue spectrum for the best vegetative growth or the red spectrum for big blossoms. When plants are introduced to red-hued lights at the initiation of a 12/12 light cycle, flowers will develop faster. In years past, growers were encouraged to continue the use of vegetative lamps for the first two weeks of flowering. More recently, this practice has been found to lengthen the time to harvest without any substantial yield increase. In addition to a change in spectrum, more powerful lights should be used in flowering to help speed up the transition and maximize yield.
HYDRO
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S T F GI GIVING THE GIFT OF HYDROPONICS BY D EON NA MAR I E
Y
ou’re not imagining it—the holiday season is here. Are you ready for the most wonderful time of the year? If not, have no fear. I have a list of gifts that are perfect for the special people in your life with whom you want to share the wonders of hydroponics. I usually start with the kids when Christmas shopping, and this year I stumbled across an awesome gift idea that can help your little ones get started in aquaponics. The JrPonics FishGarden is a miniature aquaponics garden where your kids can watch and tend to frogs, shrimp, snails or fish on the bottom while growing plants like basil and mint on top. The set retails for $65.95 and is available at www.jrponicsfishgarden.com. A great gift idea for a beginning grower is the Bigger Yields Flowering System® Hobbyist Bundle from Advanced Nutrients. This set gives beginners already growing with base nutrients (pH Perfect® Sensi A&B or 5-in-1 pH Perfect Grow, pH Perfect Micro and pH Perfect Bloom) everything they need to give plants that extra punch, with high-powered supplements Voodoo Juice, Overdrive, B-52 and Big Bud® all in one reasonably-priced package. You can order the set online from Hydroponics Outlet (www.hydroponicsoutlet.com), or just visit your local hydro store. The whole bundle will run you about $165. And now, a gift for the woman in your life who just doesn’t understand why you’re always spending so much time in that dang grow room. The Freshlife Automatic Sprouter is a great gift for your mom, wife or girlfriend. The sprouter makes it easy and convenient for newbies to do their own organic gardening right on the kitchen counter. They’ll enjoy the
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ids
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health benefits of fresh sprouts and wheatgrass all year round for merely pennies a day. Who knows, you might get them helping out in your grow room after they get a little taste for themselves. You can purchase the Freshlife Automatic Sprouter from Amazon.com for only about $80. Until next time, grow big or go home, and have a safe and happy holiday!
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Deonna Marie and her family operate Hydroponics Outlet in Gilroy, California
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HYDRO • E N G I N E E R I N G
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CONCENTRATING ON CONCENTRATION TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TDS/EC GREG RICHTER Greg Richter is an aviation and hydroponics engineer who created the PurGro Grobot Evolution.
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fter pH, the number most hydroponic growers pay attention to is total dissolved solids (TDS), which is measured in parts per million, or PPM. That’s the amount of good stuff like nutrients in your reservoir for feeding your plants. So how do we determine the concentration of nutes in the res? In hydroponics, we measure electrical conductivity (EC), which, while relatively effective, is still the cause of endless Internet debate and coffee consumption at hydro stores. How does EC demonstrate PPM? The actual science of it is pretty simple: Two pieces of 1-square-cm metal, spaced 1 cm apart and dunked into your res will read electrical conductivity directly on a sensitive meter. Because pure water doesn’t conduct electricity well, we can assume that higher conductivity means other stuff is dissolved in the water. The problem is that we have to do some industrial-grade guesswork as to what’s in the water that is making it conduct. Mixing water with table salt? Multiply EC by 500 and you’ll get the PPM. Stirring up a solution of water and potassium chloride? Multiply by 700 to get PPM. Using a commercial nutrient made from elf plasma, high-frequency water and bat guano? Neither scale is right, but the manufacturer should tell you which setting to use so that your meter will match theirs. GH and Dutch Master both use the 500 (NaCl) scale. Advanced Nutrients uses the more precise 700 (KCl) scale. You can always multiply by 5/7 or 7/5 to switch back and forth, but who wants to bother? Just calibrate your probe to match and you’re good. The longer you run your res, the more your plants will change what’s left in the water, and the further from “close enough to table salt” your PPM conversion is likely to become. What makes for a good approximation out of the jug may not be so good after a couple of weeks. EC is always EC, but what’s left in the water and causing that EC reading changes based on what your plants (and microbes) are eating. This is why we dump the res every so often. It’s not that you can’t fix what’s in there—you just don’t have the instrumentation to tell what it is because, from a conductivity standpoint, it pretty much all looks like salt.
W W W.E V E R E STG A R D E N S U P P LY.C O M
HYDRO
HYDRO • L I G H T I N G
A D V E RT I S E M E N T
GREENHOUSE LIGHTING A NEW WAY OF “SEEING” GREENHOUSE SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING SYSTEMS BY DAR RYL COTTON
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HYDRO • L I G H T I N G
A D V E RT I S E M E N T
C
onsidering that our planet has supported a variety of plant species for nearly 4 billion years, it would be reasonable to assume that the plant/sun relationship is both a dynamic and an intimate one. When considering what it takes to provide our greenhouse and indoor plants with the best in artificial lighting, it’s prudent to consider precisely what aspects of this relationship have led to successful outdoor crop production. Humans have a condition that, at times, may preclude us from understanding the complex interplay of highly evolved plant systems. This condition, anthropocentrism, refers to humans who have a tendency to regard themselves to be at the center of the universe. This can lead to myopic closed-mindedness and an inability to grasp the “big picture.” Combining a pinch of anthropocentrism with a “this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality can seriously get in the way of the design and development of artificial lighting systems for our indoor gardens. As agricultural lighting engineers, we can reduce the importance of the natural symbiosis that occurs between broad spectrum sunlight and plants by attempting to force development with specific narrow band wavelengths, which research has shown to be beneficial during specific stages of growth. This research has led to a widely accepted market-driven approach to artificial plant lighting that has historically been one where plants respond favorably to red light during their bloom phase and show preference to blue light during their vegetative phase. This is now accepted doctrine and has taken on the look of law; however, these conclusions were obtained from laboratory trials in which the chlorophyll response was measured against a wide spectrum of light frequencies and those with the highest response were considered photosynthetically active and the rest considered superfluous. This approach, while good for selling a wide variety of lamp types, neglects to take into consideration the big picture approach to lamp design that intuitively suggests that plants exposed to broad spectrum wavelengths are more likely to respond similarly to plants that have been grown under broad spectrum sunlight conditions. Armed with this knowledge and driven by rising utility rates, engineers have been on a quest to develop lamp technologies that deliver intensities and PAR spectrums that are energy efficient, are long life/low depreciation, have stable spectrum and afford low thermal contribution while optimizing crop production values. This pursuit has led to designing lamps that reduce, or in the case of many LED panels, eliminate what is considered “wasted” wavelengths while emphasizing those wavelengths associated with the greatest response. Many of the LED manufacturers epitomize this approach to the extreme by manufacturing panels that are either all RED diodes, all BLUE diodes or a hybrid matrix of the two, virtually ignoring what they believe to be the “less important” wavelengths. These newer generation approaches to indoor lamp technology tend to monitor the plants’ photosynthetic response, and any increase in said response is considered a victory. We feel this approach is myopic and does not adequately address the overall health of the plant. When considering which artificial light to install in your indoor garden, keep in mind that the light you choose affects every aspect of your system: water temperature, air temperature, evapotranspiration rates, relative humidity, vapor pressure deficit, rate of CO2 uptake, dissolved oxygen levels, symbiotic bacterial densities, disease resistance, pest resistance,
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canopy biomass, root biomass, fruit and flower production, nutrient density, brix levels — the list is virtually endless. In sunlight conditions, where the plants receive broad spectrums throughout the entire growth cycle, successful plant development is achieved through the processes of natural equilibrium where all of these elements come together to benefit overall plant health. Manmade lamps cannot cost effectively recreate the sun in terms of power consumption and broad spectrums. Indoor gardening would not be economically feasible with such a lamp. Sacrifices must be made. When considering those sacrifices, the objective is to reduce those spectrums that are likely to have a negative impact on plant development, but not entirely eliminate those spectrums from a lamp that emits broad PAR spectrums similar to what plants would be exposed to under natural sunlight conditions. A narrow spectrum approach to artificial plant lighting design ultimately begs the question: if there are nearly 400,000 different plant species on this planet from greatly varied regions, why would one attempt to apply a generalized model to such a disparate population? In designing and promoting stage-specific lamp solutions we have essentially divorced ourselves from the natural cycle and consequently blinded our ability to see the elegant solution that nature has proposed. For us to grow plants that are healthy, nutrient dense and prolific, we as engineers must approach artificial lamp design starting with an understanding of natural conditions. We are of the opinion that the best light to grow plants is the sun — always has been, always will be. The reason? Four billion years of symbiotic evolution. Greenhouse gardeners take advantage of that evolution because crops do rely on sunlight as their primary light source. When regions and time of year require that supplemental lighting systems be used to augment insufficient levels of sunlight for a particular crop, the greenhouse gardener will also be interested in finding the latest technologies that meld energy efficiencies, crop repeatability, reduced time to harvest, tighter internodal spacing, increased fruit and flower sizes, and higher quality for their crops. High Intensity Discharge or HID lighting systems have been in use as artificial lighting
systems in both greenhouse and indoor gardens for the last 40 years. What separates the greenhouse grower from the indoor grower is that they will rely on sunlight for their primary light source, so the supplemental lighting system they select should deliver the spectrums the crops require. There is no need to waste precious energy by having supplemental lighting on or running at higher intensities when natural light conditions preclude the need for that. A historic limitation with any HID systems is that they require long restrike times once turned off. A cooling off period to full intensity often takes 20 minutes or more. This type of technology does not lend itself to SCADAbased control systems whereby the light output levels may be instantly tuned on or off, and then raised or lowered as ambient conditions would dictate. Ultimately, it is lighting and control systems that offer wider control capabilities and enable the greenhouse gardener to meet their crops’ daily light integrals without using energy unnecessarily. As an industry, we must try harder to advance those technologies that reduce waste and outperform prior generation technologies. Yes, it’s a daunting task attempting to identify all the collateral variables that are either directly or indirectly influenced by the artificial light source. But assuredly, all the hard work is worth it, as a thorough understanding of these underlying relationships will result in unprecedented yields and unrivaled overall quality. As stewards of this planet, it is up to us as manufacturers to forego design obsolescence and approach our future lamp designs with an eye on mimicking nature the best we can, by providing the market with a long life, low wattage, recyclable lighting system with broad and stable spectrums that take our plants from propagation through final flower, from one generation to the next.
Darryl Cotton is President of Inda-Gro Induction Lighting Systems. To learn more about induction lighting systems and controls for greenhouses visit us at: www.inda-gro.com/pdf/Inda-GroGreenhouseReport.pdf
GROWER’S GUARANTEE ees: ® Your MelonHead Comes With Two Guarant
® purchase your MelonHead , you can send Guarantee #1: For 30 days from the time you reason, or no reason at all, if you’re not it back for a full and immediate refund. For any it back. That way, you risk nothing for the thrilled with the results, you have 30 days to send first month you use it. ® you purchase your MelonHead , you are Guarantee #2: For 90 days from the timeare fails to perform for mechanical reasons, insured by Advanced Nutrients. If your hardw tion or send you a brand-spanking-new we will happily restore it to its original condi free. Here’s what you need to do: Just version that will perform flawlessly for ®you. Foring the glass tube, the lamp cord and the send Advanced Nutrients the MelonHead includ name, mailing address, and your phone hanging hardware along with your receipt, your number or e-mail address. Hotline at To get started, just call our Customer Service arrangements. 1.877.604.8637 and we’ll help you make all the /rmapolicy. For more information go to advancednutrients.com
advancednutrients.com/MelonHead
HYDRO • L O O K I N G F O R W A R D
THE FUTURE IS NOW! A FEW WORDS FROM OUR HYDRO EDITOR BY E R I K B I KSA
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n this fine edition of Rosebud, we look ahead to the future of hydroponics. And while the future is difficult to predict, we know hydroponics will play an important role in our evolution as human beings — assuming our future includes providing for an ever-expanding population with diminishing resources to support it. In this issue, we have a little fun with the future, taking a fantastically optimistic view of what lies ahead. However, sometimes the wackiest ideas can become the most beneficial realities, so please take this moment to consciously keep an open mind when it comes to new technologies and ideas. Allow me to quote an old document: The Water-Culture Method for Growing Plants Without Soil (republished circa 1950), written by D.R. Hoagland & D.I. Arnon, whom some consider to be the forefathers of the home hydroponics industry. They made the following remarks about the viability of hydroponic plant cultivation: “Anyone who uses it must have a knowledge of plant physiology.” “Its commercial application is only justifiable under very limited conditions and only under expert supervision.” “Yields are not strikingly different under comparable conditions.” To many growers, these quotes seem laughable given where our industry is today. However, my point is that even the experts can’t possibly predict what’s around the corner. For this reason, it pays to keep an open mind and look for growing potential beyond your current setup, no matter how long it has taken you to perfect. One day it will be possible to do better, and that day may already be here. Allow me to get up onto a soapbox for a moment. Think about LEDs: For the last six years or so, I’ve listened to countless naysayers who confidently declared, “You can’t grow AAA blooms or get good yields with LED grow lights. They are a sham! Use core-and-coil HPS only!” Today anyone who disputes that LEDs can efficiently grow high-quality, high-yielding indoor crops is either ignorant or just can’t admit they’re wrong. The technology works when the right manufacturer applies it properly. Another great example of the Flat Earth Club that exists in our industry is the declaration that there is no such thing as pH perfect nutrients. They just happen to mix near the right pH, which other nutrients can also claim to do. “It’s impossible, and just a marketing scam that claims that these nutes actually continuously self-adjust and keep the pH locked tight between res changes.” These are some of the same haters who declared twoplus yields an impossibility, which is hysterical considering those same people sell hydroponic nutrients! If you aren’t
“ITS COMMERCIAL APPLICATION IS ONLY JUSTIFIABLE UNDER VERY LIMITED CONDITIONS AND ONLY UNDER EXPERT SUPERVISION.”
hitting that benchmark, it’s quite likely you know someone who is. (Keep working at it and you’ll get there.) Is it that people don’t want to acknowledge these innovations because they’re not prepared to keep up with the changes? In the end we have to face facts: Yes, these technologies exist, and yes, they can work exactly as claimed. That’s great news for growers. So what benefit is it to the growing community to oppose it? Why on earth wouldn’t you, as a grower, want to benefit from changes and advancements? Sure, sometimes it pays to wait to adopt newer technologies until they are proven, but for heaven’s sake, please keep open eyes and ears and actually allow these technologies to prove themselves rather than slamming the door shut when change comes knocking. If you can’t, please find another group to hang with. Maybe try the Luddite Support Group, down the hall to your left. This is hydroponics, people! Cheers, Erik Biksa Hydroponics Editor, Rosebud Magazine. P.S. If anyone out there knows where I can get an original copy of the work quoted above, I would forever be in your debt. Please e-mail me at:
erikbiksa@rosebudmag.com
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HYDRO • T H E F U T U R E
HYDRO PLAYERS OF THE FUTURE HELPING THE WHOLE WORLD WITH HYDRO BY JACK R EAL
H
ydroponics is everywhere in today’s society, encompassing individual home growers, communities fighting for organic foods and developing nations struggling to survive the challenges of global warming. Rosebud spoke to three very different hydroponic companies that are all working toward a greener future.
PONICPODS Building controlled environments for hydroponic, aquaponic and mushroom cultivation systems, PonicPods co-founder Filene Lehman wants to combat the GMO assault on America’s food supply. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START PONICPODS? Genetically modified foods and the evil Monsanto Corporation, first and foremost. I developed breast cancer and had a real awakening with what I put in my body. In my research I discovered that natural medicines can cure cancer, hence the controlled environment to greatly multiply the good greens. God’s medicine is always the best. Eating organic, non-genetically-modified foods is what was intended.
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WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT SO FAR? Getting the very best manufacturers in the country to be a part of PonicPods. We’ve come up with many innovative and progressive products to enhance the PonicPod growing systems. It’s exciting being involved with a large project that promotes local sustainable agriculture. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE AMBITIONS FOR PONICPODS? Working with several veteran, student, church and Native American farming organizations. We want to see every community have a local, organic farmers market year round.
GREENFIELD NGO Canadian-Indian inventor Kashyap Bhatt is bringing his solar- and wind-powered greenhouses to India to help communities suffering from the effects of global warming. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START GREENFIELD NGO? Three consecutive years of drought in India stirred my patriotism and motivated me to find a solution. I patented a solar-powered portable greenhouse for countries experiencing a shortage of electricity, water or agricultural land, or an ambient environment not favorable to growing due to global warming. The main mandate is to create employment for women, marginal and landless farmers, and to educate them about how my technology can help them generate income. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THUS FAR? We have successfully introduced our solar- and wind-powered model GF120 of Hydro Fodder Farm in a village in Pethapur, which belongs to the tribal community in Gujarat State in India. We also installed ozone water-purification systems that give 99.9% bacteria-free water to beneficiaries.
HYDRO NERDS Offering 24/7 answers to growing questions with their smartphone app, hydro store owner TJ Espinosa is spreading the grower gospel via 4G.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE AMBITIONS FOR GREENFIELD? We are committed to introducing similar micro-finance projects at the village level, and working with other NGOs in India and other developing countries to provide potable water and create employment for female, landless and/or marginal farmers.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START HYDRO NERDS? We noticed all the companies in the industry were manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers. We also noticed a big gap between growers and customer service. We thought of an idea to service the entire industry, from manufacturer to the end user (pros and hobbyists): a 24-hour support line using text messaging. You just download and ask away. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THUS FAR? We have had huge success in helping thousands of people from the beginning of their grow to the harvest. Also, our iPhone 4 microscopes are a big hit. People love them. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE AMBITIONS FOR HYDRO NERDS? We want to have our app on everyone’s phone. Our Android app is coming in December to help growers achieve healthier, greener plants, and keep it Nerd-approved.
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11 | НОЯБРЬ | NOVEMBER 2012
Гидропоника в России, странах СНГ и Восточной Европе
• Hydroponic Industry in Russia, CIS countries and Eastern
Your Guide
Europe
06 | ИЮНЬ•JU
NE 2012
Гидропоник
а в России,
странах СНГ
и Восточной
Европе • Hydro
ponic Indust
ry in Russia,
CIS countries
and Eastern
Europe
09 | СЕНТЯБРЬ | SEPTEMBE
читайте в номере • read in this issue:
•Первый гидропонный семинар в Москве удался • The First Hydroponic Seminar in Moscow was a Success
КАК ВЫРАСТИТ Ь ПРЕКРАСНЫЕ ОРХИ ДЕИ
читайте в номе
ре • read in
this issue
: • Вертикаль ные фермы - выращи вание в гор одских условиях • Vertical Farms – Gro www.hydroponeast.com wing in Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Urban Are as
How to Grow Great Orchids
Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegov
ina, Bulgaria
, Croatia, Czech
ЭВОЛЮЦ В ОТРАСЛИЯ ГИДРОПО И НИКИ EVOLUTION OF THE HY DR
www.hydro Republic, Greece,
poneast.co
Hungary, Macedon
ia, Poland, Romania
m
, Russia, Serbia
OPONIC IND USTRY
and Montene
gro, Slovakia
, Slovenia, Turkey,
Ukraine
R 2012
Гидропоника в России,
странах СНГ и Восточной
Европе • Hydroponic
Industry in Russia, CIS
countries and Eastern
Europe
to Central and Eastern European
Hydroponics! читайте в номере •
read in this issue:
• Компания Gorsh koff.ru – сеть магазинов «Умный сад» для гидроп оники • Gorshkoff.ru: a Network of "Smart Garden" Stores for Hydroponic Produ cts
Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
ОСВЕЩЕНИЕ ДЛЯ ДОМАШНИХ РАСТЕНИЙ
LIGHT FOR INDOOR PLANTS
www.hydropo Croatia, Czech Republic,
neast.com
Greece, Hungary, Macedonia,
Poland, Romania, Russia,
Serbia and Montenegro,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey,
Ukraine
Visit HydroponEast Magazine online at
www.hydroponeast.com!
HydroponEast Magazine is a publication specialized in the hydroponics industry in Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS countries. The magazine is published monthly in Bulgaria and is delivered all over the world. Along with its English version, the magazine also has a printed Russian version catering to the Russianspeaking markets. The magazines are the organizers of the HydroponEast Expos in Moscow, Russia, with the first edition to take place in May 2013. WE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS BY PUBLISHING THEIR PRS AND NEWS AND ENCOURAGING THEM TO SUBMIT POTENTIAL ARTICLES TO FURTHER BOOST THEIR SALES AND POPULARITY IN THE CEE, CIS AND RUSSIA MARKETS.
DISTRIBUTION:
• Free and paid subscribers: the magazine is free in 2012. • Distributed in Eastern Europe & worldwide: 90% in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and CIS countries; 10% - the rest of the world.
READERS:
• Industry large, mid-size and small company managers and owners.
CONTENT: In HydroponEast Magazine you will find: • news from the leading local companies engaged in hydroponics; • profiles of local and international companies - active players in the hydroponics industry; • technical and marketing articles; • opinions from specialists and experts; • facts about the market development and trends.
SUBSCRIBE for FREE at:
www.hydroponeast.com
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3001: A GROWER’S ODYSSEY
The year is 3030 and humanity has run out of crossroads — the only direction left is away. Catastrophic climate change, the result of fossil fuel addiction and poor agricultural practices, was the beginning of the end. Now comes the search for a new planet to inhabit.
BY E R I K B I KSA
All hope rests in the SS GrowTron. Powered by our finest cultivation technologies, this vessel carries the last of earth’s humans on their quest for a new home. Along the way, they encounter alien life-forms with whom they trade the ship’s homegrown BioBlocks in exchange for safe passage through the galaxy.
I L U S T R AT E D BY C H R I S B U L LO C K
The Tree of Life, the last of its kind, provides for them. But for how long?
1. From remote planets spanning several galaxies, only the highest-quality, A-1 ingredients are sourced and accepted to help nourish The Tree of Life. The remainder of humanity depends on The Tree for survival. 2. Life Flowers being harvested and transported for processing
into BioBlocks — essential for inter-galactic commerce.
ones to survive earth’s ruined atmosphere.
3. The Tree of Life is the cradle of all civilization, our only hope in continuing. It is fed Advanced Nutrients supplements, created by Bulgarian geneticists on ancient earth before the collapse. Their beneficial bacteria were the only
4. For maximum Life Flower production, the GrowTron uses BaddAss lighting to generate light intensities stronger than the sun, which ironically was the catalyst for both the life and death of planet earth.
5. Plant materials are trimmed using Laser Flower Surgery that can be set to stun or kill. 6. Hydro-extraction washes out valuable nutrients that would otherwise be lost. 7. These are the droids you are looking for! Grobo-K2 sepa-
rates stems, sticks and fine trim with speed and accuracy. 8. The actual worms from galactic wormholes assist in further breaking down coarser materials for the crew’s human digestive systems, which were severely weakened by centuries of GMO foods.
9. Nutrients are recycled back to the crew for a steady, lifesustaining nutraceutical diet. 10. Bat guano-a-go-go! 11. The heart of the living hydroponic system that supports The Tree of Life. Engineered by the one they called Erik Biksa, this unit’s
design is said to have come to him in a dream after being exposed to an industrial burritomicrowaving incident. 12. The pure oxygen released from The Tree of Life is redirected to the crew areas and into the CO2 reactor, where it is burned with Skywater Juice to produce pure CO2 for mega production.
13. The glow bug was discovered in a galaxy far, far away. It digests materials and exudes fuel for the ship happily, much as beneficials do for plants. Here, it can live long and prosper.
15. Triple-beam laser vision grades and prices BioBlocks to intergalactic barter standards and regulation.
14. Flowers from The Tree of Life are formed into BioBlocks for sale and trade.
17. Fine trimmings are jetted over to Waste Not, Want Not facility for the wasted and whatnot.
16. BioBlocks are stored and cured while awaiting shipment.
18. The Concentrate Industries extractor uses technologies from the Romulus system to separate the elixirs of life for use in a special concoction that keeps future heads in the clouds. 19 In The Clouds City, LanDoh’s intergalactic nutraceutical space bar. Happy BioBlock traders travel from far across
the galaxy to chill over a few galactails. 20. The SS GrowTron carries a hydro-seeding payload. Target: hospitable planets that will sustain the New Earth, colonized and governed by the GrowHabitants in the New Republic of GrowTopia.
YOUR ONLY COMPETITION If Your Current Bulbs Don’t Measure Up To Your High Standards, Then You Might Be Ready For A Light Source Designed To COMPOUND YOUR YIELDS, PROTECT YOUR PL ANTS, AND SAVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY...
P
eople who grow high value plants like ours are always looking for ways to increase the quality of our products while also increasing our yields. And the fight to stay on top of everything that can go wrong is a constant one. Now, I don’t have to tell you that a large part of that comes from finding high quality equipment. At Advanced Nutrients, we pride ourselves in our commitment to quality and highly effective and durable products ... and our BaddAss Bulbs™ are no exception.
• Each BaddAss Bulb you purchase comes protected in an exclusive “cocoon” of packaging that you’ll only get with BaddAss Bulbs. This helps ensure that you save valuable time and money by receiving a perfect bulb each and every time.
• In addition, each BaddAss Bulb comes in our Oil Guard™ protective sleeve that prevents your hands from ever coming into contact with the bulb. Skin oils from your fingers can cause hot spots that could severely damage the bulb’s surface, or even worse, cause it to explode.
• Your BaddAss Bulb is painstakingly built
and held to strict AQL standards. If even one slight defect is found on even one bulb, we go all the way back to the beginning of QC to our visual, functional test and burn-in stages and go through the whole testing and qualification/ approval process over again.
1.0
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0.0 380.0
485.0
590.0 Wavelength (nm)
695.0
800.0
0.0 380.0
485.0
590.0 Wavelength (nm)
695.0
800.0
IS THE SUN ™ Performance/Electrical Data
MH 1000W
MH 600W
HPS 1000W
HPS 600W
Initial Lumen Output
110000
60000
140000
90000
Lamp Lumens Per Watt
110
100
140
150
Color Temperature (k)
4200K
4200K
2000K
2000K
Lamp Wattage (W)
1000W
600W
1000W
600W
Operating Voltage (V)
263V
110V
250V
115V
Operating Current (Amps)
4.1A
6.20A
4.7A
6.2A
Trade In Your Tired, Old Bulbs For BaddAss Bulbs™ Today: To replace your old, worn out bulbs with brand new ones, just visit your local hydroponics store today and ask for BaddAss Bulbs.
• We leave nothing to chance! The BaddAss Bulbs manufacturing
process is over 75% automated. This has resulted in less than 2% defects overall (that includes manufacturing, testing, packaging, transportation, shipping, handling). Our bulbs arrive in your hands the same way they leave the factory … in perfect condition.
• No expense has been spared to bring you the highest quality
bulbs on the planet! Tens of thousands of dollars were spent on developing these unique and state of the art bulbs. We spent our money so you don’t have to throw yours away. In addition to money spent there were months of sleepless nights, hours and hours of prep work, weeks of intense auditing, mountains of paperwork, and intense and calculated efforts by our staff and workforce have gone into creating this BaddAss product for you.
Here at Advanced Nutrients, we are so confident that our incredible BaddAss Bulbs are exactly what you need to maximize your harvests more consistently and that you will love them… that … we want to guarantee your happiness in two unique ways … GROWER’S GUARANTEE Your BaddAss Bulb™ Comes With Two Guarantees: Guarantee #1: For 30 days from the time you purchase your BaddAss Bulb, you can send it back for a full and immediate refund. For any reason, or no reason at all, if you’re not thrilled with the results, you have 30 days to send it back. That way, you risk nothing for the first month you use it. Guarantee #2: For 90 days from the time you purchase your BaddAss Bulb, you are insured by Advanced Nutrients. If your BaddAss Bulb fails to perform for mechanical reasons, we will happily restore it to its original condition or send you a brandspanking-new version that will perform flawlessly for you. For free. Here’s what you need to do: Just send us the Bulb and Oil Guard™, your receipt, your name, mailing address, and your phone number or e-mail address. To get started, just call our Customer Service Hotline at 1.877.604.8637 and we’ll help you make all the arrangements. For more information go to advancednutrients.com/rmapolicy.
advancednutrients.com/BaddAssBulbs
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
0.0 380.0
485.0
590.0 Wavelength (nm)
695.0
800.0
0.0 380.0
485.0
590.0 Wavelength (nm)
695.0
800.0
The Pillars to Your Growing Success!
World’s Most Affordable 2-Part Base Nutrient! How about a 2-part base nutrient formula that's more than just poorly disguised, bargain-bin N-P-K? How about a base nutrient formula designed for the specific types of plants you grow? And how about a base nutrient formula that you can afford to use? 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom was designed by some of the most dedicated plant scientists in the world, for the specific types of plants you grow. Below, you'll see each of the benefits explained clearly, so that you know what you're getting. And, you'll see how your plants will benefit. • New plant extracts deliver you cutting edge technology! 2-Part Jungle Juice Bloom comes with new plant extracts that promotes your plants natural tolerance to adverse environments. The results are stronger roots, more flowering sites and better nutrient absorption, that lead to optimum internodes length, making for a more dense harvest.
Read what growers are saying about
2-Part Jungle Juice Grow&Bloom!
Gonzo Ganja, Vancouver Island, BC "Jungle Juice is my new favourite base nutrient! And Advanced Nutrients is my new favourite nutrient line. They have me excited to start my next crop!" Fresno Joe "I got great results using Jungle Juice and the Hobbyist bundle. I figure I got appx. 22% more on my yield. My grower friends were waiting to see some results from my run...huh...they were impressed with my yield off of just one of my plants 26 plus oz." "Solar Seed", Rhode Island “Jungle Juice does exactly as described. It has totally fixed deadly pythium problem in my DWC setup in less than a week. Great basic nutrient with a great price!!! Great job AN!
Contains the “Exact Ratios” of Macro, Secondary and Micronutrients Your High-Value Plants Crave…
• Solid-as-bedrock foundation. Included are the highest quality Nitrogen, Iron and Calcium in the world, and other trace elements necessary to grow truly profitable plants. • This ain't your grandma's N-P-K! We use Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (N-P-K) differently. 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom not only derives these from the highest quality sources, but is chelated at every chance. Chelation is altering an element at the molecular level by attaching tiny “hooks” all the way around the elemental ion, totally encapsulating it. That way, your plants absorb exactly what they need without any struggle. And Advanced Nutrients uses only the most potent, revolutionary, gamechanging chelates in our products. This is also where we include secondary minerals that give your plants a serious competitive advantage. • And to top it all off... Your plants get precise doses of Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, and Sulfur that trigger those big, juicy flowers you look forward to harvesting.
1 liter MSRP Comparison in USD
Aqua Flores (A/B set)
Aqua Flakes (A/B set)
Jungle Juice Bloom (A/B set)
$ 25.80
$ 35.99
$ 15.88
And there's more! Jungle Juice is packed with extra ingredients like: Boron, Copper, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Manganese, Iron and Zinc. Each ingredient selected for 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom has been proven to have a dramatic effect on plant growth, not just by our scientists, but by such reputable publications as The Journal of Plant Nutrition, The Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, New Physiologist, The Journal of Experimental Botany, Plant and Soil, and others. And you can have this amazing formula for even less than the industry standard for 2-part base nutrients! Visit your local hydro store today and ask for 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom by Advanced Nutrients. When you see the price for all this, don't be surprised if your jaw drops.
Especially because it's guaranteed ! If you don't love 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom, we encourage you to return it to the store, with proof of purchase, for a full refund. We don't want you risking anything. Let us take the risk, and prove to you what amazing plants you can grow with 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom.
Visit your local hydro store today and ask for 2-Part Jungle Juice Grow and Bloom by Advanced Nutrients. advancednutrients.com/JungleJuice2part
PREHISTORIC GROWING
420 MILLION YEARS OF PLANT EVOLUTION FROM THE OCEAN TO YOUR GROW ROOM BY HAPPY KR ETE R
A
s growers, we have an intimate relationship with our plants. We start them from seeds and watch as they mature, eventually developing beautiful flowers and fruits for our customers’ enjoyment as well as our own. But did you ever wonder why plants do what they do? Why are our plants the way they are? They say that in order to predict the future, one must understand the past. With that in mind, we decided to look way back to how plants existed in prehistoric times. Now, we like to consider ourselves cultivation experts, but to carry out this task we needed to get in touch with a different kind of plant professional. Enter Dr. Ian Miller, curator of paleobotany at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Paleobotany is the study of the evolution of plants. You have the prefix paleo, just like paleontologist who dig up dinosaur bones. Then you have botany, the study of plants. Dr. Miller
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provided us with some fascinating info about where our plants come from, and how and why they do what they do. “Plants are these organisms that evolved about 420 million years ago,” he says. “They evolved from green algae, and then they were all terrestrial. Some plants have moved back to an aquatic environment, but the first plants were all on land.” Dr. Miller also tells us the evolution from water to dry land is responsible for many of
the features we find in plants today. Life on land is quite different from life in the water, so plants had to make some changes to survive. First, they had to retain moisture on dry land, hence the development of waxy leaves. Next came spores and pollen, allowing for dispersal via wind. Much in the way lungs replaced gills in land animals, plants developed stomata to exchange gases with the environment. Finally, plants developed roots to gather moisture and nutrients from the ground, and vascular
systems to move the water up through their bodies. Those five amazing evolutionary changes allowed plants to successfully colonize land. But that was a long time ago, so how have plants changed in the 420 million years since? “In their evolutionary history, from [420 million years ago] until today, they basically only do three more things: make wood, make seeds and make flowers,” says Dr. Miller. “There are many, many other smaller
evolutionary advances, but you can think of those three as the other major advances that are in line with the first five.” The first plants were relatively diminutive, with the largest measuring perhaps six feet tall. Once plants developed wooden structures, they could become durable trees, which are built for a long life span. Trees aren’t usually the type of plant life that growers are most interested in, so we won’t talk much about wood. However, the evolution of seeds
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PREHISTORIC GROWING 68
speaks to more familiar hydroponic grower territory. “Seeds are this amazing advantage,” Miller says, “because before that plants didn’t protect their embryos, and the seeds protect those fertilized new plants.” That brings us to the element of plant growth that we growers are most interested in: the flowers our plants produce. “The flower is the final step,” Miller explains. “Today 95% of all living plant species have flowers. The flower evolved about 130 million years ago, so there’s this incredible time between 420 million and 130 million years ago — almost 300 million years of plant history — where plants have no flowers. So the flower is a relatively recent evolutionary event.” That event changed everything. Once the flower arrived, those flowering species became dominant, covering most of the earth. How did flowering species win in this Darwinian competition? One of the big reasons for their massive success is double fertilization. “Double fertilization allows for the endosperm,” explains Dr. Miller, referring to the unique process by which angiosperms (flowering plants) use multiple sets of chromosomes to form both a new plant embryo, as well as surrounding endosperm, which creates starch, oils and proteins for the embryo (and other herbivores) to feed on. “That’s the stuff of corn and nuts,” he continues. “The highenergy tissues that allow seedling plants to get their jumpstart. That speeds up their reproductive cycle drastically.” Here’s where we growers start to become especially interested. It takes more than a year for a gymnosperm (plants that don’t produce flowers) like a pine tree to reproduce, whereas some flowering plants can reproduce in mere weeks, which is a huge advantage, especially for growers who like to maintain a perpetual harvest cycle. Another feature of early plant life is that those plants lived in a different environment than the one that exists today. For example, carbon dioxide levels were much higher in the time of the dinosaurs due to extensive
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“THEY WANT TO GET BIG AND GROW FAST. THEY’RE NOT SAVING THEIR RESOURCES. THEY WANT TO REPRODUCE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.”
volcanic activity. Active volcanoes pumped the atmosphere full of CO2, making for a denser atmosphere. That dense atmosphere also meant increased temperatures. While the climate around the equator was probably much like it is today, the tropics extended much farther north and south. In fact, there was lush vegetation extending almost to the poles. These increased temperatures may have meant that organic matter decomposed more quickly. However, it’s not clear whether that made the earth more fertile for plant life. As growers, these kinds of questions intrigue us. After all, it’s all about bigger and faster for us. We want quick growth periods and huge fruits. Naturally that fact had us wondering if there were giant flowering plants in the earth’s history — the type of thing that could satisfy a grazing behemoth like the brachiosaurus, for example. If there were, maybe there’s something we could glean from growing conditions in the past and reproduce controlled growing environment, thereby allowing growers to produce giants plants of our own. Alas, that’s not the case. In fact, flowering plants have been roughly the same size since they first came into existence. So much for producing enormous apatosaurus strains in our grow room. Still, we learned some really cool things from this lesson in paleobotany, including the fact that, as growers, all we really endeavor to accomplish is to help our plants do what they have naturally been trying to do for millennia. “You’re really playing to what a flowering plant wants to be,” Dr. Miller tells us. “They want to get big and grow fast. They’re not saving their resources. They want to reproduce as fast as possible. They’re in no way storing any fertilizer or nutrients, saving it for the winter; they fully expect to be dead.” That’s fine by us. Once they’ve grown a maximum amount of tasty fruits, we’re happy to play grim reaper to our plants. We’ll harvest and cure our goods, and then start another crop of angiosperms on their way through the cycle they’ve perfected over 420 million years.
™
For years now we’ve offered you Grandma Enggy’s H-2 and F-1, two revolutionary nutrient supplements derived from a single extraordinary compound called leonardite. But as you know, here at Advanced Nutrients, we never stop learning and growing in an effort to bring growers like you the very best and most fairly priced products on the market. So with this attitude in mind, we’ve combined these two state of the art products into one even more affordable and easy to use formula. The solution is Advanced Nutrients Ancient Earth™. We combined fulvic and humic acids into a single nutrient formula that was specifically designed to fit the needs of the valuable plants we grow. Ancient Earth reduces the effects of salinity and pH fluctuations, increases your plants’ uptake of the precious micronutrients that drive your plants to reach their optimum yield. Plus, you get double the value, because this one formula replaces two products previously sold separately. This is a no brainer. And since this, like all of our products, is backed by our money back guarantee, you really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying Ancient Earth today.
advancednutrients.com/AncientEarth
Ask your local hydroponic retailer about what Ancient Earth can do for your garden today!
HYDRO • R E S E A R C H
IN THE
LAB
INDUSTRY EXPERTS ELI WEINKLE AND JODY BOATES REVEAL WHAT IT TAKES TO CREATE TOMORROW’S HYDROPONIC TECHNOLOGY BY JOS H UA G LAZ E R
Growers know there’s nothing more exciting than discovering a new product that kicks their crop into overdrive. But did you ever wonder what goes into creating the next generation of hydroponic nutrients and lighting? It takes years of research and development to bring a new hydroponic product to market. Rosebud is always looking towards the future of growing, so we talked to Advanced Nutrients Product Development Manager Jody Boates and technology and hardware expert Eli Weinkle, founder and President of Spectrum Services, to find out what it takes to turn an idea into reality in the world of hydroponics.
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Our aim was to source raw materials and to find the best-quality ingredients that we could. We were new at it, so it was very exciting because there was just so much that we could see needed to be done. We brought in people that had the right mindset, the right training—the biologists, the chemists, the growers— and with all their input combined, the ideas just came. ELI WEINKLE Founder and President of Spectrum Services.
JODY BOATES Advanced Nutrients Product Development Manager.
Rosebud: Let’s talk about what it takes to develop something like pH Perfect® nutrients or BaddAss Ballasts®. Jody, what is the process like for you? Jody Boates: We have several departments that work together once an idea for a new product is initiated. [Advanced Nutrients founder] Big Mike has the idea, then the science team begins formulating test batches using high-grade ingredients. Many tests are administered to perfect the overall look, smell and viscosity of the product. Then several lab analyses are required until we are satisfied with the stability of the product. Once the product is ready for field testing, we will work with many different growers that follow our instructions and provide valuable data about the performance of the product. While this is underway, another team is working on detailed white papers and special reports to share with the sales team as they participate in constant product knowledge training.
RB: There must be a significant amount of research, not just in how to create the formulas, but also in keeping up with what’s going on in the larger realm of plant science. JB: We have many experts on our team that are involved in researching how many things affect plant growth, including environment and lighting, as well as the nutrients. We have testing facilities and greenhouses that are in constant use. We test in many growing mediums, not just hydroponics. We will be launching a new line of nutrients for growing in coco coir early in 2013.
RB: Eli, what about your department—the hardware, the lighting, the ballasts? How did you first get involved with Advanced Nutrients, and what were some of the original goals?
product that was being developed was no different from what was currently available on the market. So we decided to scrap all the work that had been done, pull out a clean sheet of paper, and start from the ground up to develop something new and different that would change the way bulbs are lit.
RB: So where did the original idea to switch from the industry-standard high-frequency ballast to lowfrequency come from? EW: Historically, there had always been lamp ballast compatibility issues. Case in point: Hortilux very clearly stated on their product packaging “not compatible with E-ballasts.” It was no secret that lamp ballasts had compatibility issues. What we discovered was that there was a resonant-frequency issue causing premature lamp degradation and lamp wear. Current ballast technology produces its output signal right in that resonant frequency “sweet spot;” this (frequency) causes compatibility issues with lamps. The other issue was the quality of the product currently available on the market — the product experienced high failure rates and lackluster performance.
RB: So the idea was to make an E-ballast that would perform more Eli Weinkle: My involvement with AN like a traditional magnetic ballast; was a result of a chance meeting with therefore, it would work better with RB: What do you consider the first breakthrough Mike. My background is in military and the bulbs but also have the benefits for AN? JB: This would be a question for Mike, but I do remember aerospace electronics and manufacturing, of the more advanced E-ballasts? when we used to sell nutrients in our garden store that were very basic. People were willing to buy these products because there simply wasn’t anything better at the time. That is when we began our own line of plant nutrients.
RB: It sounds like the products that were available previously weren’t consistently good because the creators didn’t have the ability to make a more sophisticated product. Was that the first step in the company’s development? JB: Yes, absolutely. I came in as a purchaser because the company wanted to start making their own nutrients.
and when I bumped into Mike, we got to talking about next-generation ballasts. He told me he had been trying to develop ballasts for some time, and during that whole time he was searching for a partner with the experience I had in product development. When I came on board, AN had already been working on a new line of ballasts for two years. What I discovered was that the team had taken the completely wrong approach. The
EW: Yes, to have the best of both worlds. Our goal was not for the ballasts to perform the same as those that had already existed, but to at least have the same compatibility. A low-frequency ballast costs a lot more money to build than a high-frequency ballast, and switching technology for square-waves costs a lot more than your standard sawtooth waveform. But it’s ultimately the best technological approach to creating a far superior product.
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HYDRO • R E S E A R C H We put a lot of work into increasing the products’ reliability and reducing defects. This also equates to less ballast waste and a smaller environmental impact. Almost all of the products used in construction of the BaddAss Ballasts® are RoHS-compliant (Restriction on the use of certain Hazardous Substances).
RB: What are the projects you’re working on now? What does the future hold for both the nutrients and the electronics? JB: We have 26 nutrient products coming out in 2013. A lot of those are going to be organic versions of some of our existing supplements. We also have a brand new user-friendly AN line called PlantLabs, which will hit the market soon.
RB: Is there any pie-in-the-sky idea you’re working on that’s going to shake things up in five or ten years’ time? By creating a ballast that has such a steady output, you have a much cleaner signal. Our competitors have been known to release products with unstable frequency output due to inferior circuit design. It is also a low-cost workaround to get them around FCC compliance.
it and make it as clean as possible. Traditional high-frequency digital ballasts operate more in the commercial broadcast range.
RB: How does the BaddAss Ballasts® tackle that issue?
EW: Ballasts, bulbs, blowers, your washing machine, your dryer, the compressor in your fridge and freezer — these big motor loads cause a lot of noise, not just through airwaves, but also through your power lines as well.
EW: We wanted our products to be UL- and FCC-compliant. To make that happen, you have to meet certain standards. The cheapest way would have been to take a dirty signal and spread that noise over a wide range of frequencies so that there are no real big offenders at any particular frequency. If you have a more controlled signal, your noise levels need to be a lot tighter because if you do have noise, it’s going to be amplified over a very narrow band. The other thing is, by going into the low frequency, we avoid a lot of the noise area that mixes in with commercial broadcasts. So even though we have a noisemaker, we’re avoiding critical frequencies that might do additional harm to someone’s TV, cellphone reception or Wi-Fi connectivity. By no means are we guaranteeing that it doesn’t disturb it, but we try to minimize
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RB: A good tip for growers: If your cellphone isn’t working, make sure you’re not standing next to your ballast.
RB: What about environmental considerations with the whole product line? JB: We don’t use any toxic products to make our nutrients, and our manufacturing exceeds all environmental standards. We make sure any waste is properly disposed of.
RB: What about on the electronic side, like lower energy use? EW: All our tests have shown we put out more light running the BaddAss Ballasts® technology versus any competing technology. For the same amount of energy used, you get higher output.
JB: We’re going to continue to focus a lot of our energy on providing non-GMO nutrients and educating people on how to grow healthy food for their families all year long. It can be a small system for their house. Our research and development team is constantly testing new formulas on all sorts of different crops. And as an international company, we are going to keep bringing the wonders of hydroponic growing to emerging markets all over the world. EW: One of the things we do is look at the next generation of technology, or the technology that’s two or three generations away. We’re always improving our existing product line so that the ballast of tomorrow will be an improvement of the BaddAss Ballasts® of today. We’re always getting feedback; we’re always tweaking, making improvements, and trying to make it a better performing and more reliable product. I guess you can call us a skunk works facility. Many of the products and projects we work on here are unknown to the rest of the company and corporate. These are projects that only the founders are privy to.
Apache Tech, Inc. San Jose, CA www.apachetechinc.com 888-7-APACHE
Made in in USA USA Made Designed for for NASA NASA Designed
Check out our New 3:2 ratio Red/White color spectrum that produces the highest quality and biggest yield ever
High Output Output LED LED Array Array High 120 // 240V 240V 120
For 20% Off Use Coupon Code: ROsebUd
Scientifically Designed Designed for for all all your your growing growing needs. needs. Scientifically AT120W
White LED’s
AT120WR Combination of White and Red LED’s
AT120RB
Combination of Red and Blue LED’s
You don’t buy dirty, poor quality nutrients, so why would you feed your plants “dirty” light? 1000w Here’s What’s Wrong With Current Digital Ballasts:
Imagine that instead of a normal light, all your plants had to feed from was a strobe light. So your plants were stressed all the time because the light they received was inconsistent. This is important, because plants are just as prone to stress as you or me. Anyone who’s dealt with clones and transplants knows this. Well, human eyes have limits to what they can perceive. And when it comes to light, one of those limits is called the “flicker frequency”. If a light is flickering faster than about 24 times per second, our eyes don’t pick up on it. Our brains might, on some level, which is why we can get migraines or feel strange when we work under lights with unusual frequencies. But visually, it’s usually beyond our grasp. Current digital ballast technology uses energy output that is inconsistent and unstable. Just like the strobe light mentioned above. Only we don’t notice it because it all happens faster than 24 cycles per second. The thing is, your plants do.
The Advantage of Square Wave Technology
Using “clean light” with Square Wave energy output, instead of the “dirty” sawtooth waveforms current digital ballasts use, means one thing: you get nearly 100% consistent light, 100% of the time. Not only that, but our labs have measured more than just the energy output. We’ve measured the light as your plants use it. Our tests confirm that light produced from our Square Wave ballast is completely stable and void of any variations in output or intensity. And you can get these results using any bulb you like. But that’s not the whole story. Sure, the design is nearly perfect. And we have measured these uncanny results in the lab. But how do you know the product you’re buying at the hydro store is up to par? How can we prove to you these results aren’t exclusive to prototypes in heavily controlled environments?
BaddAss Quality Control
Eli Weinkle has a background in electronic manufacturing for the defense and aerospace industry. Advanced Nutrients was lucky enough to sign him on as our lead engineer. Eli and his team work with two independent qualification labs for our ballasts: one in Los Angeles; the other in Orange County. Once the ballasts have passed exhaustive testing from both of these labs, they’re sent back for the final test ... performing flawlessly under the watchful eye of their creator, Eli Weinkle. At this point they’re given a red or green light. Once the green light is given, the process is repeated a second time, with each of the labs in Los Angeles and Orange County, just to make sure. After all this, there’s still a 100% quality inspection at the factory. Plus, even after the units are delivered, Eli and his team pick out random units to do additional lot testing to make sure nothing’s going wrong in the factories.
Ballast with a Brain
BaddAss Ballasts® are the first ballasts with Intellistrike™ and SmartStart™ technology. What does this mean? As for Intellistrike, simply put, in case of a power outage or power cycle, the Intellistrike technology is there to protect you. Intellistrike ensures your system recovers and powers back up as soon
BaddAss Low Frequency 1000w Ballast - operating frequency: 100 Hz Tek PreVu
Green=Energy from ballast. Yellow=Light from bulb. You lose zero performance.
Noise Filter Off
M 10.0ms Zoom Factor: 5 X
3
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0.000.00 V V
100 Hz 99.9776 Hz
RMS
44RMS
3 3 RMS
RMS
14 OCT 2010 19:23:43
Green=Energy from ballast. Yellow=Light from bulb. Example of “dirty” light. PreVu
Dirty Light
(High Frequency Ballast)
Clean Light
(Low Frequency Ballast)
The bulb on the left is dirty light. Note how it bends to the left. That’s caused by inconsistent high frequency which shortens bulb life, and even worse, can result in the rupturing of the gas envelope.
2.00 ms
9.400 %
38.2798 kHz
10.3mA
15:17:18
Galaxy Electronic 1000w Ballast - operating frequency: 30,000 Hz
as possible. Even in the case of a hot-hot restrike, the BaddAss Ballast’s Intellistrike system will monitor the lamp’s condition. Then, it will re-initiate the strike sequence once every 45 seconds until the lamp is conditioned and ready to reignite. This prevents unnecessary stress on the lamp because a full-ignition start-up is only performed when the lamp is ready for it. In addition, Intellistrike gives you peace of mind. If something goes wrong while you’re away, your system will recover properly and continue to provide clean, consistent light to your plants. You can count on it. You can also count on a faster start-up time because of the way Square Wave power is applied to the bulb. By contrast, high frequency ballasts literally cause your bulbs to beat themselves apart because of the intense vibrations. So your bulbs can, and often will, break down. When this happens, in some cases, bulbs explode and burn houses down. This is not some marketing hype. Sadly, it’s absolute fact. Please be vigilant and aware of the condition of your bulbs if you’re using high frequency ballasts. As for SmartStart, rather than firing all of your bulbs and other ballasts at once, your BaddAss Ballast will first get a sense of the line load and distribute the power in a calculated sequence. That way, you don’t have to worry about electricity spikes (which could lead to fires) damaging the bulbs and ballasts whenever your lights go on – which is especially reassuring when your lights are on a timer and you’re not in the room. It’s also worth noting that the BaddAss Ballast is the only digital ballast that uses a lamp cord - that’s the cord that connects your bulb to the ballast – that won’t make RF noise. RF noise will cause HUGE amounts of static and “SNOW” over your home’s TV and radio. Even worse, if your neighbor’s are close to you, RF noise will cause their TV and radios to do exactly the same. Finally, your BaddAss Ballast is available in 1000 watts, with a 3-way dimming switch (1000w, 750w, and 500w settings). It’s also guaranteed. Here’s how:
Your BaddAss Ballast Comes With Two Guarantees:
Guarantee #1: For 30 days from the time you purchase your BaddAss Ballast, you can send it back for a full and immediate refund. For any reason, or no reason at all,
Tek Stop
Trig’d
M 400 US Zoom Factor: 20 X
Noise Filter Off
4
2
0.00 V
30.5385 kHz
4 RMS
2 RMS
26 Jan 2011 21:12:09
if you’re not thrilled with the results, you have 30 days to send it back. That way, you risk nothing for the first month you use it. Guarantee #2: For 90 days from the time you purchase your BaddAss Ballast, you are insured by Advanced Nutrients. If your BaddAss Ballast fails to perform for mechanical reasons we will happily restore it to its original condition or send you a brand-spanking-new version that will perform flawlessly for you. For free. Here’s what you need to do: Just send us the ballast and both cords, your receipt, your name, mailing address, and your phone number or e-mail address. To get started, just call our Customer Service Hotline at 1.877.604.8637 and we’ll help you make all the arrangements. For more information go to advancednutrients.com/rmapolicy. As always, we’re dedicated to your gardening success.
See the Square Wave difference for yourself. Visit your local hydroponics company and ask for your BaddAss Ballast today! advancednutrients.com/BaddAssBallasts
It's not just the up-front cost of the pens that's the problem. It's the maintenance. They end up costing an arm and a leg, day in and day out. They're a money pit. Not to mention the chemicals you use burn your skin. So throw them out already. You won't need pH pens when you use pH Perfect® Sensi Grow and pH Perfect® Sensi Bloom A & B. Because Advanced Nutrients has developed this brain-dead easy-touse two-part base nutrient formula, for each the vegetation and bloom phase, that keeps your pH in the perfect range for you. Without any measuring. Without any tampering. You just pour in these easy-to-measure, easy-to-use base nutes. And then, you can get on with your life. Meanwhile, you happily watch your flowers bloom into monsters that bring in the big bucks. Read what growers are saying about
pH Perfect® Sensi Grow and Bloom A & B! Jean Couture “I heart AN Sensi Grow and Bloom because they pH themselves!!! Amazing!!!” Rachel Innes “I use the Sensi Grow and Bloom...it is worth every cent!!” "Gardener Jim" “I just want to start out by saying that I love the Sensi Grow. It has done the best Veg by far out of all the veg nutrients I have ever used. I have never been a big fan of multiple part formulas because I have always been more partial to the simplicity of a 1 part base. To be specific I was using the CNS 17 because it was cheep and easy but when I switched to Sensi Grow I was blown away by the increase in speed that my plants grew. I have tried a number of bases over the years and I have never seen a veg like a Sensi Grow veg. Also, I thought I would be sacrificing ease of use with the better results but I was wrong. Using a 2 part hasn’t affected my routine at all and in fact, now I use the feed chart they provide on there web site to tell me exactly what to mix up and when and that takes all the guess work out of it completely. With that, its actually easier then using my 1 part from before. ”
The technology is called “pH Perfect” And our scientists are very proud of it. They ought to be. As long as you're using pH Perfect products, you don't need to measure or alter anything to stay within the perfect pH range. Which means you can stop suffering those dreadful pH pens altogether. (Something to keep in mind, if you use supplements like bloom boosters without pH technology, you'll disturb the balance of your pH.) To grow to their full potential, your plants need 16 basic elements. Most growers are familiar with the big 3 - Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, often abbreviated “N-P-K” on fertilizer bags. But there are 13 more bases to cover. Here’s how it happens in nature: From the air, water and soil your plants get:
• Carbon (C) • Oxygen (O)
• Hydrogen (H) • Nitrogen (N)
From the soil and fertilizers your plants get:
• Phosphorus (P) • Calcium (Ca) • Sulfur (S) • Chlorine (CI) • Iron (Fe) • Molybdenum (Mo)
• Potassium (K) • Magnesium (M) • Boron (B) • Copper (Cu) • Manganese (Mn) • Zinc (Zn)
Those are the 16 elements your plants need to grow to their full potential. And you need all of them to grow well. But to really grow healthy, huge and heavy, your plants need the highest quality versions of each of these. And in the right amounts. That’s where Sensi comes in. pH Perfect Sensi Grow and Bloom have been meticulously crafted to give you the perfect amount of each of these 16 elements. And in the highest quality form humanly possible. We use a process called chelation, as well as the highest quality surfactant, so your plants can absorb these elements effortlessly. Chelation is like putting tiny hooks onto each of the molecules of these essential elements, so they are easy for your plants to grasp. And the surfactant (Wet Betty) relaxes the tension in the liquids of your growing medium so the nutrients can move freely. And, they're guaranteed to perform. P.S. Some growers have reported that this two-part formula is even easier to use than a one-part formula, even without the benefit of pH Perfect® Technology.
Try Sensi for yourself. Either pH Perfect Sensi Grow, for your vegetation phase, or pH Perfect Sensi Bloom, for your bloom phase. If you're not blown away with how easy it is to use, how well it balances your pH, and how effective it is at growing heavy, profitable flowers, return with proof of purchase for a full refund.
Visit your local hydro store and feel the Sensi difference for yourself today. advancednutrients.com/SensiGB
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SCIENCE FICTION’S DECADES-LONG FASCINATION WITH HYDROPONIC GROWING BY COR EY HALL
The term science fiction usually conjures images of sterile white spacesuits, shimmering silver ray guns and twinkling control panel lights, or perhaps the weird, jagged, rocky terrains of unexplored planets. Fair enough, but science fiction can also transport us to lush, verdant worlds coated in all manner of thriving, exotic flora just aching to be cultivated. Of course that’s the kind of thing we get into here at Rosebud, so in the spirit of all things groovy, green and hydro, we offer this brief look at the intrepid growing lifestyle as depicted in the last several decades of sci-fi books and movies. Wherever human beings go, whether to the far-flung corners of the universe or through the infinite wormholes of time and extra dimensions, those people are eventually going to need to grow something. Wherever or whenever we go, we take the tools, crude or high-tech, to surround ourselves with the lush, green and fragrant reminders of all the rich natural bounty of planet Earth.
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Future farm pest Tribbles from Star Trek (1967).
While we’re all still stuck down here waiting for real-world space exploration to evolve beyond robot rover field trips to Mars, science fiction writers have been busily imagining the big old cosmos. Back in the genre’s paperback heyday of the 1940s through the early ’60s, most of the big-brained, underpaid and inkstained authors were busy churning out tales about rocket ships, time travel and bug-eyed alien invaders, but there were some interesting side trips into speculative fiction that weren’t afraid to get their fingers down in the dirt. One of the best was Robert Heinlein’s 1953 gem Farmer in the Sky, about a young go-getter learning how to adapt and thrive as a homesteader in a new colony on Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. You wouldn’t think chapters on the dangers of converting lava rocks into arable soil would make for a pageturner, but the drama and science are both pretty credible, and this was before Heinlein’s weird crypto-fascist phase. Sadly, this mostly forgotten nugget will likely never be adapted for the big screen and will therefore have no chance to match the heights of 1997’s cult-classic Heinlein adaptation Starship Troopers, starring a gonzo, bug-squashing Denise Richards (complete with razor-sharp cheekbones) and an ESP-powered, Nazi-esque-outfitted Doogie Howser (aka Neil Patrick Harris).
The twin suns of Tatooine, Star Wars (1977)
Crop catastrophe from Idiocracy (2006).
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While Atomic Age paranoid parables dominated sci-fi for years, by the funky, freaky ’70s, more ecologically turned-on causes started creeping into the genre, leading to some cool glimpses of what outer space agriculture could really look like. As the crunchy Earth Day consciousness of the ’70s took hold, environmental disasters started replacing mutant commie allegories as the leading cause of destruction for our greedy, foolhardy society. In 1972’s Silent Running, Bruce Dern is even more wigged-out than usual as a spacefaring botanist charged with tending to a ravaged Earth’s last remaining plant life on board a floating greenhouse ship called the Valley Forge. When an order comes to scrap the trees and return home, Dern flips out, kills his human crewmates and reprograms three worker droids to keep him company while they float through the solar system. This weird, poetic and politically charged little pic made a lasting impression on scores of disco-era fanboys, notably Joel Hodgson, who would later “borrow” the idea of a lonely astronaut stranded with his robot pals to form the basis of Mystery Science Theater 3000. A year after Silent Running, Charlton Heston took the green sermonizing to crazy extremes in Soylent Green, which depicted a dying, chaotic, globalwarming-damaged dystopia where a drastically overcrowded New York City teems with unwashed and unruly masses who must be reined in by Heston’s
madman Khan wanted to use Genesis as a terror weapon, which forced Kirk to park some photon torpedoes directly up his richCorinthian-leathered ass. The most famous farm boy in the modern sci-fi canon is, of course, Luke Skywalker, but the bummer is that his crop was moisture, which made Luke and his family literally dirt farmers. But as any grower who has tried to recycle water vapor in their grow room knows, H2O is a valuable crop. Not that any of this explains that blue milk that Aunt Beru was always pouring.
“ LUKE
SKYWALKER WAS LITERALLY A DIRT FARMER.
“
super-macho cop Robert Thorn. When not busting rioters over the skull, Thorn gradually uncovers a conspiracy involving politicians and the all-powerful Soylent Corporation, supplier of the little green rations most of the population constantly snacks on. It’s not really a spoiler to reveal the flick’s iconic revelation, “Soylent Green is people!” Cannibalism is a little extreme, don’t you think? Couldn’t these future folks cobble together some seeds and grow lights and chill the hell out? Three years later, the youth-obsessed hedonists of Logan’s Run got it right, building factory-farm greenhouses inside their space age suburban mall, a nifty detail we might have paid more attention to if we weren’t busy ogling the creamy sideboob of ’70s hottie Jenny Agutter. Sometimes it’s not the farm, but the flora that stands out in futuristic visions. Weird fruit is easy visual shorthand to indicate an alien environment. When they bothered, most oldschool sci-fi stories struggled to take a realistic guess at what we might be eating (besides each other) centuries from now. The groovy original boob tube version of Star Trek took the cheapest way out, by introducing the supercomputer “replicators,” which were magical automat-styled devices that could synthesize edible recreations of any imaginable menu item in a matter of seconds. Apparently this tech was for Starfleet only, as Kirk and the gang spent a lot of time delivering supplies to galactic colonists and far-flung interstellar farmers. One of those outposts was Deep Space Station K-7, where a population of adorable, rapid-breeding little fuzzball pests called tribbles got into a store of the important sounding made up grain quadrotriticale, which of course was never mentioned again after that episode. A far more awesome expression of growing technology in the Trek universe was the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, an amazing super-tech capable of fully terraforming a barren planet in a matter of moments thanks to state-of-the art 1980s computer graphics. It’s one thing to hydro up some cabbage, but it’s another thing altogether to grow a hot, sticky jungle on an empty slab of craggy rock. Sadly, bare-chested
Another legendary saga that involved evil intergalactic empires, psychic pretty-boy saviors and a mysterious desert planet is Frank Herbert’s Dune series of novels. In this case, the weird crop on which the fate of an entire galaxy hinges is an amazing, near-mystical spice that slows aging, grants heightened mental powers and can only be harvested from the dung of deadly, whale-sized sandworms. Seriously, cultivating oversized worm turds? There’s got to be an easier way to compost. As the ’80s dragged on, sci-fi tended to get bigger, louder and sillier, with an emphasis on killer cyborgs, alien lizard babies, timetraveling teens and talking sports cars. It wasn’t until nearly the turn of the century that global warming fears started creeping back into the genre, and with them, glimpses of cool agro-tech to stave off or recover from disaster. Not that it helped the Pauly Shore/Stephen Baldwin shitstorm Bio-Dome. In 2007, Danny Boyle’s gorgeous misfire Sunshine, about a multicultural space mission to jumpstart the sun, sported the coolest
on-board greenhouse since Silent Running. The artificial jungle was an elegant solution to the very real problem of producing oxygen for long-term space travel. While it maybe the greenest of all recent sci-fi, Avatar was less about cultivation than conservation, with the Na’vi, the noble, naked Smurf-kitty people of Saturn’s moon Pandora, being morally superior to the roving fleet of warmongering, capitalist space honkies who came to strip-mine their natural resources. These spiritual space pussies were so connected to the indigenous plant life that they could tune in to psychedelic visions that made the whole jungle glow like a Zeppelin blacklight poster. That’s one way to talk to your plants. A less preachy (and far lower budget) farming fable came in Mike Judge’s nearly discarded Idiocracy. Set in a future when fast-breeding mouth-breathers have caused the global IQ to flatline, the populace, lead by former wrestler-slash-porn-star President Camacho, can’t figure out why their crops are dying, despite feeding it the Gatoradelike drink Brawndo (tagline: “It’s what plants crave”). Think that’s far-fetched? Consider the many growers today who, knowingly or not, spray the cancer-causing chemical paclobutrazol to their crop. As long as people imagine the future, some form of gardening is bound to come up, though sometimes more prominently than others. This fall season’s surprise hit for NBC is Revolution, a show about a sudden, unexplained global blackout that sends our technology-addicted modern world into chaos. After the dust settles, some of the most welladjusted survivors are small-time farmers who channel their ancestral agrarian roots and turn their suburban cul-de-sacs into leafy hotbeds of lovely produce. Meanwhile, the leads in Revolution are busy running around chasing a necklace that will magically turn the machine back on so everyone can play Angry Birds again. Apparently crossbow battles make the Nielsen boxes blow up, but we’d be cool if the cast just kicked back and worked on perfecting their heirloom tomatoes. Maybe the future would be a better place.
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F
rom Star Wars’ Princess Leia to Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Nine, sci-fi franchises always offer a galactic gal to drive fanboys wild. Here’s the current crop of sciencefiction females who make us wish the future would hurry up and get here already.
BY COR EY HALL
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BABES IN SCI-FI TODAY
Alice Eve
STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS This blonde British goddess has been making jaws drop for a while now, but she only popped onto dorks’ screens in 2012. First, she played John Cusack’s love interest in the spooky Edgar Allen Poe biopic/fantasy thriller The Raven. Then, when summer rolled around, the dazzling 82
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Alice was back making the planet safe for horndogs in Men In Black 3. As the young Agent O, Alice was all sleek, buttery mid-century lushness, and her swooping yellow locks made her oh-so-very-shaggable. Now there’s a new Star Trek movie from reigning interstellar mastermind J.J. Abrams to look forward to, along with the sight of Alice in her tiny blue Starfleet getup. Eve will be playing Dr. Carol Marcus, the lost love of Capt. Kirk. And when you tame a man who beds green-skinned Orion slave girls, you have to be a topshelf beauty to slow him down to impulse speed.
Karen Gillan DR. WHO
As the 11th Doctor’s longtime companion Amelia “Amy” Pond, this sassy fireball adventured around the universe battling evil and engaging in a complicated love triangle with the immortal alien supergenius Doctor (Matt Smith) and boring old earthling Rory (Arthur Davrill). Drooling fanboys just wanted Karen for themselves, and when she departed the show earlier this year, they were heartbroken.
Zoe Saldana
STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, AVATAR We’re ready to beam aboard anytime the incredible Zoe hails us. As communications officer Uhura, this no-nonsense gal warps our minds with her space-age micro-mini skirts. In Avatar, she provided a whole new meaning to “cat fancy” by lending her leggy frame to the insanely skillful 3-D animators who manipulated her into a seminaked blue feline creature that finally helped us understand what those freaky furries are so kinky about. Meow.
Scarlett Johansson THE AVENGERS
Scarlett has been corrupting the thoughts of red-blooded dudes since she starred in geek comic classic Ghost World over a decade ago, but it was her skintight leather acrobatics in Marvel’s ultimate nerdgasm The Avengers that conquered the box office and solidified her standing as a sci-fi icon. By playing lethal superspy Black Widow, Scar-Jo earned a permanent seat at any comic book convention — not that anyone would ever dream of telling this knockout she wasn’t invited.
Jennifer Lawrence
THE HUNGER GAMES, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Her gritty turn in 2010’s Winter’s Bone put her on critics’ radar, but it was Jennifer Lawrence’s back-to-back geeky double-whammy in X-Men: First Class and The Hunger Games that made her a megastar. She’s currently accruing awards-season buzz for the quirky romantic dramedy Silver Linings Playbook, but sci-fi fans are eager to see her return to her relentless arrow-slinging ways. Even better is the thought of her once again donning blue body paint to display her utterly killer curves as mutant bad girl Mystique in the next X-Men romp.
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FLOWERS and HYDROPONICS
Expo Subject:
The FIRST EDITION of HydroponEast Expo will take place in the EXPO
Leading HYDROPONIC Companies Meet in Moscow, Russia! • The ONLY HYDROPONICS expo in Russia, • The venue of local and international hydroponic and hydroponics flower gardening companies • The meeting place for hydroponic enthusiasts from Russia and CIS countries.
CENTER «TISHINKA» in Moscow.
HydroponEast Expo is the only specialized event in Russia and CIS countries, which attracts numerous local and international companies active in the field of hydroponics supplies, solutions and growing. Thousands of industry experts as well as hydroponic enthusiasts visit the expo. HydroponEast Expos are: • an excellent platform to network with industry peers • a venue to meet local buyers and international suppliers of hydroponic equipment and products • a place to learn about new products as well as growing techniques and methods • a useful marketing and educational tool • a place to meet and interact with industry experts.
Visit http://goo.gl/FlO2R for more details.
Check out this nice
Little Rack
If it don’t dry, your profits will die. That’s why we now make our innovative QuickCure drying rack in two sizes—our classic 35” size, and the new space-saving 24” Mini QuickCure. If it ever breaks while doing its job, bring it back and we’ll replace it. If you don’t like the way it looks, you’ve got six months for a no-questions-asked refund. Don’t leave your crops to chance. Visit your local hydroponics store today and see how it works for yourself.
35”
24”
advancednutrients.com/QuickCure ®
CYCLING IN THE DARK
BREK BOUGHTON VS
THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ONE CYCLIST’S ATTEMPT TO PEDAL ACROSS ONE OF THE EARTH’S COLDEST CLIMATES BY HAPPY KR ETE R
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o be a grower, you have to have a sense of adventure and an appetite for taking risks. But how would you like to ride your bicycle to the Arctic, in the dead of winter, alone? There are reasons nobody has ever done that before—the subzero temperatures, the constant darkness, the unpopulated expanses of tundra, the hungry polar bears— but none seems like a good enough excuse for Brek Boughton. In the winter of 2011, Boughton set out from his home in Vancouver, British Columbia, and headed for Tuktoyaktuk in Canada’s Northwest Territories, about 2,730 miles (4,400 km) north, in the Arctic Circle. Go ahead and try to map that. Google will tell you it can’t calculate directions or distance for the trip. That’s because, for most of the year, the only way to travel to Tuktoyaktuk is by air. Only in the depths of winter is the Mackenzie River, the largest river system in Canada, frozen enough to allow land vehicles to travel to Tuktoyaktuk. Riding eight hours a day, sleeping on couches or camping in the snow, and usually eating only what he could carry, Boughton rode more than 1,860 miles (3,000 km) before frostbite threatened to leave him without feet. He cut the trip short, vowing to return the next year. This winter, the 42-year-old picks up where he left off, aiming to ride his bike from just outside Whitehorse in the Yukon all the way to his final destination of Tuktoyaktuk. That’s 870 miles (1,400 km) covering an even harsher expanse of a hostile planet than he’s already faced—in greater cold, longer darkness and deeper solitude. Boughton stands well over six feet tall, Bic bald, with a thick build that renders him reminiscent of a circus strong man. When asked why he would undertake such a grueling excursion, his soft-spoken humility contrasts his intimidating stature and taste for the extreme. “The sense of adventure, doing something that nobody has done before,” answers Boughton. “Riding alone to Tuktoyaktuk in the winter, unsupported. Trying to do something different.” The most challenging aspect of the trip, Boughton says, is motivating himself to contend with the extreme climate. “Day after day in the cold weather, you can’t stop for more than five minutes unless you’re getting into your sleeping bag or getting bundled up,” he says. “When you’re in a warm sleeping bag and it’s -30°F out, it’s hard to get up in the morning, especially when it’s every day for months on end.” His mild complaint is quickly mitigated by his stoicism. “It never got as cold as it could get, which is -40°F,” he says. “It only got to -30°F.” He says “only” nonchalantly, even though he’s describing conditions that most of us would find utterly miserable, not to mention extremely dangerous. But that’s Boughton’s humble disposition. He consistently downplays the danger and uniqueness of his trip.
For the aforementioned sleeping, Boughton managed to find some hospitable conditions for catching some shut-eye. Thanks to the websites CouchSurfing (www.couchsurfing.org) and Warm Showers (www. warmshowers.org), the solo traveler was able to crash with strangers through most of the trip, while pitching a tent outdoors roughly a third of the time. However, that will change on the next leg of his journey. There’s a stretch between Dawson City in the central Yukon and Eagle Plains in the northern Yukon of about 270 miles (440 km) that is completely unpopulated. Normally, Boughton carries around seven days’ worth of food, but he needs to consider all the possibilities as he heads further into the Arctic. “Between Dawson City and Eagle Plains, I plan to have 11 days of food,” he explains. “I could probably do that distance in five or six days, but if I get snowed in I want to make sure I have enough extra food. I need about 6,000 calories a day, so that’s 66,000 calories I’ll have to find.”
Brek Boughton
VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH BREK BOUGHTON @
ROSEBUDMAG.COM/EXTREMECYCLING As for exactly what Boughton eats, “a typical meal is, in the morning, oatmeal porridge with jam and peanut butter,” he says. “And then in the evening, pasta [cooked on a portable stove] with a little package of flavoring and lots of extra pasta. During the day, I’ll have [energy] bars and chocolate.” For the foodies among us, that sounds like a pretty limited daily menu for several consecutive weeks, but it’s not as bad as it could be. “At one point on the previous trip, I ran out of snacks, so all I ate during the day was dry pasta,” Boughton recalls with a chuckle, acting as if subsisting on dry pasta while completing a marathon cycling trek in hostile terrain were a minor irritation. Remember, it’s not like Boughton can head to the pantry to grab what he needs. He’s got to ride around carrying everything required to survive in extreme subzero conditions. Moreover, he needs a bike that can handle that kind of load.
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CYCLING IN THE DARK The endless Arctic ahead.
“I ride a cargo bike, which is extra long with a big rack on the back,” Boughton says. “The bike and the gear with about seven days of food is around 250 pounds.” In other words, this is a far cry from some hipster pedaling around town on a fixed-gear bike. But as important as food is on a trip like this, there’s something even more critical: water. “The hardest, most time-consuming thing is preparing your water for the day because you’ve got to melt all your water,” Boughton says. “To get three or four liters, which is what I needed for the day, you have to melt a lot of snow. A lot of times when people in cars would pull over to ask me if I needed anything, I’d say water.” Speaking of motorists, imagine the surprise of the few people driving this road in the Far North in the dead of winter when they suddenly spot some guy riding his bicycle. “A lot of people thought it was very strange,” Boughton says. “A lot of people thought it was dangerous. But I think it’s less dangerous than riding in the city.” Granted, riding in the city has its hazards, but there was a stretch of Boughton’s 2011 journey where the road was covered with bison for about 125 miles (200 km). The territorial 2,200-pound beasts come to lick the salt on the side of the roads. They won’t move for cars or even semi trucks, but luckily for Broughton, they will move for a bicycle. Nevertheless, cycling amid giant animals that could crush you in an instant is unnerving, to say the least, especially when they take off running alongside your bike. Wildlife encounters are fairly rare. Most species of bears hibernate in the winter, but there is a possibility of encountering polar bears in the Arctic. However, at the time of Boughton’s ride, the world’s largest land predators are supposed to have moved out onto the ice sheets farther north. Boughton is keeping his fingers crossed that no polar bears will have decided to linger in the areas where he makes camp. And then there’s the darkness. On his last trip, Boughton was still able to enjoy six hours of sunlight a day, and even then he struggled
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“I TOOK OFF MY BOOT AND MY TOES WERE PURPLE, MY FEET WENT NUMB AND I DIDN’T NOTICE.”
with the tedium of cycling for hours in the dark when the only thing he could see was the end of his headlight. The next leg of the trip is even more daunting. “The sun isn’t going to rise,” he says of the final stretch. “There’ll be a little bit of twilight, but that’s it.” With the darkness and desolation comes solitude. Boughton says he probably didn’t go a day without talking to someone on the 2011 trip. Either someone would pull over on the road, or he’d pass through a town. But this year, once he’s north of Whitehorse, it’s going to be a different story. He expects that he may not see anyone for a week at a stretch. “It’ll be interesting to see how I react to that,” he muses. However he reacts, it will be with fortitude. Five hundred miles (800 km) into his last trip, Boughton was waylaid in Jasper, Alberta, for eight days due to a knee injury. Following that period of rest, he carried on another 1,550 miles (2,500 km) before eventually succumbing to the threat of amputation posed by his frostbitten toes. “I took off my boot and my toes were purple,” Boughton says. “My feet went numb and I didn’t notice. I had warmer boots, but I didn’t know there was a problem.” Even frostbitten toes weren’t enough to stop Boughton at first. He carried on for several more days in his warmer boots. But as his toes started to turn black, he became concerned he might lose them. Finally, it was the combination of frostbite, the knee injury and the desire for a warmer sleeping bag that convinced him to conclude his trek at another time. That time is now. Boughton’s trip will raise money to send bicycles to South Africa, where they will act as ambulances and help workers travel. For more information, you can follow Boughton at www. cyclingintothedark.com, or visit him in person—when he’s not in the Arctic—at Cap’s Bikes in New Westminster, British Columbia (www.capsbicycleshop.com).
Brek breaks through the undisturbed wilderness.
Frostbitten toes.
The loaded cargo bike weighs 250lbs.
FIve minutes outside the tent can be fatal.
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Growing
Connoisseur Level Buds
Has Never Been This Easy – Because Now You Don’t Even Have To Balance Your pH
If you’d like to grow connoisseur level buds with relatively zero work – then here’s how we did it in Bulgaria and how you can do it too. First, you’ll need guardrails along the pH highway Balancing pH has always been a pain. Until now. With pH Perfect ™ Technology, you’ll always be in the sweet spot between 5.5 and 6.3 – with zero work on your part. All you’ve got to do is make sure you’re using the right water – either R/O water or something close (100 ppm [EC 160 µS/cm] ), and pH Perfect Connoisseur will do the rest.
No pH Up or pH Down. No more pH pens. Just pour your nutes and watch the magic happen.
Second, you’ll need a brilliantly designed base nutrient And what if we told you that the same base nutrient that will automatically balance your pH for you is so brilliantly designed, Einstein himself would give it two thumbs up? It’s said that Albert Einstein called compound interest the most powerful force in the universe. Our team of 21 PhDs, led by a man named Dr. Savov, developed pH Perfect Connoisseur with this in mind. Drawing from a Japanese engineering breakthrough called “kaizen” (pronounced k-eye-zen), our team has applied the power of compound interest to developing a base nutrient for your high-value plants.
Here’s how they did it: Kaizen is all about making small changes at every opportunity, so that in the end, you have big results. Just like compound interest. So, in a leading Bulgarian research facility, Dr. Savov and his team applied kaizen to the development of pH Perfect Connoisseur. The team realized there were three areas they could improve over standard base nutrients. 1. The selection of the nutrients themselves. They wanted facts, not superstition or hearsay. So through a series of exhausting plant-specific, tissue sample tests, the team isolated every variable they could. Then, they asked a series of small questions. Including, what’s really going on here? Can we improve this element in some small way? Can we improve the way it works with everything else? When they were finally able to answer all of these questions with authority, the results of the formula they’d come up with were breathtaking. 2. The delivery process. Once they had optimized the nutrient selection, they realized it would all be a gigantic waste if this new formula, as powerful as it was, couldn’t be absorbed easily and reliably by your plants. So they tested surfactants, amino acids, and every imaginable ingredient or combination of ingredients they could.
Read what growers are saying about
pH Perfect Connoisseur
Joseph Bates “Connoisseur!!!! It’s worth it. And while you’re at it bump up to Hammerhead. A true PK booster.” Jason Frank “I love Advanced Nutrients’ Connoisseur A&B, it gives me the best base nutrients to give to my plants in any stage they may be in!!!” Kevin Hessler “I love Advanced Nutrients!! I’ve tried ALL the other brands & A.N. silly out does them all! Connoisseur & BIG BUD produce AMAZING results!!”
When this step was finished, the plants they fed their new formula to couldn’t help but absorb every last drop. 3. Any loose ends? This is where our team discovered a real prize, where there was the potential for huge leverage... over not only the industry standard, but even Advanced Nutrients’ best developed nutes so far. The point of leverage was in plant bloom metabolism and floral production. These were weak links in the armor of most base nutes, and when Dr. Savov’s team discovered them, the team did what they do best. Patiently, ardently, they went to work. Now, when you buy pH Perfect Connoisseur, you have a base nute with the power to rival entire stacks of standard bloom boosters. It all worked better than they imagined, and Connoisseur has been the world’s most advanced base nutrient since it was released. Now with pH Perfect Technology, you’ll be unstoppable. And it will be easy.
Some Benefits You Can Expect From pH Perfect Connoisseur, The Most Advanced 2-Part Base Nutrient In The World For Growing High-Value Plants • pH Perfect Connoisseur includes 100% chelation of all macro, secondary and micronutrients. This built in chelation “safety net” gives your plants rock solid protection against poor water conditions and harmful pH extremes. • You’ll enhance your bloom phase dramatically, without increasing the time it takes to reach harvest. You’ll be growing more in less time than you’re used to, and you’ll easily keep your growing schedule.
• You’ll maximize aroma, taste and see truly great color in your plants. If you want your product to be more marketable, to be able to charge more and have clients happy to pay you, then pH Perfect Connoisseur is your new bff.
But don’t take our word for it. Let us prove to you that pH Perfect Connoisseur is not only our flagship product, but the pinnacle of hydro growing technology We’re very proud of the work our team of scientists has put into pH Perfect Connoisseur. Connoisseur has been the best around for awhile. With pH Perfect Technology included, no one else even comes close. But we understand that your concerns are with your plants. Not with our competition. So let us take all the risk out of the deal. When you buy pH Perfect Connoisseur, you’ve got a safety net. If you’re not thrilled with the results, and how easy it is to grow such mouth-watering, profitable flowers, return it for a full and immediate refund. Trust begets trust so, we’ll take your word for it.
What are you waiting for? Deals don’t get much better than this. Visit your local hydro store and ask for pH Perfect Connoisseur today. advancednutrients.com/Connoisseur
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s growers, we have a pretty good understanding of how government seeks to regulate our lives. Despite living in a democracy (many of us in “The Land of the Free”), government sees fit to tell us what we can and can’t grow. Now the long arm of Big Government is stretching even further into our lives, our homes and our own yards by criminalizing even the most seemingly harmless food gardens. The reality is that most people have never grown their own food. But throughout history, humans have spent thousands of years
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as agriculturalists tending gardens. It’s only in the last 150 years or so, since industrialization, that fewer and fewer people have grown any of their own food. And it’s starting to look like the powers that be want to keep it that way. In 2012, two headlines rang out as warnings to freedom lovers and gardening enthusiasts. The first was the story of Gary Harrington of Oregon, who served jail time for collecting rainwater on his own property. You read that right—rainwater was the forbidden substance in this case. Apparently, in some cases, the government will decide who owns the rain.
Harrington is a 64-year-old man collecting water on his own property. Now, it should be noted that Harrington collected a lot of rainwater on his 170 acres of land. He has three huge pond-sized reservoirs that collectively hold about 13 million gallons of water; one of them is stocked with largemouth bass. But still, it’s only water. Harrington is far from a hardened criminal. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t tough. The authorities in this case gave Harrington time to empty his reservoirs and avoid jail time. Not one to buckle under pressure of government bullying, Harrington stuck
to his guns and decided to do his bid in the slammer in the name of protest and to raise awareness. Now Harrington has become something of a folk hero in the public’s opinion. Unfortunately, that hasn’t done anything to change the laws in Oregon. Around the same time Harrington was having the book thrown at him, 2,300 miles east in suburban Michigan, Julie Bass faced 93 days in jail for another criminal misdemeanor: growing vegetables. Bass has a small garden consisting of five raised beds where she grows tomatoes, squash and other vegetables in the front yard of her Oak Park home.
Apparently, the vaguely worded city law allows for unpaved areas of people’s yards to be decorated with “grass or ground cover or shrubbery or other suitable live plant material.” This demands the question, since when are vegetables not “suitable?” It sounds like some small-minded person at city hall is looking for some arbitrary way to flex some muscle. What other explanation could there be for this law being interpreted and enforced this way? Before threatening jail time, the city of Oak Park issued Bass numerous warnings and fines in an attempt to compel her to remove
her vegetables. Like Harrington, Bass balked. She was luckier than her Oregon counterpart: The charges against her were dropped following public outcry. But the message was clear—beware of what you grow! These are just two stories to make the news, but it’s not only Oregon and Michigan with draconian laws. For example, Washington, Colorado and Utah also have laws against collecting rainwater. In Kentucky, citizens have battled for their right to buy and sell raw cow’s milk, while in California, three people were arrested in connection with selling unpasteurized goat’s milk.
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AN UNDERCOVER sting operation resulted in the arrest of an Amish farmer from Pennsylvania for selling raw milk across state lines. Most head-scratching of all was the case of the Food and Drug Administration launching a year-and-a-half-long undercover sting operation that resulted in the arrest of an Amish farmer from Pennsylvania for selling raw milk across state lines. The FDA is so convinced that unpasteurized milk poses a health risk that the agency is willing to go to great lengths and spend significant resources to bring down the Amish. It sounds like the kind of farce you would see in a bad movie, with the bumbling authorities falling over themselves to take down a member of a sect dedicated to peaceful simplicity. In the meantime, the U.S. continues to struggle with poverty, illiteracy and violent crime, but the powers that be somehow decided that they so badly want to protect you from raw milk that our nation’s resources are better directed toward taking down a small farm. It’s not just the United States clamping down on the gardening and agricultural freedom of its citizens. In British Columbia, Canada, Dirk Becker recently faced a sixmonth jail sentence for refusing to shut down
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the 2.5-acre vegetable garden he raised on land he owns. The government said the area was zoned for residential, not commercial purposes and began threatening Becker. The irony is that Becker had rehabilitated the land, which was previously a barren gravel lot, into a luscious garden. In other words, the powers that be don’t mind an ugly, useless chunk of land, but a lush green one that produces nutritious food? That’s criminal. Fortunately in Becker’s case, as in Bass’s case in Michigan, public outcry was enough to keep him out of jail. In fact, the public went one step further, voting out the incumbent mayor in the next election, prompting the ousted city official to address Becker’s supporters directly in his closing written address. Can you say sore loser? The stories of Gary Harrington, Julie Bass, Dirk Becker and the Amish farmer brought down by the FDA are equal parts absurd and unsettling. But if there are positives to be taken away, it’s that in two of the four cases, the will of the people was recognized, which is the essence of democracy. The laws of the land should work for us, not against us.
Unfortunately, the flip side is that these types of nonsensical laws and arrests appear to be increasing. They don’t seem like the type of thing our grandfathers would have had to deal with. Arrested for growing food? It seems unthinkable. After all, look at what the government does allow. It’s baffling that Monsanto can sell genetically modified, pesticide-ridden foodstuffs all across the country, but the law forbids a number of examples of down-home agriculture. The result is that citizens have to fight on one hand to get GMO foods labeled and on the other to keep hobbyist vegetable gardeners out of jail. Why would the government want to make it so easy to put money into the pockets of corporations selling garbage food, but so hard for citizens to take care of their own nutrition? Let’s not rush to label anything a conspiracy, but you can start to see why some people are unnerved by the idea that lawmakers would limit our access to information about the food we buy and forbid us from growing healthy, nutritious food ourselves. A conspiracy theorist might point to how Big Agriculture is in bed with government, and how government has a vested financial interest in having its citizens consume certain foods rather than others. A conspiracy theorist might also point to how Big Pharma is in bed with government as well, and how government might have a vested financial interest in having us consume certain medications to treat the diseases we got from eating certain foods. But that’s crazy talk, isn’t it? No matter what you think about the meaning behind these cases of agricultural outlaws, it could be that gardening, while an old tradition, is the newest form of civil disobedience. For those of us who love our freedom and love our gardens, whether they’re in the front yard or in our closets, the course is clear: we’re going to keep growing.
LISTEN TO AN INTERVIEW WITH JULIE BASS @ ROSEBUDMAG.COM/ILLEGALGARDENS
Your Secret Weapon When was the last time the smell of your harvest took you to a truly magical place? You know, the perfect blend of fresh, dank and sweet that keeps people talking. Well, the aroma of your plants depends on one thing: the essential oils. And a secret was discovered in the Himalaya mountains: How to trigger maximum, high-potency essential oil secretion in your plants? Here’s the story: the flowers growing in the Himalaya mountains are at such a high altitude, they are exposed to absurd amounts of ultraviolet rays from the Sun. And, just like you or I would be sunburned, plants can be damaged too. So, to protect themselves, they secrete an abundance of highly-potent essential oils. These work as a natural sunscreen. And these are the same oils responsible for how your plants taste and smell.
growing instead. Without interruption. If only they’d had what they needed to speed up the process. Bud Factor X, like any Advanced Nutrients product, will help keep your plants in a growing state. Adding bigger, more potent flowers to your harvest – in the same amount of time you’re already using.
Working with Nature
To get an idea, imagine if you had a time machine... so you were able to give yourself more growing time without changing your deadline for harvest. That’s close to what you’ll experience when you use Bud Factor X. Because that’s what Advanced Nutrients are designed to do. To give you the most incredible results humanly possible.
Using a secret, proprietary blend of shellfish and plant extracts ... the scientists at Advanced Nutrients have discovered a way to trigger this process without UV rays! This means you get the essential oils and resins of your dreams, without risking any damage to your plants. But it gets even better. Because there’s more to Bud Factor X. There are also ingredients that are very effective at keeping your plants out of repair mode.
Why your plants need your help It’s very important to keep your plants out of “repair mode” because it wastes time in your schedule. That is, every hour your plants spend repairing themselves is an hour lost. Because they could have been
Back to the Future – where your harvest is not only abundant... it’s ahead of schedule
We guarantee it Your risk absolutely nothing. Let us put our necks on the line, not yours. If you’re not thrilled with Bud Factor X, for any reason at all, return the unused portion for a full and immediate refund of your money. And we’ll still be friends.
Visit your local hydroponics store today and ask for Bud Factor X for your garden!
Read what growers are saying about
Bud Factor X!
Francis, Duluth, Minnesota “I already use the whole set of bloom boosters so I figured there was going to be very little that Bud Factor X could do for me. Surprised to find that the amount of oils increased about 20%!” Rabinovich, Queens, New York “I would advise people to adjust their grow to take into account that your plants get bigger when you use Bud Factor X. I had to raise my lights more than usual because the flowers elongated and became very sticky.” Scott Cecil “Bud Factor X and Overdrive......that’s what’s up!!!! Thanks Big Mike.”
advancednutrients.com/BudFactorX
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ANTONIA PHOTOG RAPHY BY VAS S I L KAR K E LAN OV
Bust: 33 Waist: 24 Name: Courtney Anne Hips: 35 Bust: 33B Height: 5’6” Waist: 26 Sign: Leo Hips: 35.5 Birth Date: August 8, 1989 Height: 5’9” Birthplace: Plovdiv, Bulgaria Weight: 135 lbs Sign: Aquarius Goals: To have a successful career as a Birth Date: January 27, 1989 model across Europe. Birthplace: Kelowna, BC Turn-Ons: Music. Almost any kind will make me sing and dance along. Goals: I would love to become a Turn-Offs: Hypocrites are the worst, published fashion model and do no matter if they are men or women. runway in Milan, London and Paris, Favorite Books: The Notebook too. Wouldn’t Victoria’s Secret be Favorite Movies: The Notebook nice? Also, I would like to complete my (although the book is better) business degree and travel the world. I Favorite Bands/Musicians: Bryan could see myself living on a beach in Adams, except for that Robin Hood California someday. song. Turn-Ons: A good sense of humor, wellFavorite Sports: The beaches in dressed, nice cologne and a fast car. Bulgaria are perfect for volleyball. Turn-Offs: A cocky attitude, bad Biggest Joy: My family is always there manners and ugly shoes. for me.
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1. Folic acid – which helps your plant maintain a healthy metabolism and DNA. But the problem with relying on your plants to produce this is that it breaks down too easily, especially under intense lighting. Best to supplement this one. 2. Vitamin B5 – critical for basic cellular processes.
Here’s why B-Vitamin Supplementation Could Be Your Key To A Great Harvest The problem with leaving your plants to make vitamins on their own is: not only do they have to spend precious time and energy doing it, but they’re only programmed to make specific kinds of vitamins in specific amounts. If you want them to have every advantage, to truly grow to their full potential, then you’ll need a well-designed vitamin supplement. The solution?
Pour in a dose of B-52 B-Vitamin Supplement from Advanced Nutrients. The math is simple. The more time and energy your plants spend making vitamins, the less time and energy they spend using vitamins. Which means they’re not growing as big and heavy as they could be. Not only that, but our scientists have tested different combinations and ratios of vitamins in sideby-side grows of clones. They did this to find out, in the real world, what works and what doesn’t.
3. and B1 – or Thiamine – helps your plants create and use carbohydrates, so they have the energy they need. B1 affects everything from essential oil production to Systemic Acquired Resistance, which is a fancy way of saying your plants are responding very well to the challenges in their environment. Last, B1 helps your root development substantially, so your plants can take in nutrients faster, and are more resistant to shock, transplanting and cloning. Our team of plant scientists have spent a long time testing clones side-by-side to come up with this formula. And when they couldn’t get one more milligram out of the flowers they were growing, they knew they’d arrived.
But don’t take our word for it. See for yourself how easy it is, and don’t risk a single penny. If you’re not thrilled with how easy and effective B-52 is, return with your proof of purchase for a full refund.
B-52 works. Plain and simple. Here’s how: There’s a lot going on in B-52, but here are the three major players:
Read what growers are saying about
B-52 !
Christopher Netzer “Been using B-52 for many years! A kick ass product from germination through mid flowering! Can’t recommend it enough just like the phenomenal voodoo juice! I’m still used to the old school 2+ formula, and now they keep making the products easier to use.” HydroHerb “Advanced Nutrients products are a lot stronger than anything else I’ve ever seen or heard of so you’re not really comparing 1L to 1L. You have to account for the final volume of solution it makes. For my money it’s completely worth it. I get more yield, better quality bud, and a grow with little to no problems. It actually costs me less to grow with AN when you add it all up.” g13laze “I’m using B-52 right now. I apply twice a week and have been since week 1. I’m now into week 2 flowered and all I can say is: B-52 ROCKS! I’m just following the directions on the bottle. I plan on continuing to apply twice a week up until the 2nd or 3rd week from harvest. Good Stuff.”
advancednutrients.com/B52
Visit your local hydroponic store and invest in B-52 today!
When you use pH Perfect® Technology with RO water or water to approximately 100 ppm (EC 160 µS/cm), your pH will always stay in the sweet spot between 5.5 and 6.3. You’ll never have to adjust it. And if it goes up or down at all, it will self-correct in a matter of seconds. We’ll show you video proof below. Not only that, but your pH will be maintained for an entire week after one mixing. You’ll never be chained to your reservoir again. You can go live your life, and grow the best plants you’ve ever grown. Forget your pH worries
What if you had a three-part base nutrient that perfectly balanced your pH for you? So that your pH never went up or down in the first place? And what if that same three-part base nutrient was actually five products in one, so that you could save hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in your growing this year?
Video Proof
When you visit www.advancednutrients.com/ph-perfect you’ll find a video proving that pH Perfect® products are able to bring your pH into perfect balance in a matter of seconds, no matter how far out of balance it might be (in the video, our examples are 4.5 on the low end and 8.5 on the high end. In seconds, pH Perfect® brings them into perfect balance, as if there were guardrails for your pH so that it never wandered off course.) And this pH “safety net” is incredibly easy-to-use. Either 2 ml/L for additives, or 4 ml/L for base nutrients.
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pH Perfect® Grow-Micro-Bloom is actually 5 Advanced Nutrients Products in One! When you buy pH Perfect® Grow-Micro-Bloom, you get the following: 1. pH Perfect® Grow-Micro-Bloom Base Nutrients 4. Wet Betty (non-ionic-surfactant) 2. Grandma Enggy’s F-1 (fulvic acid) 5. Advanced Nutrients’ Amino Acid Complex 3. Grandma Enggy’s H-2 (humic acid)
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No more pH Pens They’re expensive. They’re time consuming. They constantly need to be calibrated. The chemical adjusters burn your skin. It’s all a drag. If you’re tired of pH pens, then we have good news for you: You don’t need them anymore. With pH Perfect® technology, you’ll never need to use a pH pen again.
And there’s even more impressive technology included There is a molecular process called “chelation”. Chelation is altering an element at the molecular level by attaching tiny hooks all the way around the elemental ion, totally encapsulating it. pH Perfect® Grow-Micro-Bloom uses an entire spectrum of revolutionary, game-changing chelates.
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The Highest Quality Versions of the Elements Your Plants Need To grow to their full potential, your plants need 16 basic elements. Most growers are familiar with the big 3: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. Often abbreviated “N-P-K” on fertilizer bags. But there are 13 more bases to cover. Here's how it happens in nature: From the air, water and soil your plants get:
• Carbon (C)
• Hydrogen (H)
• Oxygen (O)
From the soil and fertilizers your plants get: • Phosphorus (P) • Potassium (K) • Calcium (Ca) • Magnesium (M) • Sulfur (S) • Boron (B) • Chlorine (CI) • Copper (Cu) • Iron (Fe) • Manganese (Mn) • Molybdenum (Mo) • Zinc (Zn) • Nitrogen But to grow the best you can, you need the highest quality versions of these. And just like different soils, in different regions of the world, will produce higher quality coffee or wine... so it is with your nutrients. And our team of scientists scour the globe for ingredients which are naturally rich with the highest quality versions of these essential elements.
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Try it in Your Garden Today, Risk-Free! If you’re not thrilled with pH Perfect® Grow-Micro-Bloom, if it doesn’t do what we said it would, return it with proof of purchase for a complete and immediate refund. We want you to feel good about saving so much money, and never having to worry about pH again. So let us take the risk. Read what growers are saying about
pH Perfect Grow-Micro-Bloom! Amy Carpenter Schares “I love the Advanced Nutrients’ Grow, Micro and Bloom because it’s easy to use and very accepted by my plants. Very cost effective also. Thanks for making my garden a masterpiece. Keep up the good work because you deserve an award..... Thanks.” Garneau, from San Francisco, California “I used to use the cheapest fertilizers I could get. I had no good hydroponic information and didn’t know where to get good hydroponic supplies. People told me it didn’t matter what I use for fertilizer. Everything is in the plant genetics. But when I started to know some other gardeners and saw that their plants looked way greener than mine and they were getting better harvests, I had to get better fertilizer. They told me that if I used better fertilizer I could get bigger buds. At first I used General Hydroponics three-part. But I couldn’t get it to mix right so every time I used it I had to be really careful with the strength and the acidity (pH was wrong). I finally switched to your 3 part and have had zero problems, and also am getting wicked yields. Thanks!” Christophe le Jardinier “Advanced Nutrients’ Grow, Micro and Bloom comprise a superior three-part fertilizer that vastly improves the three-part concept that growers have relied on for years. Advanced Nutrients’ three-part fertilizers are a higher quality than other fertilizers because they contain pharmaceutical grade substances instead of inferior components used by other manufacturers.”
advancednutrients.com/Grow-Micro-Bloom
Visit your local hydro store and ask for pH Perfect Grow-Micro-Bloom today!
HYDRO • A S K E R I K
Want your growing questions answered by hydroponics expert ERIK BIKSA?
EMAIL US AT ASKERIK@ROSEBUDMAG.COM
PRECISION PRUNING Q
I’ve heard lots of different schools of thought on pruning my production plants for bigger yields under lights. I like to just let my plants go during veg because I have other work elsewhere. In bloom I can spend more time in the garden. So how much should I take off, where, when and how often? My plants are usually about two feet tall and a couple of feet around by the end of veg, and I get about another foot of growth early on in the bloom phase.
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A
There are many different ways to prune your plants to optimize the way light reaches all parts of the plant rather than just the tops. Experienced growers like you know the bottom scrub usually needs to be sacrificed so that more energy from the roots can flow into the more productive upper portions of the plant. When you apply horizontal lighting from above, the branches tend to grow more upright, straight towards the light. The top branches, or leaders, usually dominate the canopy. With horizontal crop-lighting applications, you will usually want to keep these leaders and remove the suckers, typically the lower third of the plant, and any spindly little runners that may emerge. Vertical lighting applications are a bit of a different story. Typically you need to prune something from the top rather than from the bottom, as the plants are being broadsided with light and are growing outward horizontally toward the light source. In vertical applications, the upper portions may be above the sweet spot where intense light is landing on the plants, and should be pruned.
Most growers find that they get the best results from their pruning efforts when a major chop is performed after the first two or three weeks of the bloom cycle. Avoid pruning a little bit here and there, and instead do it all at once. Constantly nipping at the plant causes prolonged stress and confuses the plant as to where it should be directing its energies. Some growers also pretreat their plants several hours before performing this hard prune with B-vitamin solutions, carbohydrate sources and some fulvic acid. This pre-op solution will help the plant recover faster and better redirect its surplus energy into the remaining leaders after selecting and pruning. Make sure your plants are well watered and otherwise free of stress before doing major pruning, otherwise the slight shock could progress to a more serious cropping stress. Always use clean, sharp pruners. Drop them in some boiling water for a few minutes after sharpening. It’s also a good idea to wipe your pruners with alcohol from plant to plant, which helps reduce the possibility of spreading disease. A hard pruning is best performed just before the lights go out. This way, the plants have the dark cycle to recover, which helps reduce the amount of stress on them. If done correctly and timed right, you may see a jump in growth overnight, with your leader branches and flowering sites visibly swelling. This occurs because the same-size root system now has 20% less stem material to service, so more nutrients and water make it into the parts of the plant that are going to give you the best yields and crop quality. Consider watching Edward Scissorhands for a little inspiration, but make sure not to go overboard. Overly complex and vast branching systems require a lot of plant energy to support. This can end up taking away resources from flower production, limiting the improved yields you seek through your pruning practices. Stay sharp! Cheers, Erik Biksa
Use clean and sharp pruners.
Wipe with alcohol between plants.
Pretreat with B-Vitamins.
Prune before the lights go out.
HYDRO • F I X I T
ERIK’S FIX BY E R I K B I KSA I L L U S T R AT I O N BY G L E N S C H R O E D E R
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GIVE YOUR ROOTS WARM FUZZIES
There’s a War Going On In Your Root Zone And you’re going to need more than ferocious, blood-thirsty warriors to win it. “So they've got us surrounded, good! Now we can fire in any direction, those bastards won't get away this time!”
- Chesty Puller, USMC
You also need to set up a smart infrastructure. Read on to find out how: In nature, a plant’s root zone, or “rhizosphere” is a complex battleground of harmful and helpful bacteria. In human-controlled growing environments, this rhizosphere is absolutely critical to manage. This is the place where billions of tiny microbes break down material so that it can be used by your plants. These tiny helpers also fight off pathogens and harmful bacteria. But unless your rhizosphere is properly inoculated, it won’t ever reach the state of health and vigor that makes truly amazing yields possible. Because your plants will always be battling a certain amount of intruders. This takes time and energy away from doing what you want them to do: grow.
Introducing Voodoo Juice by Advanced Nutrients! Voodoo Juice has been carefully developed to optimize your rhizosphere, completely inoculating your plants’ root zone. That way, there won’t be any intruders to worry about in the first place. Your plants will be able to feed freely, without interruption. And the helpful bacteria that would normally be busy fighting, can instead work on breaking down rough material to feed your plants... so they can grow larger, and heavier. These tiny helpers will build strong, steady feeding routes and with all the time and energy freed up from fighting off intruders, they can break down tremendous amounts of food for your plants.
Food that was there the whole time you’ve been growing... but without an optimized rhizosphere, wasn’t available before.
Grow With A World-Class Rhizosphere... Risk-Free! To see what it’s like to grow plants that can feed as often as they like, without wasting energy on fighting microbial pathogens and pests, visit your local hydro store today and ask for Voodoo Juice by Advanced Nutrients! If you’re not blown away with the results, return with proof of purchase for a full and immediate refund.
Read what growers are saying about
Voodoo Juice!
Jorge, Pima Country, Arizona “I live in the desert near Tucson. I grow outdoors and two big problems are heat and dry, sandy soil. After using Voodoo, the plants were wilting a lot less and their color was much better. When I removed them at the end of the season, their roots were better than any plant I’ve ever grown. I’m sold.” Shaun Abalateo “I love Voodoo Juice. It gets my root mass to explode. Big Bud is great as well as Bud Candy!” Amy Carpenter Schares “Oh I forgot to tell ya...I also love the Advanced Nutrients’ Voodoo Juice. It really kick starts my babies, makes a big ball of roots and that makes a big plant. Then ya have a big harvest!!!!!”
advancednutrients.com/VoodooJuice
Visit your local hydroponics store today and ask for Voodoo Juice for your garden!
ROSEBUD’S GUIDE FOR YOUR GROWING LIFESTYLE!
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HYDRO GEAR
Super stocking stuffers for growers.
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Bacon makes everything better— even vodka! [ BAKON VODKA ]
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GADGETS
Serious snow gear and good time gadgets.
110 GAMES
Call of Duty, Halo and Assassin’s Creed sequels.
112 HOT STUFF
Entertainment anarchy with Quentin Tarantino, Ricky Gervais and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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5 ESSENTIALS Libations for the imagination.
116 SWEAT EQUITY
Finding the right gym for the new year.
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GEAR
HYDRO STOCKING SUFFERS LIKE TO GROW? NO NEED FOR A BOW, YO.
POURING GOOD CHEER At some point in their growing cycle, every grower, indoor or out, needs to be able to accurately pour and measure liquid — typically fertilizers, additives and beneficials. Many of us do this daily, yet we may find ourselves using less than scientific gear to make important measurements that affect the health of our crop. A polypropylene graduated cylinder can easily and accurately measure any type of liquid, plus it makes you look and feel scientific about your growing enterprises while helping to eliminate costly mistakes.
ECONOMICAL GRADUATED POLYPROPYLENE CYLINDER, 1000 ML Price: $42.50 www.coleparmer.ca
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ADVANCED NUTRIENTS TRIMMING SCISSORS
TRIMMING THE TREE A good pair of scissors can make a significant difference in how much your crop churns out and how much work you have to put into both growth and trimming at harvest. During growth and bloom, pruning unwanted lower or shaded shoots and branches allows plants to channel more energy into parts of the plant receiving more light, translating into significant yield increases. At harvest, when it comes time to trim your crop, a good pair of spring-loaded scissors can save you lots of aches and cramps, translating into a faster trim time to get your crop to storage or market. Goodquality stainless steel blades that can be sharpened and sterilized are superior to dull and dirty kitchen-type scissors and will better endure frequent usage.
Price: $11.95 www.thetrimmerstore.com
SPARKLING LIGHTS AT NIGHT The Green Hornet LED Night Light is the perfect addition to any indoor garden or greenhouse. Because this powerful but efficient 3.5-watt lamp produces only pure green light, any interruption during your plants’ dark cycle is going to be minimized. Experienced growers know interrupting the dark time during bloom can have serious negative effects on your harvest, as regular lighting signals the plant to wake up and confuses the natural cycle.
THE GREEN HORNET NIGHT LIGHT Price: $22.95 www.greenhornetlighting.com
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GADGETS
GEAR UP MORE THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR GREEN THUMBS CHECK YOUR HEAD Whether you’re snowboarding, skiing or cycling, a helmet can protect your head if you fall or crash. But with the Crash Sensor from ICEdot ($199 plus a $10/month subscription; www.icedot.org), your helmet can actually call for help. Designed to detect motion, changes in forces and, most notably, impacts with little or no movement afterward, the sensor (which needs to be paired with a smartphone) can call for help and even send your GPS coordinates. You won’t even have to tell it, “Go for help, boy.”
CASE FILES While the iPhone 5 and iPad 4 are relatively new, they won’t stay looking that way if you don’t protect them, especially in the garden. But that’s not an issue with the stylish and sturdy cases from Cygnett. Their Workmate ($24.99; us.cygnett.com) is a slim, shockabsorbing, impact-resistant case for your iPhone that includes a screen protector. For your iPad, the similarly thin Lavish Earth Case ($59.99) is available in purple, black and sandstone, and transforms into a handy viewing stand. It also has hidden magnets that will keep the screen clean while putting your iPad to sleep.
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POLE POSITION It doesn’t snow in the jungle, but as it turns out, bamboo and snow go well together. The fastest-growing plant on earth actually offers a high strength-toweight ratio while remaining fairly flexible. That’s why Soul Poles ski poles utilize shafts made of bamboo. They’re available “naked” without paint ($125; www.soulpoles.com) or with some flashy colors ($175). Even cooler, the other components, including straps and handles, are made from recycled materials to ensure a truly sustainable product, making these good for your soul and the slopes.
COMING UP FOR AIR In what we can only assume is a concerted effort to prove George Orwell right, it seems like everyone is filming every moment of their lives these days. But while more and more skiers and snowboarders are wearing helmet-mounted cameras to capture their lives, you can actually get the first-person-perspective much better with the iON HD from Zeal ($399; www.zealoptics.com), which puts the camera lens in your goggles instead. It can record in 1080p HD video and snap 8-megapixel still images. There’s even an in-goggle viewfinder so you can preview what you’re shooting. Now how about some HID-protective lenses for filming your entire grow?
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE CUM ON BLOCK THE NOIZE When trying to listen to music in a noisy environment like your grow room, it may seem like the easiest thing to do is to turn up the volume. But the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9 QuietPoint headphones ($349.95; www.audio-technica.com) will let you keep the music at a reasonable volume while still blocking up to 95% of the unwanted sounds around you. The headphones use Tri-Level Cancellation, with Mode 1 blocking out low-frequency sounds such as engine hum—perfect on airplanes. Mode 2 is designed to block the midrange noise of crowds and noisy offices, and Mode 3 is calibrated for more pristine environments.
Just as Optimus Prime was both a truck and our fearless leader, so too can the Columbia Lhotse Mountain II Interchange Jacket ($240; www.columbia.com) transform into multiple coats for outdoor growers. On its own, the outer layer is waterproof yet breathable, so it can be worn as a rain jacket during fall or spring showers, while the inner lining can be used as a light cover during those brisk but not cold days. Put them together with the detachable hood and adjustable powder skirt and you’ve got a winter coat that’s ready for hitting the slopes or shoveling out the car.
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GAMES
HALO 4 DEVELOPER: 343 INDUSTRIES (HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED ANNIVERSARY) PUBLISHER: MICROSOF T SYSTEMS: XBOX 360 Why We Want It NOW! Because after a four year nap, Master Chief is back and ready to party. Granted, his idea of partying is to shoot up a bunch of aliens on a distant planet, but they did bring some cool new weapons for him to play with. You can even use those alien guns on your friends in the game’s numerous multiplayer modes, or with complete strangers in a co-op mode that will add new (and free) story-driven missions every week.
THRONE OF GAMES THE THREE GAMES WE’RE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ISSUE CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II DEVELOPER: TREYARCH (CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS) PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION SYSTEMS: XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3, PC, WIIU, PLAYSTATION VITA Why We Want It NOW! Because, like its predecessors, this is easily one of the year’s best straight shooters. Set in 2025, but with flashbacks set in the 1970s and ’80s, the single-player setting has you shooting up places like Central America, Angola and, oddly, downtown Los Angeles. But you’ll also use the futuristic weaponry and gadgets when you play friends in the online modes, as well as when you try to survive a zombie invasion.
ASSASSIN’S CREED III ASSASSIN’S CREED III: LIBERATIONS DEVELOPER: UBISOF T (ASSASSIN’S CREED II) PUBLISHER: UBISOF T SYSTEMS: (AC III) XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3, PC, WIIU; (LIBERATION) PLAYSTATION VITA Why We Want It NOW! Because for the first time, both games bring this sneaky series out of the Old World and into the new. Well, relatively speaking, since they’re set around the American Revolution. Still, while you’ll once again have to use stealth and distraction to take out specific targets, this time you’ll also get to use big ships on the high seas.
PLAYING ON THE SIDE THE NEXT GENERATION OF GAMING STARTS NOW WITH NINTENDO’S NEW CONSOLE While we like our Wii, we’ve never liked its lack of high-def graphics. But that’s not a concern with Nintendo’s new WiiU, which rivals the PS3 and 360 in power and HD visuals. It also has a controller that melds a gamepad and an iPad, so you can play games like ZombiU and New Super Mario Bros. U uses real buttons, thumbsticks and a touch pad (though you’ll still use your Wiimote for motion games like Epic Mickey 2). Besides coming in white with an 8-GB hard drive ($299.99) there’s also a 32-GB black version that comes with the game Nintendo Land ($349.99).
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Why do so many pros use the Bigger Yields Hobbyist Bundle? Because you get these 4 great products for less than the price of 3. Ready to take your garden to the next level? Then use what the pros use – the Bigger Yields Hobbyist Bundle. It’s a $386.28 value that you get for only $174 (MSRP)! Best of all, everything in here is compatible with our exclusive pH Perfect® base nutrients..
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HOT STUFF
DEC
25
DJANGO UNCHAINED
Is there anyone in Hollywood who loves a good revenge flick more than Quentin Tarantino? Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) stars as a bounty hunter who recruits escaped slave Django (Jamie Foxx) to chase down a bunch of bad guys, with Leonardo DiCaprio at the top of the vile heap. This Southern adventure is bound to be a ton of fun, replete with Tarantino’s signature fast-paced dialogue and vicious violence. Consider it the perfect Christmas antidote if you’ve had your fill of saccharine yuletide sentiments.
TO SEE BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEOS, TRAILERS AND MORE VISIT:
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ARCHER SEASON 3 DVD
GANGSTER SQUAD
LIFE’S TOO SHORT THE LAST STAND Following his expanded role SERIES DVD
Raunchy humor and over-thetop spoofing of spy-genre clichés compose the greatness that is Archer. FX’s animated series stars H. Jon Benjamin (Family Guy, American Dad, Ugly Americans), along with Arrested Development alumnus Jessica Walter and erstwhile Saturday Night Live star Chris Parnell, making it funnier than most everything else on TV. Self-absorbed, womanizing, boozeguzzling 007-wannabe Sterling Archer is the least self-aware protagonist this side of Kenny Powers, which means you’re in for some hilariously cruel gags and one-liners. It’s not for everyone, but for those who love it, Archer is indispensable.
Sean Penn and Ryan Gosling trade dispassionate scowls in this ’40s-era gangster flick. Penn plays an East Coast mob boss looking to take over Los Angeles, with Gosling leading the LAPD’s “gangster squad,” dedicated to keeping organized crime off the West Coast. With whizzing bullets and hardboiled characters anchoring the action, this one is a baseballbat-swinging, De Niro-inspired home run.
For all the fervor Ricky Gervais has whipped up in his skewering of celebrities, there’s no shortage of them lining up to work with him. Johnny Depp, Liam Neeson, Sting and Steve Carell are among the guest stars in this series from Gervais and Stephen Merchant, his co-creator on The Office. Life’s Too Short revolves around Warwick Davis, who was the entertainment world’s favorite dwarf actor before Peter Dinklage took that crown. The discomfort of Gervais and Merchant’s signature cringe-worthy humor gets ratcheted up a notch, which is good news for those of us whose sense of humor skews in that direction.
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in The Expendables 2, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to top billing in The Last Stand, playing a small-town sheriff taking on a drug cartel. Political career and domestic catastrophes aside, Arnie knows how to kick ass and blow stuff up but good — that hasn’t changed. Nobody’s taking this one seriously, and so much the better. Action-movie tropes abound, including a goofy sidekick, played by Jackass star Johnny Knoxville. The Governator told us “I’ll be back,” and he is.
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ESSENTIALS
BAKON VODKA, $25-$35 WWW.BAKONVODKA.COM Bacon makes everything better—even vodka, as the folks at Black Rock Sprits found out when they began experimenting with this infusion. Bakon Vodka is a smooth, well-rounded, potato-based spirit with the crisp, smoky savor of peppered bacon. Killer in a Bloody Mary, it also adds a novel note to sweet drinks like the Bakon Flip, a great substitute for eggnog at your next holiday shindig: In a shaker filled with ice, vigorously combine 1 egg, 1½ oz. Bakon Vodka, 1 oz. Irish cream and ½ oz. maple syrup. Strain into a flip glass and grate fresh nutmeg on top.
DOMAINE DE CANTON, $30-$40 WWW.DOMAINEDECANTON.COM
5 UNIQUE LIQUORS TO BRING TO A HOLIDAY PARTY It’s not that bourbon doesn’t make a great gift. No really, it does. It’s just that it’s not the most memorable libation to bring to a holiday party. Want your gift to stand out? Try any one of these interesting elixirs.
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When somebody takes the time to peel piles of fresh baby Vietnamese ginger by hand, the ensuing liqueur has got to be good. Brightened by the spicy yet subtle burst of ginger, Domaine de Canton is a blend of eau-de-vie as well as VSOP and XO Grande Champagne cognacs. These cognacs, made with Tahitian vanilla beans, Provençal honey and Tunisian ginseng, lend the drink a low sweetness. An ideal gift for amateur mixologists, Domaine has all the bite of fresh ginger without the bark.
LUCID ABSINTHE, $60-$70 WWW.DRINKLUCID.COM This is the real stuff. Lucid, the first genuine absinthe to be legally available in America in over 95 years, is made with Grande Wormwood, European green anise, sweet fennel and thujone. This infamous drink is best served in the traditional French manner, by placing a sugar cube atop a flat, perforated spoon set on the glass’ rim. Drip ice cold water over the sugar and the absinthe will louche into an opalescent cloud, perfuming the room with the aroma of herbs.
CYNAR, $15-$20 WWW.CAMPARIGROUP.COM When the gluttony of a holiday dinner has ceased and guests are groaning around the table, it’s time to bust out the Cynar. Made by Campari, Cynar is an artichoke-based bitter infused with 13 herbs and plants, making it a healthy shoo-in to help with post-feasting digestion. Serve this digestif on the rocks, or add it to beer for a bitter kick.
CASTRIES CRÈME PEANUT RUM LIQUEUR, $30-$40 WWW.TEAMSPIRITSIMPORTS.COM Like a peanut butter milkshake’s better self, Castries Crème is a sweetly nutty blend of St. Lucian rum, fresh cream, Madagascan vanilla and spices. Not as sickly sweet as most cream liqueurs, Castries is a balanced blend with a natural, peanutty finish. Serve it on the rocks, or if you’re feeling adventurous, one-up the milkshake with a Peanut Butter Fizz: In a blender, blend 3 oz. milk, 1 scoop vanilla ice cream, 1½ oz. Castries Crème and 1 tbsp. peanut butter until creamy. Pour into a tall glass and top with a splash of club soda.
SWEAT EQUITY
PICKING A GYM WONDERING WHERE TO WORK OUT? The New Year is upon us, and it’s time for new beginnings and resolutions. For a lot of us, that means getting into shape and joining a gym. Let’s face it—for those of us who are serious about health and fitness, the gym is our extended home and its employees and members are like an extended family. So choosing the right gym is crucial to creating an environment for health and fitness that is both welcoming and sustainable. Here are some helpful things to consider when forking over hundreds of dollars a year for a gym membership. All these considerations must be balanced against each other in order to choose what is right for you. George Robichaud, a fitness consultant at Gold’s Gym Southern California in the 1980s, was a world-class bodybuilder for 10 years, having trained and worked with Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk) and other bodybuilding greats.
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PROXIMITY People have the tendency to pick the gym that is closest to their home or work for convenience. But proximity should not take precedence over how well-equipped the facility is and whether it provides fitness classes you might need. If the gym is somewhere you enjoy going, you won’t mind a few extra minutes of travel to get there.
FREE TRIALS Most gyms will offer passes to potential members. I find that the better clubs offer weeklong passes so you can really kick the tires. A week is good because it gives you the opportunity to get a sense of the ambience of the place, sample all the equipment, meet the staff and
familiarize yourself with the management style of the facility.
THE STAFF Going to the gym for the first time can be intimidating to many people. Feeling welcome is important because your visits will be frequent. Does the staff quickly call you by name, make eye contact, smile and make small conversation? These are all hallmarks of a well-run club that cares about its membership.
CLASSES Does the club provide an array of aerobic or fitness classes that might be of interest to you? Are the instructors good physical specimens whom you would like to emulate?
HOURS OF OPERATION
Cultivate
Is the gym open at hours that are convenient and fit your schedule? Be particularly aware of weekend hours if you have to work weekends. A lot of clubs do not cater to a weekend work schedule and close at 5 or 6 o’clock. A gym that serves it members will stay open until at least 7 p.m. on weekends and be open on holidays for at least a half-day or weekend hours.
YOU
ADDITIVE AWARENESS FINDING THE GHOSTS IN OUR DIETS BY CH E ROKE E BRIDGES
EQUIPMENT Does the facility have a wide array of free weights and machines that are in good working condition? The wider your repertoire, the better conditioning you will achieve and the less chance you’ll have of stagnating by doing the same movements over and over. Are there a lot of out-of-order signs on the machines, and do the signs stay up for extended periods? If so, this is a bad sign.
CONTRACTS Be skeptical of lifetime contracts. Whose lifetime, exactly? Yours or the gyms? Try to sign on for a year, and read the fine print. Gym salespeople can be pushy. A lot of gyms provide two- and three-year memberships at reduced rates. But do you really know what you’ll be doing in three years? Also be aware of things like automatic renewals after your contract is up and monthly withdrawals from you bank account or credit card. Like with big banks, these fine-print items can end up costing you a lot of extra money in fees and penalties if you make just one mistake. Virtually all gyms have these contracts, but good ones will also have customer services such as the ability to pause your contract for a month should you get injured or have to travel. That sort of customer service is exactly what you’re looking for when choosing a gym you’ll want to return to several times a week. Happy gym hunting, and Happy New Year!
When we talk about nutrition, we often focus on what we’re putting in and seldom consider what we should be leaving out. This holds true whether we’re talking about feeding our crops or our own bodies. After all, we seek the highest-quality foods and dietary supplements like vitamins and amino acids, and we may even manage the microbiology that is important to our digestion with bacterial cultures or enzymes. However, sometimes it’s the things that sneak into our bodies or plants when we think we are doing right by them that can have the strongest impact on health—and not always for the better. For example, tartrazine, also known as FD&C Yellow No. 5, is a common additive used in a wide variety of foods and medicines to make them appear as we have been trained to think they should, despite being completely unnatural. For example, tartrazine is often used to give cheese its bright orange color. More surprisingly, things like aspirin and even skim milk may also contain tartrazine. The issue is that tartrazine is literally made from coal-tar derived industrial waste, and some studies suggest there may be a strong correlation between tartrazine levels in children’s diets and behavioral disorders like hyperactivity. Other possible symptoms of exposure to tartrazine are migraine headaches, asthma and thyroid cancer. There is a similar ghost lurking in the hydroponics industry, and it’s called paclobutrozol. Very few products containing this substance, which has been shown to have potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic effects, are labeled as such. Products that claim to drastically arrest or halt vertical growth at the onset of flowering should be suspect, as they may contain paclobutrozol. Growers looking for shorter and squatter plants with plumper and denser blooms should choose different plant genetics rather than using potentially harmful chemicals to do something nature never intended. Be aware not only of what a product does, but what the product contains. Look at the full picture. On the plus side, there are usually great tasting and effective alternatives to foods and nutrients that contain these harmful substances. All you have to do is ask!
For more information on paclobutrozol and the dangers it poses in hydroponics, go to
WWW.ADVANCEDNUTRIENTS.COM/PACLOTRUTH
VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
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Visit rosebudmag.com for your garden’s needs, up to date growing tips and to keep up with what’s trending in your world.
How Can This Mermaid Help You Unlock Your Plant’s Hidden Potential? hemicellulase, just to name a recognizable few for the plant science nerds out there.
Getting people’s attention these days can be difficult. So we’ve decided to get the word out about our enzyme supplement with “Meri”. She’s the new mascot for Sensizym, the sensible enzyme supplement.
Here’s the simple arithmetic: multiply the speed at which your plants photosynthesize by a significant factor, and then add that to the extra growing power your plants have from not only a clean root zone, but the extra high-quality food that the enzymes are feeding to your roots. Bigger, more profitable plants? You bet.
What makes Sensizym so special? So sensible?
It’s Not Dead on the Shelf, For One We’re not kidding when we say it’s normal for enzyme supplements to be reported completely inert on the shelf, as in, before you’ve even had the opportunity to waste your money on them. Enzymes are tricky to keep alive in a bottle. But our team of plant scientists takes pride in their work, so this problem doesn’t exist for Sensizym. Which is why Sensizym is guaranteed to perform at full throttle or your money back. See below for details...
How Does It Work? Sensizym serves two basic functions in your root zone. 1. Turning organic “garbage” into usable food to clean up the root zone. 2. Speed up photosynthetic reactions... Sensizym contains the widest spectrum of enzymes of any product on the market. There are 88 types of enzymes in Sensizym, each working to keep your root zone running like a well-oiled machine. These include classes of enzymes like xylonase, cellulase, beta-gluconase, and
The Sensizym Guarantee
Meri
Sensizym is guaranteed to be fully active at the time of purchase. If you’re not thrilled with how Sensizym improves the size and quality of your plants, return the unused portion for a full refund of the purchase price (remember to bring your proof of purchase). Visit your local hydro store and ask for Sensizym today!
Read what growers are saying about
Sensizym!
Jay, from Earlysville, Virginia “I started using Sensizym to get more out of Piranha, Voodoo and Tarantula. I saw that my veg phase plants grow faster now, and the roots are stronger. The rockwool is cleaner. This stuff works!” Bryan Eichorn “Three Part, Big Bud, Overdrive, Sensizym, Bud Candy- Nuff said.” Luke, from Chico, California “To be honest, I have no idea what an enzyme is or what it does. I bought this because the hydro store guy said to when I was having problems with root rot. Well I don’t have the root rot problems anymore and I also see that Sensizym made the plants bushier. So I think this is a great product for sure.”
advancednutrients.com/Sensizym
Visit your local hydroponics store today and ask for Sensizym for your garden!
It’s Automatic! y Ideal Air-to-Media ratio provides superior rooting. y Custom formulated and developed by JiffyŽand Advanced Nutrients. y 100% guaranteed to work or your money back.
advancednutrients.com/RootShooters
Ask your local hydroponic retailer about what Root Shooters can do for your garden today!
UNO - The One is Here The Giant Among Giant Reflectors
I
f you’re a serious grower … if you demand ONLY the best … if you want to upgrade your highvalue grow room for maximum performance … then … here’s why the new UNO™ reflector is the only logical choice for you: l The Biggest! Want maximum performance from your garden? This giant reflector dwarfs the competition! l 8 Inch Air-Cooled! Large ventilation for exceptional cooling! l Low Profile! Specially designed under exacting standards to reduce wind drag. l Optimized Efficiency! Because it’s sealed tight for efficient cooling and maintains steady airflow to your high value plants. l Highest-Quality! It comes standard with a reflective aluminum insert, known by serious gardening professionals as the gold-standard of quality. l Maximum Output! Because it’s made with premium materials and engineered to rigorous standards leading to maximum light output for high-value crops. l Minimum Hot Spots! Even better, the optimized design minimizes hot spots so your precious garden will stay safe and better lit than ever. l 100% GUARANTEED! As always, you’re protected by our companies iron-clad, double-strength, satisfaction guarantee. Now is the time to put the UNO™ to the ultimate test — lighting your personal grow room. Visit Your Local Hydroponics Store And Pick One Up Today! advancednutrients.com/Uno
PERFORMANCE DATA IN CFM
Static pressure in Inches H2O 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.25 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 CK 6” C
490 466 441 389 336 286 239 186 136
CK 8” B
630 611 591 544 493 440 384 315 246 114
28
CK 12” C 953 931 906 854 797 736 673 593 513 358 214
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If you’ve ever thought about replacing your old inline fan or trying a new one, go to your favorite hydroponics store and ask about the BaddAss Blower from Advanced Nutrients. You’ll be really glad you did. By
ROSEBUD ISSUE 25
4. How many jobs will the U.S. solar industry create by 2016? a) 10,000 b) 110,000 c) 1,100,000 d) 1,000 5. Phosphorus uptake in the roots of flowering plants is partially determined by the availability of what? a) Oxygen b) Light c) CO2 d) Carbohydrates
QUIZ
6. A hard pruning should take place when? a) The first week of bloom. b) Right before the lights go out. c) First thing in the morning. d) A week before harvest.
THINK YOU’VE LEARNED ALL YOU CAN about hydroponic growing from this issue of Rosebud? Take this quick quiz to find out what you’ve learned (and what you might have missed).
7. How long ago did plants develop flowers? a) 420 million years b) 130 million years c) 1 billion years d) 6,000 years
1. Which location does not currently have hydroponic gardening? a) The Negev Desert b) Antarctica c) Brooklyn d) Outer space
8. What does TDS stand for? a) Total Dissolved Sulfur b) Total Dissolved Solids c) Total Direct Sunlight 9. Tartrazine is also know as: a) Marzipan b) Yellow #5 c) Earthworms d) Corn syrup
2. What is not a factor affecting outdoor growers due to climate change? a) Early and late frost b) Torrential rains c) Earthquakes d) Wind gusts
10. The terraforming device from the Star Trek movies is called the: a) Photon torpedo b) Phaser c) Tribble d) Genesis Device
3. An Amish farmer was arrested by the FBI for doing what? a) Horse rustling b) Aiding Al Qaeda c) Selling unpasteurized milk d) Phone hacking
SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS TO: WWW.ROSEBUDMAG.COM/QUIZ25 124
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The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships! Helen of Sparta was said to be so beautiful that when the Trojans captured her, a thousand ships went to war to get her back. In the world of bloom boosters, there is a formula so perfect, so ingeniously designed that when you use it, your flowers will sparkle with the beauty of Helen.
Behold! Big Bud Bloom Enhancer from Advanced Nutrients! With 20 different L-form amino acids, carefully selected by our team of world-class plant scientists, Big Bud Bloom Enhancer has no competitors. The explosive results you’ll see by adding these 20 L-form amino acids to your growing medium can be breathtaking. Just one of these amino acids, L-tryptophan, is what your plants use to produce special, profoundly potent bud building chemicals that have the potential to deliver you the heaviest harvest you’ve ever had.
And There Are 19 More. But there’s more in Big Bud than just L-form amino acids (which are vastly superior to the D-forms commonly used). There is also a delicate and precise blend of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Each of these is sourced from the highest quality sources on the globe, and carefully chelated to allow your plants effortless absorption. Don’t settle for D-form amino acids that other bloom enhancers use. Don’t settle for mediocre flowers.
Grow the sort of flowers that will launch a thousand ships to war if they’re taken. And you’ll risk nothing to find out just how good that feels. Visit your local hydroponic store and invest in Big Bud today. If you’re not impressed with the flowers you grow, return with proof of purchase for a full and immediate refund.
Read what growers are saying about Big Bud!
Adjan Dammers “Use Big Bud on your strawberries. You will get more, bigger and tastier strawberries than ever before!” Lee Don’tgiveadam Powell “Big Bud and CarboLoad. Say no more.” Claude, Mobile, Alabama “When I used the other bloom booster, the PPM would spike. The damage was clear, and once I had to flush everything. Since I started using Big Bud my friends keep asking: What’s your secret?”
www.advancednutrients.com/BigBud
Ask your local hydroponic retailer about what Big Bud can do for your garden today!
ROSEBUD•RETAILERS
FIND US! AT THESE STORES British Columbia BCH Greenhouse #3-20092 93A Ave. Langley, B.C. V2K 5E5 604-888-5176
Alaska
Better Than Nature #101- 78 Industrial Way W. Penticton, B.C. V2A 6M2 250-770-8978
Alaska Jack’s Hydroponics 1150 S Colony Ste. #9 Palmer, AK 99645 907-360-8378
Bogarts 3545 Okanogan St. Armstrong, B.C. VOE 1B0 250-546-9790
Arkansas
Canadian Garden Supply 1730 Hwy. #3 Castlegar, B.C. V1N 4W1 250-304-2911 Coastal Grower Supplies #103-12824 Abvil Way Surrey, B.C. V3W 8E7 604-599-1778 Fat Eddies Systems Inc. #108-18760 96th Ave. Surrey, B.C. V4N 3P9 604-888-2499 Fraser Valley Greenhouse 45650 Lark Road Sardis, B.C. V2R 3N7 604-858-0455 Interior Garden Supply 221-C McDermid Road 100 Mile House, B.C. V0K 2E0 250-395-3399 Kootenay Growers 721-G Front St. Nelson, B.C. V1L 4B8 250-352-1887
Hydro Brew 2908 Bella Vista Way Bella Vista, AR 72715 479-268-3423
California
Advanced Hydroponic Supplies LLC 30 E. Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91006 626-2949071 All Elements Hydro and Garden Supply 5623 Mother Lode Drive Placerville, CA 95667 530-642-4215 Atwater Hydroponics 3350 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039 323-663-8881 Badah, Inc. 179 N. Sunset Ave. City of Industry, CA 91744 626-961-8883 Big Growz LLC 10021 Wolf Road C-16 Grass Valley, CA 95949 530-268-0859
House of Hydroponics 744 W. Arrow Hwy. San Dimas, CA 91773 909-592-5111
Roots Grow Supply 1330 N. Hulbert #101 Fresno, CA 93728 559-840-0122
No Do Hydro 1330 27th St. Denver, CO 80205 303-296-3424
Downey Hydroponics & Organics LLC 1301 S. Beach Blvd. Unit O La Habra, CA 90631 562-947-8383
Hydromart 12847 Sherman Way North Hollywood, CA 91605 818-503-0101
Sacred Creations 6937 Sycamore Road, Unit A Atascadero, CA 93422 805-461-0831
Pueblo Hydroponics 609 Enterprise Drive #150 Pueblo West, CO 81007 719-542-6798
Hydroponics Outlet 320 Kirshimura Drive, Ste. 3 Gilroy, CA 95020 408-848-0884
SCV Hydro 25835 Railroad Ave. #26 Santa Clarita, CA 91350 661-255-3700
The Big Tomato 1440 East 6th Ave. Aurora, CO 80011 303-364-4769
Indoor Garden Solution Inc. 12424 Exline St. El Monte, CA 91732 626-453-0443
Sonoma Hydroponics 3535 Industrial Drive, Ste. B3 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-544-3383
The Green Thumb Hydro 6731 N. Federal Blvd. Denver, CO 80221 303-997-5049
Kern Hydroponics 2729 Brundage Lane Bakersfield, CA 93304 661-323-7333
SunShine Hydro 48511 Warm Springs Blvd, Ste #207 Fremont, CA 94539 510-246-4126
Florida
Sunwest Hydroponics 7327 Canoga Ave. Canoga Park, CA 91303 818-322-7030
Best Hydro 4920 Lena Road ,Ste. 108, Bradenton, FL 34211 941-756-2812
Super Roots Hydroponics 3104 N. Miami Ave. Fresno, CA 93727 559-292-7668
Blossom Experience 7207 NW. 54 St. Miami, FL 33166 305-805-4382
Superior Hydro 2173 Wilcox Road Stockton, CA 95215 (209)-931-5942
Falero Lumber & Hardware 6758 W Flagler St. Miami, FL 33184 305-266-8878
Sylmar Caregivers Inc. 10037 Commerce Ave. Tujunga, CA 91042 818-273-4567
Future Farms 14291 SW 120th St. Ste. 105 Miami, FL 33186 305-382-2757
Tahoe Garden Supply 645 Westlake Blvd. Ste. 2A&B Tahoe City, CA 96145 530-581-3200
Gold Coast Hydroponics 1539 SW 21st Ave. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 954-797-0033
The Greenhouse Garden Supply 7619 Fair Oaks Blvd. Carmichael, CA 95608 916-515-9130
High Tech Garden Supply 2975 W. Newhaven Ave. Melbourne, FL 32904 321-821-0853
Dream Garden Hydro Inc. 2701 Merced Ave. El Monte, CA 91733 909-595-7028 Dream Garden Hydroponics 20837 Valley Blvd. Walnut, CA 91789 909-594-5900 Downtown Hydroponics Inc. 439 E. 16th St. Los Angeles, CA 90015 213-742-8817 Endless Summer Hydroponics 6657 Reseda Blvd. Unit A Reseda, CA 91335 818-881-3276 Evergreen Growers Supply 1089 Linda Vista Ave. Porterville, CA 93257 559-788-2742 Everything Green - Fairfield 1201 Oliver Road Fairfield, CA 94534 707-432-0774 Foothill Hydroponics-CA 10705 Burbank Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601 818-760-0688 Foothills Greenhouse & Garden Supply 14748 Hwy. 41, Ste. C Madera, CA 93636 559-822-4921 Fresno Ag Hardware 4590 N. First St. Fresno, CA 93726-1987 559-224-6441
Bizright LLC 15320 Valley Blvd. City of Industry, CA 91746 626-322-2060
Green Door Hydro & Socal Electric 830 Traction Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90013 213-625-1323
Blazzin Hydro 6650 Crescent St. Ste. 9 Ventura, CA 93003 805-644-9376
Green Healing 8551 Canoga Ave. Canoga Park, CA 91304 213-400-5646
Oasis Indoor Garden #12-1771 Cooper Road Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 7T1 250-763-4769
California Green Hydroponics 16491 Road 26, Ste. 101 Madera, CA 93637 559-674-1400
Green Island 545 E. Brokaw Road San Jose, CA 92115 408-441-0602
Prince George Patio & Garden 1798 Nicholson St. Prince George, B.C. V2N 1V6 250-612-4769
California Hydro Santa Maria 115 E. El Camino Santa Maria, CA 93545 805-614-9376
The Growing Source 2337 Townline Road Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 6G1 604-854-8336
Central Valley Gardening 509 Winmoore Way #T Modesto, CA 95358 209-595-2884
Valley Indoor #103-44195 Yale Road W. Chilliwack, B.C. V2R 4H2 604-702-1169
Dean’s Hydroponic Supplies 5420 Clark Rd. Ste A Paradise, CA 95969 530-413-9141
North Island Hydroponics 6095 Steel Road Port Hardy, B.C. V0N 2P0 250-902-2210 Nutty Zone #5/6 - 33111 London Ave. Mission, B.C. V2V 4P9 604-814-2223
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Win-all Sunrise Garden 28563 Fraser Hwy. Abbotsford, B.C. V4X 1L1 604-856-6899
Deep Roots Hydroponics 3715 Santa Rosa Ave. Ste. A2 Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707-829-7668
Rosebud
rosebudmag.com
Growers Choice - Hayward 24089 Watkins St. Hayward, CA 94544 510-278-6200 Hi-Tek Hydro 210 S. Cain St. Ste. G Visalia, CA 93292 559-733-9300 Hollywood Hydroponics 17421 Nichols St. Unit A Huntington Beach, CA 92647 323-662-1908 Homegrown Indoor 681-A West Grider Way Stockton, CA 95209 209-639-1138
LA Garden Supply 9369 Fern St. El Monte, CA 91733 626-448-8711 LAX Hydro 10912 S. La Cienega Blvd. Inglewood, CA 90304 310-424-8447 Mad Max Hydroponics 353 College Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-568-6299 MJ’s Growers Supply 128 N. Second St. Porterville, CA 93257-3815 559-784-0420 Natures Secret 41469 Albrae St. Fremont, CA 94538 510-623-8393 No Stress Hydroponics 7543 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood, CA90046 323-845-9874 No Stress - Venice 1703 Lincoln Blvd. Venice, CA 90291 818-554-7886 No Stress - Sherman Oaks 4742 Woodman Ave. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 323-845-9874 Nutes Intl 204 N. Quarantina St. Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805-687-6699 One Stop Hydroponics 12822 Victory Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91606 818-980-5855 Pure Hydroponics 21430 Strathern St. Canoga Park, CA 91304 818-884-8556 Reefside Hydro 360 Coral St. Ste. C Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-421-9450 Room To Grow Greenhouses & Supplies 43511 13th St. West Lancaster, CA 93534 661-940-5599
The GreenLeaf Hydroponics Bakersfield 3903 Patton Way #103 Bakersfield, CA 93308 661-588-8269 Valley Hydro 207 E. Sierra Ave. Fresno, CA 93710 559-449-0426
Colorado
Chlorophyll 3801 Mariposa St. Denver, CO 80211 303-453-1155 Evergreen Hydro 1131 Francis St. Ste. A Longmont, CO 80501 303-682-6435 Grow Warehouse 725 Valley St. Colorado Springs, CO 80915 719-574-4162 Growize 3225 S. Wadsworth Blvd. Ste. Lakewood, CO 80227 303-986-2706 Indoor Paradise Denver 7100 N. Broadway St. bldg Denver, CO 80260 303-428-5020
Advanced Hydrogardens 4960 NW 165 St. Bay 4 Miami, FL 33014 305-474-4376
Hydro House 1800 4th Ave. N. Lake Worth, FL 33461 561-582-2020 Instant Garden 7751 W. 28th Ave. Ste. 2 Hialeah, FL 33016 305-826-1331 Mother’s Urban Garden 6517 Superior Ave. Sarasota, FL 34231 941-924-0102 Oasis Garden 8200 W 33rd Ave. Hialeah, FL 33018 305-819-3675 Oasis Garden #2 4241 SW 71st Ave. Miami, FL 33155 305-666-0774 The Best Grow 7249 NW 33rd St. Miami, FL 33122 305-639-2775 The Healthy Harvest 21113 Johnson St. Ste. 126 Pembroke Pines, FL 33029 954-678-8760
Tropical Garden Supplies 18679 SW 103 Court Miami, FL 33157 786-293-8448 Tropical Hydroponics 1301 E. Altamonte Drive, Ste. 137 Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 407-571-9859 Tropical Hydroponics Inc 2555 N. Forsyth Road, Ste. B Orlando, FL 32807 407-622-7011
Hawaii
Michigan
Sweet Greens Hydroponics & Indoor Garden 113 Fifth St. Michigan Center, MI 49254 517-764-9232
New York
The Flower Factory, Inc. 2223 Highland Road Highland, MI 48356 248-714-9292
Hydroponics of Buffalo 1469 Hertel Ave. Buffalo, NY 14216 716-838-3545
The Hydro Grow 8210 Telegraph Road Taylor, MI 48180 313-633-0641
Long Island Hydroponics 415 Route 25A, Unit B Rocky Point, NY 11778 631-849-2701
The Hydro Grow Room 15231 N. Holly Road Holly, MI 48442 248-369-8263
Planted Earth 120 Vestal Ave. Endicott, NY 13760 607-239-5207
Hydro Harry’s - Hazel Park 24047 Dequindre Road Hazel Park, MI 48030 248-541-0099
Ultra Green Hydroponics 8067 N. Wayne Road Westland, MI 48185 734-425-1000
Hydro Harry’s - Walled Lake 1138 E. West Maple Road Walled Lake, MI 48390 248-896-0099
Ultragreen Hydroponics 9300 Telegraph Road Detroit, MI 48239 313-574-0422
Sunlight Solutions 2045 Niagara Falls Blvd. Ste.13 Niagra Falls, NY 14304 716-990-0296
Hydro Kare 3626 Miller Road Flint, MI 48503 810-407-8120
Urban Garden Supply 3410 S. Dort Highway Flint, MI 48507 810-875-9580
Hydro Pros 45683 Van Dyke Utica, MI 48317 586-803-0966
Urban Garden Supply Corp. 4516 Pasadena Ave. Unit B Flint, MI 48504 810-733-0420
GrowCo Garden Supply 1042 Michigan St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Hydroponics Hwy, Inc. 2708 14th Ave. Port Huron, MI 48060 810-982-4769
Urban Gardening Center 2520 22nd St. Detroit, MI 48216 313-898-0200
H20 Hydroponics 5210 W. Saginaw Hwy. Lansing, MI 48917 517-749-0711
Indoor Eden 9281 E. M-36 Whitmore Lake, MI 48189 810-355-1465
Happy Gardening 20840 Telegraph Road Romolus, MI 48174 734-486-4115
Indoor Garden Superstore 2570 Dixie Hwy. Waterford, MI 48328 248-673-2200
Woodland Shore Gardening Center 956 W. South Airport Road Traverse City, MI 49696 231-421-5901
Harbour Country Hydroponics 17648 US Hwy. 12 New Buffalo, MI 49117 269-469-2242
Indoor Growers Edge 8998 E. 34 Road Cadillac, MI 49601 231-675-1348
Battle Creek Indoor Gardening 1125 E. Michigan Ave. Battle Creek, MI 49014 269-282-0554 Clio Cultivation 11394 N. Saginaw Road Clio, MI 48420 810-686-4769 Crazy Tree Gardening Inc. 41808 Hayes St. Clinton Township, MI 48038 248-821-4201
Hawaiian Hydroponics 4224 Waialae Ave. Honolulu, HI 96816 808-735-8665
Dr Greenthumb 977 Wendover Blvd. Norton Shores, MI 49441 231-855-6555
North Shore Organic Gardening LLC 67-272 Goudale Ave. Ste. 105 Waialua, HI 96791 808-637-2069
Edenz Hydro Gardening 1411 14 Mile Road Madison Heights, MI 48071 248-291-6691
Illinois
Aerogro 127 N. Main St. East Peoria, IL 61611 708-557-1411 Goldman’s Grow Shop Inc. 910 Greenwood Road, Unit C Glenview, IL 60025 847-657-7250 Grow Masters 4641 Old Grand Ave. Gurnee, IL 60031 224-399-9877 Midwest Hydrorganics, Inc. 20647 Renwick Road Crest Hill, IL 60403 815-838-0100
Kentucky
Garden Grove Organics 29 E. 7th St. Covington, KY 41011 859-360-1843
Maine
Here We Grow 36 North St. Ste. 2 Presque Isle, ME 04769 207-769-2326 Maine Hydroponics Supply 50 Rockland Road Jefferson, ME 04348 207-390-0857
Massachusetts
High Tech Garden Supply - MA 560 Boston Turnpike, Unit B Shrewsbury, MA 01545 508-845-4477
Green Lantern H20, LLC 1383 E. Laketon Ave. Muskegon, MI 49442 231-772-0420 Greenway Gardens, Inc. 916 W. 13th St. Cadillac, MI 49601 231-775-7075 Growers-R-Us 19317 W. Warren Ave. Detroit, MI 48228 313-633-1617
Holland Hydroponics Outlet 587 E. 8th St. Ste. 40 Holland, MI 49423 616-298-7395 Home Grown Hydroponics, Inc. 4880 Gratiot Road, Ste. 2 Saginaw, MI 48638 989-781-1930
Hydro Giant #2 19363 Eureka Road Southgate, MI 48195 734-281-8888 Hydro Giant #3 21651 W. Eight Mile Road Detroit, MI 48219 313-790-7800 Hydro Giant #4 6199 Haggerty Road West Bloomfield, MI 48322 248-668-6100 Hydro Giant Equipment & Supply, Inc. 14455 Ford Road Dearborn, MI 48126 734-497-6434
Mighty Grow 2418 W. Michigan Ave. Jackson, MI 49202 517-962-4822 Oakland Hydroponics and Garden Centre 1290 S. Lapeer Road Lake Orion, MI 48360 248-693-5747 Simply Hydro 118 W. Church St. Adrian, MI 49221 517-260-0775
Minnesota
EcoGarden Supply, Inc. 800 Transfer Road Saint Paul, MN 55114 866-647-1896
Missouri
Green Thumb Organics 249 Mid Rivers Mall Drive Saint Peters, MO 63376 636-397-4769
Nevada
Best Hydroponic Supply 6818 W. Cheyenne Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89108 702-750-9300 Happy Hydroponics 111 S. Frontage Road #C Pahrump, NV 89048 775-751-6654
Big Bloom Hydroponics 1864 Colvin Blvd. Tonawanda, NY 14150 716-930-2141
North Carolina
Organic Grow Hut 375 Putnam Pike, Unit 11 Smithfield, RI 02917 401-349-4141 Vermont Green Valley Gardening & Hydroponics 2934 Waterbury Stowe Drive Waterbury Center, VT 05677 802-241-4199
Washington
AJ’s Gardening 1317 Summit St. Aberdeen, WA 98520 360-533-1170 All Green Garden 6409 6th Ave. Ste. 8 Tacoma, WA 98406 253-973-5219 Horticulture of America 701 S. 1st St. Yakima, WA 98901 509- 307-2003
Fifth Season Gardening 106 S. Greensboro St. Carrboro, NC 27510 919-932-7600
Indoor Garden Depot - FW 1401 S. 324th St. Federal Way, WA 98003 253-874-1112
Ohio
Lucky Greenhouse & Light 3223 3rd Ave. S. #100B Seattle, WA 98134 248-705-0988
Eastside Hydroponics 550 B Ohio Pike Cincinnati, OH 45255 513-528-4769 Garden Connections LLC 3341 Centerpoint Drive, Ste. 1 Urbancrest, OH 43123 614-871-0707 Hydro Gardens & Lights LLC 1144 N. Memorial Drive Lancaster, OH 43130 740-654-9376
Pennsylvania
High Tech Garden Supply - PA 90 Madison Drive Zelienople, PA 26063 724-473-1113
Rhode Island
Good to Grow Garden Supply 34 Nooseneck Hill Road West Greenwich, RI 02817 401-392-3100 Grow With Us 709 Warwick Ave. Warwick, RI 02888 401-244-5524
Lynnwood Co-Op 19505 24th Ave. W. Ste. 104 Lynnwood, WA 98036 425-776-2811 Puffin Organics 5612 Ocean Beach Hwy. Ste. 100 Longview, WA 98632 360-425-3990 Water Works Hydroponics 5039 S. Washington St. Tacoma, WA 98409 253-301-4343
Wisconsin
Garden Supply Guys 752 N. Memorial Drive Green Bay, WI 54303 952-857-9493 Lighthouse Gardens, LLC 5903 Prairie St. Weston, WI 54476 715-393-4029/888-225-5107
Hydro Earth 1243 Mineral Spring Ave. N. Providence, RI 02904 401-305-5520
GET YOUR COPY TODAY VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 25
Rosebud
127
Summon The Yields Hiding In Your Late Bloom Phase When you don’t know what to look for, it’s easy to miss things. For a very long time growers noticed a stall in the late bloom phase. Their flowers typically reached a peak a couple of weeks before harvest. And because that’s what happened for everyone, nobody questioned it. Until a team of plant scientists who study a very specific type of flower got curious. They wondered... in those last few weeks, after their flowers had reached that “peak”, if the flowers could keep growing? So they began experimenting.
And they found a way to pull shocking performance out of the last couple weeks before harvest The result is a bloom booster called Overdrive by Advanced Nutrients. And it works with your plants’ natural changes in physiology and nutrient needs late in the bloom phase, in a way that no other bloom booster can. Because Overdrive is the result of a very unique scientific process, crafted to perfection by some of the greatest plant scientists in the world. This includes the purest water humanly possible (Reverse Osmosis treated... used by Coca-Cola™ and Red Bull™), a secret mixing temperature, a proprietary blend of ingredients no other nutrient company is even aware of, and plant-specific tissue sample testing that can take years to finish. Start growing the sort of flowers you can charge an arm and a leg for – and let us take the risk If you’d like to see what’s possible when your plants don’t stall in the late bloom phase, visit your local hydro store and ask for Overdrive by Advanced Nutrients. If you don’t see a very satisfying increase in density and mass in the final weeks before harvest, return it with proof of purchase for a full and immediate refund. Read what growers are saying about
Overdrive!
Jeb, from Tulsa Oklahoma “This crop was the strongest I’ve ever had. It had to be the Overdrive.” Tim Fratto “Advanced for sure, nothing better. Big Bud, Bud Candy, and Overdrive, yummy. Good luck. Oh yah remember a little is alot :-) PH.” Jay, from Earlysville, Virginia “Thank you, thank you, thank you, for my best harvest yet.”
Ask your local hydroponic retailer about what Overdrive can do for your garden today! advancednutrients.com/Overdrive
Ask about new Jungle Juice 2-Part at your favorite hydro store today. advancednutrients.com/JungleJuice2Part
Scientific inhalationS
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contact: MalcolM hunter cell: 530 401 7587 office: 530 274 3710 www.SipipeS.coM