Garden Culture Magazine: UK 7 by Garden Culture Magazine

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CONTENTS I GARDEN CULTURE

SAGE

GROW-YOUR-OWN

HUNGER

organic 48

VS SYNTHETIC NUTRIENTS

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

FOOD PATENTS

i grow lettuce

IN THIS ISSUE OF GARDEN CULTURE:

WHO’S GROWING WHAT WHERE

CHEAP

MAGNETIC BALLASTS

9 Foreword

41 Plant Power

10 Product Spotlight

42 Who’s Growing What Where

13 Stay out

44 Teach ‘em young

14 GMO Controversy increases

48 Organic vs. Synthetic nutrients

16 Making your own soil mix

52 The problem with Food Patents

21 Horticultural lighting

54 Wind & Water: sustainable food transport

22 The UK Grow Scene

56 LED specifications

25 Five Cool Finds

58 Seed Diversity

27 Organic music

62 I grow Lettuce

29 Dirt: good for what ails you

68 Reusing your potting soil

30 Hunger – a growing need

72 Supplemental Lighting

33 Grodan is going to Mars

78 Cheap magnetic ballasts

36 Sage – Wisdom of the Ages

83 Starting on a Budget GARDENCULTURE.NET

FOREWORD & CREDITS I GARDEN CULTURE

FOREWORD

CREDITS

INVESTMENT

If you are planning to start your first indoor garden, or are expanding/upgrading your current one, chances are you will need to make some

Garden Culture™ is a publication of 325 Media Inc. ED I TO RS Executive Editor: Eric Coulombe Email - eric@gardenculture.net Senior Editor: Tammy Clayton Email - tammy@gardenculture.net V P O PER AT I O NS: Celia Sayers Email - celia@gardenculture.net t. 1-514-754-1539

purchases.

DESIGN Job Hugenholtz Email - job@gardenculture.net

So you take a trip to your local hydroponics store. If you are new to this, being a bit overwhelmed by the selection is common, especially if you visit several stores. My advice is - do your homework, and question everything. Over the past 10 years this industry has exploded, and so has the number of products offered.

Special thanks to: Our writers Tammy, Evan Folds, Theo Tekstra, Judd Stone, Jim Oates, Stephen Brookes, Wendy Denney, Kyle Ladenburger, Amber Fields, Darryl Cotton, Brian Burk, Stephanie Whitley, Grubbycup, My beautiful wife and partner Celia, Maya and Kees, Job, Callie Coe, Agent Green and Monsanto for motivating me to fight back.

Beware of cheap imitations! Trying to save too much money will often cost you more in the end, especially when it comes to hardware like ballasts and bulbs. Unfortunately, anyone can go to China and buy whatever they want, dress it up pretty, and sell it as a premium product at a huge discount. You think you are getting a great deal, when all you are getting are problems. Indoor gardening is an art. You are Mother Nature, and control everything. Like in so many systems the whole is as strong as its weakest link. Take time to learn what a plant needs, read books written by experts, and buy good equipment - then you will be better prepared to have a bountiful garden with few problems. Parting with your hard-earned money can be painful, but the lowest price is rarely the best deal. As a wise man once told me, “ I am too poor to buy cheap.” 3

Eric

PUBLISHER 325 Media 44 Hyde Rd., Milles Isles Québec, Canada t. +1-855-427-8254 w. www.gardenculture.net Email - info@gardenculture.net ADVERTISING Eric Coulombe Email - eric@gardenculture.net t. 1-514-233-1539 D I ST R I B U T I O N PA R T N ER S • Down to Earth Kent • Maxigrow • Nutriculture DGS • Team Hydro Website : www.GardenCulture.net facebook.com/GardenCulture twitter.com/GardenCulture © 325 media

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 325 Media inc.

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product spotlight

s ’ c i r EGarden Gadgets 10 years experimenting with indoor gardening, In this edition we will feature the products in my garden. I have spent over t, I would like to give a nod to Can Fans and these are some of my favorites. Although not included in the product spotligh Opticfoliar Greener Cleaner (‘cause for the (I have had the same fan for 10 years), HM Digitals new HydroMaster meter, Organic Rescue Mist, and Pure Gold from first time with a huge garden I have no bugs), and Fulvic acid in general (I use Nutri Plus 29% Fulvic content and is certified organic).

Eric

Autopot

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Current Culture

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ology utilizes C®) Deep Water techn Current Culture’s (SC nated nutrient re to recirculate oxyge negative water pressu is continuous plant’s root zone. Th solution through the th dissolved rges the nutrients wi fluid motion supercha perfect for r-aerobic conditions oxygen, creating hype t circulation Constant 24/7 nutrien explosive plant growth. oughout the levels are uniform thr ensures pH and EC entire system. www.cch2o.com

h s e r f

GARDEN PRODUCTS I GARDEN CULTURE

w o r g o c E

wall

same people Manufactured by the osystem, the who made the Ec dular vertical Ecogrowwall is a mo k the panels garden. Simply clic configuration together in whatever support. All you like and snap to included, easy plumbing hardware is ings make compression-pop fitt ing system a setting up the water is designed to breeze. Each chamber s with 5 channels. ckwool slab. Set come support one 48”X6” ro o a garden. ern, turn your walls int When space is a conc .com www.ecogrowwall

Nutriculture Gro-Tanks NFT Our NFT Gro-Tanks give roots virtually unrestricted access to oxygen. Yields are typically much bigger than if growing in pots of dirt. The depth of the recirculating stream is very shallow, little more than a film of water, hence the name ‘nutrient film’. This ensures that the thick root mat, which develops in the bottom of the channel has

Sun S yste m

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constant access to nutrients and air. Nutrient solution is constantly pumped to the roots, there’s no timer to program. Because virtually no growing medium is used there’s nothing to transport or throw away at the end of the season. Very clean, very easy, and very impressive results. Perfect for beginners or experts. www.nutriculture.com

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product spotlight Th e

Minimax 150 Following three-years of research and testing The MINIMAX 150 with microprocessor has finally arrived. We now have CE registration and are ready to impress UK growers. Running at less than 0.7amp we feel that this little unit will revolutionize indoor grow lighting. No longer do growers have to compromise with low wattage alternatives that just don’t do a great job. The MINIMAX 150 operates with either Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. • High lumen output (Sunmaster 150W Dual Spectrum Lamp -17200 Lumens) • Low bulb temperature • Full RF filtration

• No need for costly contact/relay controllers • Comes with full three year guarantee • Operates with either Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. www.downtoearthkent.co.uk

s g n i W A t s u j d A

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Gavita

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MONSANTO I GARDEN CULTURE

BY ERIC

STAY

Monsanto at Max Y ield

Anyone who knows me knows I despise Monsanto. As it turns out so does most of the indoor gardening industry, and they let them know it. Max Yield has been throwing the Indoor Garden Expos for over a decade. They have been an integral building block for this industry’s development. These shows are an important part of any company’s marketing plan when trying to enter this market. At least they used to be, until Monsanto showed up.

How did this happen? Who is this group of people who are so against this company that they could force the world’s y biggest ag/chemical compan to flee with his proverbial tail between his legs.

I’m not sure what kind of reception they thought they would get, but it was nasty. I went over myself to talk to the 30-something guy in the booth. “So, is everyone blasting you for being here?” I asked. He told me he felt like a cat in a dog show. I also told him that I despised the company he worked for and if he had a soul he would quit ASAP, then I left. I walked about 20 feet and watched, a steady stream of people doing just what I did. It was a reception that new surfers get when they are in the wrong spot. I was polite, others were not, at least 10 people told him to get the f**k out.

How did this happen? Who is this group of people who are so against this company that they could force the world’s biggest ag/chemical company to flee with his proverbial tail between his legs. It was you, and the companies you support. If you own a small indoor garden shop, and are afraid what will happen

I found this event inspiring, and was very proud of the people who stood up for their beliefs. It still begs the question, why were they there, and how are they going to weasel their way back in? I hope they got the message, but if they didn’t I’m confident we will collectively make them feel very unwelcome. Sorry Monsanto…wait, no I’m not. 3

Ira Bostic / Shutterstock.com

It was amazing to watch, a never-ending bombardment of negative energy focused on this poor unsuspecting employee. It took about 3 hours or so, and he packed up his stuff, called his suit-wearing boss, and told him he was going home. I didn’t give him a kick on the way out or anything, but it did feel good. We all felt good. Somehow we just kicked Monsanto out of a gardening trade show.

when, or if, the big players like Wal-Mart, Costco, and the like gets involved... I think we just saw the answer. Indoor gardeners seem to have a general dislike of companies like Monsanto and Wal-Mart. It wasn’t financial motivation that made all those people turn on that sales guy at the Max Yield show, it was an ethical action.

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY CALLIE COE

d e r e h s u y l l a i c i f f o “Europe g n i r u o v a f e r u t u f a n i biotech giants” Flashback... Summer 2014, Washington D.C. In a July fact-finding session on GMO food labeling, US Congressman Schrader asked the EU expert, “Why does the EU still have their labeling if they’ve come to the same conclusions? Why have they not frankly informed their consumers that there is no difference?” The world renown, Dr. Calestous Juma responded,“The EU is not a homogenous body.You have the commission with its scientific advice that conducted these studies.You have the legislative body that is influenced very much by the consumer organizations that has not changed its position.”

Present... January 2015, Strassbourg It appears that those consumer organizations have now lost control of the legislative body. As of 20 January, Europe officially ushered in a future favoring biotech giants in passing a new controversial food law that transfers the rights involved in allowing, or banning GMO crops to individual countries. The argument on whether a nation’s farmers can, or cannot grow Monsanto’s MON 810 maize has shifted, and they’ve succeeded in getting 7 new GM crops approved for further discretionary approval per country. It’s unlikely coincidental that this happened during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks for securing multilateral growth through commerce between the US and the EU. No doubt heavy lobbying has quietly taken place in the months leading up to both this particular European Parliament session and the TIFF convention - on both sides of the Atlantic.

Baby Steps Biotech behemoths like Monsanto rose to their current status in the US and other countries the same way - one small measure at a time. Bypassing continental government turns the tables to their favor, for now they can work on each small entity individually. No doubt GMO proponents were doing the happy dance within moments of the highly criticized measure’s approval. It’s two steps forward for GMO crops, a whole new continent of possibilities and acquisitions. Not that GMO crops have done anything to slow world hunger. The third world still lacks the finances to buy said food or seed, because that’s the real crux of the problem money. But GMOs do however, feed the hunger for wealth, benefiting profit margins, and shareholders a great deal. See, there’s that money thing again, but on the opposite end of the ruler.

G.M.O. I GARDEN CULTURE

O M gm G o “It’s two steps forward for GMO crops”

Controversy Increases

Divide & Conquer If you suspect some déjà vu looms on the horizon, you might very well be right. Turning the protected farmland of a continent into a scattered patchwork of GMO producing regions raises the odds of spreading pollen to traditional and organic crops like we’ve already seen happen in Canada, the US, Mexico, Paraguay, and Brazil. The breeze, and insects don’t stop at lines drawn by man. Groups like Greenpeace are wellfounded in their concerns over the possible environmental damages this could cause. Roundup use will increase phenomenally on every hectare planted with GM seed, which does not disappear, but lingers in the soil, filters into waterways, and clouds collect it with other agrichemicals to release it elsewhere in a phenomenon known as acid rain.

agri-giant’s team travel in and out of various positions within the EFSA, and the appropriate legislative offices in each EU member state. Better tally the same at Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, Dow, and DuPont offices too, so you know who’s who as the players begin moving around. That’s how they’ve played the GMO/ pesticide approval game to date in the US. It would be nice if this is not what happens, but here’s that déjà vu stuff. Grease a little palm, fund a study, train the perfect expert for desirable governmental positions... buy your way in. Like any trip, if you can pay the fare, you will get where you want to go. Both science and political assignations are for sale. The first group calls it funding, and the latter, campaign or lobbying monies.

GMOs feed wealth, not the hungry

But It’s Safe to Eat At least, these 8 crops are in the eyes of the EFSA. The new ruling allows individual EU countries to opt out of growing approved GMOs deemed safe to consume by the European Food Safety Authority. Feel like this is just the beginning, that more will follow? That is how it has played out elsewhere with this GMO thing. Who are the current major EFSA players? Make a list. Then make a list of all the top people at Monsanto’s UK and European offices. Don’t overlook legal counsel. Going forward, you will no doubt see movers and shakers from the

Damage Control Underway With the ink barely dry on the new food law, the PR aimed at unseating current consumer opinion and belief hit UK mainstream media. On 22 January BBC published news that ‘safer GMOs’ are being created by scientists in the US. Synthetic biology aimed at controlling these crops from spreading into the wild by adding synthetic food for it to live on. The goal is that these alien bacteria will starve to death if they leave the host plant, removing possible contamination. Should we feel relieved, or see reason for heightened concern? Firstly, there is no way they can remove all risk, and secondly what will this stuff do to us and the Earth? More details on this new development: bit.ly/safer-gmos. 3

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY EVAN FOLDS

making your own

soilmix Soil is like water. Both sustain life as we know it, yet they are so omnipresent that we take them for granted. And due to both their importance and complexity, the limitations of language cannot do them justice. The soil is under our feet at all times, and can also be purchased in a bag at the hardware store. Soil is the primary basis by which we grow food, and the same field can also be subjected to the littering of our poisons. But beyond it all, soil may very well be the most important substance on Earth.

SOIL C R E AT E S AND SUS TA I N S ALL OF LIFE

MAKING YOUR OWN SOIL MIX I GARDEN CULTURE

THE FIRST THING TO THINK OF WHEN MAKING A SOIL MIX IS MICROBES Soil creates and sustains all of life. Soil allows farming, the act of rebellion that catalyzed human specialization from hunting and gathering to society at large, and that started the human experiment more than 10,000 years ago. We’ve come a long way since then, and with good reason, as there are many more mouths to feed with human population growing exponentially in modern times. But we are using more topsoil than we are creating, and we are collectively utilizing soil for all the wrong reasons. We must respect the soil, not use it as a sponge; even certified organic practices can result in tremendous damage, and pollution to the land. Modern farming has become more a creature of synthetic profit, than a source of nourishment for people. USDA data shows food losing nutrient density, and we are experiencing a global degenerative and autoimmune epidemic. But the good news is that we can do something about it. The growing Food Movement is about creating personal agriculture. This means eating with our ideals, and growing at least one thing that we eat. Modern property development obliterates the landscape leaving very poor soil behind, so many home gardeners turn to containers or raised beds. Estimates say that it takes 1000 years to create an inch of topsoil, but fortunately for modern gardeners we don’t have to wait nearly that long. The easy route is to buy potting soil. There is merit to letting the experts do it for you, but it can get expensive when your gardening habit gets serious. Just a little under thirteen gallons of good organic potting soil can cost £16. Many who are looking to invest in serious quantities of soil are making their own soil mixes. Not only

is it possible to calibrate a custom soil mix to the crop that you are growing, but given sufficient scale buying the raw ingredients, and formulating the soil yourself costs much less than buying the readymade version. It’s actually not as hard as you think, with some intention and practice you can create, and even reuse, your own soil capable of sustainably supporting thriving gardens, and producing increasingly substantial yields. The first thing to think of when making a soil mix is microbes. Microbes manufacture soil, no different from construction workers on a job site. It is the grower’s responsibility to bring the correct building materials to the garden. Any attempt at making or reusing soil without prioritizing biological inoculation and diversity is like trying to brew beer without adding the yeast, or making kombucha or vinegar without a mother. The microbes define the process. So it is in the soil. Source a farm-based biological inoculant, and consider brewing compost tea to concentrate the process. Microbes from a natural environment will always be stronger, and have more life experience than lab-based, and you will automatically get a greater diversity of microbes in your mix. Any biological product that can name the microbes in the product is a limitation, because we are only aware of a small percentage of microbes found in natural living systems. In the end, diversity is king. Use compost from your friend’s back yard, worm castings, scrape topsoil from the forest, and buy some premium compost from the garden store. Remember, microbes selforganize, so you cannot mess it up. Once you have your microbes lined up, it is time to

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consider the soil mix itself. Popular base materials are peat moss and coir fiber, but it is often possible to source local bulk mixes out of varying materials. The popular bulk soil base in our area is pine bark and turkey manure. Not the best, but it provides cheap volume for the base of the mix that we are going to value-add. It’s not that making a soil mix is inherently difficult, but that if you don’t do it right it simply may not work the first time. Meaning, it is possible to put together a soil mix that lacks total fertility, like trying to use a budget Big Box fertilizer in hydroponics, the plant cannot grow without at least minimum essential nutrition. This is generally accomplished through ensuring the ingredients used are as diverse as possible. This means don’t make a soil mix composed of peat moss, rice hulls, and fish meal - and expect your garden to produce. Instead, make a soil mix of peat moss, rice hulls, worm castings, bat guano, rock dust, farm-based compost, fish meal, alfalfa meal, whey, yucca, kelp meal, and as many other meals as you can muster given the crop that you are cultivating. Use a little bit of a lot of things, the more the merrier. There is strength in diversity. By providing diverse food sources for the microbes you will inoculate into your mix will create a highly fertile environment for roots to form and feed, but take some time to consider the nutrient balance of the ingredients you are using. For example, you wouldn’t want to have a phosphorous-heavy mix (bone meal, CalPhos, guano) for a crop of basil that you are growing vegetatively, or use too much high NPK ingredient (guano, fish) for light feeders like lettuce. It will take some practice to calibrate your fertility properly in your soil mix, but plants don’t lie, they will give you constant feedback. You will also want to investigate the relative concentration of the mix you are creating. For instance, if you evaluate the differing nutritional requirements of lettuce versus tomatoes, you will see that lettuce wants a fertilizer concentration of around 600-800 ppm, while tomatoes desire anywhere between 1700-3500 ppm. This is quite a

MAKING YOUR OWN SOIL MIX I GARDEN CULTURE

FORMUL ATING THE SOIL YOURSELF COSTS MUCH LESS THAN BUYING THE READY-MADE VERSION substantial difference. A “ppm”, or “parts of ions per million of water”, is the measurement for fertilizer concentration. Imagine a granule of table salt being dissolved in water into a Na+ and a Cl- ion. Each ion would be a “part” in a ppm, and plants eat these ions created either through solubility, or through biological decomposition. Osmosis is the phenomenon that sees water travel from the lower concentration to the higher concentration through a water permeable membrane in order to equalize concentrations. The root is an osmotic gradient, so this force is at play in roots when it comes to fertilizer concentrations. If a plant has more ions inside than it does outside of its roots then healthy transpiration can occur. But if there are too many ions outside relative to inside the root water is then sucked out of the plant resulting in the plant prioritizing, and the edges “burning” and becoming necrotic. Considering this, it becomes clear that all purchased potting soils have to be calibrated to the lower end of this fertilizer spectrum. In other words, if a potting soil formulator created a recipe that resulted in a fertilizer concentration of 2000 ppm tomatoes would love it, but the lettuce would be severely over fertilized resulting in dead plants if not amended. When taking this into account for your soil mix you may want to keep the higher NPK items out of the mix, and feed with them over time in the soil as a fertilizer. Think of the organic fertilizers as the building materials for your microbial construction workers, and as a crutch for results and plant nourishment until your soil food web is ready, and can take over the fertilization responsibility. The lack of focus on microbes is one of the major problems with gardening techniques like square foot gardening or lasagna gardening. They are great templates for beginning gardeners, but they do not focus on microbes, and people end up with beautifully spaced gardens that cannot sustain themselves over time, or immature soil where they can read the copy on the front page of the newspaper when they turn their soil over. Organic matter does

THE L ACK OF FOCUS ON MICROBES IS ONE OF THE MA JOR PROBLEMS WITH GARDENING TECHNIQUES not just melt, it is biologically digested by a team of micro-organisms that move micrometers in their lifetime. If we don’t bring them to the party they simply are not there! In the forest, consider that microbes don’t eat the leaves, they eat what the microbes make of them. And trees grow to enormous size and strength in the forest with zero fertilizer. The power of microbes cannot be understated. You will find that by focusing on biological strength and diversity, the more the natural processes take over, and the more mature your soil becomes, the less responsible you will feel to feed the garden with fertilizer. This is particularly intriguing when it comes to reusing soil. Next issue we will discuss the merits and techniques of re-using your potting soil, so you can take your personal agriculture to an entirely new level. 3

19 GARDENCULTURE.NET

LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE

BY STEPHANIE WHITLEY

Genuine Quality Horticultural Lighting e c n e d fi n o c h it w g in t h g li w o r Buy your g test the power of your ballasts

At Genuine Quality Horticultural Lighting we test magnetic HID ballasts straight from the manufacturers to ensure they meet strict European EC specifications. Ballast manufacturers who are confident of their product apply to Genuine Quality Horticultural Lighting for testing. If a product passes we then issue the product with our verification marks: Genuine Power and Genuine Quality. All test results are independently verified by Venture Lighting International, world leaders in grow lighting technology. The Genuine Quality and Genuine Power Marks

THE QUALITY STANDARDS OF HID LIGHTING HAS FALLEN SIGNIFICANTLY

Magnetic HID ballasts labelled with the Genuine Quality mark have been manufactured to strict EC specifications and quality standards to ensure safety, good quality, and correct power to the lamp to within +/-3% (indicated by a Genuine Power mark). A Genuine Quality ballast will have a nominal rated life span of ten years, will be efficient, and will be safe to use. The list of EC specifications met by Genuine Quality ballasts are available to view on the genuinequality. co.uk website.

About Us Our team of UK plant lighting experts has unparalleled experience in lighting technology and indoor growing. With almost 20 years working at the forefront of lighting design and production, we formed Genuine Quality Horticultural Lighting in 2012 out of a shared passion

for grow lighting, and a desire to keep the technology moving forward. Over recent years the quality standards of HID lighting has fallen significantly due to some manufacturers using cheaper components and build methods to save on production costs. The result has been ballasts on the market that under-power lamps, overpower lamps, and even cause fires. What many buyers donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know is that a poor quality 600W HID ballast providing a mere 512W will give up to 40% less light from their lamp. Our aim is to raise the safety and quality standards of the indoor growing market by not only testing ballasts on the market, but also sharing our knowledge base with gardeners, so you can buy your grow lighting with confidence. Sharing our knowledge is key to our mission â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we want you to be able to go out there and test your ballast yourself. To find out more visit: genuinequality.co.uk/test-your-ballast. 3 GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY STEPHEN BROOKES

K U

The

V G ro w

S c e ne

TO G R O W O R C U LT I VAT E ?

When it comes to growing, the UK is about 5 years behind growers in the Netherlands and the USA. Tell an American grower that you’re using magnetic plastic ballasts, and they’ll look at you as if you’ve landed from another planet before slowly shuffling away. Don’t even mention shades.

If I wrapped tin foil around cardboard, and put in two hanging hooks, as long as the customer saved money they would be happy. Then we have the bulb, the light source that stimulates photosynthesis - one, if not THE most essential pieces of equipment in the grow room. Cheap £20 bulbs dominate the market, though a few higher range bulbs do sell to the more discerning customer. We, as grow shop owners, try to show the customer the SON-T bulbs, and the Philips Green power bulbs as examples of premium bulbs with longer life and a steadier output, but it seems a lot of British love to spend little while thinking they can gain a lot. Now this isn’t all growers in the UK, some are absolutely world-class growers and breeders that use the latest technology, and embrace change if it gets them better results in yield or quality. So what does this mean for the UK grower? There are probably two categories of grower in the UK… Those that grow plants, and those that cultivate plants. The first group will put a plant in some media, add water, light, and food, and then wait a set amount of weeks for it to produce its fruit. They get a result they are happy with, and after a few months’ time believe that they are omnipotent with nothing to learn. These are the worst types of growers, and we should all make a hasty retreat for the nearest exit. Then there is the cultivator, the person who doesn’t just grow a plant. They manipulate their environment to suit the plant for its stage of growth, how they would like it to grow, how fast, for how long, and whether they want quality or quantity, or a mix of both. Fortunately, I deal mostly with the latter, and only meet the ‘grower’ once in a while. It does start to get infuriating when you have to explain why a grower really does

need a thermometer/hygrometer in their room, but then again, we can’t have everything in life right. So out of the two types, a typical set-up might look like this for a ‘grower’… Any size tent from 1m2 to 3m2 (the stronger, the better because they can invite all their friends to hang upside down in it), or even a room (hopefully walls fitted with something we can regard as reflective), as these ‘growers’ think they can grow as many plants as they want, the more the better. Then you’ll often find some trays, a few pots (the bigger, the better - 80 litre pots with a 4 week veg has been known), some coco (any old coco, because it doesn’t really matter if it’s been washed and buffered, they always use cheap coco, and they get “great” results), some feed (it doesn’t really matter which one, they won’t have any measuring equipment, so any will do), and don’t expect to find a pH or EC meter (unless a friend let them borrow it, they stick it in the water, and they look good). Now we get to the good part, the extraction! Some ‘growers’ have been known to bring filters back, and ask where they attach the plug, some just place it in the corner of their room, and think the ‘magic’ carbon will attract bad smells, occasionally you may find a fan blowing into a filter… I kid you not. If these growers wish to upgrade their extraction, they may increase the size of the filter (10” 1000 m3/h to a 10” 2000 m3/h), but not spare a thought for their small 10” 820 m3/h fan that they think will be able to handle the job. They’ve been doing this for 3 years, so don’t expect to teach them much. Lastly, there’s their lighting. Now lighting is often up for debate, but these growers would rather spend £200 on an additive that

THE U.K. GROW SCENE I GARDEN CULTURE

A LOT OF BRITISH LOVE TO SPEND LITTLE WHILE THINKING THEY CAN GAIN A LOT

will give them “better” results than forking out the extra £75 to upgrade to digital dimmable ballasts. This is where some ‘growers’ are light years behind America, and other countries, who adopted the digital dimmable ballasts many years ago. So there we have the ‘grower’ in the UK - the person who cannot be taught anything, but expects an hour of your time to help them figure out why their leaves have yellowed even though they water their coco once, sometimes twice, every day… For some, there is no saving. A typical room for a ‘cultivator’ might look like this… The cultivator’s grow room or tent will never be the same as last time, because they changed it slightly as they learnt something from a previous grow, and adapted to improve. They will also change it to accommodate for a slightly different season, because as you know, in the UK we have 4 seasons cold, very cold, very bloody cold. and bloody roasting. They choose their tent, if they use one, to suit their particular needs. Maybe they need a completely light-proof tent, or perhaps they need it durable to handle repeated opening and closing - whatever their particular needs, they chose it specifically for that job. Some cultivators prefer a grow room, they choose a reflective sheeting that works for them, perhaps a simple black and white on a budget, or a better silver reflective sheeting for those wanting to spend a little more. The really serious cultivator may want to use some silver diamond Mylar, or even Orca sheeting. The ‘cultivator’s’ lighting set-up of choice? Dimmable digital ballasts are a must, with a good bulb and reflector to suit their individual circumstances. It may be that heat is a real issue, and they choose an air-cooled reflector, or they prefer a big (even) spread of light, and you’ll find them running a Hortiline North star reflector, or other similar product. Whatever the choice, it is there for a specific reason to help the ‘cultivator’ maintain absolute control over their environment. When it comes to extraction, the cultivator will know the amount of lights that will be in the tent or room, and make sure the fan and filter combo can handle this. Whatever equation they use to work out how often they wish to exchange the air

in the room, it works for them, but they are always willing to listen, and learn from others, so that they can improve their grow. (They are also not duped into buying equipment based on shiny red mammals that look really cool). As for nutrients, you may find a unique mix of nutrients and additives that over many years the ‘cultivator’ has come to like, understand, and work well with. The cultivator knows there is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ nutrient, just a feeding schedule and regime that works well for them personally. In a ‘cultivators’ room or tent you will also find equipment such as heaters (no cultivator wants a 10C difference in day and night-time temperatures), fans, CO2 generators (natural or synthetic), water chillers (in our hot summers), pH and EC meters, and the all-important thermometer/hygrometer to have more knowledge of their environment. Lastly, what the ‘cultivator’ has, which the ‘grower’ will never use or understand until they themselves become a ‘cultivator’, is plant intuition. The knowledge that no plant will act or behave the same as the last one, or the one before that. They will know to monitor their plants for signs of distress, and how to remedy it effectively. These people also LOVE growing. Perhaps I have been a little harsh on the UK growers, but that’s how I see it, and how they come across. It’s also not just my opinion, but that of a lot of the people I speak to up and down the country. Thankfully, these are few and far between, and I have the absolute pleasure of being surrounded by many experienced and knowledgeable ‘cultivators’ at NPK Technology in Liverpool. Thank you for reading, and I look forward to writing for you again, I would like to tell you all about the trials and tribulations of the UK grow scene, the changing times and technology, the unscrupulous marketing companies and grow shops, advancements in plant science, industrial plant growing for the kitchen gardener, and our growing communities that are embracing new technology and ideas to get the next generation of growers involved. 3

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GREEN PRODUCTS I GARDEN CULTURE

cool finds 1

GYO S E E D S AV E R S

Serious about your seed saving efforts? Maybe it’s time to get a bit more organized than recycling odd bits from the post where you may just forget to record important info about your seed. They’re perfect for sharing seed too with a space devoted to keeping track of seed type and name, date of harvest, person who grew it, and the seed saver too. Made by Burgon & Ball.Available @ bit.ly/seed-savers.

From being short on storage space to trekking through the wilds, there’s a lot of reasons a person would find a ‘Bucket ina Bag’ handy. Water the dog while traveling, an impromptu beer/champagne cooler at the beach, slogging water from the source to your plot... It’s the perfect auto boot stowaway too. A Burgon & Ball original that is available in 2 sizes, and 4 colors @ bit.ly/onya-buckets.

R EC YC L E D TOT E BAGS

Rugged and waterproof, they come in two distinct styles, and a huge array of colors. Made in Cornwall from recycled lorrie tarps, and seat belt webbing.Town Totes are perfect shopping and farmers market bags. Festival Bags are bigger and sturdier for heavier loads, just what you need for a day at the beach, camping, and gear. No two bags are exactly the same. From bit.ly/tarp-totes.

COLLAPSIBLE BUCKET

F I R E H O S E B E LT S

HOMEGROWN TRUFFLES A harvest that requires a boatload of patience, but a delicacy worth waiting for. It is possible to grow Hazel truffle trees in containers or as hedges, and get two different crops. Get the right tree for your region’s climate, it matters! We found The Natural Gardener the only source concerned with such an important growing point. Certified inoculated trees @ bit.ly/truffle-trees. 3

They may not hold water anymore, but are awesome repurposed into belts and more. Available in a range of colors and styles from distressed to sleek. Made by Elvis & Kreese from recycled fire engine hoses. Shown here is the unisex West Ender with silver or distressed brass buckle and grommets. Best selection? Shop direct from the E&K website @ bit.ly/fire-hose-belts.

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MUSIC I GARDEN CULTURE

BY BRIAN BURK

Credit: Maker City LA

Credit: Magda Olszanowski

Organic Music

“IT’S A TALE OF PL ANT AND MACHINE IN A SYMBIOTIC REL ATIONSHIP Mileece Petre is 35, British, and makes beautiful music with plants. That sounds strange, but most brilliant ideas sound a bit

The setup looks pretty simple from the outside. She places pads on a few different types of plants, connects those pads to wires, and the wires to a computer. The pads read bio-electric energy put off by the plants when something touches them. These signals get sent to an amplifier, which converts these analog signals into digital code. This code is then sent to her computer where a program, which she wrote, reads the signals, and turns them into electronic music. It’s a tale of plant and machine in a symbiotic relationship, where they collide into a sonic landscape. Naturally, this garnered some attention. Mileece recently had a residency at Maker City LA. She performed, in 2013 at the Museum of Modern Art. Mileece also created a first of its kind interactive classroom at the Lycee International Francais in Los Angeles where she converted a school bus into an interactive forest, and made a zero-emission TreWe-vrTM Pod for environmental education. During her performances, she combines live music with the sounds of her Tre-Wevr interface. She couples these with sounds from her field recordings, like icebergs and sounds from the Costa Rican jungle, to paint a beautiful sonic picture. There is something real, and elegant to the whole thing. The colorful plant leaves, the graceful

Credit: Tahitia Hicks

crazy at first.

movements from the artist, and the sounds and visuals coming together to showcase how nature is a living, breathing, all-encompassing thing. You can tell she is doing this for the plants, and for the people. Mileece says the landscapes and designs that she makes are there because she wants habitats to exist; for herself and others. Also, she does not feel like a composer of the music, more like a facilitator of the plants natural harmonies. That is a true love for nature. Nature is a beautiful thing, and so is music. Can we live in a world without both? Plants are alive, they live and die, and they do communicate. Mileece, has found a way to connect the world to the actual voice of nature in a unique and harmonious way. With a bit of time, and a respect for music and nature, she has found a way to make the forest into a symphony. Maybe we should try to listen to the plants in our garden, and in the woods, meadows, and parks around us a bit more closely. There’s a lot more going on there than green space. 3 GARDENCULTURE.NET

SOIL I GARDEN CULTURE

BY AMBER FIELDS

• Good for • What Ails You I always thought it was the lack of green space, and a relationship with nature that made anger and crime so common in cities. All that noise, congestion, and asphalt can’t be good for a person, especially when it’s your total environment. Science has discovered that it goes deeper than that. Human psyche and health requires a relationship with dirt. Society’s current dissociation with Smart Pots or GeoPots. with soil negatively affects us Feed your soil, because the mentally and physically. The microbial life in organic THE MICROBIAL microbial life in good soil is soil has healing properties actually healing. At least the for humans on contact. It LIFE IN GOOD microorganisms not voided by will also give you better SOIL IS ACTUALLY farm and garden chemicals or vegetables, fruits, or flowers. HEALING… synthetic fertilizers are. It’s not You came from the soil. You MENTALLY AND just the flowers, greens, or fruit are also sustained by the soil. PHYSICALLY we need from plants, but also Human beings are microbial assistance from things in the soil too. Over 90% of the human food web around plants’ roots. body is made of microbes, such As I read about this, it reminded me as ‘gut flora’. Each of us is our own of my son as a toddler constantly eating ecosystem that gets out of balance dirt. Perhaps it wasn’t just that kids at this from a lack of soil contact. Your microbes stage put everything in their mouth, maybe it was instinct need soil microbes for mental and physical health benefits. telling him he needed something from the soil. He does Got no dirt because you’re an urbanite? At the very least, buy have mild allergies, and these scientists have connected a bag of organic topsoil, and indulge in a little mud pie fun. 3 rising allergy problems and recurring illnesses to daily life that disconnects most people from the soil. They are proving that people who live in sterile environments have Bee & Bug Bite Eraser more such health problems than those that spend their Mud, or the wet soil we call mud, has the natural power lives covered with dirt and pollen. to cure bee stings. It’s amazing, like never being stung at Is it really just the beauty that bring so many to become all. The mud actually draws out the toxins and absorbs so addicted to flower gardening, or does getting dirty have them. Just apply a thin layer, and let it dry. In just 10-15 some sway? Sure, the lovely colors and bloom shapes are minutes, wash it off, and you’re cured.They say it works attractive, and do have an effect on a person’s mental health on insect bites as well. Gotta remember to try this and mood, but a backyard gardener for any outcome will instead of scratching mosquito and fly bites for days, also get dirty. By the same token, people who live beyond because it’s like magic on a bee sting. No special kind of urban areas will likely have a flower garden, or a vegetable soil needed, but sand might not work as well. garden, or both. Studies have shown that this portion of the population also has a lot less mental health issues. All Natural Mood Elevator Depressed? Dealing with mood swings? Having a bad day? Spend more time outdoors in the garden. Dance barefoot in the dirt. Pull some weeds. Grow in real soil on the balcony

• More Info: • • •

bit.ly/dirt-new-prozac bit.ly/soil-neuroscience bit.ly/urban-stress

• •

bit.ly/nature-aids-immunity bit.ly/urban-rural-psych-disorders GARDENCULTURE.NET

Social programs are struggling to feed people in need

d e e n g in w o r ag There is a compelling difference between hunger and appetite. By definition, hunger is the painful sensation or compelling weakness caused by the overpowering need for food. Appetite has a much more palatable and polite definition, as a desire for food and drink. Many of us who live in more developed countries are less likely to encounter true hunger in our own lives, but not all of us, and the problem may be getting worse right under our noses.

HUNGER I GARDEN CULTURE BY JUDD STONE

Demand at food banks in most communities in the United States is at staggering levels. Since the decline of the economy, there has been a sharp rise in people and families that can no longer afford to feed themselves, not even the basics, or keep a roof over their heads. Social programs that supposedly are in place to help people in their down times have had their resources taxed by increased enrollment, and decreased political support, reducing their ability to have a noticeable effect, causing further system decline. The need for you, the reader, to get involved as an individual has never been more important statistically in our lives. Many of you already take part in food-raiser type events where you bring a non-perishable item into a public event for a discounted admission. This is a great way for the entire community to get involved, because food banks are at a disadvantage today. They lack funds to create a diverse offering as they always have, and lets face it, people can’t live off of spaghetti-o’s and corn flakes. Food banks need helping hands. I’ve never been to a food bank that doesn’t need help with, well, everything. They need people to sort goods, and help get them on the shelf. They need people to help hand out the food when they are open, and extras during limited very busy hours. They need you to donate baby food. They never have enough. For those of you with children, I hope that speaks to you. But most of all, and why I wanted to write this article, they need you, yes you, the conscious, food savvy gardener, and maybe some of your wares. Many food banks throughout the country are now growing food. In years past, food banks didn’t have sustained customers like they do today, people got back on their feet quicker. Offering fresh produce didn’t make sense… now it does. I grew 60 heads of lettuce for a food bank, and I asked them if they wanted me to offset the harvest, my heart sank when they told me they could easily get rid of all 60 to families that needed it same day. My efforts could

You need to get involved never keep up alone. Again, this is my call to you. Your local food bank may not have a garden; quite possibly you could help them build one in your spare time. If they already have one, I’m sure they would love for you to take a day in the watering rotation. A little goes a long way when it comes to a helping hand. You will find a lot of warm hearts at the food bank. But, at the very least, if you’re left with no additional time to do this, I ask you to plant a row in your own garden for your local food bank, or rescue mission. For many years, most food banks could not, and would not accept fresh produce for the simple potential of getting people sick from pesticide contamination, or even if it was store-bought, the very idea of it being perishable. The lawmakers knew something had to be done to allow food banks to work with perishable food items. It was the only way to get the best, most healthy selection of food out to the people who desperately need it. In 1996 Bill Clinton signed into law the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. The law protects donors, whether they be individual or corporate, and also protects the food bank from any civil or criminal liability stemming from any donation made in good faith. The law does not protect from gross negligence. But if you grow some healthy food, or help grow some food with your food bank, I’m pretty confident that’s an effort in good faith. The passage of the act unified the nation in legalities when it came to donating. Now corporations readily participate in nationwide donation and volunteer programs that many individual and community food banks benefit from. 3

plant a row in your own garden for your local food bank

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RICOH ARENA COVENTRY HEART OF WEST-MIDLANDS

BY WENDY DENNEY

GOING TO MARS I GARDEN CULTURE

Is Going to

GRODAN MA R RS S

• • How do you grow food during space missions to places like Mars? That is the key question in an exciting study into biological life support systems for space missions conducted in a research center at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The GRODAN Group, a specialized light, and compact growth medium THE FIRST member of the Rockwool Group, which produces maximum results MANNED played a significant role in this highwith the use of minimal resources. tech research project. The company GRODAN stone wool substrates MISSION TO develops sustainable stone wool MARS WILL TAKE meet these requirements, and are based substrate solutions for the perfectly suitable for use in closed PL ACE IN 2035 horticultural industry. The plants cultivation systems where water is being studied in Canada are grown on these highly recirculated and reused. These characteristics make advanced GRODAN substrates. the substrates ideal for use on Mars and during the journey there. If everything goes according to plan, the first manned mission to Mars will take place in 2035. They have used GRODAN stone wool in multiple The journey will take the ‘martianauts’ about two space research related projects since 1985, and this and a half years. Taking along food supplies for the brand of substrates has already ventured into outer entire journey is impossible – that would amount space! For more information about Grodan, visit to over 3300 lbs. per person. The solution lies in www.grodan101.com 3 growing their own food. What that requires is a

THE JOURNEY WILL TAKE ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY TAMMY CLAYTON

e g a S

s e g A e h t f o m o d s i W M A N H AS J UST A LWAY S K N OW N T H AT SAGE WAS SAV V Y

SAGE I GARDEN CULTURE

Grow Your Own Series H I STO RY & F O L K LO R E A word with two meanings, sage the noun refers to a herb with culinary and medicinal uses, and sage the adjective describes a wise and experienced person. Since one benefit of the Salvia plant has long been said to sharpen one’s mental prowess, sage being a synonym of wisdom cannot be a coincidence. The word salvia comes from ancient Greek that literally means ‘to save’, or the Latin counterpart for ‘well being’. Compared to other herbs, sage is a bit bland, not in flavor or benefits, but it lacks wild myth, and folklore. Man has just always known that sage was savvy. All cultures believed it safe, beneficial, a source of improved intelligence, and the key to a long life. Don’t confuse it with the wide variety of ornamental Salvia cultivars, herbal sage has been used for healing since the days of ancient China. In Rome of old, it was also used to infuse food and drink with flavor, and assisting meal digestion. The Arabs believed that one could not die if sage was prospering under your care. Charlemagne wanted it grown everywhere. In Middle Age England, it was said to only grow well where the wife was in charge, but was as must-have as salt and pepper in Colonial America.

H E A LT H B EN EF I T S While of Mediterranean origin, traditional Chinese medicine has used sage tea to soothe sore throats and indigestion since 835 A.D. It is still used for digestive and cough home remedies worldwide. Sage tincture can be used to soothe gum pain and treat gingivitis. The many powerful active constituents in sage give us essential oils, minerals, along with disease preventing, and health promoting vitamins. A natural antioxidant, disinfectant, and deodorizer that is anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-fungal, and anti-hemorrhagic. It’s also been used for hundreds of years to lighten menstrual flow, slow wound bleeding, treat menopausal hot flashes, increase fertility, and dry up breast milk. This isn’t folklore, they’ve discovered that sage contains natural estrogens. Pregnant women should avoid sage tea and essential oils, though it’s perfectly safe to eat as a seasoning. Two recent UK studies found that a 50 mL dosage of essential oil significantly increased short-term memory in young adults, proving its value for increasing mental acuity is factual. Aside from preventing ‘senior moments’, sage is also part of natural anti-aging beauty regimens. The Gypsies swore by it for darkening graying hair - just one more cosmetic benefit.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTI-ALLERGIC, ANTI-FUNGAL, AND ANTI-HEMORRHAGIC

with good drainage, sage is very easy to grow N O M EN CL AT U R E There are over 900 Salvia species on Earth, but only 80 are in cultivation, and very few have culinary or healing uses. Store-bought dried or rubbed sage is stronger than garden sage, both because it’s dehydrated, and because of the cultivar, which is Greek Sage or Dalmatian Sage (S. triloba syn. S. fruticosa). Retailed dried sage’s intensity, and the common overseasoning of holiday stuffing gives a lot of people the idea that this isn’t a herb for regular cooking. Learn how to use it, and discover what you’ve been missing. The colorful flowers are edible too. Common Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis) - Much milder, and more palatable than other culinary sages. Note that all variants of S. officinalis are hardy to zone 5, and similar tasting, though variegated selections are a bit milder. This is the form most commonly used for healing throughout Europe and Asia. Golden Garden Sage (S. o. icterina) - Low growing with green and gold variegated leaves. Purple Garden Sage (S. o. purpurea) - Deep purple new growth matures to soft green. Tricolor Garden Sage (S. o. tricolor) - Marbled pink, cream, and green variegation. Berggarten Sage (S. o. Berggarten) - Large leaves perfect for garnishing. It rarely blooms. Dwarf Garden Sage (S. o. minum) - The best one for container growing. Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans) - Sweeter than the rest. Best used in desserts, meat glazes and marinades, with fruit, and in drinks. Larger red flowers that are

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A NATUR AL ANTI OXI DANT, DISINFEC TANT, also edible. Native of Mexico. Hardy to zone 8. (syn. S. rutilans) Chia (Salvia hispanica) - Yes, of Chia Pet fame. Native Americans, both Aztec and Apache, ate this while hunting and traveling. Seed from this plant retails for £6 - £40 a pound, because it’s very high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and the richest vegetable source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Native of Mexico and Guatemala. Hardy to zone 9. Grape-Scented Sage (Salvia melissodora) - The leaves and seeds have been used for healing for thousands of years. Native to Mexico, hardy to zone 9.

GROW NOTES With good drainage, it’s very easy to grow this herb outdoors, providing you have a spot in full sun. It’s also easy to grow indoors, making winter fresh sage possible, given ample light. While these types of salvia can reach .6-1.8 meters tall, depending on the species grown, you can keep plants at 30-45 cm high with regular harvesting. Most sage plants produce well for three years, and are evergreen in the right climate. Growing indoors will allow you to enjoy not just fresh winter herbs, but also the more tender sages from South America. Common insect problems are mites and whitefly, and like many plants that prefer sharp drainage, sage can be prone to fungal infections. While the infection can harm and dwarf the plant, most of the time it does not kill sage. Give it the conditions it thrives in for a more efficient harvest, and trouble-free crop.

Tra d i t ion al C h ine s e me dic ine h as us e d s age t e a sinc e 8 35 A . D.

G ER M I N AT I O N It’s easily grown from seed, but stored seed offers only 50% germination at best. Cuttings root reliably, and starting new plants from cuttings is extremely common. Make sure the mother plant is pest and disease-free. Quarantine cuttings before moving into a grow room. Start seeds with both the room and propagation mat at 21°C. Expect seed germination in 7-10 days. You can use rockwool cubes, or coarse seed starting mix. Transplant seedlings at 5 cm tall to your finishing system or containers after 4-5 weeks in winter, and 1-2 weeks in summer. Humidity isn’t critical for this plant, though excellent drainage is. Space them 15 cm apart in your hydro system.

INDOOR ENVIRONMENT For rooting and vegetative growth you want day temps of 24-29°C, and nights ranging from 16-26°C. You can grow it in all types of hydro systems, in aquaponics, with drip irrigation, and traditional hand-watered container culture. When grown in potting mix, let the top inch of soil dry out before watering.

GROW TH MEDIA The plants are natives of light, sandy soils, so wherever you grow it be sure to give its roots a similar home. Use a coarse potting soil with extra perlite. It does well in just about any hydroponic medium.

LIGHTING In the outdoor garden, this plant needs about 8 hours of full sun. A sunny window is not enough light on its own. You need supplemental lighting. Use a compact fluorescent grow light. Keep in mind that an hour of direct outdoor sun requires 2 hours of grow light exposure as an equivalent. Inside a grow room, or in situations where there is little to no sun at all, you need a minimum of 12 hours under lights. Less light than that, and you’ll wonder if it’s growing at all. For optimum growth and harvesting times provide 700 footcandles with 14 hour days. Less light equals slower growth, and a less efficient crop. Don’t count on sage flowers when growing indoors, unless you’re running intense HIDs.

SAGE I GARDEN CULTURE

AND DEO DORIZER NUTRIENTS

Lemon - Sage Butter Chicken Scallopine

Standard vegetative nutrients or organic fertilizer is fine. There are no special nutritional needs.

The trick to getting the coating to stick to your meat for these kinds of dishes is not messing with the breading steps.

HARVEST

Ingredients • 4 chicken breast halves, pounded thin • 50 ml flour • 2 eggs, beaten • 125 ml fresh bread crumbs • Salt and pepper • 50 ml canola oil • 1 stick butter • 20 fresh sage leaves • 1 lemon, juiced

Given the conditions described above, expect the first summer harvest after transplanting in 4-5 weeks, and 5-7 weeks in winter. You get multiple harvests if your plants are robust, since sages are perennials and subshrubs. Greenhouse yields in an NFT system are: 1.8 kg per 3 meters of trough in summer, and .45 kg per 4.5 meters of trough in winter. Under good grow lighting indoors you’ll get a little heavier harvest in winter, and less in summer than the full sun conditions in a greenhouse would produce. By the way, this is a rather uncommon fresh-cut herb in retail selections, at least in the United States, and may present small growers with a great market crop, especially during the winter holiday season.

CULINARY USES There are a surprising number of ways to use fresh sage, so if you thought this was all about poultry stuffing and sausages, it’s time to expand your cuisine horizons. While the flavor of just-cut sage leaves are milder than dried or frozen, the blue flowers are subtler still. They make a lovely edible garnish and salad ingredient, seasoned butter, simple syrup, and are great with dried beans, corn, and mushrooms. How much milder? A lot - substitute 5 ml of fresh for every 1 ml of dry sage any recipe calls for. It combines well with bay, caraway, cutting celery, dried ginger, lovage, marjoram, paprika, parsley, savory, and thyme. Use your sage harvest for flavoring winter squash and meats: veal, turkey, chicken, pork, and fish. It is good in stews, stuffings, chowders and soups, marinades, casseroles, sauces, and gravies. It can at times be a star ingredient, like in Saltimbocca, where the fried leaves are both garnish and seasoning. Once you’ve tried fried sage leaves, you might find that they have uses that include snacking. It pairs well with dairy, as in England’s traditional Sage Derby cheese, where it’s also enjoyed with sautéed onions. Germans use it to flavor beer, as well as sausages. Italy uses it in lots of things besides Saltimbocca. Do some culinary research online where you’ll find it combined with a wide array of foods. You’ll soon be awash in new ways to work sage into meals. 3

Directions 1 Put a large skillet on medium-high heat, and heat the oil. 2 Dip your chicken into the flour, then the egg. Now dip into bread crumbs - pressing them slightly so they stick. 3 Gently lay the breaded meat into the hot oil. Cook until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. 4 Melt the butter to the skillet. Now add the sage and lemon juice. Cook for about 1 minute until the sage leaves are slightly crispy. 5 Pour the butter sauce into a heatproof measuring cup. Set the fried leaves aside. 6 Put one chicken scallopini on each plate, drizzle with the butter sauce, scatter some of the crispy sage leaves on top. Serve with potatoes or creamy pasta, and a crisp salad. A lovely dinner in a jiffy using garden-fresh sage. Serves 4. Recipe adopted from FramedCooks.com

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PLANT

PLANT POWER I GARDEN CULTURE

Biophotovoltaic Energy

POWER they’re harvesting photosynthetic waste

We’ve long generated electricity with plants, but only dead ones - as in fossil fuels and biomass. Some forward-thinking scientists at Bath and Cambridge Universities are creating electricity using live moss, that lowly stuff beneath your feet. A plant that many wage futile war on eradicating from lawns and gardens. Tough stuff, moss, it can grow where nothing else will. It seems to get water out of a rock, and thrives where the sun cannot reach, making it the perfect candidate to even consider generating plant power indoors.

generating power from a natural process that happens all around us

They call it ‘biophotovoltaics’. Basically they’re harvesting photosynthetic waste. Not all the energy plants absorb from the sun gets used, and they exude the surplus into the soil in the form of organic compounds that symbiotic bacteria in healthy soil need to live. After the bacteria break down the leftovers, the by-products contain electrons that the team captured to produce an electric current. All plants generate electric ions, and the bigger they are, the more power they create. However, other plants need a great deal more sunlight and soil to live, requiring the use of electricity to keep them indoors. But moss is perfectly suited to thriving inside without grow lights, and in very little soil. It’s also attractive, filters the air, and adds humidity while requiring little water. Generating power from a natural process that happens all around us is an exciting discovery. The research work is a joint effort of the Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Plant Sciences, and Chemistry departments. They didn’t set out to accomplish what they have though, the project began as using plants in solar panels, and along the way they discovered this BVP thing. The electric current produced by the moss in this

sleek-looking table cannot power the lamp. It was only designed as a prototype to showcase this emerging technology, but it will run a clock. Further design engineering is needed to make a moss-powered table lamp work, but it grabbed the attention of Fabienne Felder, a designer with a passion for biophilic design. Felder approached the team about the opportunity it presented her - to create something that showed how the process worked. And so, Moss FM was born, a radio powered by plants in a process that is totally exposed. The radio made its public début at the Edinburgh International Science Festival in April, 2014. Biochemist Paolo Bombelli, and plant scientist Ross Dennis, have a goal to perfect this plant powered technology. In the future we might find it very possible to enjoy a lush green wall in every room that doubles as your personal power plant too. The benefits of the natural world are nothing short of amazing. 3 GARDENCULTURE.NET

s ’ o h W g n i w o r G t a h W Mobile Farm Market

They call it People-Powered Food, the organic fruits of the labor of community. Its a growing effort founded, funded, managed, and marketed by a crew of 400 the team and an army of volunteers. Cultivate Oxford is a 10-acre market farm that is part of the Farm-Step programme at Earth Trust, a charity organized to provide young people with the land they need to become farmers. Situated near Abingdon, gives the growers a commute, but provides urban dwellers with fresh, locally grown, organic food in an abundance not possible within the city. They bring the food to the people, in a green grocer VegVan. The mobile market makes scheduled appearances in different neighborhoods, and farmers markets every week. Proof positive that a community can change the food system for the better, support local food, and do it well. Improving the quality of city living can take place from the outside in. Learn more @ CultivateOxford.org.

2) Waterford

Teaching 100,000 youngster how to grow it yourself in three school years is a lofty goal, but that’s exactly what GIY Ireland and Innocent are aiming to accomplish. Launched in 2013, it has enjoyed two highly successful years, attracting hundreds of 1st-6th class teachers in Ireland. The first year they reached over 25,000 kids, and distributed some 850 grow packs. In 2014 there were over 20,000 involved in a new round of Sow & Grow classroom gardening, and they’re already campaigning for 2015. That’s a lot of free seed and young grow-it-yourselfers. It’s not just about learning to grow, but about having fun doing it. It’s also somewhat competitive with annual awards for the top 3 classes based on how individual teachers put their

Winners of the 2014 innocent GIY Sow & Grow campaign, Cloghans Hill National School from Tuam, Co Galway celebrate with campaign patron, Donal Skehan.

classroom experience together, the top requirement of which is injecting the fun, and taking the startup package and running wild with the project. Teach the young how to grow, the future will follow suit. Learn more on the GIY site @ bit.ly/sow-grow.

Photo Credit: GIY

Budding Growers

Courtesy of CAG Oxfordshire

Where

1) Oxford

WHAT’S GROWING ON I GARDEN CULTURE

Courtesy of Growing Communities

3) Hackney, East London

Growing Farmers Literally. That’s what Growing Communities is doing through their Start-Up Programme. Successful growers for 20 years, their social enterprise has always been about creating a sustainable, resilient food system locally. Their CSA box scheme and farmers’ market presence has long been wellestablished, the success of which brought budding farmers and growers to them for knowledge. The list of existing community-led local fresh food sources they have nurtured into existence is amazing, but they’re not done guiding newcomers. There are spots available every year to learn the path to successful urban farming, because

it’s not just about growing the food, but also creating your market, and changing your neighborhood from the inside out. They’ve got all kinds of great stuff happening here. Learn more @ GrowingCommunities.org.

4) Chingford, North East London

Courtesy of Organiclea

Training Beekeepers

in the UK

Organiclea understands that there are more problems than pesticides for bees in the modern world. Realizing that it’s all well and good that more and more people are developing a keen interest in taking up the apiarist role in keeping the UK pollinated, they’ve set out to guide new beekeepers in going about things right. We need a sustainable, natural approach, because they aren’t cattle, though commercial apiaries treat them as such. Several times a year, Organiclea holds beekeeping classes on their garden grounds at Hawkswood Plant Nursery. The two-day course segments must follow in succession. No skipping Day 1 allowed. First you must learn about the bees before it is possible to practice holistic apiary methods. Just one more great contribution from a longstanding workers cooperative that grows, and sells local food in London. If you’re going to do something naturally - understand your creature. Learn more @ bit.ly/organic-lea-bees. 3

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY KYLE L. LADENBURGER

it is our job to le youths toward h ad ealth and preservation

TEAC H ‘ E M

YO U N G

TEACHI NG YOUTH TO GARDE N I NSPIRE S HEALTH Y FOOD CHOICE S L ATER ON

GARDEN EDUCATION I GARDEN CULTURE

I was born in the summer of 1985, and the generation that I so emphatically belong to is one that in many respects was the guinea pig test generation for modern food science. As children we had a first hand, participatory role in the rise of the processed food market. For many of us, real nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, represented a small portion of our overall diet. The other part? Filled with fast food, low-grade microwave dinners, and countless other products designed in a lab by scientists blending food-like substances with chemicals to create a “safe” to eat packaged meal that has a ridiculously long shelf life.

These days it would seem that the easiest thing for us to do would be to blame our parents for providing such innutritious products to their children. But I’m not sure if that is actually the best, and most noble course of action. When my generation was young there was little to no evidence that processed food was a hazard to our health. Mix that with fast food and processed foods being so cheap and easy to prepare - that hasn’t changed much. And then compound that with the fast food dollar menu being born, which completely solidified fast, cheap, and easy meals. This all begs the inevitable question: what was a busy, overworked parent to do? However, that was a long time ago, and things have changed indeed. We are now truly seeing the effects such a poor diet can have on one’s health, especially when it comes to children. By now most of us likely understand the fact that processed foods are unnatural, and that our bodies need real whole food nutrition to stay strong and healthy. So, I think it is time to realize that we have reached an age where ignorance for the sake of saving time and money should no longer be considered acceptable, especially when it comes to the health and development of a growing child. Now, as my generation enters into our 30’s, and many of us begin to have children of our own, the negative health consequences of a diet high in processed foods are becoming even more evident. We live in a world fueled by information, and every day we see new statistics that help drive us try to make healthier choices for our own bodies. We can read the fact that in 2012, 29.1 million Americans or 9.3% of the population

had full on diabetes (a disease that is becoming prevalent in developed countries), and that this number consistently rises on average 1% every two years, and that nearly 25,000 children are newly diagnosed each year, not including those who go undiagnosed (Source: National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014). These numbers help keep diabetes comfortably within the top 10 causes of death in our country each year. After learning that, we may stumble upon another website such as the one for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who reports that “childhood obesity has more than doubled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents over the past 30 years.” In 1980, 7% of children 6-11 years of age were obese, and that number jumped to 18% in 2012, and a similar increase in adolescents (12-19 years old) where the number jumped from 5% in 1980 to 21% in 2012. Now they consider more than one-third of children and adolescents as overweight or obese. There is also much published data on childhood obesity being a leading cause of a whole list of health problems as these children grow older. It’s clearly evident that something needs to change. So, as a generation, we read these numbers, and many of us get an unsettled, almost sickening feeling as we think to ourselves how could anyone let this happen? Not only that, but what can we do to change this trend? The bottom line is that children who are obese are likely to still be obese as adults, and will be more at risk to develop health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, and many types of cancer. A contributing factor to childhood obesity,

THE GUINEA PIG TEST GENERATION FOR MODERN FOOD SCIENCE

littleny / Shutterstock.com

GARDENCULTURE.NET

GARDEN EDUCATION I GARDEN CULTURE

every day we see statistics that hnew drive us try to m elp a healthier choiceke s along with lack of physical exercise, is the heavy consumption of processed foods. If ignorance is the villain that got us into this mess, then information and knowledge shall be our first weapons to fight against it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of utmost importance to teach children that making health conscious nutritional and dietary choices will help to keep them healthy and fit their entire lives. And I believe that my generation will be the one that can truly make an impact towards positive change. With my generation we have seen a strong push towards locally sourced foods, organics, farmers markets, less chemical additives, and the slow food movement in general. If we stay true to these movements, and as we begin to have our own children, we can have a positive influence on the next generation, so they will hopefully grow up emulating the same types of food choices that we make. Naturally, as we begin to create more healthy diets for ourselves, this in turn will impact the types of foods marketed to us and sold in stores. Being consumers, our dollars help shape the products we see in the market place. If we start moving our money away from the processed foods over to the more nutritious healthy foods the suppliers will notice and they, in turn, will provide more products of a similar fashion to satisfy demand. One of the most encouraging aspects that I see when looking at my generation is that we have created such an awesome popularity surge in home gardening. If a certain food is not available locally, or if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t completely trust the provider, we know we have the best solution: to grow our own. Gardening is a foolproof way for us to supply ourselves and

our families with healthy, nutritious food for the rest of our lives, or at least until we can garden no more. With a big enough garden, and a plentiful reserve of jars, we can even preserve much of our harvest, and enjoy the bounty year round. A word that instantly comes to mind is self-sustainability. Our love of gardening is also a perfect way to show children, even at an early age, what real healthy foods are, and how they grow. This, in turn, can help them to develop a passion for not only eating fruits and vegetable, but growing them as well. When gardening with a child it is important to remember to keep it simple, but also to have fun. Children easily lose focus if an activity is too challenging, or just not any fun. Some garden activities that are suitable for participation by children include: planting seeds, watering plants, harvesting fruits/veggies, and even some minor garden maintenance like light weeding, and pruning of dead or unwanted foliage. Letting them help in different aspects in the garden will not only teach them how plants grow, and the healthy hard work involved in growing them, it will also make them feel a rightfully deserved sense of pride in what they have done. As adults (parents or otherwise) it is important that we show excitement and pride with these gardening activities to encourage the child to continue down the this path as both a gardener, and as an individual that makes healthy food decisions more often than not. I will be honest. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always make the wisest decision with every meal I eat, and I have those cravings for junk food just like anyone else. But the important thing is that I am more conscious of these choices, and I try to make better ones in the future. If we continue to try and not just give up, we can really get the momentum going in a positive direction for the future. We may even help shift the tides just a bit - away from the fast and easy processed world, back to the natural, locally grown, real food side. Back to how people ate for thousands of years, straight from the earth. This all starts with people supporting local farmers, local farmers markets, and encouraging the growth of more small farms in their area. We need to create an environment in which eating and living healthy is not only promoted, but where it is the norm. And as adults, especially parents of young children, it is our job to work at leading the youth in the direction toward health and preservation so that, when they grow up, the choice to eat healthy will be one of little thought, only action. 3 GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY GRUBBYCUP

O R GA N I C

VS.

RIENTS TO T U N C I N A G R O E COMPAR OR BREAKFAST F L A E M T A O G N I E AT Plants need nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and other nutrients for healthy growth. These are elements, and as such, there is no difference between the nitrogen (N) from an organic nutrient, or a synthetic nutrient. Elemental nitrogen is the same exact thing, regardless of the source.

The most important (and most interesting) of these is nitrogen (N). Unfortunately, plants can’t absorb pure elemental nitrogen (N) directly. There isn’t a way to feed plants a pile of single nitrogen (N) atoms. There is plenty of nitrogen gas (N 2) in air, but plants can’t split the two nitrogen atoms apart, they are bound too tightly together, and so nitrogen gas (N 2) isn’t a good nitrogen source for plants. What garden plants most often use to allow them to take up nitrogen (N) is a form known as nitrate (NO3), which is a nitrogen (N) atom connected with three oxygen (O) atoms. Nitrate (NO3) is easy for the plants to separate the nitrogen (N) from the oxygen (O), and therefore makes for a good source of nitrogen (N) (woody plants like trees can also use ammonium (NH4)). Plant material that has fallen to the ground, and animals leaving waste material behind are two sources of nitrogen (N) that are naturally occurring in untended wilderness. To emulate this, we get organic nutrients from naturally occurring materials with minimal processing. One advantage to this is that the materials can often be collected cheaply (i.e. leaves, lawn clippings, livestock manure, etc.), and require little processing before use,

often just maturing or composting. Compost (3-1-2) is very similar to what happens in nature when leaves, and other plant material fall to the ground, and nobody is around to rake it up. Blood meal (12-0-0) and alfalfa meal (2-1-2) are two other organic fertilizers that are based on things found to supply plants in a natural setting with nutrition. It is as these things decompose (or compost) that bacteria and fungi convert them into ammonia (NH 3), and ammonium (NH 4), which break down further into nitrites, and finally nitrates. Another organic source of ammonia is the waste products of animals, which contain nitrogen in the form of urea (NH 2)2(CO). The urea is converted to ammonia (NH3) by bacteria using the enzyme ureasec. This process takes time with spread out availability, because the bacteria generate the ammonia as they get to it. I like to compare organic nutrients to eating oatmeal for breakfast, they’re bulky, and release their nutrients over time. Some forms of organic fertilizers can continue to release nutrients for more than one season, improving the general long-term health of the soil. Because the percentage of nutrient to total mass is usually lower, the NPK values for organic nutrients are also generally

ORGANIC VS. SYNTHETIC I GARDEN CULTURE

S Y N T H E T IC S T N E I R T NU CHEMICAL NUTRIENTS ARE MORE LIKE HAVING AN ENERGY DRINK FOR BREAKFAST lower than with chemical-based solutions. Because they are closer to a natural state, the NPK values for organic products will also be less exact than chemical based fertilizers, which allow you to make to exact recipes. This is why organic nutrients are less prone to overfeeding, the exception being high ammonia ‘hot’ manures. You can use compost, worm casting, and fish excrement in almost unlimited quantities without causing ‘nute burn’. Since organic nutrients are less processed, they are also more prone to clogging hydroponic systems that rely on sprayers and pumps. However, there is more than one way to make ammonia (NH 3) it can also be a manufactured chemical made from nitrogen gas (N2) by applying heat, pressure, and an iron catalyst. Ammonium sulfate ((NH 4)2 SO 4), and ammonium nitrate (NH 4)(NO3) are other manufactured forms of nitrogen that allow for later parts of the process to be skipped over. Any of these allow for a short cut in the process, and makes the nitrogen available a lot faster, but does not last as long before giving up the nitrogen it contains. Chemical nutrients are more like having an energy drink for breakfast, they release their nutrients quickly, and then you need more to avoid a ‘crash’. Since chemical nutrients are shortcuts to the natural process, they can allow for a greater level of control of how much, and when the nitrogen becomes available to the plants. This can allow for a higher nutrient level, and resulting increase in performance than is possible with organic nutrients.

With this level of control comes responsibility however, as introducing an overabundance becomes a much more likely temptation, which can result in ‘nute burn’, or overloading and damaging natural systems with the runoff. Adding a chemical nitrate (NO3) for example, allows for skipping the entire nitrate (NO3) creation process, and immediately supplies nitrogen (N) to the plants, but it is also very water-soluble, and what isn’t taken up by the plant will quickly wash downstream (unless recirculated). Overdosing plants with chemicals can imbalance a natural system to the point that it becomes inhospitable to the beneficial bacteria and fungi normally responsible for the process. The ability to better fine tune the available nutrients also allows for ease in imbalance creation, and smaller margin for error. Because chemical fertilizers are shortcuts to the process, using them to treat nutrient deficiencies will tend to give faster results than an organic solution, which is better suited for longterm release. Depending on the exact chemical used, there may also be “leftover” residue after plants take up the ammonia or nitrate they need, which can build up in the system over time. This is where the practice of watering heavily without nutrients for a time (flushing) comes from, to help wash away any leftover chemical residue buildup. Regardless of the source, in acidic conditions (pH less than 7) the ammonia (NH 3) picks up another hydrogen (H) atom, and converts to ammonium (NH 4). This is

GARDENCULTURE.NET

ORGANIC VS. SYNTHETIC I GARDEN CULTURE

O R GA N I C

SY NT HE TI C

VS.

IENTS R T U N IC N A G R O TO ARE LESS PRONE OVERFEEDING

part of why pH can have an effect on plant growth, if the pH is too high, this inhibits conversion. Beneficial bacteria then convert the ammonium (NH 4) to nitrate (NO3) which can then be used by the garden plants. Nitrogen from organic sources follows a path of several steps to become the nitrate (NO3) that plants need. Chemical nutrients allow skipping some (or all) of these conversion steps, which starts the nitrogen (N) further along the path, and closer to the finished nitrate (NO3). Phosphorus is available naturally from organic composts, rock phosphate, or bone meal - or it can come from chemicals such as ammoniated superphosphate (550-0), or ammonium phosphate (18-46-0). Overuse of phosphorus is one of the sources of environmental pollution. Potassium is also obtainable from organic sources like compost (3-1-2), kelp (1-0-4), or greensand (0-0-3), or from a chemical such as potassium nitrate (13-044).

ORGANIC PRODUCTS WILL ALSO BE LESS EX ACT L THAN CHEMICAS BASED FERTILIZER The differences between chemical and organic nutrition are not as absolute as they are often portrayed. They both use the same process to supply the same elements to the plants. The primary differences are in how many shortcuts they offer, and what remains afterwards. They are both tools you can use successfully when done correctly. Although purists on both sides may strongly disagree, I believe there is little reason not to make use of the benefits of both in moderation. Plants awaiting organic nutrients to become available may benefit from a little chemical boost to tide them over, and long-lasting organic materials can help create a buffer for fast acting chemical nutrient gardens. Sometimes a big hearty high fiber breakfast is what a person needs to start the day, and sometimes you just need a good strong cup of coffee to get your eyes to open. As always, understanding why you are adding something to your garden, and how it works, goes a long way toward picking the one thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right for you. 3

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY AGENT GREEN

The problem with GLYNNIS JONES / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Food

Patents When a chemical company announces: “We’re going to solve the global food problem by patenting the food supply,

and force farmers to pay higher prices for seed that cannot be saved. Sure, we realize humans have saved seed to grow next year’s food since the beginning of agriculture. However, you aren’t allowed to save seed according to your contract with The Chemical Company. Instead, farmers must now

their plan does not support sustainability, it detracts from it

spend more money per seed, must buy new seed each year, and use only our brands of inputs.”

Before the GMO You should have the wherewithal to see that their plan does not support sustainability, it detracts from it. Even if you’re not a farmer, surely you can understand the implications behind owning the global food supply, of having control over who can plant what crops.

Using the tomato example, being an heirloom instead of a hybrid, local communities could take one tomato, and propagate it into hundreds, even thousands of plants. All without a monopolistic controlling coalition of biotech companies profiting as they violate the age-old laws of nature, farming, and food. Some Perspective That’s what genetically modified crop supporters and A single small tomato easily contains enough seed to proponents just don’t understand. By design, GMOs with the create 30-100 tomato plants. Those 30-100 plants will each associated synthetic and chemical inputs are the complete produce at least 30 tomatoes each. Those 30 new plants opposite of sustainability, the reverse of a solution to world each bearing 30 tomatoes apiece hunger. This actively funnels control of our global food gives a harvest of 900 tomatoes. it goes against supply into the hands of a few, leaving the population Everyone of those 900 tomatoes history lessons, at their mercy. It goes against history lessons, science, contains a minimum of 30 seeds and morals to actually support GM crops, and say it’s science, and that will successfully germinate, advanced agriculture, and increases sustainability. morals leading to 2,700 new tomato plants which equals 81,000 Imagine the massive cash flow realized when every tomatoes with just 30 fruits apiece. Pretty incredible, and mammal and fowl in captivity or domestication, along with we’re using super conservative numbers. every man, woman, and child alive on Earth gets their daily All that food grown at no added cost from the “scraps” of bread from a handful of big companies. Food isn’t a luxury. just one tomato, which most people casually throw away! They You need it just to survive, along with water, and shelter. don’t understand that they’re tossing so much into the garbage. Now add the seed you sell that goes into biofuels. BUT this only works with open-pollinated, and heirloom seeds, NOT with hybrid and GM seeds - which are possibly Seed patents made possible by genetic modifications is all sterile. Besides, it’s illegal to sow saved patented seeds about the profits, it’s about ensuring continual coffer wealth anyways, because it violates biotech patent rights. You must through domination. 3 always buy new seed, always pay for their permission. 52

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BY TAMMY CLAYTON, PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF VERMONT SAIL FREIGHT PROJECT

WIND&WATER

SUSTAINABLE FOOD TRANSPORT

Just because regional farm to table food travels long

A LO GISTICS MOD E IN ITS SECOND INFANC Y

It’s a logistics mode in its second infancy, but will likely grow and become more widespread, moving farm goods across a state, a region, a country, a continent, and over open sea. There was a time when sail freight was the fastest, and easiest mode of transport available. The concept creates feasible access for farms of all sizes to cities and towns established on shores around the world. There are already several ocean-crossing sail transport vessels in various stages of implementation. Fairtransport’s Tres Hombres schooner recently made its fifth trip from the Netherlands to the Caribbean for rum, and delivered European goods to Brazil. A tall ship mission that takes many weeks to complete, so it is too long for perishables transit, but perfect for packaged or dry exports. Regional fresh food might take a day’s worth of carbon miles to reach your local farm market bouncing down the highway at 88-128 km/h. Sail freight vastly reduces, or erases fossil fuel needs completely. There are certain spots or stretches of water where motor is necessary, such as going through locks to change elevation, or traveling canals where poling isn’t possible. It is totally dependent on the route the boat must travel. Currently, the most successful venture on the North American continent is the Vermont Sail Freight Project. Though the Farm Boat in Seattle had a few years head start, it appears that politics put an end to the floating market for Puget Sound farmers. After three years under siege over fictional charges, it’s doubtful they will sail into the Seattle Harbor laden with farm harvests again. But the Farm Boat isn’t reduced carbon transit, though it cured a logistics dilemma for regional farms. It’s a 1922 steamship, not a sailing vessel, and burns 113- 189 liters of diesel fuel an hour.

distance doesn’t necessarily mean its transport relies on carbon energy. A few forward thinking people are finding more environmentally friendly solutions of moving farm products to market.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT I GARDEN CULTURE

SAIL FREI GHT VASTLY REDUCES, OR ER ASES FOSSIL FUEL NEEDS COMPLETELY

When Ferrisburgh, Vermont farmer, Erik Andrus, latched onto the idea of sail cargo to take fresh goods and farm products from farms in the Lake Champlain area to market in New York City it was October of 2012. His vision was zero-emissions food trading that restored community access to a now corporate-ruled marketplace. He wanted to build a flat bottom barge similar to the ones used over a hundred years ago powered by wind, tide, and muscle. They naturally improved the original design of boat and sail rigging, for borrowing from the past to go into the future is best done using knowledge gained between then and now. While Andrus equipped his sail freighter with a motor, this is only fired when all other options prove impossible. And so, the Ceres came to life, named for the Roman goddess of agriculture. Andrus had help from the Willowell Foundation in nearby Monkton, and funding from a Kickstarter campaign. Erik worked hard at introducing his concept to the region, and the world. October 2013 brought the Vermont Sail Freight maiden voyage, a test run through the entire trek. Loaded with goods from 30 farms, Ceres docked at chosen market harbors on the trading route, making their plans known to the locals. They made connections to pick up more regional goods on the next run to NYC the following season, and caused quite a stir. Press coverage of the event was widespread, with publications like The New York Times headline, “15 Tons of Groceries Sailing Down The Hudson.” The Ceres has no cooling in the hold beyond the water enveloping the hull. The trip takes at least 10 days one way, making it impossible to deliver perishables like strawberries and lettuces by sail, but this is really a good thing. It paves the way for urban farms like Brooklyn Grange to team up with

Vermont Sail Freight dockings. They aren’t competitors, but like-minded members of the sustainable food movement. A partnership that greatly enriches market selection while building the strength of community. Some labeled Andrus’ test voyage a publicity stunt, but isn’t that how people find out about new things? His idea is very business savvy - 9 million urbanites live within walking distance of his final port of call. It’s an eager market hungry for a source for good food sensations like wild birch syrup, fingerling potatoes, freshly pressed cider, and so much more that cannot be supplied from most urban farms. In 2014, the Ceres began making this trip several times a year, welcome everywhere they set anchor, and set up a market table. They don’t return home with an empty hold either. Brooklyn’s harbor is an excellent place to secure goods that rural producers need. It’s a venture that will no doubt sail into the future for years to come. Vermont Sail Freight Project’s blog is a great read. It chronicles the trip through posts written by members of the crew. Their stories take you through the entire experience from Lake Champlain down the Champlain and Hudson Falls Canals, and on down the Hudson River. 3

• learn more: • • • •

bit.ly/vermont-sail-freight bit.ly/VSFP-blog bit.ly/sail-network bit.ly/farm-boat

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY THEO TEKSTRA – MARKETING MANAGER GAVITA HOLLAND BV

Y ou k no w w h at

GR IN DS my

GEARS?

There is sometimes so much legend, and so little science in this industry. It is time for some myth busting, to allow a fresh breeze to move through the growing realm. Did you see this Family Guy episode, “You Know What Grinds My Gears?” It’s one of my favorites, where Peter goes medieval on television over issues bothering him. I’ll use a bit more science, and a little less gut feeling, but these are issues that really get to me. I sometimes feel like I am on a crusade against ignorance. It’s not that I’m the brightest scientist (or a scientist at all for that matter), but the claims that some manufacturers bombard us with are really ridiculous, and sometimes even harm their own industry. Let’s take a look at LED fixture manufacturers.

SOME MANUFACTURERS BOMBARD US WITH R E A L LY R I D I C U L O U S CLAIMS

Before we do though, here is my personal opinion about LEDs. I love LED lighting. Really! Yes, I work for a horticultural lighting company and yes, we do research in LED systems. The reason why we don’t sell LED systems for HPS replacement in horticulture yet is that we think they are still too expensive. Another reason is that many of our customers actually require the heat from HPS systems. So back to the LED fixture manufacturers. There are two major things that grind my gears: The output specification, and hollow phrases, such as “replaces a 1000W HID lamp,” and “reduce 60% of the power used.” Both are actually connected.

PPF versus PPFD Let’s look at the output specifications first, forgetting lumens, because we’re using grow light. Lumens are for humans - not plants. So, what defines the total output of a fixture is the total output of photons in the PAR region (400-700 nm), measured in micromoles per second (photons per second). This is also called the photosynthetic photon flux, or PPF.

Light intensity on a surface in PAR spectrum is called PPFD. Now there is only one “D” difference from PPF, but that makes a big difference. PPFD is intensity, measured in micromoles per second, per square meter (μmol s-1 m-2)! So, remember: PPF is total output. PPFD is intensity at a certain spot, and depends where you measure it under the fixture. If you have a lamp with a PPF of 1000 μmol s-1, and you spread this light over two square meters, you would get an average of 500 μmol s-1 m-2 intensity on that surface (total light divided by surface). It’s like Lumen and lux, but for PAR spectrum and measured in photons. Lumen

LED SPECIFICATIONS I GARDEN CULTURE

SPECIFICATIONS is the total output of a lamp, lux is the intensity at a certain distance from that lamp, with the light spread over a certain surface (lux is lumens per square meter).

Measuring total output of a lamp To measure the total output of a lamp or fixture, we use an integrating sphere or a photogoniometer. These (calibrated!) instruments integrate all the light, and give you an accurate measurement of the total output of a lamp or fixture. Measuring light under the fixture on a grid, and integrating the values is very inaccurate, specifically with a low number of measurements on a small surface.

PPFD at 30 cm Now look at the (Chinese) LED specifications. Some actually say PPFD of x at y cm from the fixture (which you know now is absolutely rubbish information), but some even go as far as to call this PPF (in a footnote they say @ 30 cm from fixture). So, with my 270W plasma light I measure 3000 μmol s-1 m-2 close to the glass, so it replaces 1,5 1000W HPS fixture, right? Wrong. You fell for the hype again.

YOU NEED ABOUT AS MUCH LED LIGHT AS YOU NEED HPS LIGHT TO GET THE SAME YIELDS

Now let’s take a HPS lamp as an example. The double ended HPS lamp does let’s say 2000 μmol out of the reflector in total. So spread over a 2 square meter surface I would get about 1000 μmol per second, per square meter intensity. Easy, right? But now I hold a light meter about 40 cm from the lamp, and I measure more than 4000 μmol s-1 m-2. How is that possible? That’s twice the PPF of the lamp? No, it isn’t. 2000 μmol s-1 concentrated over just half a square meter gives you that intensity (ppf/surface). So a measurement under a lamp at a certain distance, specifically if it is a deep lamp with a concentrated beam (as in lensed LEDs) says nothing (at all!) about that light or fixture.

4 0 0 W I S O N LY 40% OF 1000W, BUT I ALSO PROMISE YOU 60% LESS YIELD

How do I compare?

You need about as much LED light as you need HPS light to get the same yields. As LED is not twice as efficient as HPS (equal to, or at most a little better in a limited spectrum) these fixtures do not replace a 1000W HPS lamp at just 40% of the power. When you want to replace 1000W HPS for LED fixtures, you need 1000W LED. Then look at the difference in price. LED fixture manufacturers that specify the output by PPFD at a distance don’t know anything about lighting, or do know, but want to fool you. Either way, you shouldn’t trust them. A 400W LED fixture uses 60% less energy than a 1000W HID lamp. So does a 400W CFL or a 400W incandescent lamp. 60% less energy? Yes. 400W is only 40% of 1000W, but I also promise you 60% less yield in a high intensity lighting production room. Don’t just go for the hype, keep thinking! 3

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY AMBER FIELDS

& Food Sovereignty

SEED DIVERSITY I GARDEN CULTURE

Concerned about pesticides, chemicals, and GMOs on your plate? Time to broaden your awareness of what’s happening in the world of seed that produces food. While everyone focuses on genetically modified crops and ingredients - food sovereignty and seed diversity is disappearing. What does that mean? You’re being relieved of greater food freedoms. Your right to grow food without purchasing or seeking permission, to save seeds from your garden, is in jeopardy. A dilemma that stems from the patenting of ornamental plants and steady profits. “Few gardeners comprehend the true scope of their garden heritage, or how much is in immediate danger of being lost forever.” ~-- Kent Whealey, Seed Savers Exchange Now it is one thing for the breeder of bushes and posies to license his years of labor in arriving at new coloration or growing trait that cannot be reproduced from the seed said plant generates. But it’s totally different when the patent office hands legal ownership of food propagation over to a global corporation. But said ornamental plant breeder wouldn’t likely hunt down, and sue, the average gardener for dividing up a clump that’s lost vigor, or outgrown its space. If you propagate patented ornamental plants, and start selling them though, the plant police just might arrive. However, most plant patents, whether edible or ornamental, are owned by the Big 6 - you know, that handful of transnational corporations: Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, DuPont, Mitsui, and Aventis. These companies control 98% of the seeds worldwide, not just farm seeds, but home garden seeds too - fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, etc. These entities go out of their way to find anyone infringing on their rights and their profits.

are only 500, because that old stuff won’t turn big annual profits. After being acquired by Monsanto, Seminis actually removed some 2,000 heirloom plants from the market, all quietly stored away in corporate seed banks where they will turn to dust. That’s a huge loss of seed diversity. They can’t patent and control them. Your ability to save seed, and enjoy the same crop year after year isn’t good for business. There’s no money in that - not from the seed itself, or the special plant pesticides the Big 6 makes to help you bring in a harvest successfully.

Big Ag wants to monopolize home garden plants? Do the math - it’s an ever-growing market of some $36 billion dollars today, and expected to surpass $50 billion by 2018. Since life itself depends on seeds, this foolproof market spells big profit every year perpetually. Every living thing on Earth needs to eat, and food starts with a seed, or is sustained by things that come from seed. They’re after everything on your plate that you grew too. These corporations can destroy you financially for ignoring their patent rights. They hire people to track down anyone growing their plants without permission. Propagating patented plants from seeds or cuttings is theft. You have to pay for the right to grow them.

YOU’RE BEING RELIE VED OF GREATER FOO D FREEDOMS

Non-patentable plants evicted. In the early 1980s there were 5,000 different cultivars of fruits and vegetable listed in seed catalogs. Today there

This is a global problem. Monsanto and Syngenta already own more than 50% of seed varieties of tomato, paprika, and cauliflower registered in the EU. In this arena Enza Zaden, and Bayerowned Nunhems are active on the scene of patenting food plants, which abruptly quadrupled in recent years. While many believe that patenting plants requires genetic

GARDENCULTURE.NET

SEED DIVERSITY I GARDEN CULTURE

modification, late 2013 - early 2014 saw the EPO granting patents on conventional hybrids, which is possible in the US and Canada too. Monsanto tried to get an EU patent on a regular garden cultivar in 2014 too, but they tossed out the application for presenting fraudulent evidence.

It’s not just mega companies either. Burpee Seeds’ owner, George Ball, is upset over his centuryold company being labeled as unsafe to purchase from, yet he refuses to sign the Safe Seed Pledge. Not because he has lost control to Monsanto’s subsidiary Seminis (the world’s largest developer of all fruit and vegetable plants), but because he doesn’t ‘know’ the people behind the pledge. A typical Ball point of view, the Center for Responsible Genetics didn’t spring from his plantsmen realm. But you really have to take the Safe Seed List with a grain of salt, because it includes Seeds of Change - a company owned by candy giant, Mars, Inc. Surprised? Don’t be, it’s a subsidiary acquired for mapping the cacao tree genome. They say it’s to make the crop sustainable, but some entity will modify that genome, patent their improved version, and control the cacao bean industry. It’s the obvious outcome in today’s world.

YOU REALLY HAVE TO TAKE THE SAFE SEED LIST WITH A GR AIN OF SALT

harder to track. The Safe Seed list includes companies who do sell seed from Seminis, but as J.W. Jung states on their website, the named varieties procured through Seminis they offer are not GMOs, but well-known old varieties in big demand. Seminis has been around a long time, and is responsible for many beloved garden fruits and vegetables, some since the 1950s when it was known as Petoseeds.

Sticking strictly to heirlooms? This isn’t the answer to preserving seed diversity. Thanks to trademarks, we have plants known by several names. One seed company with a trademark on a certain heirloom plant name can market the plant as such, while the rest of the garden catalogs must list it under a different name. Talk about confusion. How would anyone know the real identity of the plants we’re growing? You think they’ve preserved several similar things, when they are really all the same, so we actually have less diversity than it seems.

THEY CONTROL 98% OF THE SEEDS WORLDWIDE

It isn’t totally hopeless. Smaller whales join the club. Buying seed from Gurneys, Henry Fields, or Thompson Morgan US? Ordering organic inputs from Gardens Alive? These are all owned by catalog monopoly king, Niles Kinek under the Scarlet Tanager and IGP Acquisitions umbrellas. Amassing a dozen well-established plant businesses gives you incredible knowledge and breeding talent, so it’s no surprise that this conglomerate dove into the patented food plant pool with a 2014 application to the U.S. Patent Office for a new variety of grapes crossed with muscadines. Seed industry consolidation has many layers and purposes. You cannot be overly selective when choosing where to buy seeds. Monsanto’s purchase of Seminis in 2005 made ensuring your seed order doesn’t support their interests

Some concerned plant breeders recognize the dangers. They’re working to preserve your food sovereignty and seed diversity. Their plan launched in April 2014 with the Save The Seed campaign held at the Wisconsin College of Agriculture introducing the Open Source Seed Initiative. Getting seed here requires signing a pledge that you will only grow food with it, and that no portion of said plants, or their seed, will be modified - genetically, • bit.ly/seed-house-tangle or otherwise. You also have • bit.ly/grape-patent the right to save the seeds • bit.ly/seminis-home-seeds from your garden. 3 • bit.ly/seeds-of-change-indeed • bit.ly/open-source-seed

Learn more:

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY ERIC COULOMBE

Give a man a salad, and he will be hungry in an hour. Teach him to garden, and he can feed the world.

I Grow

e c u t t e L

I have always loved plants. Some of my earliest memories are of my grandmother’s small urban Montreal

apartment on Clark Blvd. Where a plant could grow, she would have one there, and they always looked great. She told us her secret was foliar spraying whole unpasteurized milk. A trick I have never tried myself. It was definitely her who passed on to me the love of plants.

It wasn’t until I was about 13 or 14 that I actually started gardening. I asked my mother if I could tend her garden, and dig another plot in our lawn where I could grow more stuff, in a sunnier spot. I tended that garden for almost a decade, throughout all my high school and my college years. When I finally moved out with my girlfriend, now wife and partner, we lived in the city, and never had room for a real garden. It wasn’t long before I discovered that you couldn’t grow food in windows. Well, not in Montreal anyway. I was really stuck - no space, no sun, and no more garden. In 1994 indoor gardening was completely unknown to me, as it is to most people today. So, I played around with a bunch of inexpensive grow lights to aid my plants through the bleak winter months. It was about that time I visited my first hydroponics store too. My initial results were poor, but the potential was obvious. In 2002 I was self-employed, my wife was pregnant, and a customer and friend of mine Dave H. from Brite-Lite (Canada’s oldest hydroponics company) in Quebec made me an offer to join the team. He wanted me as their sales guy. I loved it, and spent four years working all over Canada and the US selling indoor gardening fertilizers 62

and equipment. My old love for growing was evident as I blossomed in this industry. I didn’t want to sell things I have never used so I built a grow room, or grow tent in every apartment and house we rented. I grew, using every hydroponic method I could think of, I even invented a few. I spent the next 10 years as a hydro rep, working for 3 companies, selling countless different products in countries all around the world. In the process I learned everything I could about hydroponics, and organic gardening techniques. I was totally hooked, and knew that indoor gardening was going to become a big part of my future.

ERICâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GARDEN I GARDEN CULTURE

Eight years ago when I decided to build my own home, an indoor garden was optional. Because we designed the home ourselves I could get creative. So I built a small garden in the back corner of the basement over a protruding cap rock, basically the only space my wife would let me use.

Recently I decided to give my room a makeover. This time I was going to do it right. First, I needed to clean the place up. Bugs had always been a problem, I knew that the cleaner the room, the less chance bugs could survive. So, I redid my floor in white high gloss ceramic tiles. I also tiled the entrance room.

It has been a work in progress ever since. I used it more to test products when I was sales rep, constantly changing systems or products. But since starting with the magazine it has become something I spend more thought, time, and effort on. I reflected on all the ways I have grown things over the years, the projects I have consulted on, and tried to come up with not only the best garden for me, but a great garden, and easy for anyone.

I also had to choose how I was going to garden, what systems I would use. I choose my favorites, but with the family in mind. We are very busy people with 2 kids (aged 5 and 11), a dog, two cats, and we both work 40+ hour weeks. I also travel a lot, and this garden had to run itself when I was gone. With this is mind I designed our indoor family micro farm.

During the past 3 years Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had some amazing gardens. My homemade aquaponics, the wall mounted NFT, and the Ecogrow Wall (vertical garden) have been my favorites. They have been the easiest to manage, and gave me the largest harvests.

GARDENCULTURE.NET

ERIC’S GARDEN I GARDEN CULTURE

I discovered that you couldn’t grow food in windows The Systems I Chose NFT, 100 x 185 cm, made by Nutriculture in the UK. There was never a question about NFT, but what configuration remained undetermined. I have built several homemade NFT gardens, and installed a commercial system in the Korn garden. Nutriculture designed this one for the hobby gardener, they come in several sizes, and literally take 5 minutes to set up. Vertical Wall, made by EcoGrowWall in Quebec with 122 x 304 cm rock wool slabs. I have grown with this system for the past 8 years. I love vertical gardening. It is an amazing use of space, allowing my not-so-big room almost 3.71 square meters of extra space. My largest basil plant ever was grown in this system. Deep Water Culture (DWC), 6-bucket system from Current Culture. DWC is great for growing BIG plants; I have tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper, sweet pea, coriander, lettuce, basil and a strawberry. The new lids allow me to have 1, 2 or 4 plants per container. Most things are doing amazing, but not the sweet pea and coriander. Not sure why, maybe they don’t enjoy the constant supply of water. I trimmed the roots above the waterline, they are starting to look better. The sweet pea didn’t make it, my first casualty. I don’t blame myself, peas don’t like DWC apparently, neither do the cucumbers. Autopots My first experience with this type of water system was about 8 years ago. I loved it then, and I think I can appreciate it more now. For simplicity of use and set-up the Autopot system is hard to beat. It is a perfect system for a new gardener.

Lights I like all lights really, or my plants do. Some seem a little better or brighter, but this is not a commercial crop, and everything seems to do great regardless of what lights I have. With that said, there are a couple of notable products: Gavita Plasma I have used this light for a little over a year. It has visited a couple of gardens, both as primary and supplemental lighting. My tester had a very positive report, when used as supplemental. I recently moved it into my garden, and the Kale in the NFT are going crazy. Crazy good, I have never seen Kale grow so fast. Love it. Sunlight Supply’s LEC 315 Sent to me less than a year ago, this product hangs over the DWC system, and the plants are doing great. Maybe too good - the tomato is huge! I’m afraid it might takeover if I don’t give it a haircut. 1000 HPS (Adjust-a-Wing) Because I have 40 square feet of vertical growing space I need light on the walls. This type of reflector is great for the vertical garden. My bulb and ballast is not worth mentioning, but I am planning to change it soon. It is a digital ballast, I like dimming feature when it gets hot. MiniMax 150 My newest edition is the Minimax 150W, this small but powerful light packs a huge punch. I was looking for a low wattage system to install over my vertical walls. Down to Earth Kent kindly sent two across the pond for me to try. I absolutely love them. You wouldn’t believe it was only 150W

GARDENCULTURE.NET

ERIC’S GARDEN I GARDEN CULTURE

Plants NFT 6 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Cucumber, 1 Tomato, 2 Lettuce Vertical Garden 3 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Rosemary, 2 Parsley, 1 Sweet Pepper DWC 1 Kale, 1 Basil, 1 Cilantro, 1 Strawberry, 4 Lettuce, 1 Sweet Pepper, 1 Tomato Autopots 2 Cucumber, 8 Carrots, 3 Sweet Pea, and lots more Strawberries. I am writing this in a plane on my way to Santa Rosa, knowing that everything is growing and happy. My kids will sneak in to eat my lettuce and basil when I’m gone, and that gives me the biggest smile. I honestly love my garden, and can’t imagine life without it. If you think this is weird, it’s because you have never had a farm in your spare room, or harvested supper in your basement when it is -20C outside. Gardening is the best therapy, and eating fresh food that I grew is priceless. The word is spreading about food issues and our collective health, be part of the growing revolution, and grow your own too. 3

I honestly love my garden, and can’t imagine life without it

GARDENCULTURE.NET

BY EVAN FOLDS

REUSING YOUR

POTTING SOIL If you are a serious grower, you have easily invested thousands of dollars in potting soils over the years. Even worse, you have probably thrown thousands of dollars of potting soil in the garbage. On its face, throwing soil away after one use doesn’t make much sense. But to a grower focused on expediency, and not wanting to put determined effort into a garden only to end up with hidden issues, or potential contamination from a previous grow, using new soil is a powerful convenience. While there are good arguments for using fresh soil, the art of gardening is discovering how to employ humanity as an purpose of this article is to communicate some ideas and integral part of the growing process, and at the same time get methods for reusing your potting soil. Growers do it all the us out-of-the-way. This is the art of making soil. time, and with great success. The soil has physical, mineral, biological, and energetic Look at it this way…Mother Nature doesn’t start over, why capacities that need balance. Physical balance tends to come should you? with attention to the other three, but is generally addressed in What it takes to properly reuse potting soil is good physical potting soils by using amendments like perlite or rice hulls for structure, proper biological diversity, mineral balance through drainage, and peat moss or coir fiber for water retention. You soil testing, and consistent methods. may need to add these materials THERE ARE GOOD We have been helping people reuse back to soil mixes over time due to their potting soil for years, and while loss. ARGUMENTS FOR it is not as simple as removing the The merits of inoculating as much USING FRESH SOIL roots and replanting, it is well worth microbial diversity as you can the time, and money saved. You also get the satisfaction gained muster accounts for biological balance. In other words, as long from using your resources more sustainably. as you are introducing proper diversity, microbes self-organize. There is a sweet spot in the soil where life thrives. The Seek out a mother of as many natural or farm-based sources as forest grows trees with no fertilizer, because the soil in the possible for your mix and deliver them consistently to your soil forest is naturally balanced, mature, and organized. I’m not over time. Like workers on a construction site, they need fresh suggesting that we expect to grow trees in our gardens, but materials to continue building. The consistency is much more I am suggesting we consider how to perceive the metrics, and important than the concentration. harness the abilities of the life forms that allow this to happen. Energy defines life. May sound hokey, but it is 100% true. The Much of what we experience as failure in the garden is due to more intention we pay towards this reality, the greater the human influence, not bad luck. I would argue that much of the result. The living system’s capacity to produce and thrive off

POTTING SOIL I GARDEN CULTURE

THROWING SOIL AWAY A F T E R O N E USE DOESN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE SATISFACTION GAINED FROM USING YOUR RESOURCES MORE SUSTAINABLY of subtle energies is innate in the life force itself, but can also it is feasible to measure all soil microbes, so soil testing as a labbe encouraged through concepts such as potentization and based process is typically limited to essential elements. resonance using techniques like vortexing, paramagnetism, My company performs custom soil testing for growers, farmers, frequency farming, implosion, and others. and landscapers all over the US. We have developed a system We can expand upon energetic balance in future articles, of soil testing that not only generates complete raw data for but mineral balance takes center stage when a grower is all essential agricultural elements, but that provides custom considering reusing their potting soil. instructions on what materials and products to add in order to First, I use the term mineral loosely, account for deficiencies. M OTH E R N ATU R E as a way of capturing all the possible We’ve done testing on many D O ES N ’ T STA R T forms of elemental nutrition. premium bagged organic potting Materials such as seawater, clay, O V E R , W H Y S H O U L D soils, and most stack up nicely in rock dust, etc. have value beyond regards to proper mineral balance. YO U? ” recognition of essential nutrition, What we also know is that if we because they contain broad spectrum minerals, and they are try to grow in this soil over and over without using diverse also balanced. microbes and refortifying mineral balance things fall apart. Life can simply receive the elements it needs in order to thrive No matter who you end up working with for your soil testing, when all elements are present in the first place, and when it is essential that you seek out a private lab, or some outlet they are in balance. Even when elements are not identified as other than what you find at most State Extension services. essential for plants to grow, they could be vital for microbial Here’s why. process, or in order to make the elements required by plants The pioneer of mineral balance and the sweet spot of soil more available. was Dr. William Albrecht. He believed that animals, including Why would Mother Nature create an element not needed in humans, provide biochemical photographs of the soils in which the garden? their foods are grown. So the strength of the system, and your success in re-using Dr. Albrecht geared his research towards documenting the your potting soil, is reliant on the diversity and balance of connection between empty soils and empty people, and he microbes and minerals. For the sake of agriculture it is not investigated and defined a specific range of positively charged possible to measure all Earth-bound elements, any more than elements, or cations, that soil can hold that has become known

GARDENCULTURE.NET

POTTING SOIL I GARDEN CULTURE

There is a sweet spot in ves the soil where life thri This data is presented in ranges, because it is never a as the cation exchange capacity, or CEC. matter of hitting a mark when testing soil. Soil is a dynamic Overall, soil is negatively charged, the more complex and biologically active the soil, the greater number of negative substance that will never be the same. All we can do is use binding sites are available to hold positively charged the data while observing local conditions, and the results of elements. And opposites attract. plants to establish where within this acceptable range The CEC number is better. Growing plants can always get represents the potential better. reservoir of the soil to The State Extension service is going to retain cation nutrition for look for some of this data, but not all of it. They’re approach is very pH driven, growing plants. A low CEC as conventional agriculture is not is the basis for fertilizing motivated by mineral balance. They put and irrigating, because if too much focus on the amount of lime it was high enough the needed to raise the pH on paper, for soil would be able to hold everything that it needs instance, as opposed to investigating to eat and drink within the deficiencies of elements, and accounting for them through observing natural conditions. crop growth. Most soil tests we take in THE CEC NUMBER Positively charged hydrogen ions (H+) residential landscapes will REPRESENTS THE have 1-2% organic matter P O T E N T I A L R E S E R V O I R being present defines the pH of a with a CEC of 5-15. This substance. The reason soil becomes O F T H E S O I L T O is a sign of extremely acidic is because it is demineralized and R E TA I N C AT I O N immature soil. Bagged all the other positive elements are no N U T R I T I O N longer present, not because someone organic potting soil poured acid on it. We tend to think of typically shows an organic matter content of 15-20% with a CEC of 15-20. The CEC is pH in terms of some concrete thing, instead of a metric of lower even in bagged potting soils due to a lack of biological the energetic representation of available elements. activity and diversity, which you can increase using compost For example, lime is calcium. Calcium is a cation, so when and compost tea, along with humic material such as worm used in the soil it replaces hydrogen in the CEC, which makes the pH go up. What happens if you have a potassium castings or concentrated humic acids. deficiency? The following data comes from Dr. Albrecht’s work, and As Dr. Albrecht identified, “plants are not sensitive to, or our observations over the last decade of testing soil and documenting results. This is not a complete list of essential limited by, a particular pH value of the soil.” In other words, elements, it represents the cations that are held within the it is possible to have a perfect pH, and have your minerals soil’s CEC. The information presented here is what we entirely out of balance and, therefore, not be addressing your deficiencies. consider as ideal: The pH should really be an afterthought to the soil health conversation, a value that communicates the success • Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) = 25-30 of balancing the minerals in your soil, not the other way • pH = 6.1 – 6.5 around. The takeaway is that if you have all of your minerals • Organic Matter = < 4% • Calcium (Ca+) = 60-70% balanced properly the pH is always within range. The name of the game when reusing your potting soil is • Magnesium (Mg+) = 10-20% to trust in the microbes’ ability to construct a dynamic • Potassium (K+) = 2-5% neighborhood for growing plants, but verify that you are • Sodium (Na+) = 0.5-3% bringing the right building materials to the job site through • Hydrogen (H+) = 10-15% soil testing. Then listening to your plants to get it right. 3 • Other Bases = Variable 70

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Genuine Quality All Maxibright magnetic ballasts that carry the Genuine Quality mark meet the Genuine Quality standards. These are specific European standards that guarantee the ballast is built to the highest standard of safety and efficiency. Genuine Quality ballasts will provide the correct power to the lamp and have a nominal rated lifespan of ten years. For more information please visit:

genuinequality.co.uk

BY THEO TEKSTRA – MARKETING MANAGER GAVITA HOLLAND BV

HPS: THE MOST EFFICIENT HIGH OUTPUT SOURCE OF PHOTONS AVAIL ABLE

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING:

WHAT EVERY GROWER SHOULD KNOW Urban legends don’t grow a good crop. It is the skills of the cultivator, using the best possible technology. Now, I cannot teach you growing skills in a short article, but I can surely bring you up to speed about the latest in lighting technology.

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE

YOU CANNOT GROW EVERY PL ANT SUCCESSFULLY JUST UNDER HPS Photosynthesis For the sake of a short article I will keep this very simple: Plants need light for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is what makes plants grow. Plants have developed under sunlight for millions of years, and are optimally equipped to use every aspect of that light to their advantage. That is part of the natural evolution process. So, obviously plants do well under sunlight. Photosynthesis is driven by photons, and specifically all the photons that are in the spectrum between deep blue and far red. This is what we call PAR light (Photosynthetic Active Radiation). It is all the colors between 400 and 700 nm in the light spectrum (and a bit beyond that even). But there are many more processes in a plant that require different colors of light: Many also influence the shape of the plant and the efficiency of the plant so all colors are in some way important to grow a healthy plant.

The solar spectrum. PAR light between 400 and 700 nm

A greenhouse with supplemental lighting In a greenhouse the primary source of light is the sun. It provides the right light quality for a healthy crop. When the light levels drop, we supplement the light. This takes a lot of energy, so greenhouse growers use the most efficient lighting available to add this. As the sun provides already more than enough quality light, the question is: what light spectrum should we add? This is where High Pressure Sodium lamps come in. It is the most efficient high output source of photons available. It is not the same spectrum as sunlight though, but there is more than enough of that in a greenhouse to not negatively influence the plant quality. In the near future we will see other technologies, such as LED, become more popular in the greenhouses, but for now this technology is mostly used on vegetative greens like lettuce or microgreens, or by combining them with HPS. LED is still 6-8 times more expensive for the same light levels as HPS.

Quality and Quantity Nature is often really hard on plants: storms, rain, insects, fungi, and diseases are always threats for plants. So bringing plants into a safe environment, such as a greenhouse, can optimize the growing circumstances for a plant as in climate, light, and external influences. Even when the sun is blocked by the clouds, or when the temperature is low and the sun is weak in the winter, we can make sure that plants get everything they need for healthy development. This is how we can produce all year round.

HPS spectrum

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FOR A QUALITY PLANT THOUGH YOU WILL NEED TO ADD A BETTER SPECTRUM

So for quality, greenhouse growers use the sun. For extra quantity (yield) they use HPS light (and in some cases LED light but that is worthy of an entire new article). This is to produce more photons to maintain photosynthesis.

In a climate room things are different: we have no sunlight, and have to produce all the light ourselves. HPS is in many ways a great solution: • • •

•

Horticultural HPS lamps are the most efficient light source for their spectrum. They are available in very high wattage, so you need few of them. They are a very concentrated light source, so you can spread it evenly using reflectors and bring it deep into the crop. HPS is at the peak of its development cycle, so extremely efficient and relatively cheap.

But there are also disadvantages to HPS: •

•

The spectrum is limited. There are very high levels of yellow, orange and red, but it lacks specifically the blue and the green. Yes, green is also an important color! They produce a lot of infrared radiation

As for the spectrum... You cannot grow every plant successfully just under HPS, but some plants actually do very well under HPS. It is not ideal, but over the last decade you have seen that growers are very successful using HPS in production rooms. Now, heat is a different discussion. The sun also produces about 50% of infrared, and in plants it causes transpiration, and keeps the “juices” flowing from the roots to the leaves, which enables a healthy sap stream in the plant. Plants do need that heat as well, so in some way it is a blessing. Even the UVA and UVB in sunlight have a great effect on plants. It promotes flavonoids, terpenes, and trichomes in many crops.

the HPS. For a quality plant though you will need to add a better spectrum. This is where supplemental light sources come in. Adding more blue (and other colors) to the HPS can really enhance the shape and quality of your plants. Even adding 5-10% of blue to the reddish spectrum of HPS makes your plant much more efficient, and enhances its health and quality.

Supplemental Light Sources There are many sources of blue light, for example blue LED, Metal Halide lamps, and Plasma lights. Now we have seen that there is more than just blue and red light needed for a healthy plant, so we also need to look at the spectrum added by different light sources. These are the pros and cons of the different supplemental light sources:

Metal Halide Pros: • Lots of blue light in many types. • Better spectrum for plant growth than HPS, a far broader spectrum. Cons: • Not as efficient producing photons as HPS (40-60% less efficient). • Very fast depreciation, so you will need to change them very often (more than 25-30% depreciation per year, against only 4% for HPS). • Bad color stability (the spectrum changes over time). • 99% is only suitable for closed, protected reflectors with a glass shield (MH lamps that break emit very high, and very dangerous amounts of UVC).

Now let’s look at an indoor facility. You lack the quality light of the sun completely, having only the limited spectrum of Metal Halide spectrum (source: Philips)

SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE

LEDS ONLY EMIT LIGHT IN A VERY NARROW BANDWIDTH LED Pros: • Blue LEDs are relatively efficient compared to MH and have a good light maintenance • LEDs do not emit a lot of heat to the plant (but in total they do add the same amount of heat to a room). • Very long life. Cons: • LEDS only emit light in a very narrow bandwidth. To create a good spectrum you need many different colors, or white LEDs which are not as efficient. Green LEDs are the worst in efficiency, but you do need green light too. • LEDs are expensive compared to HPS and MH (up to 10 times the price). • LEDs are not good in generating UV. UV LEDs exist, but are very expensive, and/or have a short life. Many manufacturers refer to 380 nm LEDs as UV, specifically in aquatics applications, but that is just limited long wave UVA and visible light.

Typical LED red/blue spectrum for supplemental greenhouse lighting (Source: Illumitex)

Plasma spectrum (full spectrum version) The ideal supplemental light should add all the colors that HPS lacks in sufficient quantity, including UVA and UVB. I should note though that adding quality light at lower intensities than HPS creates dramatic quality improvement. It should not add any more heat to the crop, HPS already takes care of that. It should have a long life, and need no, or very few expensive lamp changes.

Plasma lamp with supplemental spectrum for HPS (all the colors that HPS lacks)

Plasma Light Pros: • Very high quality spectrum, including UVA and UVB • Good color stability over time. • Available as a full supplemental spectrum to HPS (so mostly all the colors that HPS lacks). • Very long life (30,000 – 50,000 hours, depending on used spectrum 6-10 years flowering!) • Very low infrared heat emitted to the plants, though the electronics and emitter add heat to the room. Cons: • Relatively inefficient (about the same as Metal Halide). • Higher investment cost (though relatively cheap over time compared to MH as you never have to change the lamp). • More expensive than LED.

So if you look at all the pros and cons, and if you want to add quality light to HPS in indoor facilities, you automatically come to LED and plasma lights as the best choices. The only question you now need to answer is: which one will give you the best quality, and the best return on investment? LED is cheaper than plasma, and has a better efficiency. However, LED lacks UVA and UVB in its spectrum, and it is hard to create an efficient, full continuous supplemental spectrum. Producing green light with LED is not efficient.

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SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING I GARDEN CULTURE

as reducing the vegetative period. Even the rooting under plasma light is much faster.

Plasma light is more expensive than LED and is less efficient in producing light. However, the spectrum is far superior over LED, it is much more intense than LED, providing extremely good penetration into the crop. It is also much easier to spread over the crop.

Now when you grow tomatoes at 50 cents per kilo it will take a long time to get return on investment for less efficient light that improves the crop quality. But when you grow a high value medical crop the lamp pays for itself in less than two 9 week crop cycles - even only based on the yield of the less efficient light, not taking quality enhancements into account.

Many growers have reported that the action spectrum of medical plants grown with supplemental plasma light is far better than when only grown under HPS. The plant quality and health is a lot better, which makes it less prone to diseases and fungi, such as powdery mildew. The full spectrum of the light in a vegetative stage influences the shape of the plant, creating more branches, bringing it into a much better shape for faster, improved flowering, as well

So there you have it in a nutshell. Using the most efficient horticultural HPS technology combined with the best supplemental lighting will give you the best quality, and a lot fewer headaches over diseases and fungal infestations. LED and Plasma lights are not cheap, but they are an investment in quality. Combining of the relatively inexpensive HPS technology for quantity, combined with a more expensive supplemental light, will give you the best of both worlds. 3

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BY JIM OATES BY JIM OATES

You try replacing your grow lamps, changing your brand of nutrients, re-balancing the water pH, refreshing the soil mix… and you still get the same poor crop. Does this sound familiar? If so, read on. You might find it isn’t something you are doing wrong, but more what your HID ballast is doing wrong.

Indoor gardening is a joy when you get great results, but it can quickly turn into a real headscratcher when things start to go wrong. Even when your indoor garden has been meticulously set up, and you’ve applied years of knowledge and experience, your final crop can suddenly become

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. When buying a product you always have choices. Do you do your homework, and scour the web for product reviews, and legitimate technical data to help find the best product? Or is lowest price the main factor in your decision? Maybe you are somewhere in the middle. But HID ballasts are not all made equal, and with so many cheap Chinese products on the market it pays to be informed.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

a meagre mix of shoddy leaves and small blooms - right when you are ready to reap the rewards!

UNDERPOWERED L AMPS GIVE OUT UP TO 33% LESS LIGHT

There are a lot of ballasts advertised as ‘600W’ that are far from it. Manufacturers have begun to cut corners in design, build, and components to shave off even more production costs. The problem is they are using cheap, unreliable components, and building the ballast in a way that cuts out essential safety features. All this corner cutting isn’t visible to the buyer. Once they’ve sealed ballast in its casing, you would be none the wiser, and this is how a serious quality issue has arisen in the market. They brand and market these sub-standard ballasts as ‘great price’ performance products in order to appear a better value.

MAGNETIC BALLAST I GARDEN CULTURE

CM AHG NE E AT I PC B A L L A S T S

SMALL

, SAVINGS

BIG ‘So what if my HID ballast is slightly underperforming’ you ask? Well, this is where it gets interesting. The latest industry research done by Genuine Quality into HID ballasts has revealed that underpowered lamps give out up to 33% less PAR light than a lamp running at its proper rated wattage. What is interesting is that it only takes a few less watts to create a huge loss in light output. Running a 600W lamp at 512W, can result in up to one-third drop in light. All results were verified and endorsed by Venture Lighting International.

DO A SIMPLE BALL AST TEST AT HOME

You can do a simple ballast test at home, which is a good way to see through the sales pitch to the true product. When you buy a ballast make sure it does what it says on the tin. Get an energy meter, available in most electrical stores, and a light meter (preferably a PAR meter though other light meters will still show you a comparative difference in light), and follow simple ballast test video on genuinequality.co.uk/test-yourballast. What you are looking for is a relative difference between the two ballasts. Whichever test equipment you use, it’s still easy to see that one ballast is supplying less power to the lamp than the other ballast. If you’ve recently purchased a ballast, tested it at home, and found that it is definitely one of the low power ‘duds’, don’t be tempted to look on the bright side, and think that you are saving enough money in energy costs to counteract any loss in yield. This is not the case. In reality a ballast that consumes 556W will use 15% less electricity than a ballast that consumes 655W, and will cost you

LOSSES

slightly less to buy, but the loss of up to 33% in growth, yield, and quality is not making it an economical choice at all. For the sake of a small £10.00, or even £50.00 saving on a ballast, and a small amount of energy as well, the effect on your final yield and quality far outweighs those initial savings.

THE EFFECT ON HID ballasts can vary greatly YOUR FINAL YIELD in their components, yet it AND QUALITY is the component quality, FAR OUTWEIGHS and the end finishing THOSE INITIAL process that can mean SAVINGS the difference between a ballast that runs reliably for ten years with no trouble at all, and one that underperforms, breaks down - or in the worst case scenario, causes a fire. The wire windings inside the ballast can either be coated once or twice in resin for thermal insulation, and electrical durability. Cheap manufacturing uses one coat, which means the durability reduces by half. Then we have the wires themselves, which are either precision wound, or scramble wound. Precision winding nearly eliminates possible breakdowns between wires, but because it takes longer to do it this way the ‘corner cutters’ prefer scramble wound. The igniter should be matched to the ballast, and ideally should be timed to protect the ballast in the event of a lamp failure. If the igniter is not timed, in the event of a lamp failure the igniter will continually try and ignite the lamp until you discover the problem, and switch off the ballast. This puts the ballast under a lot of strain due to the high igniter pulse voltage that can

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1/22/15 11:54 AM

MAGNETIC BALLAST I GARDEN CULTURE

the Indoor Grow Lighting marketplace is quickly degrade a ballast. These are just a few A FOCUS specifications that are not met by many ballasts. ON CHEAPER seeing a focus on cheaper materials and lower cost production. This is resulting in There is some way to go before the market MATERIALS the ever-increasing number of low quality pulls out of the dark ages of false advertising. AND LOWER and poor performing products which will As Mark Needham, one of the European COST be unsustainable, inevitably resulting in Directors for Venture Lighting International PRODUCTION end-user products of unacceptable quality explains: “The UK Grow Lighting market and performance.” is still a relatively new marketplace when The good news is that consumers are becoming more compared to the more established Outdoor, Industrial discerning. As more growers begin to pinpoint the & Commercial markets where competition has ensured underperforming ballasts, the manufacturers in question high quality products and performance. By contrast, the may not get away with the same approach next time. 3 arrival of an increasing number of unknown brands into

Food Politics Is Ancient Purple carrots aren’t an oddity - that’s the original color. Until the 17th century, all carrots were purple, though an occasional mutant root came out white or yellow. In the late 1500s the Dutch bred a carrot that produced orange roots, which was such a novelty that the familiar purple carrot was soon left in the dust. Given the universal human trait of resisting change, one might wonder why they would try to create a weird vegetable, and what caused so much excitement over it in the first place. Orange carrots were a political thing. Eating them was showed your support of the House of Orange, and from there they spread all over Europe, and the rest of the world.

Life Without Onions?

Certain to be a diet so boring it would make you cry. It’s been that way forever too. Tired of foraging for them in the wild, serious cultivation of onions dates back more than 5,000 years.

Immunity at a

Touch

We think that touch screen technology is quite an accomplishment. It’s really pretty small potatoes the natural world is far more savvy. Plants increase their disease resistance when they sense being touched. More Info: www.bit.ly/ touch-wellness

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BY KYLE L. LADENBURGER

BUDGET GARDENING I GARDEN CULTURE

As long as you have the right tools and supplies...

g tarAtinBudget SOn

As gardeners, we grow our own food at home for multiple reasons. It gives us a certain piece of mind knowing exactly what inputs go into cultivating your food crops, and the bottom line is that the food we grow for ourselves is fresher, and likely more delicious than the grocery store equivalent. But, there are often other reasons that one decides to venture into the realm of at home cultivation. A large source of encouragement for the modern gardener is the increasingly high price of fresh foods, and the strain it can have on the normal family budget. When executed properly, the act starting cells that fit comfortably FOOD WE GROW FOR of gardening lets us take personal into the propagation tray. These nutrition into our own hands in a OURSELVES IS FRESHER allow the grower to have one plant budget-friendly way, and one of the in each cell, and to grow it until they things we can do to save even more money is to start our reach the desired size. The tray, individual planting cells, own garden plants from seed before the season begins. and the humidity dome can usually all be purchased for This is a relatively easy thing to accomplish, as long as you about £7. have the right tools and supplies. The trick, however, is doing so in a budget-friendly way. Adequate lighting is a must for raising healthy seedling indoors. A two foot, four bulb T5 fluorescent light fixture Let’s start with the seed starting containers. The first thing is easy to mount, low in energy usage, and you will need is a starter or propagation tray with a plastic provides excellent light coverage for dome lid. The standard tray is 37 cm long by 24 cm wide, one standard propagation tray. It and is capable of housing over 100 seedlings. will also help supply the heat that seeds need to germinate. Proper You can start seeds by simply filling the tray with growing lighting is important for seedlings medium and planting the seeds but this may require as they begin the process of transplanting some of the seedlings into individual photosynthesis, and developing containers in order for the seedlings to both vegetative and root growth. grow big enough to eventually be planted in an outdoor garden. Raising seedlings in a sunny window You can use plastic cups will result in plants that are “leggy” with holes punched in from stretching to receive light, and have the bottom to allow for only modest root growth. The light fixture adequate water drainage, and bulbs will be the most cost intensive part of this or individual plastic seed project, but it is an invaluable asset when starting seeds

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BUDGET GARDENING I GARDEN CULTURE

Adequate lighting is a must for raising healthy seedling indoors

indoors. Depending of the brand, a decent light will cost around £66 - £99. Remember to look in the clearance section at your local indoor grow shop first for the best deals. Next you need a seed starting medium. There are many mediums to choose from for germinating seeds, but the most costeffective and reliable is likely an organic soil-less growing mix. There are many kinds of mixes intended for seed starting on the market today, and the prices will vary, but generally a 50 liter bag will cost less than £14.

GARDENING LETS US TAKE PERSONAL NUTRITION INTO OUR OWN HANDS plant seedlings is not assured to be the highest, and the larger the garden, the higher the price.

Another important point to keep in mind is that this really is an initial investment. Most of these things are reusable in the following years. The planting tray, any leftover growing medium, and properly stored seeds will still be good to SEEDS WILL OFTEN use. This is especially true of the LAST MORE THAN light, which should last several years before it even needs to have ONE SEASON any bulbs replaced.

Of course, you will also need some seeds. Most growers receive several seed catalogs every year, and most of us have a favorite. When ordering seeds it’s a good idea to purchase them all from the same company with the hopes of receiving free shipping on the order. Seeds are also widely available at garden centers or grow shops, and you can purchase them in bulk or in smaller packages. Depending on the variety, seeds are usually very reasonably priced, and the amount per packet will often last more than one season - when properly stored.

So the initial investment of around £132 can actually become an avenue for a grower to save even more money in consecutive years. It can also give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly where your food came from, all the way back to the seed. 3

On average, purchasing these much-needed tools for success will typically set you back about £132 - but that is an initial investment, and you should look at the cost with some perspective. Buying enough plants from a nursery or greenhouse to fill a large garden can easily cost a grower upwards of a hundred dollars, and the quality of

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