UK EDITION YEAR 1 - ISSUE 1 · AUTUMN 2012 - PRICE: £3,99
IT’S ON!
THINK
MICRO
FOR MACRO RESULTS
GROW YOUR OWN MONEY: BITCOINS ENLIGHTENED LIGHTING
THE INVISIBLE GARDEN:
SECRETS TO BOOST YOUR HARVEST
WILD WASABI TAMED
RhinoPro The Name in Carbon Filtration
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A quick guide to fulfilling your potential Our 3 hydroponic systems, each as simple as a pot, produce bigger yields by... ✔ Automatically feeding little and often
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Manage up to 20 plants from one tank
Ideal for cultivating plants for cuttings
The Wilma pots are filled with coco, soil or pebbles, the timer is set and a pump delivers nutrient solution through the drippers into the pots.
The Flo-Gro pot is filled with clay pebbles, the timer is set and nutrient solution is pumped through a dripper ring over the plants.
Available in sizes from 4 pots up to 20 pots.
The fast-draining action pulls fresh oxygen into the root-zone every feed.
✔ Providing roots with superb access to oxygen
Record-breaking yields The Ebb & Flood can be filled with clay pebbles or with pots containing any growing medium. Roots are flooded several times per day - pushing out stale air, then pulling oxygen to the roots as the solution Ebbs away. The result is superb access to oxygen and huge yields.
To watch product videos and to find a stockist Visit www.Nutriculture.com
GARDEN CULTURE I CONTENTS
K.I.S.S.
FRESH WASABI
57
76
22
WINDOW FARMING
THE ART OF LIGHTING
26
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
8
58
72
HYDRO PONICS
IN THIS ISSUE OF GARDEN CULTURE:
42
EARTHSHIPS
7 Foreword & Credits
42 Earthships: down to earth
8 Product Spotlight
48 Fungi, molasses & rock phosphate
12 Carbon dioxide in plants & greenhouses
54 Things that make you a better grower
15 Product Spotlight
57 K.I.S.S.
16 Humidity: the good, the bad & the ugly
58 Hydroponics for small apartments
20 The invisible garden: a perfect balance
62 Soy GMO
24 Modern slavery and the illusion of consent
65 The world’s hottest Chilli peppers
28 The art of lighting
68 Bitcoins: grow your own money
32 Aquaponics: a sustainable solution
72 Window farming
38 Cilantro
76 Fresh wasabi
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FOREWORD & COLOFON I GARDEN CULTURE FOREWORD WELCOME TO GARDEN CULTURE MAGAZINE’S FIRST UK & IRELAND VERSION These last seven months were a trip to say the least. There have been lots of travel meetings and making new friends. We finally did it though; the first issue of
CREDITS Garden Culture™ is a publication of GC Publishers B.V.
EDITORS
Executive Editor: Mike Nivato E. mike@gardenculture.net Managing Editor: Ben Searl E. ben@gardenculture.net
Garden Culture in English is a fact.
Art Director / DTP Job Hugenholtz
As with any print publication we’re always looking for new writers who bring knowledge to the table, if you have the knowledge or a cool grow room you’d like to show off please contact us. Besides the magazine we’ve also invested lots of time in our website (www.gardenculture.net) and our new Facebook page (facebook.com/GardenCulture)
Special thanks the following contributors: Dan F, Sheldon Aberman, Wade, Tammy Clayton, Alison Thompson, April Kazema, Chris Oldenburg, Erik Biksa, Evan Folds, Fred Decker, Jeroen Dercksen, Kayla Shaw, Maaike Visser, Sylvia Bernstein, David Murphy
We are proud to offer you the most effective garden tool ever used: knowledge. We have brought together on these pages intimate understanding of plant biology with vast experience in gardening so that you can achieve a perfect balance in your garden. Each article adds a new brick in the construction of better gardens and shortens the path to enjoying great harvests. In your hands is an authoritative reference to help you optimize the productivity of your grow space. This issue of Garden Culture focuses on how to make the most of your hydroponic garden with articles about using carbon dioxide, tuning your grow lights, and even growing live fish with your plants to save resources. It is this enhancement of natural processes through wise use of technology that we like to call the art of growing. In this increasingly crowded world the ability to grow your own is not only valuable to you but also does a great favour to the planet. Keep it green!
PUBLISHER
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
E. subscriptions@gardenculture.net ISSN: 2211-9329 © GC Publishers B.V. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the GC Publishers B.V.
Mike Nivato Executive Editor
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product spotligh XTREME GARDE NING’S
fr
Happy E nding Happy Ending is an all-natural bloom stimulant that will increase the productivity of your plants through a proprietary blend of organic guanos and trace minerals that increase total yields and secondary metabolites – turning your plants into a flowering powerhouse. www.xtreme-gardening.com
alligator lopper gk1050 from black & decker
Pure Essentials Black Label
Nutrien t Pack
The needs of hydropo nic growin covered b g are com y this colle prehensive ction of ad ly takes care d itives. Pure of every p E ss o e ss n tials ible requir grown plan ement hyd ts have at roponically every stage ditives are of develop premium q ment. The uality and admade them B lack Label simple to u Nutrients se and hard h used in any ave to mess up hydroponic . T h m e y e dium and in can be nothing ev sure plants en during in will be lack credibly fast the art tec ing growth rate hnology ap s. This is st plied for hu ate of ge harvest s. www.pu reessent ialsblack label.com
8
ainsaw by icated the ch st e m o d e av that cker h this design so f Black & De o re u at fe the main hese gattors making safety e garden. T th d n u o ar eping use it diameter ke anyone can in cm 10 ches up to ted alligator can cut bran ith the paten w l o tr n co d in D Aluse, the B& users safe an to t ie u q d rtable an g a cinch jaw. Comfo s any choppin e ak m 0 5 10 er GK ligator Lopp hbors. turb the neig is d t o n ill w and er.co.uk kanddeck c la .b w w w
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT I GARDEN CULTURE
t i k m r a f window sed all that wfarms have conden ido W at le op pe e Th nity projopen-source commu they learned in their can use. Any garden that anyone ing rk wo a o int t ec nts using this fficient to grow pla source of light is su ugh a window though sunlight thro m ste sy ic on op dr hy t and the will is a Windowfarm Ki is ideal. All you need from visiting farm won’t stop you ow ind W A . ow gr to is part of the ousand will, and that the grocers but a th y by letting the farm into the cit of rt pa ing br to a: ide . everyone participate s.org rm fa www.window
errilla arsenal of gu e th in n o ap e need some is another w Now there f beauty only o s st la b ly d y forese frien looms into an b e farming. Th m so d n to od aim to se a great way water and go garden. It is n w o r u d yo e esign to or even e in packs d m gotten spot co n e ev some r power and t and choose n ta ili m spread flowe t e G ve. responsibly even share lo w seedboms ro help bees or th s ay lw ith some edboming. A ng targets w si o o ch targets for se y b ance m a good ch and give the k loom.co.u and light. www.kab soil, moisture
Fast Fit Tray S tand These revolutionary “no hassle, no tools” light and tray stands allows for a quick and simple assembly in minutes. Designed and engineered for the pieces to simply slide together, the Fast Fit™, is truly a pioneer in the industry. The Fast Fit™ Tray Stands were created with heavy duty steel and interlocking components for excellent strength and stability. The simplicity makes it easy to configure the tray stand and light stand the exact way you want it. Never mess with nuts, bolts, wrenches or screw drivers again with Fast Fit™! Accommodates popular brand trays and reservoirs. Assorted add-on options available for many configurations and uses. Patent pending. Visit www.fastfitstands.com to see the assembly video and for more information.
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product spotligh E asy reading!
fr
No matter how you grow; measuring the strength (EC) of your nutrient solution is key to maintaining plant health and achieving maximum yield. HM Digital have now released a meter to meet the budget of the hobby grower, packed with the features to satisfy the green fingered expert. The COM-80 is the partner meter to the massively popular PH-80 – the UK’s best seller – and offers the features of a high end meter at a great price; -Choose your preferred reading – the COM-80 reads in mS and ppt, as well as uS and ppm -Monitor your solution temperature – switchable reading from degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) -Simple maintenance – features ‘push button’ digital calibration and low battery indicator -Peace of mind – COM-80 carries a one year manufacturer’s warranty The wait is over! The COM-80 EC meter from HM Digital is now available in the UK. Ask your hydroponic retailer for HM Digital. Wholesale enquiries contact: Nutriculture – www.nutriculture.com Direct Gardening Supplies – www.directgardening supplies.co.uk
Use a premium bloom stimulator?
You need this prod uct! Plant Magic Magne-Cal+ is now available from yo ur local retailer. It’s a Magnesium and Calcium additive tha t can be used throughout the en tire growing cycle, but is particularly effective when use d alongside a PK booster during the flowering stage.
Magne-Cal + will preven t deficiencies and also assist in the uptake of Potassium, en hancing the effect of the booster; dramatically enhancing you yield. Ask your hydroponic ret ailer for Plant Magic Ma gne-Cal+. Wholesale enquiries co ntact: Nutriculture – ww w.nutriculture.com Direct Gardening Su pplies – www.direct gardeningsupplies .co.uk
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT I GARDEN CULTURE
Gavita Holland
Pro Line 400v Light Kits rs of horst respected innovato From one of the mo e art light kit. mes this state of th co ing ht lig al ur ult tic st to power Volt electronic balla This kit uses a 240 le Ended 1000W 400V Doub er ow nP ee Gr s ilip Ph e the latest logies teamed up ar lamp. These techno conditions for ng optimal lighting idi ov pr rd wa to p ste in power usmaximum efficiency great harvests and iate. owers always apprec age. Two factors gr land.com www.gavita-hol
GREEN POWER 5 - WAY R E L AY TIMER two light lution for a so al e id e h T de one ckets provi garden, 5 so pliances. electrical ap l al r fo t in po e of ty and peac fe sa r fo ilt u Well-b Timer pro-Way Relay 5 e th d in m lights, r points for e w o p d e m vides ti tion controland an extrac r e at e h s, n fa ers with eeds of grow n c fi ci e sp e ler. Th n and Green em are know st sy t h lig o a tw lution. e smartest so th s e d vi ro p Power ctors.co.uk powerconta n e re .g w w w
New! Rhino RC-1 Fan Controller Rhino Products set the industry standard in high quality ventilation products. The RC-1 thermostatically controlled, dual fan controller enables growers to create the ultimate two fan air exchange system.Let Rhino do the work! The RC-1 enables growers to accurately control the air exchange, set desired temperature and maintain negative pressure in the grow room. Intake and extraction fans will run at maximum speed to quickly establish desired temperature, once reached the fans will drop to a minimum idle speed ensuring the room is adequately ventilated and preventing air leaks. www.nutriculture.com www.directgardeningsupplies.co.uk
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An introduction:
Carbon dioxide There are a couple of things that plants can’t live without. Carbon dioxide is one of these substances. It’s a gas, commonly found in the atmosphere. Although it isn’t as common as oxygen and nitrogen, which make up around 99% of the atmosphere’s volume, carbon dioxide is still relatively common. Over the past decade or so, carbon dioxide has been in the news frequently and has suffered from a bad reputation for being a greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change. This conclusion has some merit since it is often added to greenhouses to boost plant production. This article is a short introduction into the how and why of carbon dioxide addition in greenhouses.
Plants like all living creatures need energy to survive. Animals get this energy feeding on plants or other creatures. But plants don’t feed on other creatures; plants store the energy they need by combining elements from soil and air using sunlight to power the reactions. A radically different survival strategy compared to animals. This method of energy harvesting is commonly known as photosynthesis. In essence photosynthesis isn’t all that complicated, however when inspected more closely one will find out that it is a cascade of many chemical reactions. To make this a little less complicated photosynthesis can be split up in two parts; ‘Light reactions’ and ‘light-independent reactions’.
LIGHT REACTIONS Light reactions are the first part of photosynthesis. These reactions require light in order to work. When a
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photon from the sun or a grow light strikes the photoreceptive pigment called chlorophyll, water is split into two oxygen molecules and one positively charged hydrogen atom, also known as a proton. These protons in turn are used by the plant in the light-independent reactions. But most importantly, the plant uses the energy of the protons to convert ADP (adenine di-phosphate) into ATP (adenine tri-phosphate) by adding a phosphorous group. This is how plants store energy in a usable way, essential in many vital processes. The ATP can be used as a means to transport chemical energy because when it is converted back into ADP energy is released. The molecule can then be recycled into ATP again. The resources the plant has to invest in order to perform these reactions is always the same. However, not all wavelengths of light are equally effective at stimulating chlorophyll and some wavelengths transfer no energy at all. In general plants are most efficient in the blue and red ranges of the spectrum. Green light for instance
BY JEROEN
CARBON DIOXIDE I GARDEN CULTURE
in plants and greenhouses
The proteins that were created during the light reactions are now used to fixate carbon. Carbon fixation is performed by plants using a process called the ‘Calvin Cycle’. A number of different chemicals, including the protons, carbon dioxide and ATP go into the reaction and in the end yield a simple sugar which in turn can be used by the plant to produce a number of other things including larger sugars and starches. Contrary to the light reactions, these light-independent reactions cost the plant energy.
is poorly absorbed by chlorophyll and is therefore reflected into our eyes, making plants look green to us.
LIGHT-INDEPENDENT REACTIONS The dark reactions then follow up on the light reactions. This is where carbon dioxide comes into play.
Like with any chemical reaction, or biochemical reaction for that matter, a plant has to have all the ingredients to perform photosynthesis. One of these ingredients is going to be the limiting factor to the reaction. One can understand that if enough water and light are available to plants, CO2 could become a limiting factor. This can certainly be the case since CO2 is present in the atmosphere at levels around 360ppm (parts per million). This
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CARBON DIOXIDE I GARDEN CULTURE WHEN ENOUGH LIGHT AND WATER ARE AVAILABLE, CO2 BECOMES THE LIMITING FACTOR
is where it starts to get more difficult. Most plants benefit from CO2 addition because the enzyme that transports CO2 inside the plant can get distracted. You see, this enzyme can also bond with oxygen, transporting less carbon dioxide into the plant. This makes the process rather inefficient, as oxygen is available at higher concentrations in the atmosphere. These plants, called C3 plants, benefit greatly from added carbon dioxide.
CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCTION In a greenhouse there are a number of ways to produce carbon dioxide. Piles of composting materials can be used to produce carbon dioxide in a greenhouse however this has drawbacks when it comes to pest control. A more modern way to increase the CO2 concentration is by burning propane, or some other gas. Gas burners can be linked to controllers and sensors that monitor and adjust the burn rate according to the need of the plants. This is the most common method of CO2 production and, besides recycling CO2 from another source, the least costly. Using pressurized cylinders is too expensive and cumbersome. There are some drawbacks to burning fossil fuels to produce CO2 . With improper combustion there is a possibility carbon monoxide is formed instead of carbon dioxide.
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This is a poisonous and potentially deadly gas, odorless and definitely something to watch out for. Carbon dioxide is something every plant needs and is present in the atmosphere in small concentrations. In situations where it’s preferable to grow crops intensively, CO2 is a welcome addition to boost plant growth. The addition of CO2 increases the rate of photosynthesis that is possible in nearly all plants but other factors change too. In order to get the maximum efficiency out of the added CO2 , temperature and humidity have to be pushed to an extreme. In reaction to this the speed of every process in the garden increases. This does sound rather easy however a more extreme climate also increases the chances of pests and other problems one would want to avoid in the crops. Carbon dioxide addition requires a lot of attention to do well, but it can be a valuable tool in increasing yields. It is the next step for gardeners who have mastered their indoor growing environment. 3
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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT I GARDEN CULTURE
00W 6 k c a P wer o P t c a p m o C Maxibright ck is available t Compact Power Pa igh ibr ax M EW N e Th the UK. ening stores across rd ga r oo ind d te lec now in se ibright Compact new design, the Max y ar ion lut vo re a ith W er heat output nt lamp control, low provides ultra efficie encapsulated in . The internal unit is on ati er op nt sile d an case. This tion-moulded plastic ec inj e th to s nd bo resin that te than has ever sipate at a greater ra dis to at he re co s ow all l intelliballast. A timed digita ic et gn ma a by d ve been achie and a precision efficient lamp start up s ide ov pr r ite ign nt ge ity. Built and electrical durabil l ma er th es giv st lla wound ba th carry handle. le case complete wi ab nt ou ll-m wa a th wi Metal HaSodium lamps and re su es Pr gh Hi th Runs bo is a Genuine ibright Compact 600W ax M e Th . ps lam e lid nuine 600W re information on Ge 600W ballast. For mo 600w.co.uk. visit www.genuine
ct pa m s Co mp ht a g i L r t x ib en Ma oresc rescent ompact Fluo Flu C t gh ri ib ax range of M e of plant for every stag The complete ed n ig es d y tl are safe een exper output, they at e Lamps has b h w lo h it . gy efficient w to your plants growth. Ener aximise light m to ts tn o la p m pro to your e 6400K for to place close comes in blu ge n availra FL an C ght wering d is o fl r fo K The Maxibri 0 0 d 27 interchange growth and re 0W. Simply 0 3 ing vegetative d an W 0 to the , 200W, 25 new addition A . e ag st able in 125W t n st ur pla 0W, the late ps to suit yo m CFL in 25 u tr between lam ec Sp al lig u d blue ht Maxibright D anced red an h n e g range is the in d vi ation , pro more inform ral technology r u lt Fo u . ic e rt cl o h cy in the plant throughout ing store. wavelengths door garden in l ca lo r u yo check out m ibright.co www.max
Maxibright Compact Pro Pow er Pack 600W The NEW Maxibright Compact Pro is a leading magnetic ballast built with high quality components for a 10 year life expectancy. The Maxibright Compact Pro has a unique compact wall-mountable case design. The internal unit is set in resin that bonds to the injection-moulded plastic case for excellent heat dissipation and silent operation. Built with a timed digital intelligent igniter and a precision wound ballast to ensure thermal and electrical durability and energy efficient lamp control. Runs both High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide lamps. The Maxibright Compact Pro 600W is a Genuine 600W ballast. For more information on Genuine 600W visit www.genuine600w.co.uk.
www.compactpowerpack.co.uk gardenculture.net
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, D O O G THE
& d a B e Th Y L G U E H T
16
BY TAMMY
HUMIDITY I GARDEN CULTURE
Everything and everyone is affected by humidity, or the lack of it. Plants are more sensitive to humidity levels and its variations than humans or animals. We manage to live through the discomfort. Plants manage humid conditions too, but the effect can be undesirable. Improper humidity levels affect plant functions and can cause irreparable
UNDERSTANDING WHAT RELATIVE HUMIDITY (RH) IS AND HOW IT AFFECTS THE PLANTS IN YOUR INDOOR GARDEN IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF A HEALTHY CROP AND AN ABUNDANT HARVEST
damage to roots, stem, foliage, flower and fruit. The worst case scenario is pretty ugly. You could watch the death dance in horror, not knowing how to stop the process.
Common Hydroponic Crop Relative Humidity (RH) Averages • Chilli Peppers: Ideal 50-70% (RH), with 65% being optimal.
• Bell Peppers: Ideal RH is 75%. • Tomatoes: Ideal RH is 65-75% at night and
Moderation applies to all life forms As a grower you must regulate the environment and climate for your crop. Especially if you don’t want them to go on strike, get lazy and refuse to perform it is best to take your role as climate creator seriously. Understanding what relative humidity (RH) is and how it affects the plants in your indoor garden is an important part of a healthy crop and an abundant harvest. The wrong humidity level can present you with a number of issues that vary by crop type. At early growth stages low humidity can cause your crop to go on a binge eating spree while profusely perspiring. The result is they burn to a crisp from the loss of water that maintains nutrient levels in their systems. Obviously, this is bad, at best. The plants in an attempt to improve dry conditions absorb more nutrient solution than in proper humidity. At the same time they rapidly shed water through the cell pores on the underside of the leaves known as the stomata. What is the result of this undesirable situation? Even a weaker solution will lead to nutrient burn.
What’s the right RH Level? It would be great if it were that easy, to have one metric to aim for here. You have an average humidity level of 50-75% for best results with dark cycle RH levels being higher than
80-90% for light cycle. • Herbs: Most prefer 40-50% RH • Cucumbers: Will do well at 70-80% (RH), with 75% being perfect. • Lettuce: Maintain RH below 70% at all times.
light cycle. However, different plants and different stages of growth require varied humidity. So, be sure to learn what the best RH levels are for your crop at each stage, as some plants will prefer a drier climate and others need high humidity. A seed sprouts and rapidly develops a good foliage canopy and abundant roots in the cooler, shorter days of late spring and early summer when high moisture is present. As temperatures climb and day length increases, high outdoor humidity can be a bad, even ugly thing. The purpose of an indoor garden environment is to give plants optimal conditions through all stages to harvest. Coaxing them to produce that bumper crop you want includes controlling relative humidity. This is why many indoor hydroponic growers have separate vegetation and flowering to fruiting grow chambers. It is also why some plants are good indoor companions and others aren’t.
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HUMIDITY I GARDEN CULTURE
...IT IS BEST TO TAKE YOUR ROLE AS CLIMATE CREATOR SERIOUSLY
VARYING RH LEVELS NEEDED FOR DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES GERMINATION & PROPAGATION STAGE: Maintain rooting cuttings or germinating seedlings humidity at above 80%. A propagator makes controlling RH more manageable and allows your new crop to concentrate energy on producing the roots. Some crops can be successfully propagated in your grow tent using a humidifier with a humidistat. YOUNG PLANTS: Between minimal foliage to breathe out water (transpiration) at night and the hot lights, many growers experience problems keeping the RH levels high enough to produce strong growth and plant vigor. In 0,6 m2 of grow space, using two 600 watt lights, you’ll generally find 35-50% RH and a temperature of 22-28 C. As described earlier, low humidity will make the plants work overtime at creating humidity. You don’t want the RH to drop below 40%. This brings issues with nutrient overload and other related problems. Your target RH level at this stage of growth should be 60-70% for faster root growth, leaf development and more compact plants. VEGETATIVE STAGE: These larger immature plants have more shoots and leaves. They will take up increasing amounts of nutrient and emit more water vapor as they increase in size. At this stage you want to ensure the RH levels don’t climb too high. This danger increases as plants thicken. FLOWERING & FRUITING STAGE: The ideal RH range here is 50-60% during daylight cycle and 60-70% during the dark cycle. Keep on top of RH control, as both fruit and flower are easily damaged by fungal disease with soaring humidity. High humidity related fungal problems can ruin many kinds of fruit, vegetable and flower crops.
Increasing the RH Misters and humidifiers are used to increase RH levels. The more water vapor being emitted by your plants into the grow room environment, the less the humidifier or mister needs to be run. For plants that need tight humidity control a humidification system with HR-HRSA humidistat is best.
Decreasing the RH Ventilation drops your grow room RH level. Depending on your crop and grow space situation, at times an extraction fan with a variable speed control is all that is needed. High RH levels can also be corrected by with a dehumidifier. Great care is needed to not remove too much moisture, creating a dry environment. This can cause some plants to emit water through leaf tips, allowing it to collect on foliage and promote disease development. Ultra-sensitive plants may do best with a humidification system that delivers both humidifying and extraction functions in one with precision.
Measuring Your Humidity Levels To stay on top of the RH level at all times, you need an instrument known as a hygrometer to give you humidity readings. Be sure to select one that is water resistant and designed for the demands of hydroponics. These will give you accurate temperature and humidity measures which are connected.
RH Changes with Temperature Variation In your grow space, the relative air humidity is influenced by temperature. High RH disrupts a plant’s ability to get rid of excess water. Low RH makes the plant emit too much water and can cause the intake of CO2 to stagnate, leading to impaired growth. Nutrient uptake rate increases with dry air, and for about every 5,5 C temperature increase the amount up-take doubles. Both of these fluctuations greatly affect your crop. Ideally, you want your grow room to have a lower humidity during the day cycle than the night cycle. During the darkness hours in the growing space, many assume that without the heat of grow lamps, the humidity will drop. This assumption could get ugly. In darkness, plants breathe out water, increasing the need for air flow and ventilation. Ignoring this puts your entire crop at risk for pest and disease outbreaks, among other health issues. 3
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N E D R A G E L B I S I V THE IN Think about it, some of the most important things regarding the evaluation of a garden and the food it produces cannot be observed. The majority of people don’t imagine that the soil is alive and teaming with beneficial microbes because they can’t see them. Most think microbes are for hand sanitizer or antibiotics.
The quality of food cannot truly be evaluated until it is eaten, but we cannot taste all the things that are harmful to us and artificial flavoring has resulted in us forgetting how food is supposed to taste anyway. We are farther away from the farm and our food than at any point in human history. Many farmers don’t eat what they grow. Agriculture has collectively become a race to the bottom line and the food that is produced is designed to sit on a shelf, not nourish our bodies.
plant growth and often creates higher yields initially, but is the growth truly a sign of thriving plants? Or is it obesity? Plant obesity and deficiency are what attract and create pests and disease, not unlike a human on a bad diet. Make the connection that the average gardener believes that pests and disease are bad luck and, due to this lack of perspective, most make attempts to kill their problems away rather than address the roots of the issue. It’s a vicious cycle. Most of the time we are creating our own problems. What should we expect when Think of it this way... we use artificial fertilizers and don’t feed your plants, toxic pesticides to grow living plants? feed your soil
But people are clamoring for real food. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs and farmer’s markets are booming, and record numbers of people are planting gardens for the first time in their lives. The future of food is to know your own personal agriculture. And what better way to do this than by growing your own?
Growing the best garden of your life is done through the marriage of quality gardening products and techniques, and a proper perspective towards the natural world. One of the primary ideas to keep in mind when growing a garden is diversity. Using cheap budget fertilizers that have 6-7 elements in them is the equivalent of fast food for plants. Sure, the plethora of artificial gardening products available on the market stimulates
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Even hydroponic fertilizers contain no more than 17 elements, or only what a plant has to have. Most plants can use upwards of 30-40 elements directly or indirectly, some more than that, but microbes use every single one of them to work their magic. Growing a garden without all of the elements in play is like hiring someone to build a house and giving them half the tools. Consider using rock dusts or sea-mineral based products to increase elemental diversity in the garden. Not only will you increase yields, but you will build the innate capacity in plants and microbes to fend for themselves. After all, why would Mother Nature make an element not needed in the garden? The same is true for microbes. The greater the mineral and
BY EVAN HOLDS
A PERFECT BALANCE I GARDEN CULTURE
biological diversity in the garden the more strength and balance you bring to the ecosystem. Think of it in this way… don’t feed your plants, feed your soil. Microbes have been helping and protecting plants since the beginning of time and they are not going to stop anytime soon. In fact, over half of the carbohydrates a plant makes for itself through photosynthesis are exuded through roots to attract beneficial microbes.
PLANT OBESITY AND A great way to enhance the DEFICIENCY ARE WHAT ATTRACT beneficial microbes in your garden is by brewing compost tea. This PESTS AND DISEASE, NOT UNLIKE A involves using aeration to grow HUMAN ON A BAD DIET microbes from compost in the presence of biological food sources and mineral catalysts. Compost tea can and should be used in every garden, including hydroponics, as it is a great way to make sure you are growing thriving plants. After all, people don’t make plant food, microbes do. is defined by energy on every level of its existence. The articulation and use of subtle energies is the new frontier Besides the friendly microbes and fungi there are other of farming and gardening. The philosophy that utilizes the invisible forces active in your garden that affect the growth subtle forces of nature in the garden is called Bioenergetics of all plants. For those feeling truly experimental, consider and seeks physical, mineral, biological and energetic planting by celestial rhythms. It is well known that lunar balance. This is the sweet spot that allows plants to truly cycles affect plant growth. There are many “plant by thrive and become vitamins for life. the moon” calendars online. There is even a method of gardening called Biodynamics that includes a broader range Beyond all the products and techniques, the most powerful of celestial phenomenon and recommended planting days, tool we have in the garden is our perspective. What we flower days, root days, etc. It’s fascinating. Biodynamics is think, we grow. Sure, we don’t have to grow this way, but the used extensively in other countries like Australia that have question is…what are we missing? poor soil, and is also used widely in viticulture. Not many farmers pay closer attention to their crops than those You will find your own way into verifying and testing these growing grapes for wine. The idea of working with natural ideas, but hopefully some seeds of experimentation have been energies in the garden is a foreign concept to most, but life planted. Now get growing! 3
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BO R N
TO WO RK
MODERN SLAVERY
n o i s u l l i e h and t t n e s of c on
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BY EVEREST FERNANDEZ
MODERN SLAVERY I GARDEN CULTURE
If you’ve got kids, you’ll probably hear these words on a daily basis. It’s not that “fairness” is a childish concept; it’s more that the idea establishes itself so early that it runs to the very foundations of our collective consciousness and remains there for the rest of our lives. Indeed, as we grow older many of us hold on to the belief that we possess an intrinsic ability to recognize when a situation is equitable.
In reality though, this world of fairness and equity is dependent on one thing; our brains and our willingness to exercise them. For instance, if I declare myself the “leader” of a remote Polynesian island and convince its inhabitants that I am their deity incarnate whom they must please with daily offerings of their youngest, fairest maidens, while the men labor all day in the fields and copper mines so that I, the Great Lord Everest, may be glorified and gracious in sparing them my wrath. The islanders, if taken in by this almighty bounder, may conclude that their situation is quite fair and just. It’s a square deal: they offer up their bodies for sexual and agricultural services in exchange for my “wrath” being spared. On the other hand, as an outside observer, you might conclude that they’re being exploited for their ignorance. If that example seems a little weak then picture another scenario, a little closer to home perhaps. Let’s say you and I are neighbors, living out in the lesser-trodden parts of the Humboldt countryside in Northern California. Add to this blissful scene a single cow grazing on my ample pastureland. And you, perhaps not enjoying so grand an estate, are content to take care of a small brood of chickens. Now, I’m not suggesting that this situation is unfair. I may have chosen to work longer and harder for my larger slice of this fine Earth. But, in the spirit of community, we choose to share stuff. I like eggs and you like milk, so we agree to make a swap each morning: a pint of my (or Daisy’s) milk for two of your (chickens’) eggs. What could be simpler than this direct barter? Notwithstanding our animals’ rights or wrongs, so long as we humans establish mutual consent, we can share and enjoy our collective resources and life seems a whole lot more sunnyside-up for the both of us.
However, here’s where the plot begins to curdle. What if I awoke one morning intent on pursuing a more favorable deal for myself—say, just half a pint of milk in exchange for your two eggs? What then? A civil discussion over the garden fence, perhaps, with the hope of modifying our consensual agreement? Of course, you might inform me that I can “keep my milk” or other choice words to that effect. So what if I choose to avoid confrontation by secretly diluting your “pint of milk” with rainwater? Just a few drops at first so as not to raise your suspicions, yet slowly but surely, over the course of a year or so, I dilute the milk to the point where it’s actually fifty percent water! I’m patting myself on the back for executing this change so gradually, while all along you are none the wiser! I laugh with contempt at your hapless children, for watery milk is all they’ve ever known! Moooooohahahahaha! Another generation of suckers is born! Perhaps I’m guilty of overly-indulging this example. Maybe I’m assuming a little too much naiveté on your part? Surely you’d detect that something was up with the milk, wouldn’t you? Nevertheless, emboldened by your seemingly boundless gullibility, I decide to take my scam to a whole new level. Instead of giving you watereddown milk, one day I turn up at the garden fence with something entirely new. It’s a piece of paper. I call it a “milk certificate.” “You can redeem this for ‘real milk’ anytime! (Wink, wink)” I assure you, “What’s more, you can use these milk certificates as payment in trades with other vendors. It’s so convenient for you! And, best of all, you don’t have to keep them in the refrigerator!” Okay, by now you’ve guessed it; we’re talking about money, not milk. But this milky analogy needs a few modifications before it even comes close to accurately reflecting our
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WE ARE INDEED WAKING UP TO THE FACT THAT SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH OUR MONEY SYSTEM
present predicament of economic slavery. You see, up until 1971, a dollar was redeemable for gold. Gold was chosen because it was viewed as universally valuable. People, knowingly or unknowingly, accepted dollar bills in exchange for real goods or services backed by a belief that these little pieces of paper would be later accepted by others—and an assurance that they were also convertible into physical gold at any time—well, during banking hours at least.
However, since the dollar was decoupled from the gold standard, it has lost around 90% of its purchasing power. Thinking back to our milk for eggs exchange, you might be tempted to picture a bottle of slightly cloudy water being handed to you over the garden fence, or a fistful of worthless “milk certificates.” But think again. For, if I am assuming the role of the banker in this scenario, I’m actually asking you to borrow some pieces of paper (with no mention of milk, eggs, sex, honey or anything else that’s tangible) and pay interest for the privilege! All these pieces of paper represent is your debt to me—a debt that I have created out of nothing, meanwhile you pledge to forfeit your house if you don’t keep up the repayments! Perhaps the Polynesian islander’s example wasn’t so far out of whack? With the woe-is-us-machine we know and love as the Internet now running on all twelve-cylinders, it’s easy to blame Wall Street greed, the Illuminati, the neoconservatives, the royal family—anybody, in fact, but ourselves for the mess we’re in. But the inescapable fact is the only thing that holds up our monetary system is our persistent belief in it and our unwillingness to embrace viable alternatives. Our problem is one of philosophy, not politics. How have so many of us been hoodwinked into accepting such an absurd tautology: a dollar is worth another dollar—what sort of insidious, circular, recursive symbolism is this? But then, take these dollars away and how are you going to pay for your groceries? You really don’t need a PhD in economics (or any other pseudo-science for that matter) to understand that as more make-believe money is pumped into the financial system, the purchasing power of each dollar is diluted, just like the nourishment of our watery milk. This is inevitable so long as an inflated money supply chases the same amount of goods and
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services. (The Spanish discovered this when they returned from the Americas with boats laden with gold. They thought they were going to be incredibly wealthy, but the amount of goods and services available back home had not really changed. Result? Prices simply went up!) The real privilege of the super-rich is their priority lane access to this newly created money. In essence, it’s not so much the quantity of money they have, but the fact that they get to spend it into circulation first, before the rest of us cotton on to the fact that it’s been watered down. By the time these dilute dollars finally meander to you and me, it’s little more than cloudy water, or symbolic cloudy water, or … confused? Good. Now get back to work. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves this very simple question: what is money? Don’t shy away from it—no need to overcomplicate it either. You don’t want to spend your life chasing an enigma now do you? Don’t leave this to the “experts”—the people whose career depends on maintaining their intellectual propriety with confusion and obfuscation. You shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that money is intrinsically a bad or evil thing either. At the very least concede that it’s very useful stuff, helping us to transcend the limitations of direct barter. Problems really occur when we seek money as if it were the true wealth in and of itself, rather than merely a symbolic means of exchange. So what are we to do? Should we join some protest movement waving “End the Fed” banners? Should we petition our governments for greater freedoms, or is that, as the monetary prophet E.C. Reigel wrote over fifty years ago, just an absurd act of deference, “wholly lacking the spirit of a freeman.” In short, are we going to take responsibility for the mess we’re in, or are we going to let “the economists” sort it all out for us? All facetiousness aside for a moment, one by one, we are indeed waking up to the fact that something is very wrong. Looking at the world with the eyes of our ancients we realize a fundamental truth—our monetary system has been corrupted to one where national sovereignty is a joke on a naive populous. We are collectively enslaved to ‘unelected’ central banks through usurious and fraudulent money systems, an eternally un-payable “debt,” created out of nothing but our promise to repay. It is a deeply absurd and untenable situation
MODERN SLAVERY I GARDEN CULTURE
for any person to endure. Yet the mainstream media persist in echoing the bankers’ threats of the sky falling down and untold misery if we don’t put up with the status quo. Heaven forbid if enough people discover the truth—that we don’t actually need banks at all in order to issue currency and trade with each other, on a personal, corporate or even national level.
Crucially, take note that a global scale of value is not the same thing as a global currency. Moreover, a global scale of value would give birth to thousands, maybe millions of different currencies, not just one—but they would all be measured on the same scale, and all of them backed by goods and services in common demand. The ratio of credit to demand (i.e. offers to buy vs. offers to sell a company’s credit token) can be instantly evaluated, thanks to the Internet, meaning the actual value of the credits in circulation can adjust in real time. The idea of money as fluid and self-correcting, does not reward greed and is based on real goods and services. It may be a little tricky to grasp at first but really we’re only describing a world where the monopoly over the issuance of credit, currently enjoyed by banks, has been removed. If this sounds crazy then remember, so did the idea that the world was a sphere and that there were potentially people living “upside-down.”
WE ARE COLLECTIVELY ENSLAVED TO ‘UNELECTED’ CENTRAL BANKS THROUGH USURIOUS AND FRAUDULENT MONEY SYSTEMS
The Internet has helped us share our ideas, but its real power is in the creation of a common monetary language. Forget about “internetbanking”—that’s just a sideshow. Imagine a new form of money, issued by the producers of this world. By producers I mean the corporations that generate our electricity, or make our computers, or grow the tomatoes. Imagine money backed, not by debt, or by gold (or tungsten) but by … wait for it … real stuff. Cars, beef burgers, Thai massages, goods and services that we use every day. Sounds unbelievable? Well, so did the concept of a spherical earth to most people a few thousand years ago. It’s time to unplug from the Matrix. At the center of it all is a global scale of value. What’s that? Well, think of an inch. Or, if you prefer, think of a centimeter, a foot, a mile, or a furlong. Where would we be without these universal units of length? Now imagine if we created the same thing, but for value. Of course, we’ve been conditioned into mistaking our monetary units as our value units. When we talk about the value of things we invariably think in terms of dollars, or pounds, or yen, don’t we? This beautiful, shiny phone costs $799. This car costs $25,000. This house is valued at $500,000. We need to stop thinking like this. This ignorance is at the kernel of our enslavement to the bankers. We are guzzling watery milk without so much of a whimper of complaint. Now it’s time for a good burping. Unlike an inch or a centimeter, the dimensions of a dollar keep changing. We call this “inflation.” But how then can we measure “value” using these shape-shifting units of exchange? It’s almost as if we are confusing the item being measured with the ruler it’s being measured on. Are you beginning to see the magician’s sleight of hand? Money has no real value.
Ultimately, the real treasure of this planet is you and I. It’s time for the credit commons to be restored to the people instead of being monopolized by bankers who create nothing. Until enough of us wake up to their false pretentions towards deity, docile and malleable human beings will remain the ultimate resource to be controlled, manipulated and exploited. 3
Want to know more? Check out these amazing videos: The Essence of Money (7 minutes) http://youtu.be/qBX-jaxMneo Digital Coin – An Introduction (15 minutes) http://youtu.be/dkXclJr1Z4U
Footnote: Everest Fernandez did not accept any legal tender in return for writing this article, but that doesn’t necessarily imply he wasn’t paid.
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The differences between LED and LEP There are many new exciting developments in climate room lighting. As scientists start to understand more about the influence of light quality in respect to quality and yield of the crop, two technologies are emerging: LED and Light Emitting Plasma (LEP).
LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. It’s a technology based on semiconductors as you find in transistors and chips. One of the characteristics of a LED is that it emits light at a very narrow bandwidth, resulting in a single pure color that only covers a small portion of the light spectrum. Though the intensity of current high power LED systems is very high, you will always need an array of LEDs as grow light solutions. Light Emitting Plasma (LEP) is a new type of plasma lighting. Sulphur Plasma lighting has already been commercially available for a long time, but these units are bulky, noisy, have moving parts in them and are always high output (>700W). It is very difficult to spread the high amounts of light from such a small source over a large area. You need to keep a lot of distance between the lamp and the crop to make Sulphur Plasma work. In many climate rooms you don’t have that distance.
LEP is a technology that enables the production of compact, small plasma lights without any moving parts. It makes the technology suitable for climate rooms. The principle is very simple: Using concentrated radio frequency radiation a gas and metal halide mixture is heated in a vial until it forms into plasma which emits a very intense full spectrum light. Other than the technology used to generate the light, the biggest difference between LED and LEP is the spectral quality: LEP technology enables a very high quality, full continuous spectrum and includes UV radiation. Though there are white (full spectrum) LEDs available most are based on a phosphorous light emitting layer (like a CFL) and do not generate a full continuous spectrum. To achieve that it is necessary to mix several colors of LED into an array, and include UV LEDs, which are very expensive. So LEP seems to have really good cards for climate room lighting and it is an emerging new technology. To understand the impact of quality lighting in a commercial climate room we need to understand first how important it is to give the crop high quality lighting, and specifically: what is high quality lighting?
Sulphur plasma lamp
LIGHT QUALITY .Many studies have shown that full continuous spectrum with sunlight quality is the best spectrum for healthy plant development. This is a full continuous spectrum which includes UVA and UVB, far-red and infrared. It also includes a lot of green light and here is something we need to clarify.
LEP plasma emitter
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LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE
BY GAVITA
t h g i L emitting
plasma
in climate rooms
Image: solar light spectrum
LIGHT EMITTING PLASMA (LEP) IS A NEW TYPE OF PLASMA LIGHTING. SULPHUR PLASMA LIGHTING HAS ALREADY BEEN COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE FOR A LONG TIME, BUT THESE UNITS ARE BULKY, NOISY, HAVE MOVING PARTS IN THEM AND ARE ALWAYS HIGH OUTPUT (>700W) gardenculture.net
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Climate room with LEP
If you study the solar spectrum you will see that green light accounts for the highest amount in the spectrum. It would be a waste of Mother Nature not to use that. Our eyes for example are most sensitive to that green color because we have evolved such sensitivity to see in the daytime. Most plant response curves however such as the famous Keith McCree curve (fig 2) show a lower relative photosynthetic efficiency for blue and yellow/green light. This is correct for low PAR levels. Recent studies however have shown that the green light, which is most abundant in sunlight, is very efficient when used in high intensity lighting. In fact, at high irradiation levels the green light is equally or more efficient than other colors. Efficiency of light in the PAR spectrum (in low light environments)– McCree ’73 – P curve is plant sensitivity curve, V curve is human eye sensitivity
There are many important processes which are influenced by the quality of the spectrum. Two very important factors are photosynthetic rate of the leaves and the morphogenesis of the plant (the structure of the plant). Photosynthetic rate describes the level of photosynthesis in a leaf. In sunlight conditions you will see the formation of sun leaves which have a very high photosynthetic rate. This enables the plant to develop really fast and use the light very efficiently. Also the position of the leaves is optimized to intercept the light, which is steered by colors in the spectrum. These two aspects are mostly responsible for the fast vegetative development of plants under simulated sunlight or full spectrum plasma light. To build and maintain the photosynthetic system of a plant you need blue light in every grow phase. The UVA and UVB in the LEP light harden the plant and thicken the leaf surface which is better protected against (fungal) infections. UVB also increases the flavonoids and volatile oils in the plant which results in a much better plant aroma for example. Overall high intensity LEP is the best solution for a climate
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room to simulate sunlight conditions, specifically in the vegetative stage when the plants are small and still need to develop. But is it efficient?
LIGHT EFFICIENCY. High pressure sodium lamps are known as the most efficient lamps to produce photons for grow light. However, the quality of that light is not so good. Analysis of the HPS spectrum shows a start of the effective spectrum at about 560 nm (yellow to red). Below that wavelength there are a few small spikes, but not a balanced continuous availability and not enough in the blue spectrum.
Typical High Pressure Sodium spectral distribution diagram Research in greenhouses shows that you need at least 7% blue light (in a greenhouse from sunlight) for a healthy crop, as the blue light also maintains the photosynthetic system. It is important to know that in high intensity lighting there is not a lot of difference in efficiency between blue and red light. In climate rooms it is common to use Metal Halide (MH) lamps to add additional blue spectrum. MH lights however do not have a long lifetime, are generally not very color stable, have a spiky spectrum, are not as efficient as HPS and generate a lot of heat. Ceramic Metal Halides (CMH) are already better in stability and efficiency but still do not have the spectral quality of
LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE LEP IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN HIGH TEMPERATURE MH LAMPS AND MUCH MORE STABLE. THE LIFETIME IS AS MUCH AS 30,000-50,000 HOURS COMPARED TO THE 2,000 TO 4,000 OF A MH. IT HAS A BETTER LIGHT QUALITY AND IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN MH, BUT IS IT MORE EFFICIENT THAN HPS? NO, IT IS NOT the plasma lamp nor the UV radiation. So how efficient is Plasma light compared to HPS? Is it an alternative? The plasma process of generating light is by itself very efficient: The conversion from energy into actual light is very efficient and generates a very low percentage of heat radiation in the light; the light itself is very “cool”. In the process of getting the energy to the small plasma cell you still lose a lot of energy, which is dissipated into convection heat from the fixture’s driver, power supply and emitter. That heat will never reach the plant though as it rises up and is extracted. For temperature controlled climate rooms there are air cooled LEP fixtures available as well.
Air cooled plasma light LEP is more efficient than high temperature MH lamps and much more stable. The lifetime is as much as 30,00050,000 hours compared to the 2,000 to 4,000 of a MH. It has a better light quality and is more efficient than MH, but is it more efficient than HPS? No, it is not. Actually HPS is 1,5-2 times more efficient in generating photons than plasma light. But the HPS light quality is really bad. That sounds like a catch 22. Either you have good light and bad efficiency or good efficiency and bad light!
UVA and UVB in the spectrum you normally don’t get in a greenhouse because of the glass roof which shields UV in most cases.
WHICH LEP FOR WHICH PURPOSE? Recently Gavita Holland, a horticultural lighting innovator, introduced a LEP fixture which produces less red spectrum and more green and yellow for use in combination with HPS. The philosophy behind that is very simple: HPS is the most efficient technology to produce red light, so why would you want your LEP to produce this red spectrum when used in combination with HPS? This type 01 emitter is more efficient to use in combination with HPS and still provides enough quality spectrum for a vegetative cycle. The spectrum of the 01 emitter primarily picks of where the HPS stops. Another advantage of the 01 emitter is that is has a 50,000 hours lifetime over 30,000 hours for the 02 emitter. Gavita Pro 300 LEP 01 fixture
FOR A SOLUTION WE GO BACK TO THE GREENHOUSES If you understand that you need a minimal amount of additional quality spectrum to guarantee a healthy crop (just like in the greenhouses) you would like to bring in some additional spectrum, at least to complement the blue light up to 7%. Also you want to introduce all the colors that HPS is lacking, basically all under 560 nm. A 300W LEP can provide just that in combination with up to 1,200 W HPS light. This does not re-create the full solar spectrum and still has more red light in it, but it is sufficient for a healthy crop. It all makes sense. In greenhouses you need a percentage of quality sunlight to guarantee a healthy crop when using HPS lighting, in climate rooms you create that sunlight by adding LEP to an appropriate level. LEP extras are the
The spectral difference between the 41.01 and 41.02 LEP emitter. The original LEP with 02 emitter is also still available from Gavita and other LEP fixture manufacturers, and produces the best spectrum for a pure vegetative cycle or for artificial sunlight, for example for a dedicated vegetative climate room. It is still a good choice to use it with HPS, though the 01 green emitter has the advantage there. There is something to choose now when it comes to plasma lighting.
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“Can we feed the more than 9 billion people anticipated to live on this planet in 2050 without destroying Earth’s life support systems?” This captivating conundrum was the title of a cover article for Nature Magazine’s edition titled “Solutions for a Cultivated Planet.” The article details the findings of an international group of scientists and researchers who gathered at the University of Minnesota tasked with nothing less than figuring out how to sustainably secure the world’s future food supply.
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BY SYLVIA BERNSTEIN
AQUAPONICS I GARDEN CULTURE
Th e sustainable solution for th e world’s future food supply
? k r o w t i s e o How d
Aquaponics is, at its most basic level, the marriage of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water and without soil) together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides organic food for the growing plants and the plants naturally filter the water in which the fish live. The third and fourth critical, yet invisible actors in the play are the beneficial bacteria and composting red worms. Think of them as the Conversion Team. The beneficial bacteria exist on every moist surface of an aquaponic system. They convert the ammonia from the fish waste that is toxic to the fish and useless to the plants, first into nitrites and then into nitrates. The nitrates are relatively harmless to the fish and most importantly, they make terrific plant food. At the same time, the worms convert the solid waste and decaying plant matter in your aquaponic system into vermicompost.
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AQUAPONICS I GARDEN CULTURE
Nothing in the Nature Magazine report was surprising for anyone engaged in the worldwide ‘future of food’ dialog. However, what was striking was that aquaponics (growing fish and plants together in a recirculating, soilless system) was not included among the set of proposed solutions. Aquaponics is a foodgrowing approach that addresses the harmful practices cited in the study and simultaneously realizes the potential for increased food production envisioned by the researchers. Widespread adaptation of aquaponics could both alleviate all of the environmental destruction cited by the researchers and provide the vehicle for increased sustainability and productivity. First, the environmental problems with current agricultural practices were outlined in the report as follows.
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“Farm and ranch lands cover nearly 40 percent of Earth’s land area” While aquaponic techniques can’t address this shocking statistic per se, they can certainly mitigate the impact. Because aquaponics is a soil-less growing technique, plants and fish can be grown anywhere, including on land that is considered unfertile (too sandy, too rocky, too toxic) and even in old warehouse buildings and unused parking lots.
“Agriculture consumes nearly three quarters of the earth’s available water” Because aquaponics is a recirculating system, the only water “lost” is either held in the plants, transpires through their leaves, or evaporates from the top of the fish tank. Aquaponics is generally thought to use less than a tenth of the water of traditional agriculture for the same crop output.
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“About 40% of all crops the planet produces are used to feed animals.” Fish are the single most efficient converter of feed to flesh of any edible animal. One and a half pounds of feed will bring to harvest one pound of edible, omnivorous fish fillets. It takes eight pounds of feed to produce the same single pound of beef fillets.
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While not mentioned in the article, we should also add “consuming petroleum” to this list. Between oil-based fertilizers, oil-fueled farming machinery, and long distances between farm and table, modern food is “dripping” with oil. Aquaponic systems on the other hand, have no oil-based inputs and are run entirely on a small amount of electricity. This electricity can be created through currently available renewable energy methods.
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“Agricultural activities such as clearing land, growing rice, raising cattle and overusing fertilizers make up 35 % of the single largest contributor of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere” None of these practices have any place in aquaponic growing.
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The researchers then recommended five changes to current practices that they believe will not only help to solve the issues stated above, but will also extend our ability to feed the burgeoning world’s population. All but one can be implemented through aquaponic growing techniques.
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“Halt farmland expansion.” As explained above, because aquaponics is a soilless growing system that can be set up anywhere, it is perfectly suited to address this goal.
“Close yield gaps. Many parts of Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe have substantial “yield gaps”- where farmland is not living up to its potential for producing crops. Closing these gaps through improved use of existing crop varieties, better management and improved genetics could increase current food production nearly 60 percent.” Because of the consistent and ideal mix of water, oxygen and fertilizer that an aquaponics system provides, plants grow significantly faster in an aquaponics system than they do in soil. In addition, plants can be placed closer together in aquaponics systems because they are not competing for those resources in their root zone. This is an answer to the search for “better management” techniques that the researchers are seeking.
“Use inputs more strategically. Current use of water, nutrients and agriculture chemicals suffer from what the research team calls “Goldilocks’ Problem”: too much in some places, too little in others, rarely just right. Strategic reallocation could substantially boost the benefit we get from precious inputs.” Since aquaponic systems use comparatively so little water, inherently produce their own nutrients, and use no agricultural chemicals, the problem of redistribution becomes a non-issue.
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“Shift diets. Growing animal feed or biofuels on top croplands, no matter how efficiently, is a drain on human food supply. Dedicating croplands to direct human food production could boost calories produced per person by nearly 50 percent.” Fish protein is not only heart-healthy but, as mentioned above; it is the most efficient converter of plant protein to animal protein known to man.
“Reduce waste. One-third of the food farms produce ends up discarded, spoiled or eaten by pests. Eliminating waste in the path from farm to mouth could boost food available for consumption another 50 percent.” Because aquaponics systems are raised off the ground they tend to have fewer pest issues than traditional agriculture. And because aquaponic farms can be set up anywhere, producing food directly within densely populated communities can be implemented right now, with no new technologies needed. The path from farm to table can be made as short as down the block or even from back yard to table. Thus, aquaponics is an attractive way to localize food production and to cut out the waste inherent in the long paths we have from farm to market to home – paths that could be reduced to near zero with widespread aquaponics.
Aquaponics is not the answer to all of our future food supply and environmental issues. Grains and root crops, for example, will probably always be most efficiently grown in the soil. But for above ground, vegetative crops and fish protein, there simply isn’t a better growing technique on, and for, the planet. 3
AQUAPONICS I GARDEN CULTURE
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE THE AQUAPONICS FARM HAS IT ALL...
Bio Sylvia Bernstein is the author of “Aquaponic Gardening: A Step by Step Guide to Growing Fish and Vegetables Together� and the President and Founder of The Aquaponic Source, the leading U.S. based company focused entirely on the home aquaponic gardener. She runs the Aquaponic Gardening Community, the largest online community site dedicated to aquaponic gardening in North America, and is the Vice Chairman of the Aquaponics Association. She also writes the Aquaponic Gardening Blog and teaches and speaks extensively about aquaponics and its exciting potential. Sylvia Bernstein President, The Aquaponic Source, Inc. email - Sylvia@theaquaponicsource.com website - http://theaquaponicsource.com/ book - http://aquaponicgardening.com/
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Grow Your Own Series:
Scrumptious salsas, south of the border dishes, along with a variety of Asian and Indian delicacies just aren’t the same without the unique zip of different parts of the cilantro plant. Admittedly, there isn’t any middle ground with this herb when it comes to taste buds. You either love it or hate it. If you enjoy the taste, you can’t beat the just-picked vivaciousness it adds to cuisine. While it is available dried, cilantro is at its divine best freshly snipped from the plant. Within hours of being cut, fresh cilantro loses a great deal of flavor, so if you’re purchasing it by the bunch in the produce aisle, you’re already missing out on a lot. It’s simple to keep a never ending supply on hand at home.
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BY TAMMY
CROP BIOGR APHY For many people, cilantro is excitingly new and trendy. Actually this wildly popular ingredient is as old as the hills and used in many foods and confections we’ve been enjoying forever. Properly identified as Coriandrumsativum, this name comes from the Greek word ‘koris’ and means ‘stinky bug’. Coriander is its common name in English and many other languages, but today generally refers to the seed. The leaves are known as ‘cilantro’ in Spanish, which is how the plant got to Mexico and why the leaves are so commonly used in Mexican food and the cuisine of other South American countries. This is one of the few plants that all parts are edible, as well as being classed as both an herb and a spice. Dried coriander seeds are a spice derived from the sweetly fragrant, lacy flower heads that are used ground or whole in cooking, baking and preserving. The pungent leaves and stems are classed as an herb, and together with the roots are used in cuisines from around the world. Which plant part is favored most often, depends on what culture created the recipe. For those who aren’t aware of it, there is a defining difference between an herb and a spice, though we use these words interchangeably today. Spices are fragrant or aromatic parts plants that are also edible. Herbs also have healing properties used for medicine, beneficial properties used in cosmetics and food preservation, along with adding great flavor to food or drink.
BENEFICIAL ELEMENTS The earliest record of health benefits from the coriander or cilantro plant is in ancient Egypt where it was brewed into tea as a cure for urinary tract infections, as well as made into salves and poultices.You know there is something truly special about a plant when its seeds are buried with King Tut to use in his afterlife. Cilantro tea is still used in holistic medicine today and in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to treat disorders of the stomach. The Greeks also used the essential oils from the foliage and stems for making perfumes. It is known to be high in antioxidants and has antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties and has shown excellent results in treating diabetes where it lowers the blood sugar. Cilantro is also used in the U.S. today for fighting cholesterol, and research shows it is twice as effective at killing Salmonella as gentamicin.
SEED VARIETIES & CROP PL ANNING For those who try to time outdoor garden harvest of tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro for the most heavenly of salsas, the heat required to finish of the peppers and tomatoes makes the plants quickly bolt and turn into coriander. As soon as the plant begins
CILANTRO I GARDEN CULTURE
GYO Fast Facts • • • • •
pH range 6.5-7.5 for best results Cilantro likes low humidity 20-23 C best for leaf harvest 11-hour daylight minimum Crop yield: 1 Kg. x 3 m.) of NFT trough • Harvest per sowing: 2-3 • Harvest 12 months a year is possible
HIPPOCRATES PRAISED THE HERB FOR ITS HEALING BENEFITS AND WAS USING TEA BREWED FROM THE LEAVES TO TREAT HEALTH DISORDERS IN 500 B.C. to form flowering stems, the sought after flavor of cilantro is ruined as the leaves become bitter tasting. This makes indoor growing of cilantro even more valuable year around. Coriander, like all other cultivars, has been paid great attention to by hybridizers. You will find seed varieties available that are sold as having improved flavor and slower seed setting. Still this annual performs best for prolonged cilantro harvest at cooler temperatures, so be sure to make note of this inherent trait. Pinching back flower stems buys you a little more foliage harvest time, but not much. For continual harvest, it is better to start new seeds about every 4-5 weeks to ensure that you have a continual supply of fresh cilantro for whipping up your favorite dishes. All varieties of cilantro or coriander mature to about 60 cm tall at flowering, so be sure to have ample height for lighting adjustment as they grow.
SOWING & GROWING INFO Cilantro is a great candidate for indoor gardening with its hardy constitution, minimal light requirements and preference for lower ambient temperatures. With good grow lighting, you can enjoy great success in potting soil, but it is also a simple crop for hydroponic containers, and Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) or drip irrigation systems. In a greenhouse it is difficult to maintain the climate for this crop and it is prone to fungal infections. Days that are too short cause the plants to quickly thin, wither and die off, so don’t cheat your plants out of any of the required sunshine hours. This member of the carrot family does not transplant well, so
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CILANTRO I GARDEN CULTURE DAYS THAT ARE TOO SHORT CAUSE THE PLANTS TO QUICKLY THIN, WITHER AND DIE OFF, SO DON’T CHEAT YOUR PLANTS OUT OF ANY OF THE REQUIRED SUNSHINE HOURS you will want to start and finish it in the same medium. The best mediums for hydroponic growing of cilantro are high quality free-draining soilless mixes or sterile media. Seeds start best at 20 C - 24 C), and will germinate in 5-7 days. Cilantro is best started misting the medium twice a day and keeping the container in a covered germinating tray or sealed plastic bag. Maintain full sun lighting for 12-14 hours each day. Plants are ready for your drip irrigation or NFT hydroponic system when the seedlings are 2-3 inches tall. The plant’s preferred daytime temperature is 24 C and 15.5 C at night with no more than 75% humidity and a minimum of 11 hours of sunlight a day. Higher grow room temperaturebrings bolting rapidly. You want only the immature parsley-like leaves for cooking. Once the feathery leaves that precede bolting appear, you might as well allow it to produce seed. The feathery leaves are bitter and of no value. You can expect good harvesting in 4-6 weeks. If you can’t wait that long to whip up some salsa, you can begin cutting as early as you have about 6 inches of leaf and stem available. The plants will continue to generate new stems, as their goal in life is to flower and set seed. Just don’t expect them to grow thick and full in the face of your impatience for culinary ingredients. At the same time, trimming helps to stall bolting. If you’re after both seed and leaf, plan your crop and harvest accordingly. Controlling the heat that causes cilantro to quickly bolt and start the seed setting process is much easier to accomplish with lighting versus summer temperatures outdoors. This plant does very well under standard fluorescent or high output fluorescent lights and High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lights. With the thin leaf structure and hot HID lights, you will need a fan with the power to circulate air rapidly enough to prevent over-heating of your crop. The last thing you want after successfully producing great plants is to burn the uppermost foliage. Nutrients for cilantro will be ‘grow’ solutions that are high in nitrogen for increasing leaves and roots as opposed to flower and fruit. If your interest in growing fresh cilantro is more business orientated, plan on the full 6 weeks for your first crop harvest. You’ll find a good market for this fast growing herb in super fresh condition almost anywhere, especially when organically grown which will bring the highest wholesale crop income.
TASTE BUD TEASERS Rub it on meat, sprinkle it in salads or have a constant supply for any number of ethnic dishes. Cilantro is used in so many popular dishes today; it will be hard to imagine how you lived without it constantly available for picking fresh. Here’s an awesome sounding recipe to try. 3
Cilantro Pesto Spicy, piquant sauce perfect for topping off botanas or grilled vegetables. For fresher fire, omit the cayenne and add a jalapeno pepper. A little dab will do you, this flavor explosion sauce will go a long way. • • • • • • • • •
¼ cup olive oil 1 scallion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts or walnuts 1 ½ teaspoon lime juice 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves (short stems) 1 cup lightly packed parsley sprigs (small stem) Few pinches of cayenne pepper 1 /8 teaspoon salt
Put all ingredients but the salt and cayenne in your blender or food processor and mix to combine. If you’re using fresh chilli, you will want to add it with the first ingredients. Add the salt and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small serving dish for the table. Bon appetite!
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Earthships DOWN TO EARTH Coming from the north, east or west it seems like a little hill grown over by grass. But who approaches an Earthship from the south will recognize a crystal like greenhouse. When you think about it for a minute you realize that the windows are facing south for a good reason. They are directed toward the most sunlight, toward where the sun gives life – in the Northern hemisphere, anyway. And this is one of the key concepts of what Earthships are all about: to enable one to live comfortably with what nature has to offer.
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EARTHSHIPS I GARDEN CULTURE
BY MAAIKE VISSER
radically sustainable green
s
Public Park Nooterhof in the city of Zwolle (the Netherlands) lodges one of these Earthships. This Earthship functions as a public tea houseand opens its glass doors to visitors fascinatedaboutliving in and with the earth, and outside the paradigm of the modern urban world.
THREE PRINCIPLES
Earthship in Taos, New Mexico
THREE PRINCIPLES GIVE EARTHSHIPS THEIR DEEP GREEN COLOR: THE USE OF RECYCLED PRODUCTS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR ITS INHABITANTS, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES
and jam-packed with earth, that make up the building’s frame. Visitors of the teahouse are allowed a peak into the Earthship’s outer walls. A small piece of the northern wall has been left unfinished. It showsa couple of the thousand discarded car tires that shape the walls.
Known as radically sustainable green, these curious buildings covered in dirt, not only spare the environment, but help improve several issues the environment is faced with nowadays. As is often the case with brilliant ideas, the principles behind an Earthship are surprisingly simple. In fact, the buildings leave anyone first looking into their concept startled by its simplicity. Three principles give Earthships their deep green color: the use of recycled products, self-sufficiency for its inhabitants, and the implementation of sustainable technologies.
However impressive, not car tires but earth is the humble secret ingredient that makes up the Earthship. Just as the building’s name suggests. Earthships use earth as their weapon in a building’s never-ending battle with the ambient air temperature-with hardly any intervention of air conditioning or heating. Earth functions as thermal mass that passively absorbs natural heat when the sun is out. During the night or on cloudy days, the earth gives its stock of warmth back to the room. This way, even in climates as chilly as the Dutch, Earthships provide fora constant indoor temperature year-round with a minimum of utility bills.
STACKED TIRES FILLED WITH EARTH
GL ASS WALLS
Standing next to the Earthship’s several feet thick walls makes you realize that they are nearly impossible to penetrate, or even to disturb. It is discarded car tires, stacked like bricks
Whoever has concerns about an Earthship’s aesthetics can stop worrying. Itscar tire, earth-filled walls are normally plastered and painted over making them appear similar to
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Earthship in Zwolle, the Netherlands
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EARTHSHIPS I GARDEN CULTURE
AS EARTHSHIPS ARE NOT CONNECTED TO ANY POWER, GAS, WATER OR SEWAGE LINES,THEY ARE FULLY SELF-CONTAINED those of an elegant, modern adobe style house that would fit any community. The inside walls, however, are the walls that allow for creativity in interior design. Looking at these artsy walls you would almost forget that they are sounddamping, temperature moderating as well as fine-looking.
EFFICIENCY AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY Now that the earth-part of the concept has been cleared up, the mystery remains why these buildings are dubbed ships. This piece of the puzzle will fall into place at the moment one enters an Earthship. Walking into one of these self-sufficient capsules in their earthly environmentsis like boarding a ship: suddenly you are autonomous from the outside world. As Earthships are not connected to any power, gas, water or sewage lines, they are fully selfcontained. Not only does this trigger a strong feeling of independency, it also allows for more efficiency in terms of energy, water, economics and environment. Rainwater that hits the Earthship’s roof is collected, filtered in plant troughsseveral times, and then used and reused.Starting off as drinking water, it seconds as shower, washing machine, and toilet water, after which it is finally used to water the plants. And solar panels beaming on top of the roof generate enough electricity and warmth for a family to get through a normal day.
THE FIRST EARTHSHIP One tire at a time, an experienced international Earthship crew finished construction of the Dutch tea house in 2009. Thereby they realized the first Earthship in the Benelux, but certainly not the very first of its kind. Introduced by American eco-architect Michael Reynolds, the prototype Earthship was built in the desert of Taos, New-Mexico.
Ever since graduating from the University of Cincinnati in 1969 Reynolds has been devoted to building houses out of natural resources and discarded items. His conviction that, with the right formula, products can be recycled to form buildings that won’t spoil the resources and beauty of the earth, led him to design the first Earthship in the 1970’s. Since then Reynolds has written five books on the topic and directed the film ‘Garbage Warrior’ in 2007.
WORLDWIDE HYPE The tea house in Zwolle is just one of the many Earthships that can be found worldwide. After some start-up trouble, they now have reached worldwide celebrity status. Hundreds of Earthships can be found throughout the globe today and still dozens of Earthship crews work on new radically sustainable green buildings. Each building is custom made to fit the climate it is placed in, and through a process of trial and error, each new Earthship is a bit better than the last. As for the Netherlands, after having introduced Earthships to the Benelux, the country is currently the first in Europe to develop an official Earthship district. Last spring the construction of twenty-three radically sustainable buildings started in the city Olst.
YOUR CUP OF TEA? Earthships are remarkable buildings that enable civilized living while helping to restore the exhausted and damaged environment. Anyone interested in these sustainable and recycled buildings can go and have a look at the tea house Earthship in Zwolle. Reflecting over a cup a fair-trade tea here makes you realize all too well the beauty and comfort of radically sustainable living. And while you are there, don’t worry about enjoying that piece of pie: it has been locally grown. 3
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Fungi, Molasses,
& ROCK PHOSPHATE Many plants go through a juvenile stage where they sharply increase in size before shifting their energy into flowering and fruiting. The size plants reach during this stage has an impact on how much harvest they produce. Beneficial fungi, molasses, and rock phosphate have been used to help boost plant growth during this critical stage for years. They work in concert to help plants thrive.
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BY GRUBBYCUP
GROWTH BOOSTERS I GARDEN CULTURE
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MYCORRHIZAE AND THE PLANT IS A SYMBIOTIC ONE; BOTH ORGANISMS BENEFIT FROM THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE OTHER
Since beneficial fungi take time to establish and colonize the root system, they are best introduced early. Mycorrhiza fungi are beneficial and assist in nutrient collection and uptake. Adding carbohydrates to a nutrient solution is a gardening trick for boosting plant performance going back to at least the 1960’s.
The two most important fungi for most gardeners are ecto-mycorrhizal, and endo-mycorrhizal. Ectomycorrhizae form primarily on tree and woody plant roots, although some can form on a wide variety of plants. The fungus forms a covering on the roots, and then branches out into the surrounding soil. Similar to hair extensions for roots, this Mycorrhizae (fungus-roots) are found fungal web called hyphae both extends naturally occurring in healthy “live” the reach of the root system, and insoil. Sterile hydroponic media creases the amount of surface area may require a spore inoculation collecting nutrients for the plant. to establish colonies. They are This network of nutrient collectcaused by mycorrhiza fungi ining hyphae is anchored between fecting a plant root and the two the cortex cells of the roots. The together are what are known as hyphae pick up nutrients from the mycorrhizae. soil, and transport them to the plant in exchange for carbohydrates Mycorrhizae Plants with well-established mycormade by the plant. Certain varieties rhizae tend to perform better than those also have antibiotic properties, which that do not. Approximately 90% of all plants help protect the plant from infection, and the can benefit from some form of mycorrhizae, includsheathing of fungus on the roots offers some proing trees, shrubs, and garden plants. The relationship betection from nematodes. Since the hyphae strands are thintween mycorrhizae and the plant is a symbiotic one; both ner than roots, they not only extend the reach of the root organisms benefit from their association with the other. system by meters, but they can also exploit smaller nooks The plant provides a carbohydrate source for the fungus, and cracks in the growing media. One milliliter of colonized and in return, the fungus helps assist the plants in nutrisoil may contain up to four meters of ectomycorrhizae. ent uptake, drought resistance, and blocking their environFor most other green leafy plants including vegetables, enmental niche from pathogenic fungi. It is better to have domycorrhizae is the more important fungus. helpful flat mates than destructive ones, so making sure beneficial fungi take up the space can prevent something Instead of helping the plant by extending the root system, they worse from moving in. Mycorrhizae collect and process improve the existing root system. Where ectomycorrhizae nitrogen, phosphorus and a variety of micronutrients and help by moving nutrients into the plant, endomycorrhizae help pass them to the plant. Of particular use is their ability to move nutrients within the roots themselves, speeding them increase phosphorus uptake, which dramatically increases to the rest of the plant for use. Weaving itself into the cortiover non infected plants. cal cells of the roots, endomycorrhizae form small structures
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Roots with mycorrhizae
THE BENEFITS OF ADDING CARBOHYDRATES ARE MOSTLY INDIRECT; THEY FEED THE BENEFICIAL MICROORGANISMS AND MYCORRHIZAE WHICH HELP THE PLANTS
called arbuscules. These arbuscules are where the fungus delivers the transported nutrients for the plant to receive, and picks up carbohydrates supplied by the plant. Nutrients transported by endomycorrhizae include nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, sulfur, and zinc, with an emphasis on phosphorous uptake. Of particular use is where rock phosphate is being used as a phosphorous source instead of the more available superphosphate, as endomycorrhizae speeds the solubility conversion. Adding endomycorrhizae generally replicates the effect of increasing the strength of phosphorous in nutrient solution by improving existing phosphorous uptake. Although commonly already present in healthy soil, mycorrhizae fungus levels can be increased by adding powdered spores (inoculants) available at garden and hydroponic shops. Sterile media and poor soils can be brought from a complete absence of mycorrhizae to abundance with the use of inoculants. All they need is food (carbohydrates), water, and half a chance. High applications of chemical nutrients can be detrimental to development, so this system is less appropriate for “goose pate” style gardens where nutrient is supplied to the plant at the upper end of its ability to absorb. This can create an apparent paradox where continuing to apply additional nutrients can impede the plant’s nutrient absorption. For example, killing off the endomycorrhizae will require additional phosphorous to be added to make up for the loss in efficiency and uptake. If using mycorrhizal inoculants, apply at the beginning of the season to establish the colonies early. Once established, the infected roots should serve as a host to allow the fungus to spread throughout the root system. Much like a small colony of mold will take over an entire loaf of bread; in a healthy root system mycorrhiza will spread to fill the available space. Plant improvements from inoculate use are particularly pronounced when used early in poor or sterile mediums. In soil that already contains high
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GROWTH BOOSTERS I GARDEN CULTURE
levels beneficial fungi, adding more though all three are usable for gardening MYCORRHIZA spores has a less pronounced effect. purposes, molasses marketed as a plant HELP BRING Mycorrhizae thrive on carbohyPHOSPHOROUS AND additive tends to be very expensive, modrates, which is part of what they lasses intended for human consumption OTHER BENEFITS receive in payment from the plant is moderately priced, and molasses sold TO PLANTS, AND in exchange for helping the plant as cattle feed supplement tends to be CARBOHYDRATES thrive. One way to boost benefipretty cheap. Molasses sold for cattle HELP MYCORRHIZA. cial microorganisms including myfeed is often mixed with a grain to add corrhizae is to feed them with a structure. The addition of grain not only carbohydrate additive such as molasses. makes the molasses easier to work with, but adds compostaCarbohydrates (saccharides) are molecules with speble organic material as an additional benefit. Personally, I tend cific combinations of carbon and water. A subset of to purchase molasses made for human consumption, as I don’t carbohydrates are the sugars ending in “-ose”. For exhave a large garden; I like it on my pancakes, and in Shoo Fly ample, table sugar is sucrose (C12H22O11), milk sugar is Pie. Apply at two teaspoons (about 10ml.) per gallon of water, lactose (also C12H22O11, but the atoms are arranged difor the same amount per pancake. ferently), blood sugar is glucose(C6H12O6) and so on. Carbohydrates store energy that many life forms can use, To complete the trio, add a good dollop of powdered people included. The “sugar rush” from eating a lot of rock phosphate to the mix. Not only will this provide sweets is an effect from overindulging in sugars. The enthe mycorrhiza with a supply of phosphorous to supply ergy is easily converted, but then is quickly used. Keep in the plant, but it can also provide a suitable environment mind that unwelcome visitors such as ants may be enticed for other beneficial organisms to take up residence. The to visit if a carbohydrate banquet available, so make sure well fed mycorrhiza should be put to work, and what they to clean up any spills promptly. do best is absorb and supply phosphorous to the plant. Rock phosphate is available in two forms, “soft rock” The benefits of adding carbohydrates are mostly indiphosphate, and “hard rock” phosphate. Soft rock phosrect; they don’t help the plants directly, they feed the phate contains a higher amount of immediately available beneficial microorganisms and mycorrhizae which help phosphorous, and is usually the choice for container soil the plants. These microorganisms use the ready enenhancement. Hard rock phosphate is better suited to ergy available in carbohydrates to thrive and reproduce. improve a field where plants are to be grown for several Cane syrup, maple syrup, fruit juice, and molasses can years, or where the soil is reused. all be used as carbohydrate sources. Dilute to two teaspoons per gallon (10 ml./3.8 l.) of water. Cleanliness is a Mycorrhiza help bring phosphorous and other benefits to must, as these may attract insects and leave a sticky resiplants, and carbohydrates help mycorrhiza. During early due. Ants may be attracted to the residue, and if hydrated growth is a good time to add inoculants with a packed (mixed with water) and allowed to go anaerobic (stale) carbohydrate lunch and rock phosphorous dessert to these may encourage the wrong sort of fungal growth. your growing media. Feeding your fungus carbohydrates Molasses (also known as Treacle) is a byproduct of sugar regularly throughout flowering can have the end rerefining, and contains not only plenty of carbohydrates sult of giving your plants a phosphorous boost, and reto add to your garden, but potassium, nitrogen, and iron introducing spores can help reestablish lost colonies. as well. Many micronutrients are locked in their chelated Beneficial fungi help with keeping plants well fed, and form and require a chelating agent to unlock them. Moproper nutrition is one of the keys to bountiful harvests. lasses acts as a chelating agent (like Humic Acid), by enEmbrace the fungus among us, feed them, and give them ergizing the root level biology, it makes micronutrients phosphorous to carry. more readily available for nutrient uptake by the plants. Be careful when purchasing molasses as prices vary widely. AlPeace, love, and puka shells. 3
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we’ve got eye for green business GARDEN CULTURE OFFERS ADVERTISERS: EXCELLENT EXPOSURE · STRATEGIC PLACEMENTS · GREAT RATES SEE WWW.GARDENCULTURE.NET FOR MORE INFO
THINGS T H AT MAKE YOU A BETTER GROWER Improving your grow-game doesn’t always have to be expensive or difficult to learn-our greatest growing successes are often the culmination of many small efforts and tweaks rather than one grandiose slam-dunk.
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BY ERIK BIKSA
GROW TIPS I GARDEN CULTURE
Let’s have a look at a few tasty bits that you can easily adopt into your garden -whether you are just starting out or have been enjoying indoor harvests for a few moons now. • Don’t water your plants right out of the tap or immediately after RO (reverse osmosis) filtering your water into your holding tank-chances are, it’s too cold and is going to shock your plants. The roots will have to warm again for the plant to get back on the rails of accelerated growth.Temperature is the number one governor of all living reactions on this planet.
• Don’t fly blind, learn some biology. While you don’t need to become an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) expert or a fertilizer chemist to achieve great results these days, it still pays to have a good understanding of how the different types of equipment operate in your garden and what the different nutrient ingredients are going to do for your plants. Reading gardening magazines can help a lot, and the internet can also be a good source of info. Once you understand the fundamentals you can make it all work better for your particular growing needs.
WHEN YOU ARE A GROWER, AVOIDING DISASTER IS AS MUCH A MARK OF SUCCESS AS ANY
• Understand how much space your plants are going to need. How many plants it will take to fill your grow space within the time you allot for the crop? This usually takes practice to dial into perfection; you need to understand the characteristics of the strain you are working with. Will it grow 25% or 300% more after you initiate the bloom phase? Asking breeders or other growers may provide some answers. Those answers can be worth more than gold! • Keep the growing area clean and uncluttered. Too many growing disasters originate from clutter or plant debris scattered about the growing area. Keep the inside of the grow room or tent as clean and as organized as possibleno wires on the floor either! Your life may seem like pure chaos, but in your garden is where you can reign supreme.
• Maintain the right temperature. It’s easy to blast plants with light; and it’s even easier to overheat your crop if you can’t manage it properly. Most artificial light sources throw off a lot of heat. If you can’t keep your grow temperatures below 29.5 C when the lights are on, your plants are likely to suffer. Dimmable ballasts or using lower wattage lighting may be an option if your ventilation abilities are maxed-out.
• Don’t under estimate the importance of training and sculpting your plants in the garden so that they can give you the best production and quality possible. For example, the lower third of the plant is often receiving much less light than the top. These lower portions produce poorly and rob energy from the more intensive top growth. Prune those suckers off after about the second week of flowering. • When you are a grower, avoiding disaster is as much a mark of success as any. If you have waterlines that are pressurized in the grow room, for example city or well pump pressure; make sure that you use reinforced hosing that will not burst when unattended. You could wind up coming back to a huge problem if you don’t. • Avoid interrupting the dark cycle, especially in the bloom phase. If you don’t you can wind up with confused plants that produce poorly or that go straight to seed. When entering the room during the dark cycle is a must, only green LED lighting is recommended. It will help you see your way around without seriously interrupting your plants’ rest. Make sure you don’t see any light leaks when you stand in the room during the dark phase. 3
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K.I.S.S. I GARDEN CULTURE
BY SHELDON
Keep It Simple Stupid
Historical concepts for a Bumper Crop The acronym was coined by Clarence Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (creators of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes,
The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts such as:
among many others). The principle is best exemplified
•
by the story of Johnson handing a team of design engineers a handful of tools, with the challenge that the jet aircraft they were designing must be repairable by an average mechanic in the field under combat conditions with only these tools. Hence, the ‘stupid’ refers to the relationship between the way things break and the so-
• • •
Albert Einstein’s maxim that “everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler”. Leonardo da Vinci’s “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” Mies Van Der Rohe’s “Less is more” Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s “It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”
phistication available to fix them. What could this possibly have to do with NY prime steak and expect him YOUR NEW GARDEN gardening and the success or failure of to eat, would you? You’ve got to IS A LIKE A NEW your garden? When you need a new celltake it slow, learn to walk before BABY. WOULD YOU phone do you head down to your local you run and K.I.S.S. BRING YOUR NEW electronics supplier and buy a bunch of BUNDLE OF JOY microprocessors and resistors and head A new grower should start simple HOME, SIT HIM IN home to construct your new phone like with one ore two lights, minimal FRONT OF A GIANT the mad doctor did with Frankenstein on of plants, pots with soil NY PRIME STEAK AND number that stormy night? Of course not, you and a very basic nutrient feed EXPECT HIM TO EAT? solution. Hand water these new head over to the cell phone store or dial it up online and click buy, pay for it and born babies and spend time in then start texting your friends to boast of your new puryour garden EVERY DAY! chase. You don’t know how to wire or build a cell phone and Take the time to study your plants, study their reactions, what for most of you new growers, your garden is no different. makes them happy and of course what makes them sad. As you get through your fist crop or two, you will begin to realize You’ve spent hours researching online, head out to your lothat there is more to indoor gardening then meets the eye and cal Hydro store or order online and acquire your new grow only then can you begin to make the educated decisions needequipment, head home and start to assemble the puzzle of ed to outfit your garden and progress into a more advanced pots, trays, tubing, pumps and then muster up the courage and automated grow system. to mix up your first batch of feed solution. You’ve done all this with no experience growing a plant and no knowledge The simpler your first garden is, the more SUCCESSFUL of how it should all work, why? you will be! There will come a time for the latest technology and all the bells and whistles, just think of the evolution of Your new garden is a like a new baby. Would you bring spy planes. Clarence Johnson said it right when he coined the your new bundle of joy home and sit him in front of a giant phrase Keep It Simple Stupid! 3
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Hydroponics Just because you live in a shoe box doesn’t mean that you can’t grow delicious food that provides a large supplement to your family’s normal diet. While it may be easier to have the expansive and rich soil of farmland in the Great Plains, you can easily mimic the process of growing food in only a four by four feet chunk of space. With the right set up and know how you can grow almost any type of vegetable or fruit that you can imagine.
Hydroponic growing systems are your answer to growing food in tight spaces. When you grow food hydroponically the food grows up to 25 to 30 percent faster because the plants do not have to spend valuable energy growing roots to find food. The plants are suspended in a nutrient rich solution which also saves you the hassle of dealing with messy soils and insects that are attracted to the soil. This nutrient rich solution contains essentials such as potassium, zinc, magnesium, borine, copper, etc. The pH level needs to be constantly monitored to maintain the balance. There are many meters and monitors available to keep a constant watch on the solution as the pH strips are not reliable for constant monitoring. The benefits farmers gain from using hydroponics growing systems are that they don’t use soil so you never have to worry about contamination or soil borne diseases. Operation is easy as there are automated systems that do all of the timing for you and hydroponic systems recycle the potable water so you only have to
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change it once every couple of weeks. Aside from all the benefits of the hydroponics system, there are several different plants that you can grow in this method including, but not limited to, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, grapes and a variety of different herbs. The basic 0.5 m2 , sixteen unit hydroponics setup is easy and affordable. You can either buy the unit from an online retailer or hydroponics store or you can build one yourself. There are many variations on the hydroponic growing system, but the easiest method to use if you are limited by space is to use the drip method that includes a pump and timing system. First you must decide to either buy the system or build the system. It would seem that building one would be cheaper than buying a ready-made system, but by the time that you buy all the individual components it actually costs about the same. Not to mention the money that you will save growing all or even a small part of your family’s food supply.
BY KAYLA SHAW
HYDROPONICS I GARDEN CULTURE
WHEN YOU GROW FOOD HYDROPONICALLY THE FOOD GROWS UP TO 30 PERCENT FASTER
for Small Apartments
If you live in a small space you will need to allocate at least a 0.5 m2 space in your apartment or on your balcony. You can reduce this space even more by building vertical, with a two by two feet space on the floor and another two by two foot space on the wall above the floor units. When you do it this way, you will have 16 separate units that you can use to grow different plants, the same plant in all of them or do half and half. This is all up to you and your food needs and preferences. However, wherever you decide to put the system, it needs to be in close proximity to a window so that it can receive the sunlight it needs. If this is impossible, then you can also buy lamps that will give the plants the radiation they need to grow. A drip system is one of the easiest hydroponic systems to use because there is not a lot of setup and the maintenance is not time intensive. A drip system incorporates a reservoir of nutrient rich solution that gets pumped to the individual units and is placed right at the roots. The usual timing is to drip the solution on the roots for 15 minutes every couple of hours. The plants are very sensitive to this so you must keep a schedule for watering. This is why a pumping system with a timer is a very handy thing to have because
otherwise this can become a full time job. This pump and reservoir system recycles its own water so you only have to change the solution every couple of weeks and you can use the gray water as water for your other house plants. Now you have the basic information you need to start growing hydroponically in your apartment, on your balcony or in your back yard. There is more to learn and many different methods you can use than what is described here. There are also a multitude of products and gadgets that you can buy to make growing food hydroponically extremely simple and cost effective. 3
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GMO SOY IS EVERY WHERE In a joint survey released in October of 2010, news agency Thompson Reuters and National Public Radio polled Americans about their attitudes toward genetically modified foods. The study, viewable on the Thompson Reuters website, revealed a number of contradictory perceptions. Just over 64% of the study’s respondents said they were unsure whether GMO foods were safe, and another 14.6% felt they were unsafe. Yet, 60% also said they’d be comfortable eating genetically engineered plant products. There was a broad consensus on one point: 93% of those polled felt that GMO foods should be labeled.
For consumers in much of the inengineered varietals. Their “high FIGURES PUBLISHED BY THE U.S. dustrialized world, this is already risk” list includes soybeans, canola, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE the case. The European Union, corn, sugar beets and zucchini. AlSHOW THAT 94% OF THE U.S. the United Kingdom, Australia and falfa also makes the list, because it SOYBEAN CROP WAS GROWN Japan all require labeling of foods affects GMO-free and organic cerFROM GENETICALLY ENGINEERED containing GMO ingredients. So tification when it’s used as fodder do India and China, despite their for livestock. SEED IN 2011 large populations and constant Major GMO crops such as soybeans and corn are among the concerns over their respective food supplies. South Africa, the hardest to avoid, although their direct role as foodstuffs is relacontinent’s major producer of GMO crops, has labeling laws tively limited. Their importance lies primarily in their use as a but their enforcement has been questionable. The question of labeling has been a subject of hot debate in emerging nations raw material. Corn and soybeans are grown in such huge quantithroughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Yet, that hasn’t been ties that they are the ultimate agricultural commodities. If an inthe case in Canada and the U.S. gredient can be extracted or refined from them, they are usually the cheapest available source of that ingredient. A considerable portion of the biotechnology industry is devoted to finding new If you’re among the nearly 80% who doubt the safety of GMO uses for these crops. As a result, anything from your morning foods, you might be shocked to learn how widespread they are. vitamin C tablet to the aspartame in your diet soda might have In North America, several major crops are currently grown almost entirely from GMO seed. The Non-GMO Project, been extracted from a GMO food. which provides third-party certification of GMO-free foods, Consider soybeans as an example. Figures published by the U.S. maintains a list of staple crops that are dominated by genetically Department of Agriculture show that 94% of the U.S. Soybean
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BY FRED DECKER
SOY GMO I GARDEN CULTURE
IF YOU’RE AMONG THE NEARLY 80% WHO DOUBT THE SAFETY OF GMO FOODS, YOU MIGHT BE SHOCKED TO LEARN HOW WIDESPREAD THEY ARE
crop was grown from genetically the various gelling prodTHIS SOY-BASED engineered seed in 2011. This afucts used to improve SEASONING IS ONE the texture of processed fects many other countries as well, THAT’S FAMILIAR TO because the U.S. is the world’s foods. They might be MOST CONSUMERS. listed as gum Arabic, guar leading soybean exporter. Her closest rival is Brazil, which by 2010 gum, thickening gum, bulk IT’S BEST-KNOWN was using GMO seed for 80% of its thickening gum, vegetable AS MONOSODIUM own production. Between them, GLUTAMATE, OR MSG. starch or the blandly uninthese two countries account for THE LABEL ON YOUR formative “stabilizer.” These three quarters of the world’s toare used in soups, ice cream, salFOOD WILL OFTEN LIST IT ad dressings, baked goods and snack tal production. Unless you live in a country where GMO products are UNDER A LESS-OBVIOUS foods among other products. Ironically, PSEUDONYM prohibited by law, your food almost health-conscious diners may be consuming more certainly contains some of these soy than others: these thickeners are often used to soybeans. create palate-pleasing textures by replacing eggs or fat in low-fat You might not eat tofu or drink soy milk, but soybeans are aland vegan foods. most inescapable in the food chain. Soy lecithin is widely used as an emulsifier in processed foods, helping ingredients combine If you’re making an earnest effort to screen your food for pomore readily. Soy protein is incorporated into processed foods tential GMOs, food-allergy organizations and support groups as a meat extender, or as a flavoring agent. It’s not only present are often a good starting point. They offer a variety of useful in processed foods: “seasoned” chicken breasts or pork chops resources, including tips for identifying less-obvious sources of from your supermarket probably contain soy protein as well. soy. Soybeans are among the handful of most significant food allergens, and any packaged food that contains soy must be laThis soy-based seasoning is one that’s familiar to most consumbeled under the laws of the United States, Canada and many ers. It’s best-known as monosodium glutamate, or MSG. The other countries. However, if your goal is avoiding GMO ingrelabel on your food will often list it under a less-obvious pseuddients rather than catering to a food allergy, food labeling isn’t onym, such as hydrolyzed plant protein or simply “natural flacomprehensive enough. vor.” Shoppers who diligently scour product labels for MSG frequently overlook the possibility of finding it in uncooked, Studies evaluating soy’s impact as an allergen have shown that reminimally processed meats. The controversial flavor enhancer fined soy oil seldom triggers an allergic reaction. It’s accordingly isn’t always manufactured from soybeans, but they’re often used exempt from allergen-labeling laws, making oil another common as a source because of their low cost. source of GMO soy. Vegetable oil almost always contains soy unless it is clearly labeled as 100% canola, peanut, sunflower or There are a number of other, innocuous-sounding ingredients other oil. Most varieties of consumer and commercial shortenthat often betray the presence of soy. The most universal are ing and margarine also contain soy.
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GARDEN CULTURE I SOY GMO IT’S INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT FOR ORGANIC FARMERS TO AVOID CROSS-POLLINATION FROM NEIGHBORING FIELDS WHERE GMO CROPS ARE GROWN, CONTAMINATING THEIR OWN CROPS
Even buying organic foods doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you have a GMO-free product. Organic labeling has historically required that any GMO or potentially GMO-containing foods be held to less than 1% of the total ingredients. However, it’s increasingly difficult for organic farmers to avoid cross-pollination from neighboring fields where GMO crops are grown, contaminating their own crops. There is a movement afoot to relax organic labeling standards to reflect this new reality.
THERE IS NO THIRD-PARTY RESEARCH TO DEMONSTRATE THAT GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED CROPS PRODUCE HIGHER YIELDS THAN CONVENTIONAL CROPS, AND A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THEIR YIELDS MIGHT IN FACT BE LOWER
The growing difficulty of avoiding genetically-engineered foods, and big agriculture’s resistance to consumer labeling, has begun to trigger a backlash in the United States. Critics argue that allowing unlabeled, untested GMO ingredients in the food chain amounts to a large-scale human testing program, one that represents a massive abdication of responsibility by government and industry. State legislatures in Connecticut, Hawaii and Vermont are actively considering bills to mandate labeling of transgenic foods, and in California a campaign is underway to put a labeling initiative on ballots for the November 2012 election. Industry apologists typically cast the debate as a clash between scaremongering Western elitists and the world’s hungry. They argue that GMO crops raise yields and improve crops’ ability to survive and flourish under adverse conditions. The reality is rather different. Most GMO soybeans were developed to show resistance to patented herbicides. Unsurprisingly the same companies that sell the herbicides also sell the herbicide-resistant soybeans. Farmers using the engineered seed are committed to using the corresponding herbicide for weed control, sharply increasing the patent-holder’s profits. The seed companies forbid farmers to save their seed from one year to the next, requiring the purchase of new seed. This combination of expensive seed and expensive herbicide can be difficult even for Western farmers, and often represents a crippling expense for growers in developing countries. The problem goes well beyond the economic impact of the seed companies’ strong-arm seed marketing techniques. For one thing, the spread of GMO soy has resulted in an increased
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use of toxic herbicides, encouraging unsustainable farming methods and greater environmental contamination. Worse, their altruistic-sounding goal of feeding the hungry masses has proven groundless. There is no third-party research to demonstrate that geneticallyengineered crops produce higher yields than conventional crops, and a growing body of evidence shows that their yields might in fact be lower.
A number of groups are attempting to bring opposition to transgenic foods into the political mainstream. In the United States organizations such as Just Label It and Food Democracy Now advocate mandatory labeling of GMO foods. Their strategy is to tap the traditional American reliance on free markets: label the product, they say, and let the market – in other words, individual consumers -- decide the future of genetically-engineered foods. Ultimately it’s up to you to determine how comfortable you are with transgenic foods, and where you want to draw that line. For example, in the Thompson Reuters poll nearly 60% of respondents said they’d be comfortable eating GMO plant foods, but less than 40 percent were comfortable with transgenic meats or fish. Lack of labeling, and therefore lack of choice, is the sticking point in countries including Canada and the U.S. Concerned voters in non-labeling countries can choose to support initiatives such as Just Label It, or write personally to their elected representatives. Until labeling laws change, seeking out certified GMO-free foods and minimizing your consumption of processed foods are viable strategies. Growing as much of your own food as possible is the ultimate answer to the thorny question of food safety. Ordering and growing heirloom open-pollinated varieties of your favorite garden plants, or hybrids that predate the GMO era, keeps you in control of your family’s diet. Buying grass-fed meats and pastured poultry from local growers provides a similar measure of certainty. Until the political winds change and create an impeccably safe food supply, the best way to ensure your family’s health is to build one of your own. 3
CHILLI I GARDEN CULTURE
BY CHILLIPEPPERPETE
THE WORLD’S
Hottest Chilli
Latest research points to a small area around Lake Titicaca in Bolivia as the ground zero where the Chilli developed and was first domesticated over 6000 years ago. This is a truly ancient cultivarthat has been used in its many forms for a very long time. The fact that it was one of the first plants to be domesticated verges on the mystical in many Mezzo-American cultures and has spread around the globe in the last 500 years thanks to the Spanish and Portuguese explorers. Now half the world’s diet contains chillis and peppers from of over 3000 varieties.
Originally spread by birds that were attracted by the bright color of the ripe pods and were not affected by the capsaicin burn which the plant developed as protective oil against fungal invasion inside the pod.Coincidentally it also repelled mammals which travel a far lesser distance than birds. The acids inside the birds gut also softened the outer casing of the seed to quicken germination. Bearing in mind the growing conditions of high humidity and heat and the difficulty of germinating the seed, one of the first concerns when growing chillis is the germination. There are many products on the market that mimic the acid in the bird’s stomach but I have always found a very mild 10% solution of bleach and water to be successful. Leave for an hour or so and rinse the seed before planting shallowly on their edge. Some seeds can still take up to 6 weeks to germinate at a constant 29.5C (particularly the new superhots). A heated propagator is essential for speedy germination. The growing plants are happy in any medium from compost to coir but there are a few basics to keep an eye on. A 40/60per cent blend of perlite when using soil substrate helps aeration. Their ideal pH is 5.7. Any lower causes trace element problems and any higher can effect nutrient take up. PH can be balanced with the gentle use of nitric acid. The 5.7 pH balance refers tothe soil measurement notthe pH of the input solution. The plants are very vigorous and can quickly deplete soil nutrients. The plants require a good root ball which can be sped up with root stimulatorand the early use of additives affects the overall balance of looks and heat.
The humidity and heat chillisrequire to grow at their optimum is best provided undercover where the environment can be totally controlled and the plantscan grow to their highest potential. Commercially grown pods very rarely reach their maximum heat as the control is not there outdoors. High humidity and heat increases capsaicin content but at over 37Cessential flower drop increases. However later in the cycle temperatures of over37C increase the ripening process. So, effective temperature control is essential. Unfortunately optimum nutrient, environmental conditions andfull spectrum trace element research is sorely missing at this time. Although there is a lot of research being done in China which is at this time is leading the world in chilli production by many factors. The superhot varieties have a high calcium demand when young but nutrient lock-out can be a major problem and too much potassium exacerbates the problem. As ever balance is everything. Withholding water regularly and exposing the plants to wind and generally stressful conditions also increase the capsaicin content. A chemical that used to be made from corpses and now called putrescine also shows great promise of increasing capsaicin content. However it will take several seasons to know if this compound will do what it says on the bottle. Our own research is ongoing and there are many other inputs to investigate and many new varieties to explore. The search for the world’s hottest chilli continues. 3
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GROW YOUR OWN
MONEY BITCOINS
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BY DAVID MURPHY
BITCOINS I GARDEN CULTURE
In final months of 2010, at the height of the Wikileaks scandal, the major online financial institutions VISA, Mastercard and Paypal moved to cut off the supply of donations to the site, under pressure from powerful governments around the world. Faced with ruin, Wikileaks turned to an alternative currency. One that wasn’t controlled by any government around the world. A currency that had essentially been created with the press of a single key, by an enterprising young programmer who was known in the cybersphere as Satoshi Nakamoto. It was called bitcoin.
Twenty years of aggressive ers there are, the less each one regrowth on the internet has given ceives, and the system is designed to us a string of dotcom billionaires. run for a twenty year period, yieldFrom Larry Paige to Mark Zucking no more than 21 million bitcoins. erberg, the ability to conjure up It is the combination of these facvast sums of money simply by tors that give bitcoins their value, in having the right idea at the right much the same way as gold acquired FOR YOUR CASH, time is nothing new. But what more value than water in the anYOU GET WHAT Nakatomo was trying to achieve cient world, because it was limited IS ESSENTIALLY A with bitcoin was something difin quantity and took a great deal of BLOCK OF UNIQUELY ENCRYPTED DATA. ferent. His system mimicked the effort to extract. IT CANNOT BE popular peer-to-peer networks REPLICATED already used by millions to downAlmost as soon as mining began, Bitload and share their favourite coin exchanges opened on the web. games, movies and music; it also If you can’t be bothered spending incorporated new anti-spamming your own money on a mining effort, and cryptography technology which would enable it then you can simply buy a miner’s coins with conto create money literally out of nothing. ventional money through a more traditional digital currency system such as paypal. At the peak of their It functions on a simple principle. Bitcoins can only value, a bitcoin was worth more than 15$ although be produced by completing complex mathematical market fluctuations and other factors have since puzzles, a process referred to as mining. The puzzles brought the price back down to about 5$. require a real world investment, in terms of computing power and the energy required to run a procesFor your cash, you get what is essentially a block of sor, and prospectors are rewarded by the occasional uniquely encrypted data. It cannot be replicated, and trickle of bitcoins into the system. The more minbecause every copy of the program keeps a record
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BITCOINS I GARDEN CULTURE
SO WHY DID SATOSHI NAKAMOTO CREATE BITCOIN, AND SUDDENLY DISAPPEAR OFF THE FACE OF THE WEB?
of where every bitcoin was created, it would take a million times more work to fake the file than to create a real one. If you delete the encrypted data, or damage the computer it’s stored on, it’s gone. Other than that, it works just like any real world commodity. You can spend it at an exchange, or with a retailer – anyone else who runs the bitcoin software. You don’t register your name, and none of your personal details are included in the coin. Everything is tied to a single bitcoin address, secured by incredibly complicated, paired encryption keys.
The irony is that the supposed anonymity of bitcoins is a fallacy. The lengthy chain of data encrypted by each computer includes all of the transactions ever processed by the system, linked to the various IP addresses of the users. With enough forensic investigation, any particular transaction can be traced back to a physical location. There are now sites that offer what is called a bitcoin “fog”. This fog acts as a mixing service where funds transferred to the fog get mixed with other users’ funds and when requested are paid out in multiple randomized transactions to further obscure the source of the money.
So why did Satoshi Nakamoto create bitcoin, and suddenly disappear off the face of the web? He had done nothing illegal and he didn’t stand to make some outrageous, immoral level of profit from floating the company a year down the line. Like a 21st century Salk, the creator of the polio vaccine, he gave his invention away. There have been suggestions that Nakamoto hoarded a stash of bitcoins before the software’s release, and that at the optimum moment in the bitcoins twenty year lifespan he will release them onto the market and make millions. But like everything else surrounding Nakamoto, it is merely rumour, heaped on speculation, stacked on a wobbly pile of guesswork. Is he a single individual? A cadre of programmers working under a collective alias? The other coders credited with developing the bitcoin technology, and with maintaining it, stay tight-lipped about his identity. For them, the individual isn’t important. The project is more about good old-fashioned rebellion; a reaction to the financial irresponsibility demonstrated by the world’s leading institutions over the last five years. It’s about taking digital currency out of the hands of administrators and governments, and putting it back in the hand of the private individual. 3
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WINDOW FA RMING With farm land decreasing at the same time that population numbers are increasing worldwide, vertical hydroponic gardens may be one solution to the world’s food shortages. Because hydroponic gardening is ecologically and economically sound, it is one of the fastest growing areas of patenting in the U.S. today. The trend is far from restricted to the U.S., however, and many innovators across the globe are creating these gardens in urban environments.
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BY MELANIE VOTAW
WINDOW FARMING I GARDEN CULTURE
MORE THAN 33,000 PEOPLE NOW PARTICIPATE IN THE WINDOWFARMS COMMUNITY
Some of these farms are large scale, such as the vertical greenhouse called Plantagon, which is set to be built in Linkoping, Sweden. The concept is a helix system in which plants are transported on a special elevator. The crops grow during the slow ride down the helix, and an automatic harvesting machine allows the food to be harvested in batches. A smaller scale, grassroots urban agriculture movement was launched in New York City in 2008 by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray. What started as a simple idea has since turned into a worldwide movement and a company called Windowfarms. More than 33,000 people now participate in the Windowfarms community. Their concept was created for people to become more nutritionally independent. Using a vertical stack of recycled bottles in which plants are rooted in clay pellets with no soil, a pump at the bottom sends liquid nutrients to the top. The nutrients then trickle down through the root systems of the plants, and the roots remain compact, requiring less space than plants grown in dirt. As a result, organic vegetables can be grown indoors in any climate year-round using natural or artificial light.
Riley and Bray knew that NASA had been using hydroponics to explore growing food in space, discovering that optimal nutritional yield can be achieved by running high quality liquid over plant root systems. So, they gathered some friends and created their first prototype. As Riley said in her 2011 TED talk about Windowfarms, the first systems
were “leaky, loud, power-guzzlers that Martha Stewart would definitely never have approved.” She and her team were able to grow enough vegetables for a single salad a week in their New York apartments, but they wanted to work out the bugs in the system and make it better. So, they opened the idea to co-developers in what Riley calls “open source collaboration.” In order to encourage this collaboration, they created a social media website that spilled the beans on how the systems are created, as well as what was not working. They hoped people would take the idea and run with it. And run they did. A number of people wanted to become more nutritionally independent, so they each worked on improving and customizing the farms for their own needs. One Windowfarms enthusiast, for example, discovered that using air pumps instead of water pumps would cut the carbon footprint of the system by nearly half. Another learned by trial and error that he could get his strawberry plants to fruit in low light by simply changing the nutrients in the liquid. A Windowfarmer in Finland outfitted the system with LED grow lights. As people shared their ideas and discoveries, Riley’s team incorporated the improvements that were most likely to benefit the majority. The end result? Manufactured kits that will be available for shipment in the U.S. and a few other countries in the summer of 2012. Funding for manufacturing was achieved through crowdsourcing. Riley’s Kickstarter.com page was begun with the goal of raising $50,000 in Windowfarm pre-sales. She
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WINDOWFARMS IS NOW BOTH A FOR-PROFIT COMPANY WITH A PATENT AND A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION raised $257,000 instead. Windowfarms is now both a forprofit company with a patent and a non-profit organization. The for-profit company makes the products, and the proceeds fund the non-profit, which focuses on the community, the movement, and education.
Recycling: collecting plastic bottles in Manhattan for creating window farms
CREATING A VERTICAL HYDROPONIC FARM AT HOME Individuals can build their own Windowfarm rather than purchase a kit using the instructions provided on the organization’s website. Setting it up can take a few hours up to a full day. After that, the system is mostly self-sustaining. Water simply needs to be changed weekly, and some cleaning must be performed monthly. The systems are 1.2 meters tall, fit in different sized windows, and are hung by a hook or sit on a platform below the window (the floor, a shelf, or the windowsill). Wide windows can handle several columns, while tall windows can accommodate one on top of the other. Some growers use clip-on CFL or LED lights on timers to better control the environment for their plants. After the initial material costs, maintenance expenses are minimal. If the pump is run on a timer, as suggested, only
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a small amount of electricity is required to run the Windowfarm. In the U.S., the average electricity cost of even a 4-column farm is just over ÂŁ2.00 per year. While these small vertical hydroponics do not grow everything, such as root vegetables or tall grain plants like corn and wheat, most plants like greens and herbs, as well as fruit, can be grown, with heavier plants tied to the metal rack that holds the bottles.
WINDOW FARMING I GARDEN CULTURE
VERTICAL IS THE FUTURE While Plantagon is centralized, and the Windowfarms concept is decentralized, both seek to grow food in cities as a response to global crowding. Riley says that urbanites rely on others more than rural dwellers. “It’s precisely when we hand over the responsibility for all of these things to specialists that we cause the kinds of messes that we see with the food system,” she said in her TED talk. As a result of these food system issues, the vertical hydroponics trend is fully entrenched. As more and more people move into urban environments, growing their own food or purchasing from sources like Plantagon may become the norm rather than a novelty. 3
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Grow Your Own Series:
Fresh
Wasabi If you’re a regular patron of Japanese restaurants, fiery green wasabi paste is a familiar and welcome sight. So, it might come as a surprise to learn that you’ve probably never tasted real wasabi. Most restaurants use a substitute made from Western-style horseradish and other ingredients, including vinegar and mustard powder.
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BY FRED DECKER
WASABI I GARDEN CULTURE
GROWING WASABI CAN PROVE A FASCINATING PROJECT FOR EXPERIENCED GARDENERS IN SEARCH OF A CHALLENGE
That’s because real wasabi, Wasabia japonica, is rare and expensive even in its Japanese homeland. It’s native to the cold upland streams of that mountainous country, and is notoriously difficult to grow. It flourishes only in a narrow range of conditions, and most cultivars are specific to one small region of Japan. However, commercial growers in Japan, Taiwan and North America have slowly learned to coax this uncooperative plant into producing reliable crops.
and a microclimate that can be kept humid and temperature-controlled. A fertilizer containing sulphur will help increase the root’s potency.
In nature, wasabi grows in a semi-aquatic environment along stony riverbeds. If you have running water on your property, or have an existing hydroponic system, you can use that water to cultivate wasabi. Prepare a deep bed or large box-shaped planter, approximately 75 to 125 cm in depth. Fill the bed with stones approximately 6 to 8 cm in Wasabi is part of the larger brassica family, which also indiameter, leaving 10 cm at the top. Cover the stones with cludes the cabbages and mustards a layer of rounded gravel the size of as well as Western horseradish and large peas, approximately 6 to 8cm. other root plants including turnips, Finally, fill the rest of the bed with LIKE HORSERADISH daikon and the familiar garden radfine sand. AND THE MUSTARDS, ish. Like horseradish and the musWASABI’S FIERY NOSTRIL- The plants will flourish best when tards, its fiery nostril-clearing charCLEARING CHARACTER acter is a chemical defence against the water flows gently down a slight IS A CHEMICAL DEFENCE predators. When the cell walls are slope, usually 2 to 4 degrees. WaAGAINST HERBIVORES crushed or grated, enzymes in the ter should be distinctly cool, with root quickly convert stored sulphur an ideal temperature of 12 C to 15 compounds into an irritating chemiC. Water flow should be gentle, no cal called sinigrin. It’s highly volatile more than 10 cm per second, to proand aerosolizes quickly, which is duce straight and healthy rhizomes. why you feel the effect primarily in If the water flow is too strong, the your sinuses. roots will grow in a curved shape. The flavor will still be fine, but if Growing wasabi can prove a fasciyou’re growing them for sale curved nating project for experienced garroots don’t fetch as high a price. deners in search of a challenge. The plant requires lots of shade, ideally Wasabi can also be cultivated on 75 % coverage or better. It requires dry land, in a light, well-drained soil high humidity and cool air temperawith lots of sand and organic matetures, ranging from 8 C to 20 C, and rial. Prepare your beds in an area flourishes best at 12 C to 15 C. In where there’s a lot of natural shade, warmer, sunnier or drier climates or where you can easily shade the the shade-type greenhouse can be plants with a cover. The plants rethe best solution, providing shelter quire constant moisture even on
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Japanese wasabi farm
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WASABI I GARDEN CULTURE
WASABI CAN BE PROPAGATED FROM SEED, SLIPS OR THE SMALL PLANTLETS THAT GROW AROUND THE CROWN OF A MATURE PLANT land, so plan to irrigate with soaker hoses or some other form of low-flow irrigation. Monitor your plants closely. Provide more water if they wilt, and less if you begin to find stem rot. Wasabi can be propagated from seed, slips or the small plantlets that grow around the crown of a mature plant. Plantlets 3cm long, with four or five leaves of their own, can usually be planted directly into your aquatic or dry-land beds. Place each plantlet in its own hole, about 30cm apart, with 1cm of the root left above the surface once you’ve patted the sand or soil back into place. Plants grown from slips or seeds must be grown to a height of approximately 5cm before transplanting into their beds. The fiery roots will usually be large enough to harvest in 16 to 24 months, depending on your growing conditions. Remove plantlets from the main stem for replanting, and then wash the root thoroughly. Trim away any small roots then peel the stem with a paring knife or peeler. As with chilli peppers, it’s best to wear gloves while working with fresh wasabi. The juices can be decidedly unpleasant if they find their way to a sensitive spot.
Real wasabi is best when grated as needed. Japanese chefs use a special grater made from shark skin, but a very fine conventional grater will also work. The flavor will reach its peak within 3 to 5 minutes, and will diminish within 15 to 20 minutes if it’s left uncovered. Fresh wasabi has the familiar, fiery effect in the diner’s sinuses, but mellows quickly to a sweet and complex flavor quite unlike the artificial variety. Grate only as much as you need for one meal, then store the remainder of the root tightly wrapped in your refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks. To preserve your wasabi for the longer term, slice and dehydrate the roots. Grind the dried roots into powder in your spice grinder, and store it in airtight packaging in a cool, dark place. 3
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IWS Flood & Drain System
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• Complete control of feed times and duration • Run-off is drained away automatically • Uses technology from D.I.G. Irrigation
IWS Deep Water Culture System
• Unique new product from IWS • Precise control of filling and draining • Nutrient solution kept fresh as pots empty and fill
IWS Hand Watering System
• Ideal for novice growers • Control your run-off easily and precisely • Available with 10, 16 and 25 litre pots
To see our systems in action, visit our website:
iwssystems.co.uk
or contact your retailer for further information.
with the latest innovations from IWS
IWS Dripper System