Maximum Yield USA - October 2010

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Long Beac h Expo Issue Your ultimate g u

ide to the indu

stry’s latest

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Indoor gardenING expo indoorgardeningexpo.com

long beach california, usa

october 16-17

FEATURES

62

76

CONTENTS October 2010

44

Plant Factories: Efficient and Profitable Food Production

56

Agricultural Apocalypse: A Cuban Story

62

Maddening Mildew: Prevention and Control

76

Vegetable Crops: An Objective Review

92

The Cost of Sunlight

by Dr. Mike Nichols

by Simon Hart

by Dr. Lynette Morgan

by Clair Schwan

by Ed Harwood

104

The New Grow: Getting it Tight

114

Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

126

Coco: What is it all About?

136

Small Spaces, Big Yields Bloom - Part 3

152

How To Produce Cuttings and Seedlings

by Erik Biksa

by Dr. J. Benton Jones, Jr.

by Luis Bartolo

by Lee McCall

by Bob Taylor

DEPARTMENTS 10 12 14 20 22 34

From the Editor Letters to the Editor MaximumYield.com Simon Says MAX Facts Product Spotlight

90 100 122 124 134 146

Beginner’s Corner Green Thumb Gardening Avant-Gardening You Tell Us Growing for Health

150 160 164 164 166

Talking Shop Max Mart Coming up in November Do You Know?

Distributors

Tips & Tricks

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

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FROM THE editor

jessica raymond

This special Long Beach Expo Edition of Maximum Yield is filled to the brim with how-to tips from some of your favorite authors, our industry’s latest news and some great new products, many of which will be on display in Long Beach.Whether you are starting a new crop or looking for ways to improve your current one, this issue has a bountiful source of information to put you on the right track. Mixing the right nutrient solutions, keeping mildew and fungi at bay and optimizing your yields are all covered in this issue.

World Food Day (October 16) is a global event designed to increase awareness about and alleviate world hunger. In this issue, Dr Mike Nichols pens Plant Factories: Efficient and Profitable Food Production, which outlines efficient ways to be more productive and sustainable in your garden. Education like this is the

first step in accomplishing these goals. Maximum Yield will continue to offer informative growing choices to help you grow your way to a sustainable future, a future where no one goes hungry.

We welcome you all to come and BROADEN your knowledge, BOOST your skills and BECOME the master of your modern garden at the Long Beach Indoor Gardening Expo, Sunday, October 17 from noon to 5 p.m. Discover the latest techniques and innovative products our industry has to offer and participate in education sessions and live demonstrations.

Visit indoorgardeningexpo.com for full event details. Be sure to stop by and say hello to the Maximum Yield team; we’d love to meet you!

Jessica Raymond, Editor editor@maximumyield.com

contributors Dr. Mike Nichols is a retired

university lecturer and an honorary research associate in the College of Sciences at Massey University, New Zealand. He speaks extensively at conferences for international organizations such as the United Nations, and also writes and consults on a range of intensive horticultural topics.

Simon Hart is a certified organic gardener and soil manager. He grew up on a 30 acre mixed farm, which inspired a deep-rooted passion for nature and gardening. His university studies focused on forestry, biology and the environment. He’s worked as Greenstar Plant Products jack-of-all-trades for the past seven years and is the author of Maximum Yield’s “Simon Says’ column.

Dr. Lynette Morgan holds a B. Hort.

Dr. Ed Harwood is founder and chief

Erik Biksa holds a diploma in

Dr. J. Benton Jones Jr. has 50 years of experience growing plants hydroponically. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia, Athens and has authored eight books and written articles for magazines that deal with hydroponic issues.

He currently has his own consulting company, Grosystems, Inc. Dr. Jones currently lives in Anderson, SC, USA.

Jose Luis Pinheiro Bartolo is the president of Biobizz Worldwide Inc., a global leader in the production of hydroponic organic fertilizers and soil mixtures. He is passionate about the organic market and providing the highest service and perfectionism that comes direct from his heart and is projected to all aspects of his life.

Lee McCall graduated from Johnson and Wales University with a concentration in Culinary Arts.

Culinary school opened the door to research and work with hydroponics and organic production. Currently, Lee attends business school in Denver and focuses on continuing advancements with Maximum Yield and indoor gardening technology.

Bob Taylor is the chief chemist of

executive officer of AeroFarms. Ed previously served as associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension for Agriculture. Prior to that, Ed served as CEO of Topline Waikato, Inc.

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Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

agriculture with majors in fertilizer sciences and crop production. Erik has amassed over 18 years of indoor gardening experience and intensive research. Since first appearing in Maximum Yield in 1999, the “Ask Erik” column and numerous articles have reached growers throughout the world.

Tech. degree and a PhD in hydroponic greenhouse production from Massey University, New Zealand. Lynette is a partner with SUNTEC International Hydroponic Consultants and has authored five hydroponic technical books. Visit www.suntec.co.nz/ consultants.htm and www.suntec. co.nz/books.htm for more information.

Flairform (www.flairform.com) - an Australian based manufacturing company. Bob was an approved NATA signatory and an official registered analyst for the government’s chemical analysis monitoring program of all fertilizers registered in Western Australia.

LETTERS TO the editor

Only the Beginning

Helping Hands Worldwide

I really enjoyed your article about the new breed of high intensity LED lighting in your August issue. I have wanted to switch to LED lighting since I first heard about them. Out of all the research that I've done, the problem for me is the smaller yields with some LED lights compared to HID lighting. I'm sure you've heard that a million times at this point. Since indoor gardeners are experimenting with these new lights, I'm assuming that they’re available to the public. My question to you is where can I find these new lights and how much do they cost?

One of my customers recently told me how helpful your magazine is. I would like to receive a few copies for myself and customers of my market stall where I stock books on vegetable, fruit and herb cultivation. Please can you let me know how much it costs? Look forward to hearing from you.

Ron

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are lighting up indoor grow rooms around the globe. LEDs come in all shapes, sizes and prices. The best place to peruse your LED options is at an indoor gardening/ hydroponic retail shop. The knowledgeable storeowners in our industry will be able to detail the various types available and outline the pros and cons of each to help you make a purchasing decision.

Sustainable Eating - Balanced Living Have you ever heard of “Meatless Mondays?” It’s a pretty awesome movement that encourages people to reduce their meet consumption for the betterment of personal health and the planet’s health.

Their site (www.meatlessmonday.com) is loaded with inspirational stories, the latest in health news and yummy recipes that use ingredients from your garden. I tried the Quinoa Zucchini Burgers this week and they were a hit with my kids and my husband. In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with eating meat; overindulgence is the problem. This rant is really just my way of thanking you for promoting balanced living. In our industry, we brag about being environmentalists and living green. Sustainable eating is just one more aspect of that. Cheers.

Sasha Parry

Lynda Clark

Maximum Yield is available for free at hundreds of indoor gardening retail stores across the globe and on maximumyield.com.

Personal subscriptions are also available by visiting http://maximumyield.com/subscriptions.php or calling 1-250-729-2677.

Social Network Shout Outs via Facebook

Loving the newest issue!

Sara Hope Smith via Facebook The Dr. Lynette Morgan article, “Strands of Gold: Growing Saffron” was so helpful.

Sarah Rapley

Check out all of Dr. Lynette Morgan’s articles—root zone chilling, cool toys and tools, flavor chemistry, vertical gardening, edible shoots and more—on maximumyield.com under our author archive.

Food Grows in Concrete Jungle What an awesome world we live in where even crowded urban centers offer a chance to connect with the natural world. I appreciate that you recognized “Wildman” Steve Brill and his foraging adventures. I talked my partner into joining me on one such adventure. Not only did we have a great time, but we learned a heck of a lot and got the real, unveiled view of our city and its food offerings. I frequent YouTube to check out his videos. Another naturalist to check out on YouTube is Andrew Price, based in South Wales. His videos follow him on an outdoor food journey—on the beach, in hedges and in the woods—as he discovers nature’s edibles. You should check it out.

Adam Garrison Maximum Yield reserves the right to edit for brevity.

We want to hear from you!

Write us at: Maximum Yield Publications Inc. 2339A Delinea Place, Nanaimo, BC V9T 5L9 or Email us at: editor@maximumyield.com

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Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

Coming up on the Web You’re Invited to the Long Beach Indoor Gardening Expo

With over 200 booths and over 90 unique exhibitors showcasing our industry’s latest products and technologies, the Long Beach Indoor Gardening Expo, October 16-17, is our industry’s biggest and best show for 2010. Full event details are available at www.indoorgardeningexpo.com

I N D O O R

G A R D E N I N G

VOLUME 11 – NUMBER 7 October 2010 Maximum Yield is published monthly by Maximum Yield Publications Inc. 2339A Delinea Place, Nanaimo, BC V9T 5L9 Phone: 250.729.2677; Fax 250.729.2687 No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

If undeliverable please return to the address above.

The views expressed by columnists are a personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect those of Maximum Yield or the Editor.

Publication Agreement Number 40739092 Printed In Canada.

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER - Jim Jesson GENERAL MANAGER - Don Moores BUSINESS MANAGER - Linda Jesson SALES DIRECTOR - Lisa Lambersek EDITOR - Jessica Raymond jessica@maximumyield.com

Get in the Know

Are you a subscriber to Maximum Yield’s E-News? You should be, and here’s why: Every month, Maximum Yield mails out our free newsletter full of the latest news, grow tips, upcoming events and more. Subscribe today at http://maximumyield.com/newsletter.php and get in the know.

Last Chance to Win Big

October 15 is your last chance to enter our Win Big…Grow Big contest for September/October.

The latest grow gear from Frontier Specialty Products, Global Garden Friends, Grotek and Sunshine Systems are up for grabs.

Enter at www.maximumyield.com/winbig

Featured Products Our industry has some cool new offerings that will help your garden grow. This month on maximumyield.com we spotlight: the award winning EarthBox, the latest in LEDs from LumiGrow, the Fungal Activator from Organic Bountea, and so much more.

Connect with Maximum Yield

www.maximumyield.com www.facebook.com/MaximumYield www.indoorgardeningexpo.com

Tell us what you think at editor@maximumyield.com. We’d love to hear from you.

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Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

ADVERTISING SALES 250.729.2677 Linda Jesson - linda@maximumyield.com Lisa Lambersek - lisa@maximumyield.com Ilona Hawser - ilona@maximumyield.com Gaby Morin - gaby@maximumyield.com Ashley Heppell - ashley@maximumyield.com PRODUCTION & DESIGN ads@ads.maximumyield.com Mike Linden - mike@maximumyield.com Wes Cargill - wes@maximumyield.com Daniel Peters - daniel@maximumyield.com Nicole Tennison - nicole@maximumyield.com ACCOUNTING - Lee Anne Veres leeanne@maximumyield.com USA DISTRIBUTION Aurora Innovations BWGS, BWGS West and BWGS East General Hydroponics Hydrofarm Hydro International National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply R&M Supply Tradewinds CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION Brite-Lite Group Biofloral Eddis Wholesale Greenstar Plant Products Inc. Hydrotek MegaWatt Quality Wholesale UK DISTRIBUTION Growth Technology Hydrogarden Northern Hydroponic Wholesale Nutriculture UK AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTION Futchatec Growth Technology Hydraspher

SIMON says

Simon, what’s up man? How goes it? My question is if I’m growing organic and really focusing on microbial life in the soil, is it ok to foliar feed with a nutrient blend that isn’t organic? Meaning, will those non-organic foliar applications hinder the life below? You might wonder why I would want to do that. I’ve been learning about ammonium sulfate and how it works as an herbicide, pesticide and fungicide. I’ve been using Humboldt Nutrients (specifically Ginormous), which is not organic, but it’s supposed to help boost blooms and help with mold issues because it contains ammonium sulfate. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Eric

If you want to produce a certified organic crop, foliar feeding with a non-organic nutrient is out of the question; but, it sounds like you are more concerned with its effect on a quality organic medium full of microbial life. As a rule, the application of chemicals to an organic medium is generally detrimental. However, in the case of a foliar application, excluding any large quantity of direct runoff from the leaves into the medium, its effects will be negligible. As nutrients are absorbed into the plant, they are generally converted into various organic acids and other substances.These by-products are then moved throughout the plant, including to the roots where some, such as carbohydrates and amino acids, are secreted into the rhizosphere. So without question some of the elements provided in your foliar spray will end up in your medium but for the most part I would think that they would be in a form that is beneficial to your microbiology.

The second part of your question relates directly to ammonium sulfate. (NH4)2SO4 is a chemical fertilizer with 21 per cent ammonium nitrogen and 24 per cent sulfur in sulfate form. The use of sulfur as a fungicide is well documented but it is generally in its elemental form. Sulfates aren’t fungicides and neither is ammonium sulfate. Ammonium sulfate can be helpful in some cases as an adjuvant for certain pesticides. An adjuvant is a substance that increases the efficacy of the pesticide while lowering the cost of use. In the case of ammonium sulfate it can assist the process by boosting a gene expression resisting pathogen attack. The mechanism that seems to be the cause of this benefit is the acidification of the cytosolic pH within the plant cells themselves.

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Remember that microbiology in some cases can be used as a foliar fungicide. I can’t resist suggesting an organic option.

An aerated compost tea can be tested and there are registered organic fungicides that are based on bacterial isolates. Perhaps you could look to these options to maintain the true organic nature of your system. This way, even as the runoff fell into your medium, you would still be seeing additional organic benefits.

Good luck

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Things Green Learning Center (California) Makes Big Splash ____________________ SeeUsOnline.org’s Things Green Learning Center came alive in an international way with a special visit from 13 Italian students and one German exchange student this past summer. The 17 and 18-year-old globe trekkers came to America to strengthen their learning skills by learning environmental techniques as offered by syndicated radio talk show host, Nick Federoff.

The group participated in a lively discussion of water conservation and natural pest control. They also visited the radio studios of AdviceRadio.com, which provided the perfect place to show the students one of the first ‘green’ studios in America.

Back in the Things Green Learning Center they planted California Poppies in recycled containers. They will give the plants to their respective American family hosts as a gift.

(Sources: SeeUsOnline.org, ThingsGreen.com)

Peppers for Fall ____________________________________________ Two new pepper varieties, being bred specifically for the Halloween and fall season, have been rightly named “Lil’ Pumpkin” and “Pepper Jack.” Geneticists bred these new peppers to add a seasonal interest for Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays, bearing ornamental and culinary markets in mind.

With vibrant colors and unique shapes, these enticing and spicy varieties are sure to be a hit among Americans. The Lil’ Pumpkin has black foliage and orange pumpkin-like fruit; Pepper Jack bears greenish-black foliage and a mix of orange and black, small, coneshaped fruit, similar to the ever-popular Halloween candy corn.

Ornamental peppers perform best in high light and warm temperatures, according to breeders.

(Source: www.ars.usda.gov)

Subway Japan Rolls Out In-Store Hydroponic Lettuce Factories __________________________________ A new branch of Subway Japan in Tokyo will feature a hydroponic vegetable growing station in the middle of the store. Lettuce will be grown at the Marunouchi Building location, and the company is looking into other such onsite farming projects to offer different types of fresh produce to its customers. Seats are arranged around the hydroponic set-up so customers can enjoy a meal while watching lettuce grow.

(Source: www.psfk.com)

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MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

“Gro-Smart with Grodan®” Debut _________ At the recent Maximum Yield Indoor Garden Expo in San Francisco, Grodan debuted their new series of training videos aptly named, Gro-Smart with Grodan. The first of its kind, the Gro-Smart series will be played in indoor gardening shops to help educate consumers.

“We wanted to dispel common misconceptions about Grodan products, and show growers how they can achieve the absolute best results,” Vibeke (Vee) Kjoelhede, North American retail business manager, explains.

Entertaining and educational, these videos are highly recommended.

Visit your favorite indoor gardening shop today and ask about the Grodan Gro-Smart series. Also, watch for new videos that will be uploaded to Grodan’s website (grodan101.com) in the near future.

Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly Potting Medium _______________________ A new type of sustainable and environmentally friendly potting medium made from thinned pine trees has been created by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists.

WholeTree is made from all parts of a tree, in particular the southern pine tree, and can be used alone or mixed with other materials to make substrate. The trees used to make WholeTree are harvested from tree plantations at the thinning stage, when some trees are removed to achieve a density the site can support.

WholeTree could be one of the first available U.S. products made from locally grown materials. Field and laboratory studies have demonstrated the successful use of WholeTree, even at 100 per cent for some nursery plants.

Scientists are further researching WholeTree’s suitability for use in cutting and seedling propagation of herbaceous perennial and woody ornamental crops. So far, they have conducted tests on plants popular to the ornamental and landscaping industries.

(Source: www.ars.usda.gov)

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MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Add Hydroponic Greenery to Your Space ____

Controlled Aquaculture

Carlsbad-based Vertical Earth Gardens aims to bring some green to balconies, side yards, backyards, roofs, decks, frame patios and facades of your abodes. The company aims to help San Diego residents grow healthy food while fighting perennial drought problems and conserving environmental resources. Their vertical gardens not only save space, but also grow healthy lettuce, herbs and vegetables more efficiently than a traditional garden bed.

Founders Mark DeMitchell and Mike Tarzian utilize hydroponics to deliver water to plants that uses 80 per cent less water than traditional gardens. The patent pending design touts a detachable reservoir that recycles water and keeps it circulating through the system continuously. It also contains nutrients that are so necessary for speedy plant growth.

The self-supporting framework is mostly handmade and looks great in nurseries, schools, restaurants and homes.

Fast-growing farm-raised salmon and trout that are sterile can now be produced using a method that blocks reproduction.

This method allows researchers to more efficiently and reliably produce fish that have three sets of chromosomes. Fish with the extra set of chromosomes can’t reproduce, so the energy from the food they eat is shifted from reproduction to growth.

Bigger fish for consumers and sterile fish for producers and anglers are the goals. Researchers and biologists have investigated the earliest stages of fish development, and developed a more effective way to produce rainbow trout that have four sets of chromosomes. Those trout are then crossed with typical fish that have two chromosome sets, yielding offspring that have the desired three sets of chromosomes.

Fish physiologists have improved on that method, and preliminary studies have expanded its application to Atlantic salmon, brook trout and brown trout. They are also in the process of breeding these fish for experiments that will determine whether three-chromosome-set fish are good performers in terms of production traits such as growth to market size, stress tolerance and disease resistance.

(Source: www.ars.usda.gov)

(Source: www.greendiary.com, www.verticalearthgardens.com)

New Belgium Gets Top Honors on List of Greenest Breweries ________________________ Greenopia.com recently released its updated green rankings of the world’s 15 largest breweries. Judged on the growing practices of the barley, malt and hops it uses, transportation, production efficiency and packaging of its beer, New Belgium came out on top, with a perfect four out of four leaves. The company considers sustainability a key tenet of its philosophy, and is entirely wind-powered.

With three leaves each, the runners-up are Berkeley-based Bison Brewery (which produces exclusively organic beers), and Eel River, which came out with America’s first certified organic beer in 1999.

In a time when we’re seeing an upsurge of microbreweries and organic beer, having some concrete rankings as to what’s green and what’s greenwashing is crucial.

(Source: www.treehugger.com)

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MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Federal Judge Bans Genetically Modified Sugar Beets _____________ U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White revoked a five-year-old approval of genetically altered sugar beets from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Judge White cited the USDA’s insufficient testing of weedkiller-tolerant sugar beets and their possible effects to the environment. Plants with this genetic mutation are immune to glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup.

Many non-profit and environmental organizations hail this decision as a major victory, but this could be a major headache for sugar beet growers and food producers. Sugar beets make up one-half of the U.S. sugar supply. This could also be a huge win in the fight against GMO foods.

Genetically modified (GMO) sugar beets are already planted on more than one million acres of farmland, spanning 10 different states from Michigan to Oregon. The Roundupresistant gene is present in 95 per cent of U.S.-grown sugar beet plants.

This year’s yield can be harvested, processed and sold as sugar, but no genetically-altered seeds may be planted next spring.

(Source: www.treehugger.com)

GrowFood.org Unites Farmers with Willing Volunteers and Workers _________________ Are you looking to volunteer or work part or full time on a farm? Do you fancy picking fruit for a weekend or even for a season? Are you curious where your nearest local farm is that sells local, organic produce for the right price?

GrowFood.org is the site for you. This website is simple and easy to navigate. Their goal is “to help grow a community of 50 million new small-scale organic farmers.”

You can volunteer, or you can look for a job. You can go and help pick fruit for a weekend, or work for a season.

You can check out a farm close to where you live or take the opportunity to travel to a farm further afield and get room and board.

There is also a section to post exactly what you are looking for, whether you are a farmer or a worker. Currently there are about 2,100 farms listed.

(Source: www.treehugger.com, www.growfood.org)

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MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Family of Four Grows Food in a Swimming Pool A family living in Mesa, Arizona has decided to convert an old, unused backyard swimming pool into a very productive DIY urban greenhouse, which they named Garden Pool.

Within a small, mostly enclosed space, they grow all kinds of vegetables and herbs, as well as raise chickens and tilapia fish. They started this project in 2009 and expected to be “self-sufficient” by 2012, but they’ve reached that goal this year, getting eight fresh eggs a day, unlimited tilapia fish, organic fruit, veggies and herbs 365 days a year. The Garden Pool combines the following techniques: solar power, water conservation, poultry farming, aquaculture, hydroponics, organic horticulture, aquaponics and biofiltration.

(Source: www.treehugger.com, http://gardenpool.org)

R & M Supply - On the Move and Going Green _______________ R&M Supply will soon be moving into a new, state-of-the-art, 100,000 square foot facility. It is centrally located in Southern California and features skylights throughout that provide natural, ambient light to nearly every corner of the building.

Uncovered floor surfaces have been polished and coated to recapture roughly 28 per cent of the light normally lost to absorption. They have adopted a “smart” HVAC design that only operates when needed.

They have also decided to print all of their wholesale and retail catalogs on recycled paper using only soy ink. They are making a conscious and concerted effort to decrease their overall impact on the planet. Two examples of their green initiatives are using recycled PET and polypropylene to make their trays and using controllers that monitor and activate high demand devices only when needed. This approach to gardening will save you money while helping the planet from further exploitation.

MY

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PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it.

Find it at your local indoor gardening store.

LumiGrow ES-165 LED Grow Light _________________________ The LumiGrow ES-165 LED grow light provides professional-grade LED technology for small indoor spaces. The LumiGrow ES-165 packs in all the features of the LumiGrow ES-330, from full PAR spectrum light to the industry’s most powerful LEDs, in a small-profile, budget-friendly package. LumiGrow’s proprietary color blend is engineered to promote healthy plants through all growth phases. Cost-efficient, reliable and safe, the 165 watt ES-165 runs cool to the touch and is backed by LumiGrow’s no-hassle warranty. The LumiGrow ES-165 fulfills the promise of LED lighting technology in a no-fuss solution. Visit your local indoor gardening retailer for more information.

New Predator Sighted in Indoor Gardens _____________ Sunleaves Predator Series Plug N’ Play Viper 6 is perfect for gardeners on the hunt for an affordable, high-quality reflector. Its durable steel housing and compact size make it ideal for any space, and its 15 foot built-in ballast power cord, complete with the industry-standard common plug, makes set up simple. A hinged, airtight lens, six inch inline vent flanges and aerodynamic mogul socket makes it a perfect fit for gardeners who currently use CO2 enrichment or plan to do so in the future.

Ask for the Viper 6 at your local indoor gardening shop.

Protect Yourself with Water Alarms ________ In the presence of moisture buildup, the Water Alarm will alert you to a potential problem. The Water Alarm will detect standing or running water, condensation or moisture in carpeting or other types of flooring. Place a Water Alarm in any room where water could cause damage. When moisture comes in contact with any two adjacent metal legs, the alarm will sound an extremely loud (110 dB) warning. User manual with installation instructions and complete warranty information included. Alarm chirps when battery is low. Visit your indoor gardening shop to learn more.

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Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

CubeCap® Introduces Their Long Awaited 4” DripCap® The new DripCap® features an innovative hose holder and dripper technology that accommodates a host of propagation hose sizes ranging from 0.16 to 0.3 inches. The new DripCap allows for an even distribution of water and nutrients to saturate the block and root zone. This results in increased root mass and plant yields and minimizes or eliminates algae, fungus gnats, shore flies and their root eating, crop damaging larva.

The DripCap eliminates the need for pesticides, larvacides, bacticides and fungicides. For more information on the DripCap® and CubeCap® visit your favorite indoor gardening shop.

PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it. Find it at your favorite indoor gardening store.

True Liberty Bags ____________________________________________________ True Liberty Bags is pleased to introduce our high quality, large quantity Turkey Bags™. True Liberty’s Turkey Bags™ are 18 inches by 20 inches and are available in boxes of 10, 25 and 100. True Liberty Bags are thicker than the leading brand and proudly made in the USA. They are produced from 100 per cent BPA free, FDA approved, nylon materials. Discover what commercial organic farmers, food storage experts and hobby vegetable growers are using to keep their foods fresh, healthy and stable, with all of the aroma, flavor and nutrients locked right in! Visit your local hydroponics shop for more information.

Smart Float Grow Tray with Plugs _____________ Hydrofarm’s Smart Float comes complete with a 55 cell reusable floating insert, heavy duty tray and 55 earth-friendly Ready Gro plugs to get your plants off to a great start. The floating insert sits inside the tray and rises and falls with the water level. This ensures no overwatering or underwatering. Smart Float provides and ideal air-to-water ratio and is perfect for starting seeds or cuttings. Works great with Hydrofarm domes to create a mini greenhouse. Contact an authorized Hydrofarm retailer for more information.

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Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it. Find it at your favorite indoor gardening store.

LumiGrow, Inc. Introduces LumiGrow ECC™ LED Light Bulbs for Environmental Control Chambers and Greenhouses _________________ The LumiGrow ECC™ series from LumiGrow, Inc. offers a direct replacement for the incandescent bulbs used in environmental control chambers (ECCs) and greenhouses. The LumiGrow ECC-R™ and ECC-FR™ LED light bulbs provide plants with red and far red respectively, and use 75 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs. They operate at just 17 watts, producing an annual savings of over 500 kilowatt-hours compared to 100 watt bulbs. LumiGrow ECC bulbs last 10 to 20 times longer than standard bulbs. For more information, visit your nearest indoor gardening retailer.

The Award Winning EarthBox is Now Available _____ The patented EarthBox was developed by commercial farmers and has been proven effective in lab and farm tests.

This maintenancefree, award winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden. It requires less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort in the process. The EarthBox Garden Kit includes an EarthBox, an aeration screen, a fill tube, mulch covers, casters, fertilizer and dolomite soil amendment. Gardeners just supply a peat- or coir-based growing medium, plants and water. Ask for the EarthBox at your local indoor gardening shop.

GGL Regulator Pebbled Wing Reflector _____ Simple design and great performance makes the GGL Regulator a favorite of Humboldt County. The super reflective pebbled aluminum design of the Regulator provides optimum light distribution, bathing your garden in what it needs to produce the fattest flowers out there. Take it from the master growers of Humboldt County. The regulator optimizes your dollar while still bringing you the best results! Quality inspected and including a socket with a 15 foot cord, the Regulator works with both HPS and MH lamps. Use this classic to regulate your garden. For more information visit your nearest indoor gardening shop.

The Standard 4 Drip System _______________________________ The Standard 4 Drip System from Frontier Specialty Products consists of four movable drippers with an enclosed 110 volt circulation pump. This 3.5 gallon container is 10 inches high and 10 inches in circumference. The inner net basket is seven inches deep and snaps on to the rim of the grow site. Included in this kit are 16 ounces of nutrients, five pounds of hydroton, a nutrient solution level indicator and a drain tube. This system can be used indoors or outdoors to grow herbs and vegetables. It uses very little electricity and saves water. For more information visit your favorite local gardening shop.

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PRODUCT spotlight

Aeroponic Cloning at its Best ______________ CloneBucket 18 is a true aeroponic cloning system that gives you healthy rooted clones in five to 10 days. The durable black bucket inhibits algae growth within the machine while the white lid reflects valuable light needed for cloning. Uses two inch neoprene inserts, with or without net pots. Compatible with rockwool or Sure To Grow for effortless seed starting. Hydro West offers CloneBucket with a variety of cloning sites (eight, 12, 18 and 30). CloneBucket.com offers free technical support with any CloneBucket purchase. Visit your local indoor gardening shop for more information.

New Intermatic 24/7 Timers _______________ Both the 24 hour and seven day Intermatic timers feature all the bells and whistles you’ll need to control your electrical devices. Intermatic timers feature power and status LED indicator lights and a real time clock face that is easy to program and read. The timers are rated at 40 amps and multi-voltage: 120, 208240 or 277 VAC. They also feature a field adjustable DIP switch, SPDT and DPDT all-in-one. Contact your authorized Hydrofarm retailer for more information.

Hydro International Presents Bloom Seaweed ___________ Bloom Seaweed is a natural plant tonic that provides natural amino acids and vitamins for plants and microorganisms. Organic plant stimulates allow plants to grow up to five inches per day in freezing saline conditions.

Contains micro-organisms involved in the composting process. Contains coldcomposted kelp. Visit an indoor gardening shop near you for more information.

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PRODUCT spotlight

SteadyGROWpro Introduces Medius and Maximus ____________________________ SteadyGROWpro is rolling out two larger sized, biowrapped blocks designed for growing single plants from seed to maturity. In addition, plants can be started from steadyGROWpro sheet media or plugs and transplanted to Medius six inch or Maximus eight inch blocks. The Medius blocks are available in eight block packs; the Maximus blocks are available in six block packs. Suitable for drip or overhead irrigation, Medius and Maximus can be easily moved during the growing process. Consistent from top to bottom, the blocks are inert, sterile, will minimize algae growth and do not attract insects. For more information visit your favorite indoor gardening store.

Hydro International Presents Bloom Sea Minerals ________ Sea Minerals is a natural mineral supplement. It will fill inadequacies in plant nutrient absorption. Sea Minerals contains a full mineral profile of 100 chemical elements. Developed from seawater through concentration and removal of sodium.

Contains sea water extract. Visit an indoor gardening shop near you for more information.

Continues on page 148

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t n a l P tories t c a F

le b a t fi o r P & t Efficien Productionls Nicho Food

by Dr. Mike

Brocolli Cucumbers

Carrots

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C

s t o arr

“Society is rapidly becoming predominantly urban. This will place major constraints on the availability of food and clean water.”

To develop successful urban agriculture requires space, suitable soil types and knowledge. The increasing population density and disappearance of sound agronomic skills in many of our major cities poses major difficulties for food supplies in the future. The answer to these increasing challenges may be plant factories that utilize modern technology for increased yields, superior quality and the ultimate in control.

The current population of planet earth is 6.8 billion.

This number is expected to rise to nine billion by the year 2050. Homo sapiens have proved to be a profligate user of finite resources. Peak oil occurred in 2006; global warming is a major threat; fresh water supplies are limited; fertilizer is limited. Our increasing population has led to an increasing urbanization, and this has resulted in a loss of rural skills, and a need for more food supplies close to urban centers. Urbanization has resulted in a loss of productive land close to cities.

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Plant Factories

Greenhouses originated from the orangeries of the 18th Century, but these orangeries show little in common with the modern, high-tech, sophisticated greenhouses of the 21st Century. Greenhouses have become more sophisticated, and thus, increasingly expensive, both to establish and also to run.

We attempt to control the greenhouse environment while the external environment fluctuates from hour to hour and minute to minute. This has meant that, although it’s possible to determine the optimum environment for a crop, it’s extremely difficult to achieve this in practice because of the variation of the external environment—particularly radiation.

The original concept of controlling minimal temperature by means of a simple thermostat has been replaced by computer controlled heating, ventilation, CO2 levels, humidity and possibly more. Clearly greenhouse production has many advantages over field production, in terms of productivity per The high-tech version of 18th century greenhouses has been modernized for ultimate productivity. unit area, product quality and productivity per quart of water, particularly when a re-circulating hydroponic system is used.

In fact, efficient use of water is going to become increasingly land in the major cities, and the “desirability” of producing important in the future, not only for crop production, but also crops (particularly salad lettuce) close to where they are to be for human existence. consumed. These problems will be the same for all urban areas in the future.

Plant factories—in which the crop environment is totally controlled—have existed for many years. Essentially they are an The Plant Environment extension of the controlled climate rooms/cabinets developed for research, and expanded for commercial production. The The plant environment comprises both below the ground weakness of many of these cabinets is the difficulty in reducing and above the ground factors. In a field situation there is not temperature under high radiation a great deal of environmental loads. Water screens have helped, modification that can be done.

“Japan is undoubtedly the most but essentially large amounts of advanced country in the development In the greenhouse, however, refrigeration have been needed particularly a modern, highof plant factories. This probably to ensure that plant temperatures tech greenhouse with good are not too high. relates to the very high cost of land in environmental control, it is possible to modify the This has been the major cities.” particularly true environment to enhance when higher than ambient CO2 levels are productivity, particularly in relation to the below ground being used, and the air is being re-circulated. environment. Even in the aerial environment it is possible to exert some control on air temperature, humidity, day Japan is undoubtedly the most advanced country in the development length, and to a lesser extent, radiation. However, the of plant factories. This probably greenhouse does not lend itself to the accurate control of relates to the the environment, and it is possible (and even probable) that very high cost of the very high levels of productivity needed for the future will only be achieved with a much better control of the plant environment than is currently possible.

An excellent example is in relation to plant temperature. We know that during periods of insulation, leaf temperature will exceed air temperature, whereas at night leaf, temperature will be lower than air temperature.Yet we always control the

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Plant Factories

air temperature of the greenhouse, even to the stage of ensuring that temperature probes are not exposed to direct radiation.

However, a plant’s (leaf ’s) biological activity is determined by it’s temperature, not that of the surrounding air. The interaction of radiation, temperature and CO2 level is critical in determining the rate of photosynthesis, and yet in a greenhouse it is necessary to ventilate well before radiation levels approach saturation point because of the excessively high temperatures in the house (cause by infrared radiation). Thus, the biological optimum use of CO2 is never reached.

The below ground environment is, to some extent, easier to modify and control. Although growing rooms have been developed using artificial lights, until recently none of these have been totally closed circuit rooms because of the requirement to remove excess heat generated by the lights.

Pumps are used to remove heat, caused by lighting, from the plant factory.

Using LEDs as the primary photosynthetic energy source, the radiant heat load of the lights is substantially reduced, and it The major objective of a plant factory is to efficiently now becomes feasible to use a closed circuit re-circulating convert carbon dioxide saleable plant product. In a fully system for the entire system. This immediately makes it closed system, 0.04 ounces of carbon dioxide converts into possible to increase the level of CO2 in the atmosphere approximately 0.02 ounces of carbohydrate in the plant. from 2,000 to 3,000 ppm, with a clearly enhanced level of However, plant product is sold as fresh weight not dry photosynthesis, although weight so 0.04 ounces much more research is “The very high levels of productivity needed of carbon dioxide will still needed to evaluate equate to 1.76 ounces of for the future will only be achieved with a the impact of elevated leafy vegetable (such as CO2 levels on plant much better control of the plant environment lettuce) or 2.50 ounces of growth and productivity. fruit (such as tomatoes). than is currently possible.”

To date plant factories Plants can now be grown in a fully insulated light have not been developed proof growing room with minimal heat load, and it now as closed circuit rooms, but if we determine the relationship becomes possible to control the air temperature, humidity and between photosynthesis and radiation/temperature/CO2 at CO2 levels more precisely than in a standard greenhouse. high (2,000+ ppm) CO2 levels, we are then in a position to optimize radiation, and possibly temperature. Using LEDs as the primary photosynthetic energy source, the heat load on the plants is substantially reduced because there is no infrared radiation. Thus much higher temperatures may be feasible, possibly as high as 93°F. Plant temperature can also be more closely attuned to optimum, as the higher leaf temperatures that occur under conditions of high insulation (due to infrared radiation) no longer occur and similarly the lower leaf temperatures that occur in a greenhouse on a clear night also do not happen.

Because the plant factory is a fully insulated building, it is feasible to grow the crop at much higher temperatures than would be economic in a greenhouse. Thus it may be feasible to grow plants (particularly in the early stages where ground cover development is important) at air temperatures (and therefore plant temperatures) approaching 95°F, with photoperiods of 24 hours, and at high CO2 levels.

Using LEDs in a grow room substantially reduces the heat load, making it With a fixed temperature the control of humidity is also feasible to use a closed circuit re-circulating system.

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Plant Factories far simpler. A wide range of lighting is available for plant factories, but although high pressure sodium lights and other types of discharge tubes have predominated up to now, these all produce considerable amounts of heat (both sensible and radiant). LED lights, which can be virtually monochromatic, appear to have a far higher potential, because although they still produce sensible heat, the wavelengths used for photosynthesis (red and blue) are outside the infrared range.

Careful selection might also ensure that the wavelengths are outside the phytochrome sensitive range, and it might then become possible to grow day length sensitive plants in a 24 hour photoperiod, without any photoperiodic response—a fascinating development.

A Plant Nursery One of the key factors in efficient (and therefore profitable) commercial vegetable crop production is to balance demand and supply, and this is a serious problem with any field grown vegetables. Supermarkets require a regulated supply of raw product just as much as the processing factories.

The usual method of regulating supply is to use long term climatic data for the district (plus experience), to ensure a regular quantity of fresh produce for market. In temperate climates the system does not work effectively during the

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Plant factories offer an ultimate environment for producing vegetable seedlings.

winter months. This was primarily because the growth of the seedlings in the greenhouse was too unreliable, not because the growing degree days model was not effective, but because it was overridden by the effect of the low level of solar radiation (both quantity and day length) during the winter, when day lengths are about ½ of the summer, and radiation levels are an even lower proportion.

When growing (for example) lettuce or broccoli, over 50 per cent of the growing time is spent in the propagation stage, and this is difficult to standardized. If this period of growth could be standardized economically, then the potential to improve the timing of maturity of such vegetables would be huge. Plant factories have the potential to provide a standard plant at any time of the year, and greatly improve the ability of growers to time the maturity of their crops. Perhaps more important than the ability to produce a standard transplant at any time of the year, is the fact that it is possible to grow 50 times the number of similar quality seedlings per three square feet of floor space per year compared with a conventional greenhouse not only because the improved growing conditions double the production, but also because even in a “standard” 10 foot tall module it is possible to use five tier racks. Because the plant factory is a closed system with artificial light (currently fluorescent tubes, but inevitably in the future LEDs), high levels of CO2 can be used, and nutrients and water use is minimal. Cooling is by heat pumps.

Plant Factories Grafting of tomatoes and of cucurbits is simplified, because timing can be much more precise for the growth of rootstocks and scion.

In the final analysis it would appear that plant factories will be used to produce crops to maturity (as is already done in Japan for lettuce), but in the short term they would appear to have excellent potential for producing high quality vegetable seedlings to simplify ensuring continuity of supply of fresh market vegetables.

Conclusions With a growing awareness of food miles the scene is set for a return to the local production. Plant factories offer the potential to produce high yields of produce close to major areas of consumption. Accurate control of air and root temperatures, the potential to increase carbon dioxide levels well above those possible in a greenhouse situation, combined with the enhanced levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) due to the use of LEDs, combined with the potential to provide light for 24 hours a day, could lead to significantly increased crop productivity.

Greenhouse crop production (using re-circulating hydroponic systems) offers three times the improvement in water use efficiency, and plant factories as totally closed MY systems offer even greater efficiencies.

Note: Dr. Mike Nichols is actively involved in assisting the Singapore based Global Agricultural Holdings in developing the appropriate environmental factors to maximize biological yield using plant factories.

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Agricultural ★ Apocalypse

A Cuban Story

by Simon Hart

As an organic gardener, I sometimes wonder why more people don’t embrace the natural cycling of nutrients that has built the world around us for the last four billion years. Most of us are more willing to embrace agricultural technology that has less than a 100 year track record instead of a time tested flow of energy through the system. Recently I read articles suggesting that organics are ineffective and can actually be dangerous. Does this type of commentary perhaps reflect ignorance or commercial bias? Four billion years versus 100 years—remember that.

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I admit that a massive switch to organics would cause a shockwave through the system and would probably have some unpleasant consequences. Without question, worldwide yields would drop substantially, if only temporarily. It is also plausible that there would not be enough organic material to supply the agricultural industrial complex in its current form. Still, to say these are reasons to avoid a shift is to gloss over the underlying issues of environmental pollution and soil degradation.

Environmental degradation is always viewed as an externality to efficiency, yet we rely on the environment heavily to produce food—how is that external? Although technology is ever increasing, yields are generally not going up because the fertility of our soil has diminished with the use of chemicals and depletion of organic matter.

Despite corporate protest and the lack of politically mandated change, people are beginning to consider how sustainable our current system really is. The population is becoming more aware of the precarious nature of our food system. Many people are now dealing with the uncomfortable question of where our food is coming from. However, as a society, we continue down the path of industrializing our food supply.

What if a food bubble took the place of the housing bubble and the economic meltdown we have just experienced? Would this catastrophic situation cause a readjustment of the way we feed ourselves? We will never know until it happens. But wait; it has already happened, in Cuba.

It all began before the revolution, when Cuba was essentially a huge plantation with 50 per cent of the land owned by one per cent of the people. This changed in 1959 when Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries changed the political landscape of Cuba forever. The shift to communist style governance was supported by the U.S.S.R, and they bought Cuban commodity crops in

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Agricultural Apocalypse

Following the “Special Period”, the leadership realized that with 70 per cent of their population living in cities, and without fuel for transport, they needed to bring the food to the people.

exchange for food imports, chemical fertilizers and fossil fuels. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-90, this changed dramatically. Between the collapse of their only real trading partner and the US embargo Cubans fell into what was called the “Special Period.” Access to 1.3 million tons of chemical fertilizers a year was gone; all the fuel for machinery and transport disappeared; pesticides vanished into thin air; and the daily caloric intake for the average Cuban went from 2,600 to 1,250.You could substitute the words “disastrous period” for Special Period, but necessity is the mother of all invention.

The stubborn leadership took a hard look at agricultural practices and realized there was no choice but to be more self-sufficient and sustainable. Only survival of the population could cause such a dramatic shift as was proposed. Although large scale farming continues to a certain extent, the leadership realized that with 70 per cent of their population living in cities, and without fuel for transport, they needed to bring the food to the people. This meant less industrialized and more local production of food. This local emphasis has resulted in a massive reduction of food miles and greenhouse gas emissions, so their experience benefits us all.

The Organoponicos, which were the brainchild of this new direction, would turn out to be the world’s largest example, and experiment, in localized urban organic food production. This system uses disturbed and agriculturally useless lands within city limits. The land is modified by using raised beds of composts and manures, sometimes in concrete channels, creating incredibly rich soil over a barren area.

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Ideas like integrated pest management, composting, crop rotation and green manures all contribute to soil conservation and improvement. This is in stark comparison to the shrinking fertility in conventional systems. Use of techniques including drip irrigation, deterrent plants, beneficial insects and microbes all enhance the soil management practices. Crop diversity is also a major component. Diversity is not set up for the industrial agricultural complex with machinery but it works very well when you actually have people rather than machines working the land. A broader, healthier range of foods and lower susceptibility to pest problems is the result.

Approximately 60 per cent of Cuba’s vegetables are now produced in urban gardens. In Havana this is pegged at 90 per cent. This is a good news story, but it also showcases the fact that Cuba still imports some food to balance out its domestic production. There are over one million registered urban gardens now and over 7,000 large scale Organoponicos. Built on sustainable techniques, such as composting, the Cuban experience has learned a lot of lessons that can help us all with the future of local agriculture.

Much of the composting is done by worms in larger scale vermicomposting (93,000 tons in 2006) a fantastic way of recycling nutrients and increasing soil biology.

“Access to 1.3 million tons of chemical fertilizers a year was gone; all the fuel for machinery and transport disappeared; pesticides vanished into thin air; and the daily caloric intake for the average Cuban went from 2,600 to 1,250.”

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Agricultural Apocalypse

Pest management is also a big part of the knowledge-base on these farms. Specialists grow predator insects on site in some cases and if not there are over 200 government run plant clinics that offer diagnosis of problems and biopesticide remedies.

In Cuba, there is good income and great pride for those who work the soil in these urban gardens.

Vivero Organoponico in Havana employs 25 people on 0.7 hectares of land. Once the farm reaches its government quota for production it is allowed to sell the excess produce in the free market, and divide the profits among workers. The hard thing for North Americans to understand is that this means farmers can make more than doctors. Imagine a system where people who feed us are rewarded—a novel concept in the North American system

Organoponicos use disturbed and agriculturally useless lands within city limits. The land is modified by using raised beds of composts and manures, sometimes in concrete channels, creating incredibly rich soil over a barren area.

of production. But what an excellent incentive to increase understanding of crop production.

The development of small-scale local polyculture in Cuba has provided a high level of food security; the diversity has also improved everyone’s diet, and the process has become far more efficient in the last two decades. In 1994 the farms were producing 12 pounds per three

square feet, but by 1999 this number was 1,161 pounds per three square feet, a staggering increase in production and a true lesson in experimenting and observing in your garden. Miguel Salcines Lopez manages Vivero and sums it up nicely: “Growing food this way is much more interesting; it is much more intelligent.”

There is a rub to this incredible story. There is a good chance the US embargo against Cuba could be lifted in the near future.

This will increase the likelihood of a large scale influx of petrochemical fertilizer and pesticides back into the system. In many cases, large scale farms have only shifted to more organic methods because they have had no choice. What will this mean for the urban Organoponicos?

There is a strong likelihood they will persist; and no matter what, the past two decades have provided fabulous research on the ability of an entire system to switch to organic methods.

The Cuban experience will help others move more seamlessly into this adaptive method of production.

So can this idea work in other places?

Time will tell, but urban gardeners around the world can hone their skills for the day where small scale food production takes its rightful place in the food chain and becomes a prestigious and lucrative activity.

It is time to grow.

MY

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Maddening

Mildew

prevention control and

by Dr. Lynette Morgan

The first sprinklings of mildew are often missed as they can form inside a dense plant canopy.

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A sprinkling of powdery spores coating otherwise healthy plants is a sight that sends chills down growers’ spines.

Powdery mildew is a disease that should be relatively easy to control; however, mildew has become a real menace that reoccurs with surprising frequency. Powdery mildew is not a disease to be ignored; although it won’t rapidly outright kill plants, it can cause considerable damage, loss in yields and quality as well as unsightly plant appearances.

Researchers estimate that one per cent leaf coverage with mildew can result in a one per cent loss in production with crops such as peppers; a heavy infection can result in yield losses of 30 per cent or more. With ornamentals and houseplants, powdery mildew outbreaks can make entire crops unmarketable with damage such as leaf spotting and discoloration, bud distortion, defoliation, leaf rolling, stunted growth and twisted new stems. What is more troubling is that powdery mildew appears to be more difficult to eradicate from protected growing areas than ever before, despite the range of products on the market developed for control. However, this disease can be conquered if we understand enough about its development and how it spreads.

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Maddening Mildew

An Extensive Family Powdery mildew has a common symptom— the development of fine, whitish, powdery deposits that form mostly on the upper leaf surface. These deposits look like a sprinkling of talc and the early stages are often missed by growers as they tend to first form inside leafy canopies. Despite this common symptom, powdery mildew is not one disease, but can be caused by a number of different genera of fungi. Some of the powdery mildew fungi species are specific to certain plants—for example, Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae is confined to roses—while others have a much wider host range. In greenhouses and grow rooms, the most common species of fungi that cause powdery mildew symptoms are Erisyphe, Leveillula, Microsphaera, Podosphaera, Odium and Sphaerotheca. It’s not usually possible to tell exactly which of these fungal pathogens are causing powdery mildew symptoms in different situations, although Leveillula—which occurs mostly on tomatoes and peppers and is sometimes called internal powdery mildew—may produce fungal spores on the lower leaf surfaces as well as the upper surfaces. This poses another problem, as downy mildew, which is a separate, less common disease, also produces grayish-white powdery spores on the undersides of leaves. Mistaking downy mildew and Leveillula powdery mildew creates problems with control as different sprays need to be used for these two very different diseases. To get the diagnosis correct, both leaf surfaces should be checked carefully for the presence of powdery spores. If these are present on both the upper and lower leaf surfaces, then Leveillula powdery mildew is likely to be the cause; if grayishwhite spores are only on the lower surface, then downy mildew is more likely. Neither Leveillula 64

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Powdery mildew not only forms on the foliage, but also on stems, buds, flowers and fruit.

nor downy mildew should be confused with Botrytis or grey mould, which has brownish-grey spores and is also a common fungal pathogen in enclosed growing areas.

Apart from Leveillula or internal powdery mildew, most of the other powdery mildew species have a simple cycle of infection. The spores are often carried into the grow room on wind currents from infected plants. They are introduced to the growing area on infected seedlings or cuttings or develop from survival structures on plant debris.

Most infections come from airborne spores landing on leaf surfaces. The spores do not need an open wound or injured plant to infect their host; they happily germinate on dry leaves, penetrating the leaf tissue and sending food absorbing haustoria into the cells. The threadlike fungus (hyphae) grow over the leaf surface and eventually produce more spores, which trigger further infections. This infection process takes anywhere from three to seven days depending on conditions, but in as little as 72 hours from landing on a leaf surface, the fungi can send fresh spores into the air creating a high degree of infection over a wide area.

Powdery mildew can develop rapidly from a few isolated spots to complete plant coverage in a short period.

Maddening Mildew

Once powdery mildew coats most of the leaf surface, the fungal pathogen takes a real toll on the plant, weakening growth and lowering yields.

Leveillula powdery mildew is one fungal species that seems to be on the rise in greenhouses and has been occurring at higher rates in indoor gardens as well.

Leveillula typically infects tomatoes and peppers, although it has also been seen in cucumbers, eggplant, chile, cotton, globe artichoke and many weeds. It may have a wider host range than initially thought. Leveillula powdery mildew is sometimes termed internal powdery mildew, as unlike other mildew species, it grows unseen within the leaf tissue for a latency period of up to three weeks. This species of mildew can also destroy plants and is much more difficult to control than other types.

A Leveillula powdery mildew infection can occur with either low or high humidity and over a wide temperature range, so this may explain many unexpected mildew outbreaks in otherwise clean growing environments where mildew has not been a problem in the past and where humidity is always well controlled. Other symptoms are fluffy white patches of spores occurring on the upper and under sides of leaves, or in the case of peppers, on the lower leaf surface. The upper leaf surface may also have yellow patches that correspond to the spores underneath. Infected leaves may wither and drop off causing the plant to die.

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Maddening Mildew

Below: The first signs of Oidium powdery mildew on tomato leaves.

Above: Just like a sprinkling of talc, powdery mildew is quite distinctive and easy to recognize.

Right: Members of the cucurbit family such as melons and cucumbers are highly susceptible to powdery mildew unless resistant cultivars are used.

Environmental Conditions and Control Conditions for development of powdery mildew vary depending on the species of fungi. Most of the common powdery mildew species prefer high humidity (greater than 90 per cent), while Leveillula infection on tomatoes and peppers can occur across a wide range of relatively humidity levels. Generally, moderate to warm temperatures favor infection (68 to 86°F). While many powdery mildew species favor high humidity, the greatest rate of infection can spread within a growing area when humidity levels climb at night, allowing the spores to germinate and infect leaves. Less humid daytime air allows the newly produced spores to dry and be released into the air to spread further.

Control of humidity—particularly nighttime relative humidity levels that are more difficult to deal with—is seen as one of the best tools for prevention of powdery mildew. Increasing air movement up, under and through the canopy often gives a good degree of mildew control.

Another option is to prevent overcrowding through selective pruning to let air flow through the crop.

Sprays and Chemical Resistance There are many control products on the market for powdery mildew as well as a number of natural remedies that have varying degrees of success. Different control options may work better on one species of powdery mildew fungi than they do others, so it pays to trial a number of different sprays if the disease has become difficult to eradicate. The other concern with powdery mildew has been the increasing occurrence of spray 68

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“the greatest rate of infection can spread within a growing area when humidity levels climb at night.” resistance. Many of the fungicides available for control of powdery mildew can result in the pathogen building up resistance to the effects of the product. This can happen rapidly if the same fungicide compound is applied for more than a few applications over a short period.

Disease resistance to fungicides (the same can occur with pesticides) has become a major industry problem and may also be a reason why control of powdery mildew with products that once were effective, no longer seems to work as well. To avoid powdery mildew resistance the same class of chemical fungicide should not be used more than twice in succession. Outbreaks are better controlled by using compounds (such as sulfur) to which fungal resistance won’t occur or by rotating different classes of control products over time. A build up of fungicide resistant powdery mildew can become impossible to control with sprays and this can occur rapidly in any growing situation.

Control Options As with many diseases, genetic resistance is one of the best forms of powdery mildew prevention, however, few crops have a wide selection of resistant cultivars to choose from.

Many cucurbit plants such as cucumbers and melons have hybrid cultivars with a high degree of powdery mildew resistance and these should be selected wherever possible, as

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Maddening Mildew

Peppers need good air flow up, under and around plants and are susceptible to Leveillula or internal powdery mildew.

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mildew is a very common and devastating disease on these crops. Some tomato cultivars have resistance to Odium species of mildew, but not to other forms. Certain ornamentals such as zinnia may also have resistant cultivars.

Having powdery mildew’s fungal hyphae and spores exposed on the leaf surface should, in theory, be easy to control with sprays provided there is good and thorough leaf coverage.

There are a few natural remedies such as spraying the foliage with milk and other weakly alkaline compounds, which changes the pH of the leaf surface making it less desirable for the fungal spores to germinate. These have proven to have only a very short term and limited range of effect. However, sodium and potassium bicarbonate have been scientifically proven to be much more effective for powdery mildew control and prevention for a number of common mildew-causing fungi species. While mixing up one level teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with a squirt of good quality detergent (as a sticking

and spreading agent) in one quart of water and spraying onto mildly infected plants does often work, potassium bicarbonate has proven to be even more effective without extra and unwanted sodium run off. Potassium bicarbonate is found in a number of fungicide products and is a completely safe spray to use in enclosed areas. Sodium and potassium bicarbonate do need to be used with care; overdosing plants with baking soda doesn’t kill mildew better, but will burn the foliage severely. The general recommendation of one teaspoon per quart should be followed.

Another highly effective compound is sulfur applied either as a protectant fungicide (micronized sulfur) or in a sulfur vaporizer. Sulfur works by a process of ‘selective toxicity’ that is the sulfur is more toxic to the disease than to the host. However, sulfur must be used with care; if applied when temperatures are too warm in the growing area it can cause considerable plant injury.

Other compounds that may have some effectiveness against powdery mildew are foliar sprays of silica, salicylic acid or chitosan, all of which may help provide either a barrier to infection to induce the plant’s natural defense response to attack by powdery mildew.

There are also some biological fungicides such as those using suppressive beneficial fungi like Bacillus subtilis, however, results with these can vary somewhat depending on the environmental conditions, which need to

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Maddening Mildew

“Pull quote here.”

Cucumber crops benefit from being well spaced to allow maximum air flow and humidity, which assist with powdery mildew prevention.

be optimal for the beneficials to grow and multiply before they can start suppressing the pathogen. Some growers have found that light sprays of horticultural oils or neem oil have assisted with powdery mildew control, but many research studies have found these are not that effective.

Of the chemical fungicides, many are still highly effective if used correctly and rotated so that disease resistance does not build up. The effectiveness of different fungicides can vary significantly with the particular powdery mildew fungi species and the crop, so if one product does not appear to be working, another should be tried. Eradication fungicides need to be used as soon as the first powdery signs are seen as early control is critical. It is also important to check the labels on products that are listed as controlling powdery mildew—many are only registered for use on ornamental crops and should not be applied to edibles.

Others may have withholding periods that must be waited out before the plants can be harvested and consumed.

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The first faint signs of a recent mildew infection, such as is occurring on this wasabi plant, are often missed.

Successful control of powdery mildew involves more than just a quick-fix spray. For complete control, the environment, plant density, humidity levels, air movement, genetic resistance, natural, biological and chemical control compounds all have something to offer and often more than one approach will be needed to get the mildew MY monsters under control.

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Vegetable Crops

an objective Review

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by Clair Schwan

I’m big on planning, whether in my personal or professional life. I enjoy establishing objectives for activities and then, with proper management, achieving those objectives. Like any good manager, I periodically step back from the fray and reassess my activities to see if what I’m doing still makes sense. This is a good way to check my course and speed so I can make necessary adjustments to maintain a reasonable and cost-effective approach to success.

N

ow that the regular growing season is slipping past us, this might be an ideal time to catch our breath and reacquaint ourselves with our objectives in the garden. Perhaps a review might show us where we could benefit from a little correction to get ourselves better aligned with what we originally set out to do.

This re-examination process can help us get reacquainted with our purpose, recalibrate our expectations in terms of resources and formulate more costeffective approaches to achieving our objectives. It might also help us identify new objectives to incorporate. All of this

Vegetable Crops may sound like it’s reserved for the commercial producer, but even the hobbyist needs to have reasonable objectives to guide their investment of time and resources. So, let’s look at some typical objectives for the hobbyist and the commercial vegetable grower, and see if we’re missing something in our own planning.

Along with a fresh action plan, we should also have modified expectations and a new sense of resource requirements. We might be surprised at what we learn when we take a fresh look at our own operation in light of the objectives suggested below.

Like Yogi Berra might very well note, “It’s amazing the things we can see just by looking.”

Local, Organic, Affordable These are increasingly important concerns for many individuals who recognize the threat of food contamination, and the vulnerability and cost associated with food transportation and distribution.Vegetables that travel a thousand miles or more naturally have lower nutritional value because they need to be harvested before they’re ripe. There are also concerns about the ever more centralized nature of our food supply, which makes us all more vulnerable to marketplace perturbations caused by weather, pests, government, contamination and competitors in the marketplace.

As a hobby grower, perhaps this suggests a reason to kick up it a couple of notches and be more self sufficient. Maybe that small indoor growing space needs to become something more serious to create near self sufficiency. Perhaps a full size greenhouse is called for—one with all the bells and whistles.

For a commercial grower, such concerns represent opportunities to participate in the “slow food” movement and increase revenues by offering superior quality products from a trusted source, without all of the cost of transportation and storage.

These concerns in the marketplace also provide opportunity for a producer to differentiate themselves in the eyes of the consumer by offering whole, organic and other value-added products from a clean and reliable source.

Variety Whether it’s on the table or in the marketplace, variety is always welcome among people who appreciate choice. Sometimes an unusual offering takes a while to catch on, but it always draws a crowd of curious seekers. Who says tomatoes and beets should be red and round? What about green, white, pink and striped?

For the commercial producer, variety offers a chance to stand out from competitors. It also provides an opportunity to create 78

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Vegetable Crops In the case of the hobby or homestead gardener, offering variety provides a degree of pest and disease resistance, opportunities for companion planting, new learning experiences and better satisfaction. With only a handful of tomatoes offered in the commercial marketplace, it’s no wonder the vegetable gardener prefers to grow his or her own—there are several thousand types to choose from.

Climbing vines with winter squash.

High Yields

and serve a niche market among consumers and restaurants.

One can always be more pragmatic about it and offer produce that has caught on already, but that’s “me too” marketing, and no way to make a name for yourself or a loyal following. Part of being in business for yourself means you’re doing what few people find the nerve to do—blaze their own trail. So, while you’re trail blazing, you might as well distinguish yourself in the marketplace with unusual varieties that offer intriguing shapes, colors and flavors to a marketplace.

High yields is an objective that most of us should embrace, especially if we’re dealing with smaller spaces, trying to help feed others or supplementing food for homestead animals.

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Vegetable Crops For both the commercial grower and backyard gardener, rethinkmain crop. Cabbage leaves can be harvested before the cabbage ing higher yields might suggest a shift of focus to crops that offer a head. Kohlrabi leaves can be eaten, a few from each plant, long high return of food for the space required to grow them. Summer before the above ground swollen root is ready to be harvested. squash comes to mind as a prolific Turnips and beets can be grown producer of fruits in a limited space. simply for greens in the summer “Variety provides a degree of In addition, if left to grow, they and then the root can be harvestpest and disease resistance, produce longer and larger fruits as ed later in the season. opportunities for companion well. Some varieties provide nice Lastly, we would be well advised planting, new learning experiences to focus on growing up instead quality produce even when they’re grown to larger sizes. of out.Vertical gardens can make and better satisfaction.”

We might also shift our focus a bit better use of space we have availtowards “cut and come again” crops able overhead instead of looking that continue to produce food from to expand laterally in an effort the same space when we harvest to improve overall production. in a manner that encourages adWhether it’s pole beans, winditional food production. Proter squash, peas or cucumbers, duce like collards, kale, broccoli, a little effort to trellis our crops romaine lettuce and Swiss chard can provide exceptional yields continue to supply plenty of food when selectively harvested. without consuming additional floor space. Any concern we might Our interests might also shift to making use of a “double harvest” have about shading out lower profile crops can be addressed with from many crops like beets, kohlrabi, cabbage and turnips.The lighting, reflective surfaces and proper placement of plants in the leaves associated with such crops are perfectly edible, as well as the growing space.

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Vegetable Crops

When harvested selectively, kale will continue to produce food in the same space. Inset: Summer squash is also a prolific producer of fruits in limited space.

Control and Preparation Controlling our food supply and being prepared for emergencies is a legitimate concern for many who recognize that grocery stores only have several days supply of food on the shelves, and price fluctuations in the marketplace are driven by seasons, fuel prices, recalls, weather, demand and other factors that are often not predictable or controllable. I don’t promote or support alarmism, but I do believe in being prepared.

As a homestead vegetable gardener, such objectives might strongly suggest an enhanced focus on cool weather vegetables that thrive in the spring and fall. These “winter vegetables” quite often allow for an extended harvest into the early winter, and this means the indoor gardener has a reliable year-round harvest within easy reach.Vegetables such as greens, peas and root crops fit the bill. Cruciferous vegetables are also excellent choices for ensuring an extended growing season, and many can provide a suitable harvest throughout the winter months even in northern climes. A focus on these objectives might also influence the size and number of greenhouses as well as the acquisition of cold frames, row covers, cloches and supplemental heating resources for winter protection of cool weather crops.

Additional thought should also be given to storage options to extend the harvest by preserving what has already been grown to maturity or harvested. Simple alternatives to canning, freezing and drying include leaving crops in place and simply offering more protection in the form of row covers and heavy mulching. Another alternative is cool and dark storage like an in-ground or indoor root cellar.

Lastly, such concerns about a continuous supply of produce would strongly suggest succession planting instead of traditional seasonal planting so no matter how the grower chooses 84

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Vegetable Crops to harvest, there is always more produce on the way. Successful succession planting requires knowledge of vegetable and when to plant them; it also requires a bit of experience with maintaining conditions that are favorable for survival of our vegetables during what many consider to be the “off season.”

Complementing Crops Complementing your vegetable harvest with herbs is a great way to round out your garden and provide a nice set of complementary plants for gourmet cooks.Who doesn’t like fresh thyme with scrambled eggs, chive on their baked potato or homemade pesto sauce for their angel hair pasta?

For the hobby gardener, herbs are a great way to save money. A handful of fresh basil Winter squash vines and fruit.

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costs as much as a pound of steak in the grocery store, so you’re well off if you grow your own. Herbs are a perfect addition to your kitchen greenhouse garden and they’re easy to grow, harvest and dry for longer storage and use.

On the flip side, commercial producers will find herbs to be a great way to make money.Whether you’re selling fresh or dried, the Trellised cucumber return on investment of time and space is quite high. Better yet, provide some added value by creating a dried herb blend or fresh pesto sauce, and you can charge a premium for that which grows like a weed in your greenhouses. MY About the Author: Clair Schwan is an avid greenhouse gardener who grows over 100 varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs in homemade greenhouses of his own design and construction. See his adventures in greenhouse gardening at www.Frugal-Living-Freedom.com and see his advice for the homestead vegetable gardener at www.Vegetable-Gardening-and-Greenhouses.com.

Both sites are dedicated to helping others become more self sufficient by teaching them how to grow food.

BEGINNER’S CORNER

Container Herbs for Beginners Increasingly, we’re being told that we can ‘green up’ our lifestyle by growing some of our own food. Articles everywhere suggest that everyone can grow a few herbs on the windowsill, but if you’ve never gardened before then that’s not as simple as it sounds. Here is a basic run down of what you’ll need, and what you’ll need to know, to grow some easy culinary herbs in pots.

Firstly, you will need some containers. Herb plants are sold in small pots, which will quickly be outgrown. Look for some containers that are at least six inches in diameter (they don’t need to be huge).

If they don’t have drainage holes in the bottom then you’ll need to punch some yourself.

You’ll also need some compost – potting or multipurpose is fine for most herbs. Look out for composts that say they are peat-free.

You won’t need a large bag to pot up a few herbs; your containers might have their volume printed on the bottom. If not, estimate how much compost you’ll need.

Herbs can be divided into two main categories. Perennial herbs live for several years whilst for annual herbs you’ll need new plants each year.

Perennial culinary herbs include thyme, mint, rosemary and oregano.There are many different varieties of each, but the most

by Emma Cooper

useful varieties will be widely available. For perennial plants it’s easiest to buy a small plant from the garden center and grow that on at home.

Thyme is a low-growing plant that likes sunny and dry conditions. Rosemary likes the same things, but makes a much larger plant.You can get upright rosemary and prostrate (which grows down over the side of the pot), but the flavor is the same.

Oregano is another herb in this group (known as Mediterranean herbs, because they like it sunny and dry) and also grows quite tall, but oregano is much less woody than rosemary.

With all of these sun-loving herbs, you will need to water them to start with when you plant them into your pots. But once they show signs of new growth you can leave it longer between watering and let the compost dry out. Never leave them sitting in water, because they will rot.They are tough plants, but you may want to bring them under cover in wet weather.

Mint is different, it can handle a lot more water and more shade than the

“The flavors in upright rosemary and prostrate are the same.”

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Mediterranean herbs. It’s also a thug – keep it in a container by itself, because it will push out anything else that’s planted with it.

With just a little bit of care, perennial herbs will provide all the fresh leaves you need for several years. If they start to look too big for their pots, you can either pot them into bigger pots, or tip them out and divide them into sections and replant the sections into different pots – so you’ll have more plants for your garden, or to share.

The cheapest way to grow annual herbs, like basil, coriander and parsley, is to buy some seeds and sow them yourself. If you sow them indoors, on the windowsill, the warmer conditions indoors will help them to germinate more quickly.

“Parsley is best sown...in late summer for autumn and winter harvests.”

Parsley is best sown early in the spring, for summer harvests, and in late summer for autumn and winter harvests. Parsley will happily live indoors on the windowsill, or outside on the patio.The seeds can take a few weeks to germinate, though, so be patient. One or two parsley plants should be enough at any one time. Parsley likes sunny spots, but more water than the Mediterranean herbs.

Coriander likes warmer weather than parsley, so don’t put your plants outside until the weather has warmed up (usually May) or the cold will kill them. Keep harvesting leaves from your coriander, even if you don’t want to use them. Coriander runs to seed very quickly, and then the leaves taste bitter, but regular harvesting slows it down. Sow a pot of seeds every couple of weeks for a continuous supply throughout the summer. Bring a couple of pots indoors if you want fresh coriander.

Basil is a sun-loving herb, so don’t sow your seeds too early in the year unless the plants will be growing indoors – they don’t like cold weather. Keep your basil well watered, and harvest leaves even if you don’t use them, because (like coriander) this will stop the plants flowering too soon.

When your annual herbs are flowering, put them and their used potting compost onto the compost heap and start again with fresh seeds and fresh compost – used potting compost has no plant nutrients left in it to feed new plants. If you don’t have a compost bin yet then it’s time to start one so that you can turn your plant and kitchen waste into home made compost to feed your herbs next year! MY

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the cost of

SUNLIGHT

by Ed Harwood

Sunlight is an abundant and renewable resource, one utilized by nature, the energy industry and agriculture alike. Yet, unlike most agricultural inputs, the sun’s energy is generally left off the balance sheet, as farmers usually assume that sunlight has no monetary cost. However, contrary to popular belief, agricultural utilization of sunlight is far from free.

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The Cost of Sunlight

We begin with an understanding of light energy. The intensity or luminance of light supplied to a plant canopy is both instantaneously and cumulatively quantified using Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF). The instantaneous measurement (µmoles m-2 sec-1) plotted on a grid can be used to graph the uniformity of luminance provided to the plant canopy using a meter.

Variance of intensity occurs with obstructions that create shade, distance from luminaire and with construction of bulb and reflector in artificial lighting situations. The accumulation of PPF in 24 hours is called the daily light integral (DLI).

The first cost to light utilization is managing its inconsistency.

In sunlit situations DLI is impacted by the variation caused by cloud cover, diurnal and seasonal conditions. In artificial situations where variation is generally absent, it is most often calculated using the instantaneous measure multiplied by time.

Work with strawberries proved that the DLI is more important to plants than any peak intensity during a 24 hour period. This

means we can worry less about clouds and should worry more about day length.

It is useful to compare the complexity of using sunlight to using a steady light source like artificial light. Most plant species require from nine to 20 moles per three square feet per day to grow well. The “Monthly Light Integral” figure graphs the average monthly DLI over the year at latitude 42° (in New York under average cloud conditions).

If the targeted daily integral is 17 moles per three square feet per day (red line), this target is met only for a few weeks during the year. The complexities and costs of managing the variation in natural light provides the first reason for utilizing luminaires as opposed to sunlight.

When the DLI is above the target and commensurate increases in nutrient availability are not made, the plants will suffer a number of anomalies (tip burn and bolting).

The anomalies decrease yields and make plants potentially unsalable. Exacerbating the detrimental impact of a high DLI

“The complexities and costs of managing the variation in natural light provides the first reason for utilizing luminaires as opposed to sunlight.“

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is the considerable radiant heat generated in a greenhouse structure. The sun produces short wave radiation from wavelength 290 to 2,500 nanometers. All of this energy can be degraded to heat. This heat makes personnel uncomfortable, some plants less productive and carbon dioxide supplementation extremely difficult or expensive when trying to use ventilation. Computerized control of motorized

TABLE 1: Chabot, B. F., Jurik, T. W., & Chabot, J. F. (1979). Influence of Instantaneous and Integrated Light-Flux Density on Leaf Anatomy and Photosynthesis. Am. J. Bot. , 66:8:940-945.

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The Cost of Sunlight

shading has brought high DLI under control with expense. latitudes. The costs come from removing or supplementing heat Insufficient DLI will alter plant growth undesirably with to keep plants and workers happy. “reaching” (etiolation) and lack of photosynthetic capacity Some plants have a requirement for a dark period in order to (often exhibited as chlorosis). During the winter months at thrive. Most leafy greens do not have a dark period requirement latitude 42° the DLI allowing 100 per Source Total Wattage Average Life (hrs) Efficiency is lower than the cent photoperiod consumed (W) (lumens watt-1) target (below the and consequent yield Incandescent 40 750 12 red line) without enhancement. So an LED 0.025 50,000 35 supplemental lighting. opportunity lost with Fluorescent 48 20,000 66 Also at this latitude low sunlight is gained with MH – 400 425 15,000 94 DLI months require artificial light used 24/7 MH – 1000 1,060 10,000 118 supplemental heating for those plants that HPS – 400 425 24,000 117 in a structure not well tolerate it.

HPS – 1000 1,060 24,000 132 suited to heat retention.

In conclusion, the The second cost of management of sunlight TABLE 2 :Aldrich, R.A, and J.W. Bartok Jr. 1994. Greenhouse Engineering.

NRAES, Ithaca, NY. Page 99. sunlight is the radiant and the associated energy excess or costs of use, including deficiency. The traditional greenhouse using a “free” resource— structure and maintenance, temperature modifications and shading and supplementation, present the potentially more advantageous the sun—is an expensive building (a special use facility with a short lifespan and high maintenance costs), and requires additional opportunity to utilize artificial light.

Of course artificial light is not perfect. In Controlled equipment (supplemental lights and shading) and energy to Environment Agriculture (CEA), supplemental light optimize the internal climate for yearlong use in northern

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The Cost of Sunlight

(supplemental to the sun) is produced by a number of different luminaires. A luminaire is the bulb, ballast and reflector (i.e. a complete assembly providing illumination).

The type of luminaire used for growing plants variably includes fluorescent, high pressure sodium (HPS) and metal halide (MH). The latter two luminaires are types of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting. Table two includes some characteristics of these luminaires.

Luminaires vary in intensity, spectrum and life affecting both the quantity and quality of the light provided. All luminaires attenuate (lose intensity) over time. HID and LED luminaires do not attenuate appreciably until very near the end of life.

The energy consumed per luminaire, generally indicative of the intensity of the light, can range from less than 250 watts to 1,000 watts. For HID and fluorescent luminaires, the ballast consumes some of the energy supplied and other engineering differences alter efficiency sometimes referred to as the power factor (the percentage of total supplied energy that is the rated watts of output). The efficiency can vary considerably with type and wattage as seen in the table.

HIDs are the more typical luminaire chosen for supplemental light. Fluorescents do not make good choices for commercial facilities as they produce little light per individual luminaire, when broken create a toxic spill and greatly interfere with use of sunlight.

Typical choice of luminaire is based mostly on desired light intensity (derived from the mounting distance from canopy and bulb wattage) and economics. For a greenhouse where the luminaire itself shades the plants, higher wattage is used to allow greater mounting height and lower density of luminaires. The higher wattage also obtains an improvement in individual luminaire efficiency. The voltage and phase

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of the electrical supply can also impact the total energy consumption of a luminaire. Distance has a big impact, reducing light intensity proportional to the square of the distance.

Reflectors used in luminaires are an attempt to provide a uniform intensity over a canopy of plants. These reflectors vary considerably in how effectively they create this uniform surface as can be seen in figure one, which was made using two 400 watt metal halide bulbs mounted three feet above the measured surface grid of two inch squares. The design problem for a reflector is complex due to the need to avoid reflecting light onto the filament, to manage the varying output from the element’s glass globe and to fill the area to be illuminated evenly. When a luminaire is placed within a chamber having reflective surfaces surrounding the luminaire, these surfaces can also affect the uniformity of light. Although most reflectors are made of shiny metal, clean white surfaces reflect light just as well with less added expense.

MY 1. Aldrich, R.A, and J.W. Bartok Jr. 1994. Greenhouse Engineering. NRAES, Ithaca, NY. Page 99.

2. Chabot, B. F., Jurik,T.W., & Chabot, J. F. (1979). Influence of Instantaneous and Integrated Light-Flux Density on Leaf Anatomy and Photosynthesis. Am. J. Bot. , 66:8:940-945.

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GREEN THUMB GARDENING

Home Vegetable Gardening:

Garlic

by Bruce A. Tucker

I was watching a rerun of the television show Friends the other night and in the episode, Phoebe accuses Monica of using too much garlic in her restaurant recipes. That led me to question, is too much garlic a bad thing?

Personally, I don’t think so.

Beyond warding off vampires, garlic is a great addition to many wonderful recipes. To make those recipes even better you can use garlic grown at home or in your backyard.

Growing garlic is not complicated. If grown in an optimal environment, you can expect to harvest plenty to last you for months.

Garlic loves a soil rich in organic matter such as compost.

Garlic germinates at cooler temperatures.

It likes the soil to be around 55°F. Once it germinates in the cooler soil, you can grow it in soil that gets a bit warmer. However, if you keep it cool you will be better off.

Even though garlic can be a bit spicy, the soil it needs is anything but. Garlic loves

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the soil pH level to be above 6.0 and as near 7.0 as possible.

There is a variety of methods available for testing your soil’s pH.You can use an inexpensive home soil testing kit available from any home center or indoor/outdoor garden shop. These shops will also carry pH testing instrumentation that is easyto-use for the beginner. Under 7.0 and your soil is acidic; over 7.0 and your soil is alkaline. Adjust your soil as per the instructions on the kit.

“If grown in an optimal environment, you can expect to harvest plenty to last you for months.”

Garlic loves lots of light and requires minimal watering. Garlic requires excellent drainage—moist but not saturated. Saturating the soil could cause the garlic cloves to rot. If you mix in plenty of compost you shouldn’t have much of a problem.

When the bottom two or three leaves turn yellow it is time to harvest the garlic. Tip: Planting garlic in between beets is a great way to keep the soil cool for your garlic.

Now you have no excuses for not adding garlic to your home vegetable garden. It doesn’t matter if you have a ½ acre farm, grow vegetables in containers or garden indoors.You can grow garlic at home at your convenience.

About the Author: Bruce A. Tucker is the author of the book “Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person,” available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and wherever gardening books are sold. Visit his website at AveragePersonGardening.com where you can sign up for his free newsletter and he will send you a pack of vegetable seeds to get your home vegetable garden started.

Source: www.organicgardenarticles.com

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THE NEW GROW Getting it Tight

Thermal Covers Made to measure thermal covers help prevent heat being radiated from reflectors, ducting and fans improving cooling efficiency. They are a wise investment.

by Erik Biksa

So you promised yourself after summer vacation from growing indoors that you were going to improve your grow room this time around, ironing out the wrinkles that keep coming back to bite you; the ones that cost you yields.

It got too warm or too humid, typically you settled for a compromise and unfortunately your crop had to as well. The combination of the two was paining you with more “stretch” than you would like to see in your strain, and the higher humidity levels, especially during the dark cycle, were lessening the essential oil contents and other qualities in your harvests, even contributing to diseases like moulds and rots in severe cases.

Furthermore, the more you hear about the yield levels fellow growers are achieving who have their environment dialed in and are supplementing their carbon dioxide levels, the more you want to tighten-up your grow room to the point where you too can efficiently boost yields with CO2. The extra yield levels are especially welcome, and the reduction in cropping time wouldn’t hurt either.

At this point, you have a lot of important things dialed in. For example, the number of plants per light, how you prune them, how long you usually veg for and many other loving details that are required for successful harvests growing indoors under HID (high intensity discharge) lighting.

That didn’t come overnight either; it has taken a while to get to where you are. At this point, you know you can do better, if you can overcome some of the environmental issues that so far, you have not been able to control with a high level of precision due to the nature of in/out (intake/ exhaust) style artificially lit gardens.

Now, how you choose to follow along from here will depend on what type of equipment and set-up you already have, as well as how far you are willing to go in your quest for maximum

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The New Grow yields. Keeping in mind the average grow room set-up, the following is a possible scenario and course of action and creates a CEA environment; the first steps on the way to breaking your own personal yield barriers.

If the room isn’t already well insulated that should be the first job on the list, starting with a freshly cleaned and scrubbed room. For temporary situations, extruded insulation boards such

“During cooler months, you can duct the warm air from the air-cooled lighting system to heat living areas.” as Styrofoam can be placed over existing surfaces and sealed-off with reflective film. Thermally reflective film helps to keep the maximum amount of light energy available in the growing area.

Make sure to overlap edges by around six inches when installing thermal coverings. Aluminium tape is very durable and won’t crumble over time like duct tape will. Acoustic deadening materials can be incorporated as well, if noises from the growing area prove to be obnoxious or obtrusive to living areas.

If you don’t already have high quality four-sided air-cooled lamp reflectors in your set-up, use your existing intake and exhaust port to supply the IN/OUT for the air-cooled lighting.

Otherwise, you may just cap-off the intake and exhaust ports.

When it comes to lamp reflectors, knock-offs that just “look” good don’t distribute light very evenly and create hot spots; choose reflectors that are engineered for even light distribution.

The manufacturer should be able to provide photometric data. A lamp reflector can be a very important piece of growing equipment. For maximum efficiency, you can also install thermal, made to measure covers for your lamp reflectors, duct work and fans. The material does not allow heat emissions; improving the cooling efficiency in your grow room.

During cooler months, you can duct the warm air from the air-cooled lighting system to heat living areas; it’s usually OK to use this air because it’s sealed off from the growing environment and does not contain odors, spores or

Grow Room AC Make sure that you find the right sized AC for your application and that allows you to cool as low as 59°F.

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The New Grow

other offensive materials. Good quality AC Cooling & DeHumidification In a sealed environment important conditions reflectors seal-off completely. such as temperature and humidity are more precisely controlled versus “IN/OUT” style gardens.

Chances are the fans you were using for your intake and outtake of your previous garden will fit the bill nicely for an air cooled lamp reflector set-up, proportionately speaking. If you are using high efficiency centrifugal inline fans, you can really “tighten” things up in terms of environmental control and efficiency by installing one of the new “smart” fan speed controllers that are available. The device will automatically speed-up or slow down your fans in both day and night grower set points. In conjunction with room cooling by an air-conditioner and the combination of precision controlled air-cooled lamps, it’s relatively easy for growers to maintain the perfect temperature everyday consistently. Now because none of the air is leaving the room, consumption and in some cases improving CO2 use efficiency. you can effectively increase CO2 levels for faster growth rates and heavier yields.

Using an air conditioner or water cooled heat exchanger allows An air-conditioner or water-cooled heat exchanger will be growers to “seal” the environment for tighter levels of temperarequired to lower grow room temperatures, as even with airture, humidity and CO2 control that lead to improved yield cooled lighting some additional cooling will be required. When levels and better crop qualities. using air-cooled or water cooled lighting, air-conditioners and Cooling the grow room with an air conditioner or water chillers need to cycle much less frequently, reducing electrical cooled heat exchanger is a lengthy discussion, although it’s not

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The New Grow that complicated, so it is not included in this article. Examine previous CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) articles in Maximum Yield and you will be armed with the information required to make an informed decision when choosing and installing an air-conditioner or water cooled heat exchanger.

AC Reflectors Air-cooled lamp reflectors can significantly For a smaller scale lower the cycling of other cooling equipment set-up, bottled CO2 such as air conditioners. delivered by a tank

and REG (solenoid flow rate controller) via timer or infrared CO2 monitor is relatively safe and effective. If the room isn’t tightly sealed, expect to replace CO2 tanks frequently, which can become a bothersome chore.

Infrared monitors/controllers are superior to using timed release methods in many respects, although it is a greater investment.

For mid to larger scale indoor gardens, a gas-fired CO2 generator is typical; provided of course that it can be installed and managed safely. Gas fired CO2 generators should be operated with infrared monitors/controllers that also have a high temperature sensor/shut-off. Modern CO2 generators have built in safety features and use electronic ignition, avoiding standing pilot lights. Some models are even water-cooled, and can effectively reduce the frequency at which electrically consumption intensive appliances like air conditioners will be required to cycle.

Gas-fired CO2 generators will put out some heat; it’s very important that their heat level output is accounted for when sizing up the cooling capacity of air conditioners or water cooled heat exchangers (see previous CEA articles).

“Be warned that dehumidifiers create hot dry air, and may require the air conditioner unit to cycle simultaneously at times to maintain optimal temperatures. ” As plants transpire moisture through their leaves, the humidity will rise. A de-humidifier is necessary in most CEA situations, although air conditioners can significantly lower humidity levels when cycling. Proper humidity levels are always very important. If humidity is too high, you will see a lot of stretch in your plants, which hurts yield potential when growing under artificial light sources. Also, higher humidity levels will yield poorer quality harvests. Most indoor crops like to have the humidity maintained between 50-60 per cent RH (relative humidity).

Be warned that dehumidifiers create hot dry air, and may require the air conditioner unit to cycle simultaneously 110

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The New Grow at times to maintain optimal temperatures. Always make sure that you have sufficient electrical service supplied and the correct amperage breakers. Keep in mind that all appliances may cycle at the same time occasionally when determining the capacity of your electrical supply for the garden.

When taking the time and expense to create the optimal growing environment so you can break your personal yield barriers, do not cut corners on the “little” things like controls. The importance and significance of grow room controls can sometimes be overlooked after spending all the time and great expense sourcing and installing equipment such as lighting, air conditioners, CO2 generators, etc.

Your grow room appliances are only as good as the “brains” telling them what to do. Unless you are personally in the grow room 24/7, you place a high degree of reliance on automation. Integrated

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Every grow room should have a high temperature shut-off/kill switch integrated into the power supply for crop lighting.

controllers that run several functions like temperature, humidity, and CO2 at the same time are a good investment. Every grow room should have a high temperature shut-off/kill switch integrated into the power supply for crop lighting.

So, if you find yourself at a plateau in your growing endeavors, and want to start the next journey towards the top consider dialingin your grow room. For budget minded growers, consider a new addition each crop, although complete overhauls recapture the investment back quickly.

Once you do, you can make better use of your specialty crop feeding programs and all the knowledge you have gained with your previous gardens. Go for it, and take the next step up the ladder towards maximum yields.

MY

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113

Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

by Dr. J. Benton Jones, Jr.

The objective here is to provide the reader with an understanding on how to formulate and use a nutrient solution for a hydroponic growing system.

Introduction Plants are able to grow reasonably well in a wide range of nutrient solution formulations, a testament to the stable physiological character of the plant and its roots. Some believe that plant roots do not drive the process of nutrient element uptake, but instead respond to it, dictated by the growth of the above-ground part of the plant. Some believe that this is an extremely important concept and may well affect the entire conceptual model for uptake of a wide range of nutrient elements. Using formulations that are nutrient element concentrated, this may be true. But when using dilute nutrient solution formulations, the switch is from root responsive to root control. This suggests that plants will grow best when the nutrient element concentration is maintained at low balanced elemental concentrations, not easily done when using the current hydroponic growing systems.

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Driven primarily by atmospheric demand, water is drawn passively from the roots into the plant roots.

The elements are root absorbed by means of a transfer system that requires energy obtained from root respiration, a selective system regulated by the physiochemical environment surrounding the root as well as root physiology. Both water and element uptake require that the roots are actively functioning in an aerobic [oxygen (O2) is present] environment, and that the root environment temperature is within that range (70° to 80°F) for best plant growth. Some suggest that the air and root temperatures be the same for normal root uptake function. Wilting of plant foliage may be caused by a temperature differential between the aerial portions of the plant and its roots, or the result of an anaerobic root environment or inactive roots due to disease or physical damage. The size of the root mass is important in terms of water uptake, but is not a significant factor in elemental absorption.

The area immediately surrounding the root is known as the rhizosphere, a highly acidic and biologically active area, and it is that area from which both water and element absorption into the root occurs. In the three non-medium hydroponic growing systems (Standing Aerated, Nutrient Film Technique and Aeroponics), the rhizosphere is not well formed and has little influence on element and water uptake as compared to the three media hydroponic growing systems (flood-and-drain, drip irrigation and sub-irrigation). The rhizosphere plays a major role in water and elemental uptake depending on the frequency of nutrient solution irrigation and the physio-chemical properties (whether organic or inorganic) of the rooting medium.

“water and element uptake require that the roots are actively functioning in an aerobic environment.”

Some plant species are known as being either “efficient” or “inefficient” in their ability to absorb an element from the surrounding root environment.

Most plant roots easily adapt to a changing root environment, which occurs when plants are grown hydroponically, minimizing the impact that a changing nutrient solution composition and irrigation schedule will have on plant growth and nutritional status.

Therefore, plants will grow quite well even though the elements in an applied nutrient solution are not

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within their ideal concentration or ratio for best plant growth. This would also suggest that a specific manipulation of a nutrient solution composition may not always obtain the plant response desired.

How It All Started The primary work on nutrient solution formulations and use appeared in a 1950 University of California Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 347, “The Water Culture Method of Growing Plants without Soil,” authored by D. R. Hoagland and D. I. Arnon. This article set the parameters for those who use hydroponic systems.

Over the next 60 years, there have been minor as well as major formulation modifications made to suit particular plant needs and methods of nutrient solution use. Some have suggested basing a nutrient solution formulation on the balance between anions and cations in the solution, and the ratio among the major cations. For those basing their nutrient solution formulation on the Hoagland/Arnon formulations, the concentration of magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) may be too low and phosphorus (P) too high.

D. R. Hoagland and D. I. Arnon, from left, authored a 1950 article establishing nutrient formulations that would set the basis for hydroponic growing. The University of California Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 347, “The Water Culture Method of Growing Plants without Soil,” is considered the base reference for those who use hydroponic systems.

Nutrient Solution Parameters A. Elemental Content A complete nutrient solution will contain all 13 essential mineral plant nutrient elements, the major elements being nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S), all required in relatively high concentration; and the micronutrients, boron (B), chlorine (Cl), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn), all required at lower concentrations.

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B. Elemental Forms The 13 essential mineral plant nutrient elements must exist as an ion in solution in order to be absorbed by plant roots, although there is evidence that small molecules, such as chelates, proteins and boric acid (H3BO3) molecules, can be transported through the root membrane. The ionic forms of the major elements and micronutrients are:

Major Elements

Nitrogen Ammonium (NH4+) Nitrate (NO3-) Phosphate, triphosphate (PO43-) Dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-) Monohydrogen phosphate HPO42-) Potassium (K+) Calcium (Ca2+) Magnesium (Mg2+) Sulfate (SO42-)

Micronutrients

Boron (BO33-) Chloride (Cl-) Copper (Cu2+) Iron (ferrous, ferric) (Fe2+ and Fe3+) Manganese (Mn2+) Molybdenum (MoO3-) Zinc (Zn2+)

Which form of phosphorus exists in the nutrient solution will depend on pH, dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-) and monohydrogen phosphate (HPO42-) in acid solutions and triphosphate (PO43-) in nutrient solutions when the pH is approaching alkalinity (>7.0). It has been suggested that the boric acid molecule (H3BO3) can exist in a nutrient solution and that molecule root absorbed.

Two ions, the nitrate (NO3-) anion and potassium (K+) cation, present in most nutrient solutions in relatively high concentrations, are readily absorbed by the plant root, maintaining the ionic balance within the plant, while all the other ions in the nutrient solution are selectively absorbed.

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Table 1. Major Element and Micronutrient Ionic Forms and Normal Concentration Range Found in Most Nutrient Solutions

Element

Ionic Form

Concentration Range, mg/L (ppm)a

Major Elements Nitrogen (N)

NO3-, NH4+

Phosphorus (P)

HPO4 , H2PO b

15 to 30

Potassium (K)

K+

100 to 200

Calcium (Ca)

Ca2+

200 to 300

Magnesium (Mg)

Mg

30 to 80

Sulfur (S)

SO4

70 to 150

Boron (B)

BO33-c

0.30

Chlorine (Cl)

Cl

not specified

Copper (Cu)

Cu2+

0.01 to 0.10

Iron (Fe)

Fe3+, Fe2+d

2 to 12

Manganese (Mn)

Mn

0.5 to 2.0

Molybdenum (Mo)

MoO4

0.05

Zinc (Zn)

Zn2+

0.05 to 0.50

2-

100 to 200 4-

2+

2-

Micronutrients

-

2+

-

a Concentration range based on what is found in the current literature b Ionic form depends on the pH of the nutrient solution c The molecule boric acid (H3BO3) can be absorbed by plant roots d Ionic form depends on the pH and oxygen level in the nutrient solution

C. Elemental Concentration Ranges and Ratios All 13 essential mineral plant nutrient elements must be within a particular concentration range as well as certain ratios among the elements in a nutrient solution in order to insure sufficiency with its use. Most nutrient solution formulations contain higher concentrations of some of the elements than required by the plant, phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) as the nitrate-N (NO3-N) anion. In some nutrient solution formulations, the ratios among the major cation elements, potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) are frequently out-of-balance.

Elements in a nutrient solution interact among themselves, exhibiting both antagonistic as well as synergistic characteristics. For example, among the major cations, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, the least competitive is Mg2+; therefore its deficiency is likely to occur with the use of some nutrient solution formulations having high concentrations of K or Ca when growing Mg-sensitive plants, such as tomatoes. Ammonium-N is a strong competitive cation (NH4+) and can interfere with the uptake of both Ca2+ and Mg2+, resulting in 118

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a deficiency of either element for those plant species sensitive to either Ca or Mg or both. There is a synergistic relationship between nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and K, the presence of high concentrations of NO3-N enhancing the uptake of K. The presence of a low concentration of ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N) in a nutrient solution will enhance the uptake of NO3-N. D. Nitrate and Ammonium There is considerable research that indicates the form of nitrogen (N) supplied to the plant can have a significant effect on vegetative growth and yield as well as quality. A mixture of ammonium (NH4) and nitrate (NO3) frequently results in better plant growth, if that concentration ratio does not exceed 25 to 75, as compared to when nitrate (NO3) is the only N source.

For some crops, such as tomatoes, ammonium (NH4) in the nutrient solution can increase the incidence of blossom-end rot (BER). Therefore, some recommend that ammonium (NH4) be included in the nutrient solution during the tomato plant’s vegetative growth period, but not when the plants are setting and producing fruit.

The question is, “should ammonium-N (NH4-N) be included in a nutrient formulation, and if so, at what concentration or ratio?” It is recommended that at least five to per cent of the total nitrogen (N) in the formulation be as the ammonium

Reagents

Formula

Elemental Content (%)

Major Element Potassium dihydrogen phosphate

KH2PO4

P (32), K (30)

Potassium nitrate

KNO3

K (36), N (13)

Calcium nitrate

Ca(NO3)2.4H2O

Ca (19), N (I5)

Magnesium sulfate

MgSO4.7H2O

Mg (10), S (23)

Boric acid

H3BO3

B (16)

Borax

Na2B4O24.10H2O

Micronutrient

B (11)

Manganese sulfate

MnSO4 4H2O

Mn (24)

Manganese chloride

MnCl2.4H2O

Mn (28)

Zinc sulfate

ZnSO4.5H2O

Zn (22)

Copper sulfate

CuSO4.5H2O

Cu (25)

Ammonium molybdate

(NH4)6MoO24.4H2O

Mo (8)

Iron (ferrous) sulfate

FeSO4.7H2O

Fe (20)

Iron (ferric) sulfate

Fe2(SO4)3

Fe (28)

Iron (ferric) chloride

FeCl3.6H2O

Fe (14)

Iron ammonium sulfate

FeSO4

.

Table 2. Reagents Commonly Used for Making a Nutrient Solution

(NH4) form, even when growing tomatoes.

E. Chelates The use of chelated forms for the micronutrients, iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn), in a nutrient solution formulations is questionable. It has been demonstrated that the chelate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), can be toxic to plants, and therefore, some formulations use the chelate, diaminetriaminetetraacetic acid (DTPA), which has not been found to be plant toxic. Although chelated forms for these micronutrients have proven to be of value based on certain soil conditions, particularly in alkaline and organic soils and organic soilless rooting media, there use in hydroponic nutrient solutions is not justified in terms of keeping iron (Fe) in solution. When adding a chelate to a mix of elements in a solution, the stability of the initial chelate will depend on the concentration of the other ions in the solution as well as the pH, which in turn can significantly reduce the “chelate effect,” therefore losing the reason that the chelated form of the element was selected over others elemental forms.

Several inorganic forms of iron (Fe), such as: • iron (ferrous) sulfate (FeSO4.7H2O) • iron (ferric) sulfate [Fe2(SO4)3] • iron (ferric) chloride (FeCl3.6H2O) • iron ammonium sulfate [(NH4) 2SO4..

FeSO4.6H2O] will keep Fe in solution, and therefore, able

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Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

“The early hydroponic researchers devised an ‘A-Z Micronutrient Solution’ as a means of ensuring that potentially influencing elements...at trace levels be included in a nutrient solution formulation.”

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to meet the plant’s Fe requirement without the need for a chelated Fe form.

F. Beneficial Elements There are elements that have been identified as being potentially "beneficial" to plants, but do not meet the established criteria for essentiality, elements that

may enhance plant growth under certain circumstances. Therefore, should these elements be included in a nutrient solution formulation?

The early hydroponic researchers devised an "A-Z Micronutrient Solution" as a means of ensuring that potentially influencing elements at trace levels be included in a nutrient solution formulation. Two elements whose possible essentiality have been supported by recent research are nickel (Ni) and silicon (Si). Nickel is not generally recommended for inclusion in a nutrient solution formulation since its function primarily relates to seed viability. On the other hand, some recommend silicon (Si) inclusion in a nutrient solution formulation since it provides some degree of leaf disease protection and stalk strength, silicic acid (H4SiO4) at 100 ppm being the common recommendation. Potassium silicate and sodium silicate also have been suggested as equally suitable

“The temperature of both the nutrient solution and water, whether hot or cold, applied to plant roots can significantly affect the plant; resulting in plant wilting, and interfering with normal root metabolism respectively.”

sources of silicon (Si) for addition to a nutrient solution.

Since many of these so-called “beneficial elements” may be found as "contaminants" in either the rooting medium or some of the major element source reagents (see table one), there may not be the need to purposely add a mix of beneficial elements.

This would also suggest that selecting high purity reagents may not be the best choice. In addition, the rooting medium itself may contain trace levels of some of these same elements.

G. Temperature as a Factor in Nutrient Solution and Water Use The temperature of both the nutrient solution and water applied to plant roots can significantly affect the plant; when cold (less than the ambient air temperature around the plants) resulting in plant wilting, and when hot (above 90°F) interfering with normal root metabolism. In addition, with increasing temperature, the dissolved oxygen concentration in water and a nutrient solution declines, a factor that can affect plant growth due to inadequate oxygen (O2) surrounding the MY respiring plant roots.

Look for Maximum Yield USA November for part two when we cover pH and Electrical Conductivity, concentrates and reagents, use factors and various hydroponic system parameters.

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AVANT-GARDENING

Home Brewed Green Beer Beer drinkers, now you can go green and save cash by brewing your own beer at home. Some indoor gardening retailers have taken a big swig out of the home brewing world. These integrated hydroponics/hop juice shops offer all the products and services you may need for growing produce—and hops—at home, plus complete beer brewing kits.

Humans have been drinking beer since 9,000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt. Today, it’s said to be the third most popular beverage in the world.

A major environmental challenge of any beverage or food product aside from packaging is transportation (i.e. food miles). No matter if a beer is made from organic ingredients and bottled in recyclable glass or aluminum containers, it still has to be distributed from point A to point B. Millions of barrels of oil are consumed each year and huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions are generated annually in the transportation of beer. What a waste! Until such time that beer trucks are all electric and recharged by solar panels, it’s going to be pretty difficult to address this issue on a commercial scale.

Nearly 20 years ago, I decided to take a crack at brewing my own beer. The environment wasn’t on my mind then—the only thing that was, was beer; cheap beer and lots of it.

I bought a barrel, hydrometer, thermometer, bottles, bottle caps and a press; plus the ingredients in a readily available kit. Soon the amber fluid was flowing in large quantities. It takes about one week for beer to ferment, depending on the temperature of the environment. A cold environment will require an external heat source such as a low wattage thermal pad under the barrel.

After fermenting, the beer is left for around a week to mature before bottling. It should then be left three to four weeks before drinking.

I experimented with different alcohol levels by adding more or less sugar. I never had it tested, but the more 122

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sugar I added, the bigger kick it had.

You can use glass bottles over and over again, saving on resources and energy used in bottle production and recycling.

If you only brew during warmer times of the year, you can also avoid having to incorporate an external heat source during fermentation.

There’s just something so satisfying about brewing your own beer.

These days, you can buy a home microbrewery kit for as little as $50, containing everything you need to get started; including step-by-step instructions.

Many indoor gardening shops in the United States are now supplying brewing equipment in addition to all the tools and equipment you need to grow indoors.You may wish to go as far as growing your own hops at home hydroponically for added control over the final product.

If you really get into home brewing, you don’t need to stop at beer—you can also try cider, and with some more specialized equipment, wine, port and spirits If this article has inspired you to give home brewing a try, make sure to say cheers to the environment when testing your first batch.

MY And please have a beer for me.

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YOU TELL US

Water Quality Instrumentation Accuracy • Reliability • Simplicity

Kathryn Robinson

Maximum Yields talk to Kathryn Robinson, Myron L Company’s director of sales and marketing, about instrumentation for hydroponics, and the meaning and importance of several indoor gardening acronyms including pH, TDS and ORP.

Director of Sales and Marketing

Maximum Yield (MY): Myron L Company has been in business for more than 50 years. How has your company—and product offerings—changed over the last five decades?

Kathryn Robinson: Prior to developing water quality products, the Myron L Company developed and patented a variety of specialty items for university studies and projects, for the space industry and for industrial use. A few of the specialty items include an irradiation chamber, a spectrophotometer, plasto-met fittings and gas detection instrumentation. Many of those early instruments are still in use today. We then developed water quality instrumentation in response to the need to monitor cooling water. Myron L analog conductivity meters have been used since the 1960s for measuring dissolved solids in boilers and cooling towers as a standard method for

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optimizing blowdown schedules. We continued to develop and manufacture instrumentation for water quality applications, implementing technological advances in electrical engineering and manufacturing processes along the way. Our current product line has expanded to include inline monitor/controllers and digital handhelds that employ microprocessors for increased performance and functionality. These new handhelds measure the same parameters as several different instruments with greater accuracy over a broader range. The Myron L Company today has expanded to a global distribution network that serves over 30 water quality markets.

MY: What tests are important for hydroponic applications and what makes them so valuable?

Kathryn: TDS and pH are the most important parameters in hydroponics. Monitoring these parameters allows the grower to optimize the amount of nutrients in the solution for plant health and growth. pH control is critical as it affects the types and amounts of nutrients dissolved in the solution.You could use a high concentration of nutrients, but at the wrong pH they would not be available in the right form in the solution for root uptake. TDS, or total dissolved solids, is a direct measurement

Myron L Company’s website (www.myronl.com) is an excellent resource, highlighting their various products for hydroponics, horticulture and the numerous other industries they supply.

MyronL.com also features a variety of helpful and informative manuals, guides, data sheets and FAQs for ease-of-use with products.

of the concentration of nutrients in a solution. If the chemistry is set up right, you get the best possible yield, with abundant healthy plants. ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential or Redox) can also be used to screen the water coming into the system for chlorine concentrations that can be unhealthy to the plants.

MY: You tout your latest product, the Ultrameter II6Psi, as a 6-in-1 instrument.

What tasks can it handle for hydroponics and indoor gardening applications that make life easier in the grow room?

Kathryn: The 6Psi delivers fast lab accurate results of pH and TDS so you can analyze water quality on the spot.You can also store readings in memory. These readings can then be wirelessly transferred to U2CI application for trend analysis.You can then download that information into a graph and look for growth trends correlated to nutrient concentration from week to week.

This gives the grower the ability to determine the minimum nutrient concentration that yields the maximum growth, which helps you minimize nutrients consumption, reducing costs and conserving chemicals.

MY: Tell me more about the advanced features available with this awesome new product.

Kathryn: The 6Psi is a professional, high performance instrument that delivers lab accurate measurements. All TDS conversions and temperature compensation is performed by the microprocessor using proprietary algorithms; It’s standardized

to three different solution types, so you get the greatest degree of accuracy in diverse applications by choosing the solution mode that most closely matches your make-up water. The four pole conductivity cell delivers stable, reliable, repeatable results. Internal sensors provide extra durability and are included with the instrument. It’s also extremely easy to use and easy to calibrate with a user intuitive interface.

MY: What other products do you carry for indoor/outdoor gardeners and how do they function?

Kathryn: We also manufacture 720II pH monitor/controllers and 750II TDS monitor/controllers for continuous inline solution control, so nutrient injection is automatic.

MY: What design elements are used in your products to ensure superior excellence and ease-of-use?

Kathryn: The 6Psi features one touch keypad measurement functions, an advanced four pole conductivity cell, proprietary conversions algorithms, keypad calibration and user replaceable pH/ORP sensor. We also manufacture a variety of applicationspecific solutions for precision calibration, including the 442 Natural Water™ Standard, originally developed by the Myron L Company to model the characteristics of fresh water. Our monitor/controllers are an easy to install, no frills, cost-effective way to automate nutrient and pH control chemical injections. MY

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Coco

What is it all about?

by Luis Bartolo

Humans have made great use out of most parts of the coconut plant—the flower, the husk and the shell in particular. The health benefits of the coconut fruit are numerous. In India, coconuts are used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine for a variety of disorders. Its use in many western health and cosmetic products echoes its Asian roots where it is a common ingredient in many hair care and skin remedies. Coco is also used as a growing medium but not before it is processed. The question of the day is what happens to the coconut before it can be used as a soil alternative?

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coco: what is it all about?

Many horticulturalists use coco peat and fiber as a grow medium. Coco fiber or pith is an environmental alternative to peat and other soil-based mediums that are extracted from the earth and don’t replenish readily. Coco fiber is a waste product of the coconut industry. After

the inner coconut fruit is extracted, the husk remains and is processed. Most of the coco in use is grown and harvested in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a lucrative industry for these regions and greatly supports the local economies.

There are two ways of processing the husks: Method one: Sieve or beat the coco fiber, shred it and wash it in chemical detergents to remove salts and degrade the fiber into a more useable form. This process takes a few months to complete and is commercially viable.

Method two: Recover the pith and dust from the shelled and harvested fruits of the coconut and wash it in clean water, usually river water. Then dry it and age it in the sun for up to 20 years where it will naturally break down into the friable and fluffy, almost peat-like consistency, have come to recognize.

This finer grade of coco—that resembles peat in both quality and texture—is used extensively in horticulture as mulch and a stand alone growing medium. The younger treated variety is often used in hydroponic applications, whereas the aged peat variety is used in bed and container culture.

Coir retains moisture and absorbs and holds nutrients easily within its structure, particularly mineral nutrients.

Commercial coir is mixed with other growing mediums such as peat, garden soil, clay pebbles and artificial substrates such as rockwool and polyester flakes.

It provides extra aeration, nutrients and water retention. Due to the conditioning process with either mechanical or organic repurposed coir, the naturally occurring 128

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coco: what is it all about?

nutrient within the substrate degrades over time. Fresh or untreated coco can contain high amounts of potassium.

It is possible to grow with coco coir organically, however, it is very labor intensive and requires far more frequent manual attention, is not suitable for commercial operations and isn’t widespread. Work is underway to develop more user friendly and automated ways of growing with coco. It is a matter of inoculating the medium so it can respond to organic nutrients, whilst maintaining the compost tea or organic liquids in a low maintenance watering systems that will allow for the automated feed regime that is required for larger growing areas.

This process is favored by companies specializing in organics.

The chemically treated variety, which is generally composed of long fibrous strands due to not undergoing the natural degradation process, has trichoderma added after the chemical cleaning process and is often sold as a trichoderma-enriched product. This is a misnomer as the trichoderma was already there before it was chemically removed. The common usage of chemical/mineral nutrients with coco also severely damages the trichoderma. Hydrogen peroxide, a common addition to hydroponic systems kills all friendly fungi and other beneficial organisms stone dead.

Coco is an excellent medium for plants; it allows for free drainage and holds water well. The non-chemically treated variety also contains high levels of naturally occurring trichoderma, which forms a very beneficial relationship with the plants’ roots.

The coconut is the seed of the palm tree. It takes about one year to develop into a young coconut. As coco is a waste product it is deemed environmentally friendly, as it is not being removed from a natural environment. The trees are left to live and the fruits continue to grow and be harvested.

Therefore, it is a renewable resource as compared to peat extraction, which takes longer to recover.

“Coco is an excellent medium for plants; it allows for free drainage and holds water well.”

Coco fiber as a medium is pH neutral. The pH falls between 5.0 to 6.0 (slightly acidic), and is not suitable for all plants but it’s nothing that cannot be amended easily with organic substances such as dolo lime or kelp. Again, the introduction of chemical pH raising or lowering agents such as phosphoric or nitric acids will sterilize the naturally occurring trichodermas and other beneficials.

Tests have shown that coco can be reused up to three times without a loss in productivity. As with reusing soil, any medium that has been infested must be discarded. With careful removal of roots and the addition of fresh coco a very renewable resource can be further recycled making it even more ecologically sound.

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coco: what is it all about?

Organic Certification There is a popular movement around soilless growing nowadays.

Certification exists for quality and approved organics. The RHP foundation (quality mark for substrates) and RAG are two certification foundations for the horticulture industry.

Attention to quality assurance and certification in business and industry is increasing. In the field of substrates, soil supply and soil improvement materials, the following quality marks exist: RHP and RAG. The RHP foundation aims to optimize the quality of peat products, raw material, potting soil formulas, substrates and soil supply and soil improvement materials.

The quality marks are awarded to producers, traders and importers of peat products, raw material, potting soil formulas, substrates, soil supply and soil improvement materials. The RHP quality mark is awarded when a candidate satisfies all of the certification requirements. Only after extensive independent inspection by ECAS can the RHP quality mark be issued. The RAG quality mark is awarded when a company fulfills the requirements and demonstrates them.

Besides ensuring quality companies can also ensure their product as organic. For this process, you either go through companies like Control Union or OMRI.

“The RHP quality mark is awarded when a candidate satisfies all of the certification requirements. Only after extensive independent inspection by ECAS can the RHP quality mark be issued.”

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Control Union has global recognition and accreditation, and authorities in almost every country in the world accept the certificates issued by them. Furthermore, Control Union and the USDA are working together to build bridges regarding differences in regulation and certification between continents.

Today, Control Union certifications are officially accredited by the United States Department of Agriculture.

There lies a road of many opportunities and options regarding coco fibre/soilless cultivation; still there is much to be learned in MY the field of quality and certification.

Aloe Vera

GROWING FOR HEALTH

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Growing and Usage

by Therese Cressman Some say that Aloe Vera, the fascinating and mystical succulent, contains healing and soothing properties. The following tips will help you navigate the world of buying, growing and caring for this mineral-rich medicinal.

Maximum Yield USA  |  October 2010

Buying tips Aloe Vera usually grows slowly indoors so if this is the route you choose, purchase a large, more mature plant if possible.

If a young plant is your only option, you can still use it for first aid treatments but know it will take a few years to grow large.Young aloe plants are potent enough to use for first aid treatments, but a more mature plant is more potent; strength does increase with age.

Growing tips Aloe Vera can be planted indoors or outdoors, but will turn brown in harsh sunlight so plant in indirect light. It will freeze, so make sure to protect it during frost dangers. Aloe Vera is not suitable for wintering over in cold weather zones. It will grow faster outside than inside, but definitely makes a good indoor plant. Use well-drained sandy potting soil; a good quality commercial potting mix with extra perlite, granite grit or coarse sand is recommended. Cacti and succulent mixes may also be used.

Watering Aloe Vera is a succulent and so should not be overwatered.

Allow the soil to become fairly dry before watering. During winter months it can be lightly watered. If planting in a pot, make sure there are drainage holes.

Repotting A plant that is root bound will be top heavy and send out more new shoots or pups. In this case, it’s time to repot.

Remove new shoots when they are three to four inches high and replant them in their own pots. If you don’t, they will suck life from the mother plant. Signs of this happening: the mother plant will turn bright green and spread its leaves horizontally rather than vertically. Water the pups well when repotting then don’t water again for about three weeks, forcing the new roots to get strong and seek water. They may turn grey or brown initially; this is normal.These make great gifts so give freely!

Symptoms of poor plant care Leaves lie flat instead of upright: usually because of insufficient light Leaves are thin and curled: plant is not being watered enough; it’s using up its own liquid Leaves are brown: too much direct sunlight Very slow growth: high alkaline soil or water; too damp for too long; not enough light; too much fertilizer

Removing leaves Harvest leaves as you need; the plant wound seals and heals quickly. The leaf will not grow back so choose those closest to the ground as they are the most mature and most potent.

How to cut a leaf Remove the leaf from the plant with a sharp knife. Trim the thorny edges from the severed leaf then slice across its width.

The inner transparent, gooey gel is ready to be applied directly to the afflicted area. Use generously; it will be absorbed by the skin within several minutes. After the gel from the first layer of ruptured cells has run dry, scratch the surface with a clean knife to rupture more cells, releasing more juice. This can be continued until there is nothing but green skin left. Partially used aloe Vera leaves will last for days if wrapped in foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated.

Consuming the plant The colorless pulp is tasteless, but before consuming, rinse off the bitter yellow sap. Peel the green skin from the pulp, then rinse off the sap with cool water.

MY

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3 s d l e i Y ig

s e c a p S Small

B

by Lee McCall

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Bloom

In the final edition of Small Spaces, Big Yields Bloom series, the fruits of labor are finally revealed. The final summary—including fruit development, ripening techniques and total harvested yield—is examined to determine if this small space is in fact capable of big yields.

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Part 3

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Small Spaces, Big Yields: Bloom - Part Three The all-you-can-eat buffet of supplements and base nutrients provided in the organic and hydroponic plants’ diets has fueled intense metabolic rates, particularly with the Early Girls.

Despite the diseased appearance of the Sugar Baby crop, fruit production remains steady. The Sugar Baby’s foliar development was damaged in both the hydroponic and soil experiments for the duration of the trial, and the overall mass and expected yield appears to be only about half. The average plant height is approximately two feet tall for both strains, and judging by the amount of fruit on each plant, the yields appear to be considerably generous even with the short stature of the plants and weaker growth of the cherry variety. As with most grows, the produce must first be cut down, separated from the vegetation and weighed in order to determine the success of the current cycle. This type

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The average plant height is approximately two feet tall for both strains, and judging by the amount of fruit on each plant, the yields appear to be considerably generous even with the short stature of the plants and weaker growth of the cherry variety.

of data should always be recorded in the event a comparative reference for a future experiment is needed.

Week 12, Day 78: The Early Girl fruits on the hydroponic specimen have swollen to what appears to be a maximum capacity threshold for the size and density of the fruit. Only days out

Small Spaces, Big Yields: Bloom - Part Three

Early Girl roots at 14 weeks.

from harvest, the flesh is very firm but still green with no signs of rot. Fortunately, I have not lost any fruit to blossom end rot, but a few fruits have broken off due to rough handling during feedings, cleaning and reservoir changes. There are a total of nine uniform fruits on the hydroponic Early Girl plant, each ranging around four inches in diameter, which should make it to the final harvest. This recorded size is exceptional for the trial considering this type of plant usually yields smaller fruits according to the seed bank background

information on the strain. All of the fruit varieties that are completely round in on this particular strain has developed the shape and sold in major markets. The unique ribbed Sugar Baby “All of the fruit on this particular fruits are also shape that strain has developed the unique slightly ribbed many heirloom varieties exhibit ribbed shape that many heirloom as well, which is very unique over many varieties exhibit. ” for a cherry on-the-vine variety. This physical trait is an added bonus that is appealing to consumers, and might indicate a higher quality of genetics from the specimen.

The Early Girl root mass is vibrant and

Early Girl roots, view from the bottom.

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Small Spaces, Big Yields: Bloom - Part Three aggressive, branching out across the top of the hydroton like a thick network of live trellis netting. Even after several months of exposure to ambient air, the structure of the root mass on top is still healthy, white and dense indicating that water and nutrient uptake is prolific throughout the core of the plant. Unfortunately, the Sugar Baby roots have not done as well due to the lack of shaded protection offered by healthy foliage. Since the leaf development is sparse compared to the densely shaded canopy protruding from the core of the Early Girl, the 1,000 watts of light from the sodium and halide above penetrates the weak Sugar Baby canopy causing algae to grow on overly-saturated portions of the root mass and hydroton.

Hydroponics Sugar Babies The Early Girl soil plant remains the healthiest and more vigorous plant in the entire garden. This plant has easily double Early Girl plant is completely flawless. Fruit is plentiful, foliage is the amount of fruit compared to its hydroponic sister, but they are dense, color is vibrant, water consumption is heavy and microbial smaller in size ranging much colonization is aggressive based on the root tips penetrating the closer to the described three “Almost 100 days after a seemingly failure inch diameter as depicted from of a seed germination, a plethora of ripe red fabric container walls. Between the two Early Girl plants, two the source of the strains. The fruits are ready for harvest.” gallons of nutrient solution organic nutrient schedule seems is consumed and transpired to have more of a slower, timeevery single day. This makes for strict daily check-ups with more released effect on the crop metabolism opposed to the force fed mineral nutrients on the hydroponic side.Visually, the organic soil maintenance, but the result should be well worth it in the end.

The Sugar Baby plant in organic soil will end up the smallest of all the plants in the garden, and similar to the Early Girl scenario, its hydroponic sister is thriving in terms of comparative fruit size but lacks the quantity of sites of the soil plant. Between these two plants, much less water is needed. Rather than two gallons per day, it takes almost four days for two gallons to be consumed.

I have slightly tweaked the nutrient schedule starting week 12 to focus on even fruit ripening and in an attempt to turn all of the green fruits to the delicious supple red color that every tomato connoisseur searches for. The 1-2-3 ratio of grow, micro and bloom is drastically reduced to a lower EC level so more breathing room is available for the addition of a special bloom boosting dry formulation. The 2-45-28 recipe packs a powerful punch to facilitate even ripening, stimulate essential oil production and add extra fruit weight. The strong concentration of the powdered additive easily dissolves into the nutrient solution without clumping and jacks the parts per million (PPM) up with only a minute amount added per gallon of feed water. Enzymes continue to be added into the mixture to enhance the breakdown of nutrients and digestion of dead root material along with a pineapple infused carbohydrate supplement. These enzymes not

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Small Spaces, Big Yields: Bloom - Part Three only speed up the nutritional assimilation process, but are largely responsible for promoting a clean root environment.

The soil feed schedule is consistent and simple in terms of application, but is complex in components. Enzymatically digested fish emulsion; several forms of seaweed extracts; humic acid; organic calcium and magnesium (cal-mag); protein hydrolyslate rich in amino acids; vitamins and soluble phosphorous; pineapple infused carbohydrates; and the base bloom nutrient as described in part one comprised of kieserite, alfalfa meal, molasses, cane sugar and glacial rock dust make up the organic soil menu. Enzymes compliment the soil feeding in addition to a diverse compost tea, which is also used in the hydroponic systems. The beauty of hand-feeding organic soil gardening is that it can absorb “soupier” more viscous nutrient solutions without clogging emitters and hydroponic plumbing components. Feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants.

Week 13, Day 85: Like clockwork, the fruits in the hydroponic buckets exhibit a beautiful sheen of orange and red.The ripening

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additive in conjunction with the base nutrition has completely taken hold of the fruit only days after the initial introduction.

The organic soil Early Girl plant is not exhibiting any changes in fruit coloration, but I decide to implement a thorough seven day flush using only enzymes for the first four days and plain water for the last three. Drain-to-waste is very important when implementing a clean water flush so as not to re-introduce plant waste back into the system. For the hydroponic specimens, I will have to change the water daily so as to ensure the plants are thoroughly cleansed of excess nutrient salts and waste.There is a strong chance that these organic Early Girl fruits will not be able to be harvested at the same time as the other three plants due to the slower response time. Nevertheless, patience is my focus in completing a healthy harvest.

Week 14, Day 92: Almost 100 days after a seemingly failure of a seed germination, a plethora of ripe red fruits are ready for harvest.

Unfortunately as expected, the healthiest plant in the garden with the most fruit refuses to ripen as quickly as the other three, and thus will not be included in the final outcome of this extensive series.

However, there is plenty of fruit from the other plants and the largest ones are vine ripened and ready for consumption. The flush was extended by an extra week to ensure a more flavorful crop, and to wait for the perfect moment when the flesh was at its peak—not too soft but not too firm, simply perfection.

This trial was one of the best grows I have ever completed. Despite the one strain that gave me problems, I was still able to walk away with over 10 pounds of fruit from two sickly Sugar Babies and one beautiful Early Girl. Thank you for taking the time to follow this study and happy growing!

MY

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TIPS & TRICKS

Choosing Greenhouse

by Charlene Rennick

Construction Materials October is the perfect time to set up a greenhouse, when the weather is still warm enough to be outside, but just cool enough to keeping you working and building until the job is done.

Once you’ve decided what your inventory will be, where your space will be and how much time you will have to devote to your greenhouse, you are ready to look at the different materials available for construction.

Choosing material for the panes Acrylic is sturdy, strong and less likely to break during accidents and intense weather; however, it does not provide much diffusion of direct sunrays, which can cause scorching of delicate or young plants.

Glass is scratch-resistant, retains heat well and is a stable material. The downside of glass is that it heats up and cools off quickly making it an unreliable insulator. It is breakable and can be difficult to install in tight corners. Like acrylic, it is subject to frying fragile plants with concentrated sunrays.

Contrary to glass and acrylic, polycarbonate diffuses light and averts hot and cold spot development. This characteristic makes it more energy efficient. It is lightweight and easy to install. Although it is more expensive, it is resilient, which may save on future replacement costs.

A lower budget option is polyethylene. This material is easy to work with and can be energy efficient if applied in layers. Because of its flexibility, it can tear easily and does not recover well from accidents, making ongoing maintenance a concern. Replacement costs may offset the initial savings.

For smaller greenhouses, PVC is a likely choice because it is easy to manipulate, conducts heat well and diffuses light effectively in smaller areas.

What do I use for the frame?

Less opaque material in a greenhouse makes more effective use of the light exchange. This is a good principle to keep in mind when choosing a construction material.

Aluminum is hardwearing, easy to maintain and long lasting. It can be expensive and does require a wider or longer measurement than steel that takes away from the amount of windowpane space. This ultimately reduces the available area for sunlight.

Plastic is more energy efficient than metal. It is easier to work with because it is lighter. Because of its lightweight

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composition, more of it is necessary to build a solid structure.

This reduces the amount of space left for light. This same characteristic also makes it more susceptible to damage and replacement costs.

Although steel is very stable and robust, it weighs more than the other options and will rust at some point. This requires an additional cost to replace or treat. Because it is the most enduring metal, less is needed, which maximizes the available space for sunlight.

Wood frames look nice. They are lighter than steel, easier to work with and modify well to adding accessories in design and construction. Wood does get damaged and needs some extra elbow grease to maintain and protect it from weathering. It also needs a wider measurement compared to metal, which reduces the sunlight factor.

Making the final decision Building a greenhouse is a commitment. If you are satisfied with your blueprint and have developed a long-range budget for supplies and maintenance costs, your greenhouse is ready for construction. On the other hand, if the planning process has exposed areas you hadn’t planned on dealing with, a portable or indoor model may be the wiser choice for you.

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PRODUCT spotlight

Continued from page 42

See it. Want it. Find it at your favorite indoor gardening store.

LumiGrow LumiBloom LED Grow Bulb ________________________ The LumiBloom bulb gives your plants that all-important red boost. Originally developed for university and industrial plant scientists, LumiBloom delivers 17 watts of pure concentrated 660 nanometer red to target the plant’s primary photosynthetic response.

One bulb will cover two to four square feet. Great for difficult to flower plants like orchids and African Violets. LumiBloom is a great supplement to your existing lighting system. Featuring cool-running LEDs with the highest flux density available, LumiBloom delivers optimal performance, reliability and safety. Each LumiBloom bulb lasts over eight years based on 30,000 hours lamp life. Visit your local indoor gardening shop for more information.

New MaxLume H.I.D. Bulbs from C.A.P. ____________________________________ Boasting high lumen output and superior color spectrum, these bulbs will drive your garden to its maximum potential. More plant-available blues from the M.H. series gives your garden what it needs for early vigor and healthy branching. More oranges and reds available from the H.P.S. lamps for your flowering plants promotes both quality and quantity in floral clusters. For discerning production growers, the extra low lumen depreciation means more crops from every MaxLume bulb, maximizing costs and minimizing maintenance. Contact your local retailer for more information.

The Bountea Growing System Expands _____ Hydro International Presents Sea Fuel ________________ Sea Fuel is a natural plant tonic that provides natural amino acids and vitamins for plants and micro-organisms; fulvic acid for plant nutrition; and contains micro-organisms involved in the composting process.

Contains cold composted blue fin tuna, cold composted kelp and fulvic acid. Visit an indoor gardening store near you for more information.

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In response to demand from growers, Organic Bountea has added Fungal Activator to its range of products in the Bountea Growing System. Fungal Activator stimulates the growth of beneficial fungi in compost tea. Research has show that fungally-dominant compost teas help provide the perfect root environment for woody and fibrous stemmed plants such as tomatoes. Fungal Activator is first added to Alaska Humisoil 48 hours before brewing Bountea Compost Tea. This pre-cultured humisoil is then aerated with additional Fungal Activator to create a compost tea that is extraordinarily rich in fungal activity.

Fungal Activator is available now from indoor and outdoor gardening centers.

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TALKING SHOP

AT A GLANCE Store name: All Ways Hydro Owners: Jerry and Alyssia McMillian Location: 2220 Eastridge Ave. Suite C Riverside, CA Phone: 888-HYDRO-98 Email: help@allwayshydro.com Web: www.AllWaysHydro.com Motto: “We make your garden greener in All Ways!”

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Alyssia and Jerry McMillian

My passion is gardening; it has been for more than two decades. My hands were dirty from outdoor organic gardening for eight years before I decided to experiment with the soilless world of hydroponics. Before my wife Alyssia and I had children, we worked in retail—her in operations and me in sales management.

Due to our retail expertise, we knew we could create a better shopping experience than what was currently offered. We decided to open our own store and run it the way we knew best—simply low prices, great customer service with a smile and knowledgeable staff.

It started with a website (www.AllWaysHydro.com) and an eBay store with local delivery. We were quickly overwhelmed with the amount of business we were getting; within one month we tripled our website traffic from 7,000 to 22,000 hits, and a year later, we opened a shop in Riverside, California, and closed the eBay store. Alyssia assisted with operations while I focused on consultations, and handled orders and deliveries. My first sale was to a friend who patiently waited for two months while we got set up and stocked, and then spent $4,000 for a full system.

Not a bad first day.

One of our main struggles was getting inventory and keeping it. Product was flying off the shelves as fast as we could stock it.

This was a problem specifically with some of the newer and hot industry products.

I used to assist music stores in preparation for their grand opening so store set up was easy. Having been an outdoor/ organic gardener for 20 years and a hydroponics gardener for 12, made taking care of customers and answering their questions an easy task as well. Our philosophy is, “take care of your customers and they will take care of you.” We also make sure to always have some Maximum Yield magazines available for our customers.

Jerry takes good care of his customers. With years of experience in retail, he feels he can offer the very best shopping experience.

All Ways Hydro offers a variety of American-made and high quality products that Jerry uses in his own garden, and believes in.

We wanted to do business with companies that appreciate and support the small business owner so the first products we stocked in store were from C.A.P. They were the only hydroponics distributor that was willing to take a chance and do business with a website only company without a huge first order. Also, C.A.P. makes quality products that I use personally and believe in, and they also have a great price point that can’t be beat. We also chose to carry brands like Sun Systems from National Garden Wholesale (NGW). Their American-made lighting systems are manufactured to high standards. NGW had a great selection of additional products to fully stock our store.

All Ways Hydro consists of three employees: myself, my wife Alyssia and our nephew Hoss, who delivers many of our large orders.You definitely get personal service at our store. We are experienced not only in hydroponics and soil gardening but also in retail. We want you to have a pleasant shopping experience; if you come into our store you will see we mean it.

This is such a cool industry to be a part of and the people are great. They love their jobs and it shows. It’s pretty apparent this industry is staying put; the companies and retailers that appreciate and respect others are the ones that will survive, because eventually everyone will shop where they are taken care of. It really boils down to who does it best. We are amazed and very thankful for our customers and their loyalty to our store. I believe we all need to work together to cultivate as many new MY gardeners as possible. Now, let’s get growing!

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by Bob Taylor: Chief Chemist at Flairform

How to Produce Cuttings and Seedlings Steps to Success Cuttings produce a plant having the same genetic characteristics as the stock plant (e.g. same appearance, size, yield, etc). This cannot be achieved using seeds.

A popular method of reproducing plants is by means of cuttings (or clones).

A cutting is a plant part removed from a stock or donor plant that will develop roots and shoots when placed in soil under favorable conditions. In comparison to reproduction via seed, this method offers some lucrative benefits.

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Cuttings taken from the most recent growth will produce plants that take less time to reach biological maturity.

Commercial fruit growers do this to minimize the lengthy non-fruiting phase associated with seed propagated plants.

Stem cuttings: The most appropriate cutting material will vary between species; however, most species can be propagated using stem cuttings. Stem cuttings possess stems, leaves and sprouts (see Figure 4.2). Roots grow from the basal wood (Figure 4.1a and 4.1b) and shoots grow from the sprouts.

The physical age of the material selected is important to a cutting’s survival. Material can be classified as softwood, semihardwood or hardwood. Semi-hardwood generally provides the best cutting material because it’s relatively unsusceptible to rotting, fungal attack or dehydration and it has a relatively high rooting potential. This material is best identified by wood turning hard and changing color from green to brown with the formation of bark; it is not as supple as softwood, but still flexible; and its leaves are darker in color.

Figure 4.1b: Adventious roots break out of the callus tissue (typically 7-10 days).

Copyright ©2006 www.flairform.com

Figure 4.1a: Callus tissue forms prior to the formation of root initials (typically within 5 days.)

Copyright ©2006 www.flairform.com

Figure 4.1 - Initial root formation

Figure 4.2: Material for stem cutting

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How to Produce Cuttings and Seedlings

Procedure

Step 1 Thoroughly wash and sterilize all hardware and areas that are likely to contact cuttings and cause disease contamination.

Step 2 Pre-soak medium by immersing in a highly pH buffered seedling nutrient. This helps ensure that excess alkalinity is removed and ensures optimum root-zone pH. Gently squeeze to drain excess nutrient.

Step 3 To increase the success rate of cuttings (see figure 4.6) and seedlings, use a heat mat* and propagation lid to maintain root and air temperature at 68 to 77°F and relative humidity at 80 per cent. As a light source use cool white

Copyright ©2006 www.flairform.com

With minimal foliage and no roots, cuttings largely depend upon existing (internal) energy reserves for the creation of roots. Consequently, the longer it takes to form roots, the less chance there is of survival. Heating the air alone is counter productive as this promotes unnecessary foliage growth, which wastes valuable energy supplies that are required for the production of roots.

Copyright ©2006 www.flairform.com

Figure 4.6: Heat mat, propagation lid and artificial lighting are beneficial for maximixing the success rate of cuttings and seedlings.

Figure 4.3: How to produce a stem cutting

stage. fluorescent lighting timed to run for 18 hours per day. Ensure this environment is established prior to planting cuttings. *Heat mat: A heat mat applies heat directly to the medium and basal end of the cutting to promote rapid root development.

Step 4 Select a plant that has been well maintained, has favorable characteristics and is free of disease. The cuttings material must be of semi-hardwood. Avoid plants that are well into the flowering

Step 5 Using secateurs (or a scalpel) remove a lateral (side branch) that has at least two sets of leaves on it and has a stem diameter of at least five millimeters (see Figure 4.2). Then immediately place the cut end into tepid water.

Step 6 Using a scalpel, trim cuttings as per figure 4.3: (1) Remove bottom set of leaves and nodes, (2) Cut through stem* at a 45° angle approximately five to 10 millimeters below where the leaves and nodes were, (3) Scuff (but do not fully remove) the bark between the nodes and the base of cutting, (4) if bottom set of leaves are too large these should be cut in half**. ** Better results may be achieved by trimming this set of leaves 24 hours prior to removing the cutting from the plant.

Step 7 Immediately immerse entire basal end into cutting gel.

(See region three in Figure 4.3). Punch a hole in the medium of

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diameter slightly greater than that of the basal end and deep enough so cutting will not fall over. Push right to the base of the pre-made hole then press medium against the stem. Do not re-water!

Step 8 Mist cuttings daily using water, and water the medium as required using a seedling nutrient (EC 0.8mS). Ensure to maintain root and air temperature at 68 to 77°F and relative humidity at 80 per cent. Diligently remove any dead leaves or dead cuttings as these are an ideal host for fungi. Also, keep removing floral buds.

While we’re talking about producing cuttings, it wouldn’t hurt to review how to produce seedlings. Compared to cuttings, seeds are relatively quick to plant and are less likely to carry pests and disease.

Figure 2a: Initial stage of growth - ‘colydens’ remain below the soil’s surface.

Figure 2b: Later stage of growth - ‘colydens’ are carried above the soil’s surface.

Step 9 Depending on the plant variety, roots usually develop within seven to 10 days. Once this occurs, gradually expose cuttings to their proposed environment.

Note that a sudden change in humidity, nutrient strength, light intensity or temperature might kill them. Therefore, gradually increase nutrient strength to EC 1.5mS. Also, remove the propagation lid for 30 minute periods initially, increasing the frequency over the course of a few days (or as required) until the cuttings are ready to be planted into their proposed environment.

Step 10 When transplanting, to avoid disturbing roots, simply plant the entire root block and medium used in the propagation system. If it is necessary to remove the cutting from the propagation medium, ensure to be extremely gentle with the roots during the transplanting process: 1. Allow the roots to settle naturally into the new medium. Do not allow the roots to become twisted or bent upwards.

2. Plant cutting to the same depth as it was before.

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How to Produce Cuttings and Seedlings Collecting seeds: Seeds should be collected from a well maintained plant that has favorable characteristics and is disease free. Seeds should be collected when mature; seeds that are immature will not germinate when planted.

Seed storage: To suppress germination but maintain the seed in a dormant state, storage conditions should be maintained as follows: • Cool (36°F to 46°F) • Dry conditions with limited oxygen • Darkness Medium: The medium should provide high oxygen and water levels, and good drainage.

Disease: Sterilization of hardware and media before and during propagation is paramount. Maintaining adequate ventilation is also essential for minimizing the threat of disease.

Procedure

Step 1. Thoroughly wash and sterilize all hardware and areas that are likely to come into contact with the seedlings and cause contamination.

Step 2. To increase the success rate of seedlings, use a heat mat and propagation lid (vents closed) to maintain root and air temperature at 68°F to 77°F and relative humidity at 80 per cent. Cool conditions delay germination of most seeds making them more susceptible to fungal attack.

Step 3. Pre-soak medium with a highly pH buffered nutrient.This ensures excess alkalinity is removed and the medium is bedded down. Allow to drain.

exposed, place upright in medium two to five millimeters below the surface.

Option 2. Sow seeds at a depth equal to 2.5 times their diameter. Cover the seed with medium and gently tap down.

Step 5. Immediately after planting, lightly re-water using water or dilute seedling nutrient. Continue to water the medium as required, typically every two or three days. Ensure to maintain root and air temperature at 68°F to 77°F and relative humidity at 80 per cent. Diligently remove any dead leaves or seedlings—these are an ideal host for fungi.

Note: Some plants or mediums may require little or no nutrient until the first few true leaves appear. If the success rate is poor, try feeding with just water.

Step 6. Remove the propagation lid once the first shoot appears. High humidity and poor ventilation will encourage fungal diseases.

Step 7. Light is not required during the actual germination process. However, once the first shoot (plumule) begins to appear the seedlings need good light to begin photosynthesising and prevent the plumule from becoming spindly or etiolating. Use low intensity lighting for the first few weeks of growth. Preferably use cool white fluorescent lights and position four inches above the plants.

Step 8. Gradually expose the seedlings to their proposed environment. Depending on the plant variety this may take only a few days or many months. Begin to gradually increase light intensity and nutrient strength; a sudden change might kill them.

Step 9. Healthy seedlings grow quickly and, therefore, it is essential to transplant them into a bigger system that provides adequate room for further growth. Do this only after a minimum of two true leaves have formed. If the seedling is left in its current position for too long the roots may grow long enough to become tangled.

When transplanting, avoid disturbing roots - simply plant the entire root block and medium. If it is necessary to remove the seedling from the propagation medium, ensure to be extremely gentle with the roots during the transplanting process: 1. Allow the roots to settle naturally into the new medium. Do not allow the roots to become twisted or bent upwards.

2. Plant the seedling to the same MY depth as it was before.

Step 4.

Option 1. Pre-germinate seeds prior to planting. To do this, place them between moist tissues on a plate. Cover them with an up-turned plate. Check every few days, ensuring that the tissue does not become dry; sprinkle with water as necessary. Once the root or radical becomes

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Seedlings are usually due to be transplanted once the first ‘true leaves’ have formed. When transplanting do not allow the roots to become twisted or bent upwards and plant at the same depth as before.

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MAX-MART

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LLC

Phone: 510.903.1808 Fax: 510.764.1246 13762 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577

www.hydrogardendelight.com

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MAX-MART

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COMING UP IN november

DO YOU

know?

Well Fed

With a surplus of nutrient brands and formulations available, it’s hard to know what will work best. But you can get a lot from a little by perfecting the nutritional recipe for your best crops.

Grow Tents for the Constructionally Challenged

1

Powdery mildew is not one disease, but can be caused by a number of different genera of fungi.

If building a garden space from scratch is not your idea of a good time, check out the various benefits of indoor grow tents, which come in a variety of sizes and can be assembled by one person in a matter of minutes.

2

Among the major cations, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, the least competitive is Mg2+; therefore its deficiency is likely to occur with the use of some nutrient solution formulations having high concentrations of K or Ca when growing Mg-sensitive plants, such as tomatoes.

3

Leveillula powdery mildew is sometimes termed internal powdery mildew because it grows unseen within the leaf tissue.

4

The sun produces short wave radiation from wavelength 290 to 2,500 nanometers.

5

The chelate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), can be toxic to plants, and therefore, some formulations use the chelate, diaminetriaminetetraacetic acid (DTPA).

6

The Organoponicos (Cuba) may be the world’s largest example, and experiment, in localized urban organic food production.

Hydroponic Starts Raising healthy, young hydroponic starts involves an optimal environment, ideal substrate and proper technique. In part one of this series, we cover materials and techniques for raising hydroponic starts.

The Hydroponics Greenhouse When building a greenhouse from the ground up, the choice of materials used has both economic and biological implications. Basic design and flooring are the first items to be considered.

www.maximumyield.com will be available November 1 for FREE at selected indoor gardening retail stores across USA and on maximumyield.com I N D O O R

G A R D E N I N G

Subscriptions are available at maximumyield.com/subscriptions.php

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

ALABAMA Alabama Organics 3348 Bethel Road, Valley Head, AL 35989 256-635-0802

ALASKA Brown’s Electrical Supply 365 Industrial Way, Anchorage, AK 99501 907-272-2259 Far North Garden Supply 300 Centaur Street, Wasilla, AK 99654 907-376-7586 Far North Garden Supply 2834 Boniface Parkway Anchorage, AK 99504 907-333-3141 Holmtown Nursery Inc. 1301 - 30th Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-451-8733

ARIZONA ACI Hydroponics 1325 South Park Lane, Tempe, AZ 85282 800-633-2137 Homegrown Hydroponics 601 East Broadway Road, Tempe, AZ 85282 480-377-9096 Homegrown Hydroponics 1702 East Prince Road, Tucson, AZ 85719 520-323-1212 Natural Pools & Gardens 2143 North Country Suite C, Tucson, AZ 85716 520-323-2627 Sea of Green Hydroponics 1301 E. University Dr. Tempe AZ, 85281 800-266-4136 Sea of Green West 2340 W. Bell Road, Suite 116, Phoenix, AZ 85023 602-504-8842 Sea of Green Hydroponics 402 North 4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705 520-622-6344

ARKANSAS Fermentables 3915 Crutcher Street, N. Little Rock, AR 72118 501-758-6261 Mickey’s Mercantile 1303 Highway 65 South, Clinton, AR 72031 501-412-0214 Old Soul Organics and More 1771 Crossover Road, Fayetteville, AR 72701 479-444-6955

CALIFORNIA 3rd Street Hydroponics 636 3rd Street Oakland, CA 94607 510-452-5521 805 Hydroponics & Organics 1785 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 805-494-1785 A+ Hydroponics & Organics 1604 Babcock Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 949-642-7776 A Fertile World (Eureka) 65th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-444-0200

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A Fertile World (Fortuna) 610 7th Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-0700 Abundant Hydroponics LLC 1611 Shop Street, #1-A, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-54 HYDRO Advanced Garden Supply 2660 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, Building C, Unit 9, S. Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-541-4769 Advanced Garden Supply 3113 Alhambra Drive, Unit F, Cameron Park, CA 95682, 530-676-2100 Advanced Hydroponics 17808 Sierra Highway, Canyon Country, CA 91351 661-299-1603 AG Natural 403 Idaho Maryland Road, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-274 0990 All Seasons Hydroponics 17614 Chatsworth Street, Granada Hills, CA 91344 818-368-4388 Alternative Hydro 3870 East, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91107 888-50-HYDRO Always Sunny Hydroponics 708 W. Swain Road Stockton, CA 95207 209-473-9827 Always Sunny Hydroponics 2511 West LN. Stockton, CA 95205 209-939-0660 All Ways Hydro 2220 Eastridge Ave. Suite C Riverside CA 92507 888-HYDRO98 American Hydroponics 286 South G Street, Arcata, CA 95521 800-458-6543 America’s Best Hydroponics & Gardening Center 641 W. Palmdale Blvd. Unit D Palmdale, CA 93551 661-266-3906 Anthony’s Garden & Lighting Supply 30 Ridge Road, Suites 8 & 9 Sutter Creek, CA 95685 209-267-5416 Anything Grows 10607 W. River Street, Building 3 Suite C, Truckee, CA 96161 530-582-0479 Art of Hydro 2636 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 805-230-2227 Atlantis Garden Supply 2851 A Whipple Road, Union City, CA 94587 510-487-8007 Atwater Hydroponics 3350 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039 323-663-8881 Auburn Organic 4035 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, CA 95602 530-823-8900 B & S Gardening Supplies 590 Commerce Court, Manteca, CA 95336 209-239-8648

Bakersfield Hydroponics 2408 Brundage Lane, Suite B Bakersfield, CA 93304 661-323-7333 Bare Roots Hydroponics 1615 East Cypress, #5 Redding, CA 96002 530-244-2215 Beginning Hydroponics PO Box 1232, Corona, CA 92787 951-735-4446 Berkeley Indoor Garden 844 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 510-549-2918 Berkeley’s Secret Garden 921 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710 510-486-0117 Best Coast Growers 4417 Glacier Avenue Suite C, San Diego, CA 92120 800-827-1876 Best Yield Garden Supply 3503 West Temple Avenue, Unit A, Pomona, CA 91768 909-839-0505 Better Choice Hydroponics 610 S. Washington Street, Senora, CA 95370 209 533 2400 Better Grow Hydro Pasadena 1271 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasedena, CA 91106 626 737 6612 Better Grow Hydro Los Angeles 5554 Bandini Boulevard, Bell, CA 91106 323-510-2700; 877 640 GROW Box Of Rain Inc. Po Box 302, Rexford, CA 59930 406-755-7245 Brentwood Hydroponics & Organics 560 Valdry Ct #85 Brentwood, CA 94513 925-634-6704 BWGS-CA 7530 W. Sunnyview Avenue Visalia, CA 93291 888-316-1306 California Hydro Garden 1043 South Glendora Avenue, Suite A West Covina, CA 91790 626-813-0868 California Hydroponics 310 Coral Street, Suite C Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-423-4769 Calwest Hydroponics 11620 Sterling Avenue, Suite A Riverside, CA 92503 800-301-9009 Central Coast Hydrogarden 1951 Santa Barbara Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-544-GROW Citrus Heights Hydrogarden 8043 Greenback Lane Citrus Heights, CA 95610 916-728-4769 City Farm Hydroponics 8903 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Sun Valley, CA 91352 818-767-2076 City Farmer’s Nursery 4832 Home Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105 619-284-6358 Clover Hydroponics & Garden Supply 43 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport, CA 95453 707-263-4000

CNG Garden Supplies 22 Ricknbacker Circle, Livermore, CA 94551 209-836-5550 Coca’s Central Valley Hydroponics 116 West Orangeburg Avenue, Modesto, CA 95350 209-567-0590 Concord Indoor Garden 2771 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94519 925-671-2520 Conejo Hydroponics 3481 Old Conejo Road #106 Newbury Park, CA 91320 805-480-9596 Conrad Hydroponics Inc. 14915 Unit E, Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422 707-994 3264 Constantly Growing 6200 Enterprise Drive, Suite A Diamond Springs, CA 95619 530-642-9710 Constantly Growing 4343 Hazel Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA 95628 916-962-0043 Constantly Growing - Davis 123 D Street Davis, CA 95616 530-756-4774 D&S Garden Supplies 17-130 Doolittle Drive San Leandro, CA 94577 510-430-8589 Dazey’s Supply 3082 Redwood Drive, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-3002 Direct Hydroponics Wholesale 14228 Alberts Way, Chino, CA 91710 909-606-5885 Dirt Cheap Hydroponics 17975 H Highway 1, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-964-4211 Discount Hydroponics 4745 Hiers Avenue, Riverside, CA 92505 877-476-9487 Dr. Greenthumbs Hydroponic Garden Supplies 566 San Ramon Valley Blvd.

Danville, CA 94526 925-314-9376 Eel River Hydroponics & Soil Supply 164 Dinsmore Drive, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-726-0395 El Centro Hydro & Brew Supply Inc. 591 main Street, Suite N-2 El Centro, CA 92243 760-235-4985 Elite Horticulture Supply 22330 Sherman Way, C13, Canoga Park, CA 91303 818-347-5172 Emerald Garden 8249 Archibald Avenue, Ranch Cucamanga, CA 91730 909-466-3796 Emerald Garden 13325 South Highway 101, Hopland, CA 95482 707-744-8300 Emerald Garden 307 East Perkins Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 707-463-2510 Endless Green Hydroponics 25 Enterprise Court, Suite 3 Napa, CA 94558 707-254-0200 Evergreen Hydroponics 923 N. Central Avenue, Suite B, Upland, CA 91786 909-946-7100 Everything Green Hydroponics 915 Texas Street, Fairfield, CA 94533 707-432-0774

Everything Green 448 Georgia Street, Vallejo, CA 94590 707-647-0774 Extreme Hydroponics 11479 San Fernando Road C, San Fernando, CA 91340 818-898-0915 EZ Green Hydroponics 7017 Reseda Boulevard, Reseda, CA 91335 818-776-9076 Farm Hydroponics, The 1950 Lake Tahoe Boulevard #3, S. Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-541-3276 Flairform 1751 S Pointe Avenue, Ontario, CA 91761 213-596-8820 Flower Hut Nursery 603 4th Street Wheatland, CA 95692 530-633-4526 Foothill Hydroponics 10705 Burbank Boulevard, N. Hollywood, CA 91601 818-760-0688 Foothills Hydrogarden 3133 Penryn Road, Penryn, CA 95663 916-270-2413 Full Sun Supply 3535 Industrial Drive, Unit B-3 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 877-FULL-SUN Funny Farms Hydroponics 963 Transport Way, #12 Petaluma, CA 94954 707-775-3111 G & G Organics and Hydroponics 901 W. Victoria Street Unit D, Compton, CA 90220 310-632-0122 Garden Connection, The 2145 Park Avenue, Unit 2 Chico, CA 95928 530-342-7762 Garden Depot, The 203 Commerce Street, Suite 101 Lodi, CA 95240 209-339-9950 Garden Highway Garden Supply 598 Garden Highway #22 Yuba City, CA 95991 530-755-2877 Garden Shed, The 1136 El Camino Real San Carlos, CA 650-508-8600 Garden Spout, The 44800 Highway 101, Laytonville, CA 95454 707-984-7260 Garden Spout, The 630 S. Main Street, Willits, CA 95490 707-456-0196 Garden Warehouse 6355 Scarlet Court, #2, Dublin, CA 94568 925-556-3319 Gardening Unlimited 60 Old El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 831-457-1236 Go Big Hydroponics 4501 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 818-789-3341 Go Green Hydroponics 15721 Ventura Boulevard, Encino, CA 91436 818-990-1198 Golden Gecko Garden Center, The 4665 Marshall Road, Garden Valley, CA 95633 530-333-2394 Golden Harvest Hydroponics & Garden Supply 8626 Lower Sacramento Road #48, Stockton, CA 95210 209-951-3550

Gonzo Grow 2550 Guerneville Road, Suite C,Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-546-1800 Gottagrow Garden Supply 769 Wilson Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 707-544-7782 Grass Roots Hydroponics 31875 Corydon, Suite 130 Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 951-245-2390 Grass Valley Hydrogarden 12506 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-477-2996 Green Acres Hydroponics 1215 Striker Avenue, Suite 180, Sacramento, CA 95834 916-419-4394 Green Coast Hydroponics 3560 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805-898-9922 Green Coast Hydroponics 2405 Mira Mar Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815 562-627-5636 Green Coast Hydroponics 496 Meats Avenue Orange, CA 92865 714-974-4769 Green Coast Hydroponics 11510 Whittier Boulevard Whittier, CA 90601 562-699-4201 Green Door Hydro and Solar 830 Traction Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90013 212-625-1323 Greenfire Sacramento 3230 Auburn Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95821 916-485-8023 Green Giant Hydroponics 7183 Hwy 49 Unit B Lotus CA 95651 530 622 4465 Green Gopher Garden Supply 679 Redwood Avenue, Suite A, Sand City, CA 93955 831-899-0203 Green Joint Ventures 61 Tarp Circle, Salinas, CA 93901 831-998-8628 Green Lady Hydroponics 4879 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA 92107 619-222-5011 GreenLeaf Hydroponics 2212 Artesia Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 310-374-2585 Green Light Hydroponics 2615 Honolula Ave. Montrose, CA 91020 818-640-2623 Green Logic Garden Supply 860 Piner Road, #38, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-843-3156 Greenmile Hydroponic Garden Supply 1480 South E. Street, Suite D, San Bernardino, CA 92408 909-885-5919 Green Thumb Hydroponics 35 Quinta Court, Suite B, Sacramento, CA 95823 916-689-6464 Green Thumb Lighting & Garden 1647 W. Sepulveda Boulevard, Unit 5, Torrance, CA 90501 888-326-GROW Greentrees Hydroponics Inc. 2581 Pioneer Avenue, Unit D Vista, CA 92081 760-598-7551 GreenWay Hydroponics 11510 Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, CA 90601 562-699-4201

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Grodan Inc. 5152 Commerce Avenue, Moorpark, CA 93021 541-646-8245 Gro More Garden Supply 2937 Larkin Avenue, Clovis, CA 93021 541-646-8245 Grow It Right Aquaponics POB 552, Eureka, CA 95502 707-407-6519 Grow A Lot Hydroponics, San Diego 1591 N. Cuyamaca Street, El Cajon, CA 93612 619-749-6777 Growers Choice Hydroponics 1100 Carver Road, Modesto, CA 95350 209-522-2727 Growers Choice Hydroponics 16754 East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA 94578 510-278-6200 Grow It Yourself Gardens 401 Sunset Drive, Suite L, Antioch, CA 94509 925-755-GROW Grow Light Express 5318 East Second Street suite 164, Long Beach, CA 90803 888-318-GROW Grow Your Own 3401 Traval Street, San Francisco, CA 94116 415-731-2115 Grow Zone 718 Willow Rd. Menlo Park CA 94025 650-326-4769 Grow Wurks Hydroponics 765 S. State College Boulevard. Suite J Fullerton, CA 92831 Grunder Family Organics & Hydroponics 12321 Magnolia Avenue, Suite C, Riverside, CA 92503 877-468-7974 H20 Gardening 355 West 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731 310-514-1416 Hahn’s Lighting 260 E. VA Suite 1, San Jose, CA 95112 408-295-1755 Harvest Hydroponics 6650 Merchandise Way Suite B, Diamond Springs, CA 95619 530-622-5190 Healthy Harvest Hydroponics and Organics 2958 S. Higuera St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805.596.0430 High Desert Hydroponics 13631 Pawnee Road, #7 Apple Valley, CA 92308 760-247-2090 High Street Hydro 180 Cleveland Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603 530-885-5888 Hi-Tech Gardening 5327 Jacuzzi Street, #282, Richmond, CA 94804 510-524-4710 Hollywood Hydroponics and Organics 5109 1/2 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027-6105 323-662-1908 Home Brews & Gardens 3176 Thorn St San Diego, CA 92104 619 630 2739

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Home Life Hydroponics and Organics 1745 East Vista Way, Vista, CA 92084 760-643-2150 Hooked Up Hydroponics 339 S. Golden State Boulevard, Turlock, CA 95380 209-668-1300 House of Hydro 224 Weller Street, #B, Petaluma, CA 94952 707-762-4769 Humboldt Electronics 2547 California Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-443-9408 Humboldt Hydroponics 1302 Union Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-443-4304 Humboldt Hydroponics 2174 Pine Street, Redding, CA 96001 530-241-7454 Humboldt Hydroponics 601 I Street, Arcata, CA 95521 707-822-3377 Humboldt Hydroponics 2010 Tunnel Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-1402 Humboldt Nutrients 65th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 888-420-7770 Hydroasis 2643 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90232 888-355-4769 Hydrobrew 1319 South Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA 92054 760-966-1885; 877-966-GROW Hydro Depot 5665 Redwood Drive, #B, Rohnert Park, CA 94928 707-584-2384 Hydrogarden Delight 13762 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577 510-903-1808 Hydrogarden Mendocino County 1240 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-962-9252 Hydro International 7935 Alabama Avenue Canoga Park, CA 91304 Hydro King 105 Hartnell Avenue, Suite C and D, Redding, CA 96002 888-822-8941 Hydro King 2540 South Whitman Place, Chico, CA 959282 530-893-GROW (4769) Hydro-Logic Purification Systems 2825 Mattison Lane, Suite 103, Santa Cruz, CA 95065 888 H2O LOGIC Hydronation 2491 Boatman Drive, Suite B West Sacramento, CA 95691 916-372-4444 HydroPacific - Hydroponics & Garden Supplies 351 C Hastings Av., Ukiah, CA 95482 707-467-0400 Hydroponic Connection Warehouse, The 1995 Evans Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124 415-824-9376

Hydroponics 4 Less 41669 Winchester Avenue, Temecula, CA 92590 800-A1-HYDRO Hydroponics Market 15816 Arminta St Van Nuys, CA 91406 818-305-6261 Hydroponics Plus 2250 Commerce Avenue, Suite C Concord, CA 94520 925-691-7615 Hydroponics Unlimited 641 W. Palmdale Blvd. “D” Palmdale, CA 93550 661-266-3906 Hydrostar Hydroponics & Organics 1307 W. Sixth Street, #211, Corona, CA 92882 951-479-8069 Igrow Hydro 2280 Veatch Street, Oroville, CA 95965 530-534-4476 Igrow Hydro 9000 Atkinson Street, Roseville, CA 95678 916-773-4476 Inland Empire Hydrogarden 1301-C South State Street, San Jancinto, CA 92853 886-72-HYDRO Inland Empire Hydrogarden 28822 Old Town Front St. #206 Temecula, CA 92590 886-74-HYDRO Innovative Growing Solutions (IGS) 7922-B Miramar Road, San Diego, CA 92126 858-578-IGS7 Kaweah Grower Supply 1106 1/2 N. Ben Maddox Way, Visalia, CA 93293 559-625-4937 Kern Hydroponics 2408 Brundage Lane, Suite B, Bakersfield, CA 93304 661-323-7333 La Habra 1301 S Beach Boulevard, La Habra, CA 90631 562-947-8383 LAX Hydro 10912 S. La Cienaga Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90304 310-337-6995 Lazy Gardeners Hydroponics ‘N’ More 14626 East Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, CA 90605 562-945-0909 Let it Grow 1228 2nd Street, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-464-9086 Let it Grow 160 Westwood Center, Arcata, CA 95521 707-822-8733 Liquid Gardens 21752 Devonshire Street, Chatsworth, CA 91311 818-718-7624 Long Beach Hydroponics & Organics 1772 Clark Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815 562-498-9525 Los Angeles Hydroponics and Organics 3007-3009 W. Artesia Blvd.

Torrance, CA 90504 310-323-4937 Lumatek Digital Ballasts 33 Commercial Boulevard, Suite B Novato, CA 94949 415-233-4273

M&M Garden Supply 2509 West Lane, Suite B Stockton, CA 95205 209-939-0664 M&M Garden Supply 22540 D Foothill Boulevard, 2509 Westlane Suite B Stockton, CA 95205 Marin Hydroponics 1219 Grant Avenue, Novato, CA 94945 415-897-2197 Medicine Man Farms 1602 53rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 707-980-0456 Mendocino Garden Shop PO Box 1301, 44720 Maint Street (at Hwy. 1), Mendocino, CA 95460 707-937-3459 Mendocino Greenhouse & Garden Supply 900 East School Way, Redwood Valley, CA 95470 707-485-0668 Merced Hydroponics 1809 East 21st Street, Merced, CA 95340 209-726-4769 M.G.S. 22540 D Foothill Boulevard, Hayward, CA 94541 510-582-0900 Mighty Garden Supply 4780 Mission Gorge Pl. #A-1, San Diego, CA 92120 619-287-3238 Modern Gardens 26620 Valley Center Dr. Santa Clarita, CA 91351 661-513-4733 Monterey Bay Horticulture Supply 224B Reindollar Avenue, Marina, CA 93933 831-38-HYDRO Monterey Bay Hydroponics and Organics 81 Hangar Way, #1, Watsonville, CA 95076 831-761-9999 Myron L Company 2450 Impala Drive, Carlsband, CA 9210-7226 760-438-2021 Mystic Gardens 8484 Florin Road, #110, Sacramento, CA 95828 916-381-2464 National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 1900 Bendixsen Street , Bldg. 1, Samoa, CA 95564 800-683-1114 (Northern CA) National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 6485 Brisa Street, Livermore, CA 94550 888-570-4678 (Southern CA) National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 1950 C South Grove Avenue, Ontario, CA 91761 888-888-3319 Natural Pest Controls 8320 B Hazel Avenue, Orangevale, CA 95662 916-726-0855 Nature’s Secret Garden and Supply 41469 Albrae Street, Fremont, CA 94577 510-623-8393 New Leaf Hydro 34150 123rd Street, Parablossom, CA 93553 661-944-2226 NorCal Creations PO Box 28, Cedar Ridge, CA 95924 Nor Cal Hydroponics 4837 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94118 415-933-8262 Northcoast Horticulture Supply 60 West 4th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-444-9999

Northcoast Horticulture Supply 357 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-5550 Northcoast Horticulture Supply 1070 Highway 101, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-464-1200 Northcoast Hydrogardens 3450 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 707-462-7214 No Stress Hydroponics 7543 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90046 323-845-9874 Nutes Int’l 204 N Quarantina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805-687-6699 One Stop Hydroponics 12822 Victory Boulevard North Hollywood, CA 91606 818-980-5855 Oracle Garden Supply 5755 Oberlin Drive, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92121 858-558-6006 Orange County Hydroponics 12687 Beach Boulevard, Unit H, Stanton, CA 90680 714-893-9493 Organic Bountea 1919 Dennis Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 800-798-0765 Orville Organic Gardens 5250 Olive Hwy Ste 1 Oroville, CA 95966 530-589-9950 Orsa Organix 111 Willow Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 650-369-1269 Pacific Beach Hydroponics 1852 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109 858-274-2559 Pacific Coast Hydroponics 4147 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230 310-313-1354 Pacific Garden Supply 128 H Carlos Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903 Pacifica Hydroponics 90 Eureka Square Pacifica, CA 94044 650-355-5100 Palm Springs Hydroponics 4651 Ramon Road, Palm Springs, CA 92264 760-327-ROOT Plant It Earth 2279 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 415-626-5082 Plant Life 32 Race Street, San Jose, CA 95126 408-283-9191 Plant-N-Grow 1602 53rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 707-980-0456 Precision Hydroponics 132 Kennedy Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008 408-866-8176 Probiotic Solutions 20889 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville, CA 95441 707-354-4342 Pro Gardening Systems 3715 Santa Rosa Avenue #2, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707-585-8633 Pro Gardening Systems 4936 Highway 12, Santa Rosa, CA 95472 707-538-8402

Pro Gardening Systems 765 Petaluma Avenue, Sebastopol, CA 95472 707-829-7252 Redway Feed Garden and Pet Supply 290 Briceland Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-2765 Redwood Garden Supply 55 Myers Avenue, Myers Flat, CA 95554 707-943-1515 Reforestation Technologies International 1341 Daton Street, Units G&I Salinas, CA 93901 831-424-1494; 800-RTI-GROW RH Distribution 1751 S. Pointe Avenue Ontario, CA 91761 888-545-8112 Roots Grow Supply 1330 North Hulbert, #101 Fresno, CA 93728 559-840-0122 Roots Grow Supply 40091 Enterprise Dr. Oakhurst CA 93644 559 683 6622 Sac Hydroponics 9529 Folson Boulevard, Suite C Sacramento, CA 95827 916-369-7968 San Diego Hydroponics East County 11649 Riverside Drive, Suite 141, Lakeside, CA 92040 619-562-3276 San Diego Hydroponics Beach Cities 4122 Napier Street, San Diego, CA 92110 619-276-0657 San Diego Hydroponics North 802 N. Twin Oaks Valley Road #108 San Marcos, CA 92069 760-510-1444 San Francisco Hydro 123 Tenth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 San Rafael Hydroponics 1417 Fourth Sreet San Rafael, CA 94901 415 455 9655 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - West Side 815 Almar Avenue, Unit K, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-466-9000 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - East Side 4000 Cordelia Lane Soquel, CA 95073 831-475-9900 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - North 6241 Graham Hill Road, Felton, CA 95018 831-335-9990 Santee Hydroponics 7973A Mission Gorge Road, Santee, CA 92071 619-270-8649 SB Hydro 1109 W. 190th Street, Unit #F, Gardena, CA 90248 310-538-5788 Seaside Hydrogarden 1070 Highway 101 North, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-465-3520 Shadow Valley Aquatics 75 Kimick Way, Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-526-0479 Skywide Import & Export Ltd. 5900 Lemon Hill Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95824 916-383-2369 Socal Hydroponics 1727-B Oceanside Boulevard, Oceanside, CA 92054 760-439-1084

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

169

MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

South Bay Hydroponics and Organics - Mtn. View 569 East Evelyn Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94041 650-968-4070 South Bay Hydroponics and Organics - San Jose 1185 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 408-292-4040 South County Hydroponics 22511 Aspan Street, Suite E Lake Forest, CA 92630 949-837-8252 South Valley Hydroponics 320 Kishimura Drive, #3 Gilroy, CA 95020 1-866-848-GROW Southern Humbolt Garden Supplies 34919 Yucaipa Boulevard, Yucaipa, CA 92399 909-797-6888 Sparetime Supply 208 E. San Francisco Avenue, Willits, CA 95490-4006 707-459-6791 Specialty Garden Center 1970 East Vista Way, Suite 10, Vista, CA 92084 760-758-4769 Stop N Grow 340 Pine Avenue, Goleta, CA 93003 805-685-3000 Stop N Grow 4160 Market Street, Unit 11 Ventura, CA 93003 805-639-9489 Stop N Grow 640 S. Frontage Road, Nipomo, CA 93444 805-619-5125 Sun-In Hydroponics 1257A Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-578-5747 Sunland Hydroponics 8300 Foothill Boulevard, Sunland, CA 91040 818-352-5300 Sunland Hydroponics 4136 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90065 323-254-2800 Supersonic Hydroponic and Organic Garden Supply 850 Shasta Avenue, Suite B Morro Bay, CA 93442 805-772-5869 Supersonic Hydroponic and Organic Garden Supply 3850 Ramada Drive, Unit D2 Paso Robles, CA 93446 805-434-2333 Super Starts PO Box 732, Bellmont, CA 94002 650-346-8009 Surf City Hydroponics 7319 Warner Street, Suite B Huntington Beach, CA 92647 714-847-7900 Sweet Leaf Hydroponics 1611 Sebastobol Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707-575-GROW (4237) Sylvandale Gardens 1151 Evergreen Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-3606 Tahoe Garden Supply 645 Westlake Boulevard, Suite 2, PO Box 487 Tahoe City, CA 96145 530-581-3200

170

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

Tell 2 Friends Indoor Gardening 62 Sutherland Drive, Auburn, CA 95603 530-889-8171 The Green Shop 66420 Mooney Boulevard, Suite 1 Visalia, CA 93277 559-688-4200 The Hydro Source 671 E. Edna Place Covina, CA 91723 877 HYDRO 82; 626-915-3128 The Hydro Shop 3980 Saco Road Bakersfield, CA 661-399-3336 The Shop 6542 Front Street, Forestville, CA 95436 707-887-2280 The Urban Farmer Store 653 E. Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941 415-380-3840 The Urban Farmer Store 2833 Vicente Street, San Francisco, CA 94116 415-661-2204 The Urban Farmer Store 2121 San Joaquin Street, Richmond, CA 94804 510-524-1604 Thrive Hydroponics 70 A West North Street, Healdsburg, CA 95446 707-433-4068 Thunders Hydroponic Center 1729 Yosemite Boulevard, Medesco, CA 95354 TNC Supply 9490 Main Street, P.O. Box 763 Upper Lake, CA 95485 707-275-9565 Tower Garden Supply & Organic Nursery 403 W. Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA 93728 559-495-1140 Tradewinds Wholesale Garden Supplies 1235 Striker Avenue #180, Sacramento, CA 95834 888-557-8896 Tulare County Growers Supply 435 W. Noble Avenue, Unit A, Farmersville, CA 93223 559-732-8247 Turbo Grow 1889 San Pablo Avenue, Pinole, CA 94564 510-724-1291 Two Chix Garden Supply 1230 Yuba Street, Marysville, CA 95901 530-923-2536 Quail Mountain Ranch 230 Palm Ave Auburn, CA 95603 530-889-2390 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Under The Sun 12638 Foothill Boulevard, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423 707-998-GROW (4769) Urban Gardens 22516 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 818-876-0222 Urban Gardens Unlimited 704 Filbert Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 415-421-4769

US Orchid & Hydroponic Supplies 1621 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033 805-247-0086 Valley Garden Solutions Inc. 15650 Nordhoff Avenue, Suite 104, North Hills, CA 91345 818-336-0041 Valley Hydroponics 6632 N Blackstone Avenue, Unit B Fresno, CA 93710 559-449-0426 Valley Rock Landscape Supply 2222 N H Street Lompoc CA 93436 P: 805 736 0841 805 735 5921 Vital Landscaping Inc. 12817 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-273-3187 Watch It Grow Hydro 9453 Firestone Blvd.

Downey, CA 90241 562-861-1982 Wai Kula Hydrogardens 5297 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92110 619-299-7299 Weather Top Nursery 44901 Harmon Drive, Laytonville, CA 95454 707-984-6385 We Grow Hydroponics 3350 East Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley, CA 93063 805-624-4566 West Coast Growers Hydroponics 13481 Colifax Highway, Grass Valley, CA 95945 888-924-4769 West Coast Hydroponics, Inc. 27665 Forbes Road, Unit 10 Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 949-348-2424 Western Auto 1156 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-1189

COLORADO Bath Nursery & Garden Center 2000 E. Prospect, Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-484-5022 Big Tomato, The 14440 E. 6th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80011 303-364-4769 Big Tomato, The 3000 Main Avenue, Durango, CO 81301 970-375-1238 Boulder Hydroponics 1630 N. 63rd Street, #5, Boulder, CO 80301 303-415-0045 BWGS-CO 11685 E. 55th Avenue Denver, CO 80239 888-316-1306 Cultivate Hydroponics & Organics 7777 W. 38th Avenue, #A120A, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 303-954-9897 Deep Roots Garden Supply 1790 Airport Road, Unit 1 Breckenridge, CO 80424 970-453-1440 Denver Hydroponic & Organic Center 6810 North Broadway, Unit D Denver, CO 80221 303-650-0091

Desert Bloom Hydroponics 445 Pitkin Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-245-6427 Ever Green Hydroponics Inc. 1131 Francis Street, Suite A, Longmont, CO 80501 303-682-6435 Family Hydroponics-Boulder 2125 32nd Street Boulder, co 80301 303-996-6100 Garden Tech 737 Garden of the Gods Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 719-278-9777 Go Green Hydro 1005 Caprice Drive, Castle Rock, CO 80109 303-688-0599 Greeley Nutrients 700 11th Street Unit 101 Greeley CO 80631 970 673 8302 Greenhouse Tech 917 East Fillmore, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 719-634-0637 GroWize 3225 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, CO 80227 303-986-2706 Grow Store South, The 5050 S. Federal Boulevard, #37, Englewood, CO 80110 303-738-0202 Grow Store, The 8644 W. Colfax Avenue, Lakewood, CO 80215 888-510-0350 GWS Hydroponics 7025 Highway 82 Building 4B, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 970-384-2040 Head Start Hydroponics & Organic Gardening Emporium 34500 US Highway 6, Unit B-9, North Edwards, CO 81632 970-569-3139 Hydro Grow Supply 644 Peterson Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80915 719-596-2600 Hydro Planet 711 Washington Avenue, Golden, CO 80401 303-279-6090 Hydro Shack, The 220 Main Street, Suite E Frisco, CO 80443 970-668-0359 Indoor Garden Warehouse 8100 S Akron St., Suite 322, Centennial, CO 80112 720-496-2110 Indoor Paradise Hydroponics 309 S. Summit View, Unit 17, Fort Collins, CO 80524-1462 970-221-3751 J&D Organic Growing Solutions 217 1/2 Clayton Street Brush, CO 80723 970-310-5408 Lyons Indoor Gardening 138 Main Street, Lyons, CO 80540 720-530-3828 Mile High Hydroponics 37 Strong St. Brighton, CO 80601 303 637 0069 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 3550 B Odessa Way, Aurora, CO 80011 866-877-4188 (Northeast) Nick’s Garden Center 2001 S. Chambers, Aurora, CO 80014 303-696-6657 Olympic Hydroponics Supply LLC. 1530 S Nevada Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 719-635-5859

Polar Ray 5171 Eldorado Springs Dr. Boulder, CO 80303 303 494 5773 Primo Gardens 1600 North Ave. Suite B Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-241-1209 Rocky Mountain Hydroponics and Organics 15985 S. Golden Road Golden, CO 80401 720-475-1725 Rocky Mountain Lighting and Hydroponics 7100 N. Broadway, Suite 3D Denver, CO 80221 303-428-5020 Roll-N-Green Farms Horticultural Supply 25797 Conifer Rd #A-8 Conifer, Co 80433 303-838-5520 The Grow Outlet 4272 Lowell Boulevard Denver, CO 80211 303-586-5543 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Way To Grow 301 East 57th Ave. Denver, CO 80216 303-296-7900 Way To Grow 3201 E. Mulberry Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524 970-484-4769 Way To Grow 6395 Gunpark Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 303-473-4769

CONNECTICUT Harvest Moon Hydroponics 775 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT 06118 860-568-4067 LiquidSun® CT 10C South Main Street, East Windsor, CT 06088 860-254-5757 Organix Hydroponics 749 Saybrook Road, (Tradewinds Plaza) Middletown, CT 06457 860-343-1923

FLORIDA 3D Hydroponics and Organics 7139 US Highway #19, New Port Richey, FL 34652 727-847-3491 Absolute Hydroponic Garden Center Inc 1607 Old Daytona Steet Deland, FL 32724 386-734-0696 Advanced Hydro Gardens 4960 NW 165 Street, Suite B-4, Miami, FL 33014 866-97-HYDRO Atlantic Hydroponics 430 Count Street, Melbourne, FL 32901 321-821-1535 Best Hydro 4920 Lena Road, Bradenton, FL 34211 941-756-1928 Blossoms Experience, The 7207 NW 54th Street, Miami, FL 33166 866-452-4769 Cultivating Eden Hydroponic Supplies 946 18th Avenue SW, Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-564-8880 East Coast Hydroponics & Organics 461 Forrest Avenue, Suite 105 Coca, FL 32922 321-243-6800 Eden Garden Supply 5044 N. Palafox Street, Pensacola, FL 32505 850-439-1299

Esposito Garden Center 2743 Capital Circle NE, Tallahassee, FL 32308 850-386-2114 EZ Grow Green 604 S.W. Bayshore Blvd.

Port St. Lucie, Fl 34983 772-807-7755 Florida Garden Supplies 2692 W 79 Street, Hialeah, FL 33016 1-800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 8020 Belvedere Road, Unit 4, West Palm Beach, FL 33411 800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 9545 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL 33173 800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 8442 Tradeport Drive, Unit 200, Orlando, FL 32827 800-931-5215 Future Farms Inc., The 14291 SW 120th Street, Suite 105 Miami, FL 33186 305-382-2757 Gardener’s Edge Gainesville 5000 NW 34th Street, Suite 13, Gainesville, FL 32605 352-375-2769 Gold Coast Hydroponics 1539 SW 21st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 1-800-780-7371 Gold Coast Hydroponics 4241 SW 71st Avenue, Miami, FL 33155 1-800-780-6805 Grace’s Hydro-Organic Garden Center 8877 North 56th Street Tampa, FL 33617 813-514-9376 Green Thumb Hydroponics Supplies 13482 North Cleveland Avenue, Fort Meyers, FL 33903 239-997-4769 GreenTouch Hydroponics Inc. 5011 S State Road 7, Suite 104 Davie, FL 33314 954-316-8815 Green Winters Inc. 147 Tomoka Avenue, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 386-235-8730 Grower's Choice & Hydroponics 11855 North Main Street, Jackonsonville, FL 32218 904-683-4517 Growing Garden Inc., The 12811 SW 42nd Street, Miami, FL 33175 305-559-0309 GrowSmart Indoor Garden Centers 14587 Southern Boulevard, Loxahatchee, FL 33470 561-429-3527 Harvest Time Hydroponics 14414 N. Florida Avenue, Tampa, FL 33613 813-264-7101 Healthy Gardens and Supply of Florida, Inc. 196 East Nine Mile Road, Suite F, Pensacola, FL 32534 850-912-4545 High Tech Garden Supply 2975 West New Haven Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32901 321-821-0853 Hydroponic Depot II 2395 S Tamiami Trail #19 Port Charlotte FL 33952 941 255 3999t Hydroponics International Inc. 7029-10 Commonwealth Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32220 904-693-6554 Hydroponics of Tampa 120 W. Bougain Villea, Tampa, FL 33612 813-333-6828

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

171

MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Hydro Terra Corp.

924 North Federal Highway, Hollywood, FL 33020 954-920-0889 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 455 S. Andrews Avenue, Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-649-3567 (Southeast) Palm Beach Hydroponics Supply, Inc. 968 N. Congress Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33409 561-296-6161 Palm Coast Hydroponics 4490 N Hwy US1 Ste. 108 Bunnell FL 32110 386 246 4119 Simply Hydroponics & Organics 7949 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33773 727-531-5355 Simply Hydroponics & Organics (North) 3642 South Suncoast Boulevard, Homosassa, FL 34448 352-628-2655 Stoney Hydro @ Schiro's Barn n Garden Supplies 7812 Causeway Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33619 813-626-0902 Urban Organics & Hydroponics 5325 Fairmont Street, Jacksonville, FL 32207 904-398-8012 Urban Sunshine 6142 S. Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32809 407-859-7728 Urban Sunshine 6100 Hanging Moss Rd ste 500 Orlando, FL 32807 407-647-4769 Urban Sunshine 1420 E. Altamonte Dr. Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 407-830-4769 VitaOrganix 7921 NW 67th St Miami, FL 33166 786 845 8633 Worm’s Way Florida 4412 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL 33610 800-283-9676; 813-621-1792

GEORGIA Atlantis Hydroponics 1422 Woodmont Lane, #4, Atlanta, GA 30318 404-367-0052 Atlantis Hydroponics 2561 West Point Avenue, College Park, GA 30337 678-510-0032 Flora Hydroponics Inc. 2475 Jefferson Road, Suite 600 Athens, GA 30607 866-404-0551 Savannah Hydroponics & Organics 4107 Eighth Street, Suite C Garden City, GA 31408 912-349-4030

HAWAII Aqua Plant Hawaii / Kahala Hydroponics 4224 Wailae, Suite 1A, Honolulu, HI 96816 808-735-8665 Eco-Island Supply 810 Haiku Road, #394 Haiku, HI 96708 808-575-9171 Green Hands of Aloha 1713 Mary Street, Honolulu, HI 96819 808-847-4263

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Water Works Indoor Gardening 1900 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703 217-553-6929

Ohana Greenhouse & Garden Supply 300 Hukilike Street, #2M, Kahalui, HI 96732 808-871-6393 Pahoa Feed & Fertilizer 15-2754 Old Government Road, Pahoa, HI 96778 808-965-9955

INDIANA BWGS-IN 7854 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 800-316-1306 Five Point Gardens 56555 Oak Road, South Bend, IN 46619 574-287-9232 Frogs Lilly Pad, The 706 Citation Road, Carmel, IN 46032 317-846-4610 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 4200 S. East Street, Indianapolis, IN 46227 317-780-8070 Hops & Harvest 4616 E. DuPont Road, Suite Q, Fort Wayne, IN 46825 260-918-3035 Magic Bulb Garden Center 6229 Allisonville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46220 317-202-2852 Sunleaves Garden Products 7854 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 888-464-9676 Worm’s Way Indiana 7850 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 800-598-8158 Worm’s Way Mail Order 7850 North State Road 37 Bloomington, IN 47404 800-274-9676

IDAHO Boise Hydroponics 614 North Orchard Street, Boise, ID 83706 208-344-3053 Greenthumb Greenhouses 5895 Ensign Avenue, Boise, ID 83714

ILLINOIS Aerostar Global 824 South Kay Avenue, Addison, IL 60101 Alternative Garden Supply 615 Industrial Drive, Unit A Cary, IL 60013 800-444-2837 Big Grow Hydroponics 9225 Trinity Drive, Lake In The Hills, IL 60156 847-854-4450 Brew and Grow 359 W. Irving Park Road Unit E, Roselle, IL 60172 630-894-4885 Brew and Grow 3625 N. Kedzi Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 773-463-7430 Brew and Grow 3224 South Alpine Road, Rockford, IL 61109 815-874-5700 Brew and Grow 2379 Bode Road, Schaumburg, IL 60440 630-771-0555 Brew and Grow 181 Crossroads Parkway, Bolingbrook, IL 60194 847-885-8282 Fertile Ground 463 West MacArthur Drive, Cottage Hills, IL 62018 618-259-5500 Goldman's Grow Shop 910 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL 60025 847-657-7250 Green Fields 8137 N. Milwaukee, Niles, IL 60714 847-965-5056 Grow Big Hydroponics 7817 B North 2nd Street, Manchesney Park, IL 61115 815-637-4769 Hydrocork 20647 Renwick Road, Crest Hill, IL 60435 815-838-0100 Kreation’s Indoor Gardening Center 3427 Old Chatman Road, Springfield, IL 62704 217-341-0821 Let it Grow - Carbondale West Main Street, Carbondale, IL 62908 573-450-5401 Prairie House Garden Center 15151 South Harlem Avenue, Orland, IL 60462 708-687-3131

KANSAS Green Circle Hydroponics 6890 W. 105th Street, Overland Park, KS 66212 913-642-3888

KENTUCKY

Inc.

Garden Grove Organics 29 East 7th Street, Covington, (Cincinnati Metro), KY 41011 859-360-1843 Grow Shop, The of Lexington 2320 Palumbo Drive, Suite 130, Lexington, KY 40509 859-268-0779 Louisville Hydroponics 3471 Taylor Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40215 502-366-4000 New Earth Garden Center 9810 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, KY 40299 800-462-5953 Worm’s Way Kentucky 1360 Donaldson Hwy. Suite A, Erlanger, KY 41018 800-669-2088

LOUISIANA Geaux Hydroponics!

2126 O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 225-751-4769 Laughing Buddha Nursery 4516 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, LA 70006 504-887-4336 Ourcrazydeals Hydroponics 201 Angus Drive, Yungsville, LA 70592 337-303-6146

Urban Organics 285 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117 504-352-4709

MAINE Green Thumb Indoor Gardening 19 Stage Road, St. Albans, ME 04971 207-938-5909 Greenlife Garden Supply 611 US Rt. 1 York, ME 03909 978 262 9966 Urban Garden Center 235 Lewiston Road, Toposhan, ME 04086 207-373-0990

MARYLAND East Coast Organics 2800 Sisson Street, Baltimore, MD 21211 Healthy Gardens and Supply 5001-F Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 443-708-5144 Maryland Hydroponics Inc. 10051 North 2nd Street, Laurel, MD 20723 301-490-9236 Maryland Hydroponics Inc. 12130 Nebel Street, Rockville, MD 20852 240-551-4625 Meadowview Feed & Garden Center 1202 Meadowview Road, Pasadena, MD 21122 443-817-0018 Purple Mountain Organics 100-7010 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 877-538-9901

MASSACHUSETTS Greenlife Garden Supply 481 Boston Road, Unit 4, Billerica, MA 01821 978-262-9966 Green Path Garden Supply 276 West Main Street, Northborough, MA 01532 508-393-4181 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 29 Washington Street, Route 1 Foxboro, MA 02035 800-660-6977 LiquidSun® MA 8 Lynwood Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01040 413-539-6875 New England Hydroponics 15 D Coolege Hwy. (Rt. 10), Southampton, MA 01073 888-529-9025 Worm’s Way Massachusetts 121 Worc-Providence Turnpike, Sutton, MA 01590 800-284-9676

MICHIGAN BIg Creek Hydroponics 555 Old Little Lake Road, Marquette, MI 49855 906-249-5297 Cultivation Station of Michigan Inc., The 23529 Little Mack Avenue, St. Clair, MI 48080 586-775-9485 Cultivation Station of Michigan Inc., The 6540 Allen Road, Allen Park, MI 48101 313-383-1766 Cultivation Station 3 Inc. 46912 Gratiot, Chesterfield, MI 48051 586-949-7453 Flo-N-Grow.

214 N. 2nd Street, Niles, MI 49120 269-683-1877

Gro Blue Indoor Gardening Supplies 270 W. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-913-2750 Grow Store, The 721 W. Blue Star Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684 231-421-5191 Growco Garden Supply 1042 Michigan Street, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 877-939-6900 Growing Consultant 2260 Apple Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49442 231-773-5600 High Tech Garden Supply 7889 Telegraph Road.

Taylor, MI 48180 313-908-7554 Holland Hydroponic Outlet 587-40 East 8th Street Holland, MI 49423 616-298-7395 Home Grown Hydroponics 8075 Gratiot Road, Unit C, Saginaw MI 48609 989-781-1930 Homelight Gardens 3471 S. Huron Road, Bay City, MI 48706 989-922-0088 Horizen Hydroponics 1614 Leonard Street, NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 866-791-1664 Horizen Hydroponics 4646 W. Main Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49006 269-567-3333 HotHydro® 5245 Jackson Road, Suite F Ann Arbor, MI 48103 734-761-5040; 877-893-0716 Hydroharrys.com 24500 Dequindre, Warren, MI 48091 800-461-8819 Hydro Heaven 73647 W 8th Mile Road, Detroit, MI 48235 313-861-0333; 877-823-2076 Hydro Grow, The 8210 Telegraph Road, Taylor, MI 48180 313-633-0641 Hydrospot 34236 Michigan Avenue, Wayne, MI 48184 734-722-1285 Indoor Garden Superstore 2570 Dixie Highway, Waterford Twp., MI 48328 248-673-2200; 877 22 HYDRO J&L Growco 206 S. Michigan Avenue, Big Rapids, MI 49307 231-796-1528 Kalamazoo Indoor Garden 450 W. Maple, Kalamazoo, MI 49001 269-344-2550 Light Green Water 3661 Highland Road, Waterford, MI 48329 248-681-0001 Stealth Hydro 15 E. Cross Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48198 866-998-1916 Sunnyside Hydroponics 24930 Gratiot Avenue, Eastpoint, MI 48021 586-777-2528 Sunshine Supply Co. 5800 East Pickard Street, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 989-775-3700 Superior Growers Supply 19582 Middlebelt Road, Livonia, MI 48152 248-473-0450

Superior Growers Supply 4870 Dawn Avenue, East Lansing, MI 48823 517-332-2663 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Urban Gardening Center, The 2520 22nd Street, Detroit, MI 48216 313-898-0200 Van Hydro 7480 N State, Davison, MI 48423 810-653-8267 Wild Child 7740 M 72 East, Traverse City, MI 49690 866-711-GROW

MINNESOTA American Garden Supply 601-6th Avenue, North, Princeton, MN 55371 763-631-0543 Brew and Grow 8179 University Avenue, Fridley, MN 55432 612-780-8191 Duluth Hydroponics 26 W 1st Street Duluth, MN 55802 218-341-7253 Eco Garden Supply 800 Transfer Door 25 in rear St. Paul, MN 55114 651-647-1896 Eden Indoor Organic Gardens 831 Highway 75 North Moorhead, MN 56560 218-477-EDEN (3336) Indoor Gardening 10 NE 3rd Street, Faribault, MN 55021 507-209-1546 Interior Gardens 115 -1620 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 800-498-4178; 612-870-9077 Midwest Hydroponics 3440 Belt Line Boulevard, Suite A, Minneapolis, MN 55416 888-449-2739 Still-H2O Inc. 14375 North 60th Street, Stillwater, MN 55082 651-351-2822

MISSISSIPPI Indoor Garden Shop LLC 1310 Bienville Boulevard, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 228-875-3725

MISSOURI Divine Hydroponics 301 North Bishop Avenue, Rolla, MO 65401 573-426-2348 Grow Your Own Hydroponics 3617 Saint John Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64123 816-241-2122 Green Circle Hydroponics 12 East Missouri, Kansas City, MO 64106 816-421-1840 Green Thumb Organics 249 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters, MO 63376 636-397-4769 (GROW) Heartland Hydrogardens 705 Vandiver Drive, Suite G Columbia, MO 65202 HYDROGARDENS 573-474-4769 Let It Grow - Springfield 2519 E. Kearney Street, Springfield, MO 65803 417-862-GROW

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

173

MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Let It Grow - Girardeau 879 S. Kings Highway, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703 573-803-0628 U-Grow 1724 North, 13th Street, St. Louis, MO 63106 314-452-6368 Worm’s Way Missouri 1225 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132 800-285-9676

Hydro Store, The 1014 W. Sunset Road, Henderson, NV 89014 702-434-7365 Lorraine Ink 290 Spear Court, Fernley, NV 89408 775-575-7757 Nevada Hydroponics 4700 B Maryland, Suite 1, Las Vegas, NV 89119 702-798-2852

MONTANA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Alpengrow Nursery Supplies 238 Highway 93 S., Eureka, MT 59917 406-882-4496 Bizzy Beez LLP 5875 Highway 93 S, Whitefish, MT 59937 406-863-9937 Big Sky Garden Supply 528 West Idaho, Kallispell, MT 59901 406-755-1465 Cornucopia Grow Your Own 127 Stoner Creek Road Lakeside, MT 59922 406-709-1076 Dr. Green Thumbs 1106 West Park, Livingston, MO 59047 406-222-7440 Heightened Harvests 2018 Main Street #4, Billings, MT 59105 406-252-4311 Heightened Harvests 3103 Harrison Avenue, Suite B Butte, MT 59701

NEBRASKA Advanced Hydro-Ponics 10711 Mockingbird Drive, Omaha, NE 68127 (108th and L-Q) 402-991-6630 Paradigm Gardens 8949 J Street, Suite 5, Omaha, NE 68127 402-339-4949 Patio-Ponics 3255 Cornhusker Highway, Suite 4 Lincoln, NE 68504 402-466-9218

NEVADA AAA Indoor Organic Garden SuperCenter 2101 S. Decatur Boulevard, #21, Las Vegas, NV 89102 702-450-4769 Advanced Gardens Hydroponics 3111 South Valley View, (on Desert Inn West of Valley View) Suite V103 Las Vegas, NV 89102 702-257-4769 All American Hydroponics 2675 East Patrick Lane, Unit 8, Las Vegas, NV 89120 702-894-9888 Anything Grows 190 West Moana Lane, Reno, NV 89509 775-828-1460 Best Hydroponic Supply 6818 W Cheyenne, Las Vegas, NV 89108 702-750-9300 Carson Valley Hydroponics 2520 Empire Ranch Road, Carson City, NV 89701 775-884-4769 Hydro Store, The 7145 W. Ann Road, Las Vegas, NV 89130 702-434-9376

174

Maximum Yield USA | October 2010

Hydro World 17 White Birch Lane, Lincoln, NH 03251 603-745-3030

NEW JERSEY 77HYDRO 37 Fairfield Place, West Caldwell, NJ 07006 877-774-9376 Claraqua 4 Redwood Court, West Windsor, NJ 08550 East Coast Horticultural Supply 1652 Hurffville Road, Swewell, NJ 08080 856-228-5290 Garden State Hydroponics 511 Avenel Street, Avenel, NJ 07001 888-300-8711 Green Touch 2 Hydroponics Inc. 888 Route 33, Unit 1, Hamilton, NJ 08619 HYDROPONIC S 609-570-8829

greentouch2

NEW MEXICO AHL Year Round Garden Supply 1051 San Mateo Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 505-255-3677 AHL Year Round Garden Supply 9421 Coors Blvd. NW Suite K, Albuquerque, NM 87114 505-899-0592 All Seasons Gardening 3600 Osuna Road, Suite 406 Alburquerque, NM 87109 505-508-4292 All Seasons Gardening 1228 Parkway, Suite E Sante Fe, NM 87507 505-438-GROW Common Shaman 1319 San Mateo N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87110 505-255-6463

NEW YORK Bklyn Hydro & Garden 3116 McGuiness Blvd Brooklyn NY 11222 718-383-0095 Bronx Hydro & Garden 39 Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10454 718-993-3787 Brooklyn Farms 521 Hicks Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 347-725-3491 California Hydroponics 27 Corporate Circle, East Syracuse, NY 13057 315-432-9387 East Coast Hydroponics 14649 Horace Harding Exp, Flushing, NY 11367 718-762-8880 Environmental Gardens 8 John Walsh Boulevard, Suite 310 Peekskills, NY 10566 800-254-0507; 914-736-6676

INC .

FutureGarden Inc. 59 Central Avenue, Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-420-0884 Greentree Nursery 308 Elmira Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-272-3666 Grow Room, The 8 Bridge Street, Nyack, NY 10960 800-449-9630 Harvest Moon Hydroponics Henrietta Townline Plaza, 3047 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623 716-865-7353 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 340 West at 59, Central Nyack, NY 10960 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 147 Fourth Street, Troy, NY 10960 Healthy Harvest Organics and Hydro 163 Broadway, Fort Edwart, NY 12828 518-480-4698 Hudson Valley Hydroponics 217 Route 32 North, New Paltz, NY 12561 845-255-3633 Hydro Garden Center 1069B Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606 1-800-277-1322 Hydroponics of Buffalo 1497 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14216 716-838-3545 Hydroponics Shops of America 2606 Erie Boulevard, Syracuse, NY 13224 315-251-2516 Indoor Outdoor Gardener 8223 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209 718-836-2402 KG Garden Supply 1327 Floyd Avenue, Rome, NY 13440 1-877-KG-HYDRO Saratoga Organics & Hydroponic Supply 19 Front Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 518-885-2005; 800-850-4769 Sunlight Solutions Hydroponics 2045 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Suite 13, Niagara Falls, NY 14304 888-GROWBOX Sunset Hydroponics & Home Brewing 1590 West Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14615 866-395-9204 Upstate Hydroponics 2026 Lake Rd unit B Elmira, NY 14903 607 483 9199

NORTH CAROLINA Be Well Hydroponics & Urban Gardening 4732 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205 704-344-8010 BWGS-NC 4045 Perimeter West Drive, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28214 800-316-1306 Fifth Season Gardening Company 21 B Westside Dr. Asheville NC 28806 828-225-5007 Fifth Season Gardening Company 45 Banks Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 828-253-4112

Fifth Season Gardening Company 106 South Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510 919-932-7600 Fifth Season Gardening Company 1616 D-3 Battleground Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27408 336-271-3373 Fifth Season Gardening Company 5619-A Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 919-852-4747 Flow & Grow Hydroponics & Organic Garden Center 4521 Cumberland Road, Fayetteville, NC 28306 910-423-FLOW (3569) High Tech Garden Supply 2712 B Freedom Drive Charlotte, NC 28208 704-697-0911 New Age Gardens 2236A US Highway 70, Swannanoa, NC 28778 828-299-9989 Progressive Gardens 6005 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403 910-395-1156

OHIO Advanced Hydrorganics Indoor Garden Center 5204 Darrow Road, Hudson, OH 44236 234-380-1287 Akron Garden Center 434 W Wilbeth Road, Akron, OH 44314 330-724-2700 Cleveland Garden Center Inc. 727 East 185th Street, Cleveland, OH 44119 216-481-7868 CropKing 134 West Drive, Lodi, OH 44254 330-302-4203 Carefree Garden Center 134 West Drive, Lodi, OH 44254 330-302-4203 Dayton Hydroponics 3856 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, West Carrolton, OH 45449 937-859-3999 Eastside Hydroponics 550 Ohio Pike Cincinnati, OH 45255 513-528-GROW Garden Connections 3341 Centerpoint Dr. Grove City OH 43123 614 871 0707 Garden Indoors of Ohio 4720 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH 43214 800-833-6868 Greenleaf Hydroponics 1805 Elm Road, Warren, OH 44483 330-372-1039 Grow Wizard, The 5700 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102 216-961-2500 Harvest Moon 9215 Market Street, Youngstown (North Lima), OH 44452 800-776-8399 Herb-N-Garden Center 14901 Puritas Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44135 216-252-2001 Hydro Gardens and Lights 1144 N Memorial Drive Lancaster, OH 43130 705-65 Hydro Indoor Garden Worx 906 Blue Avenue, Zanesville, OH 43701 866-900-9679 Indoor Gardens 1222 Hill Road, North, Pickerington, OH 43147 614-866-6065

Kissed by the Sun Hydroponic 10740 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45241 513-769-0159 Magic Home Gardens 209 Cemetery Road, Canal Winchester, OH 43110 614-837-2440 Magic Home Garden 4538 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH 43214 614-263-2440 Summit Hydroponics 1030 Kenmore Boulevard Akron, OH 44314-2114 330-753-5222 Sweet Greens 5540 Brecksville Road Independence, OH 44131 800-421-7084 Toledo Hydroponics Ltd. 855 S. Holland-Sylvania Road, Suite 2 Toledo, OH 43615 1-877-893-0716 Trinity Hydro Organics 435 Woodman Drive Riverside, OH 45431 937-252-GROW Urban Gardens 671 E. Center Street Marion, OH 43302 740-375-2800

OKLAHOMA AAAAHA! Hydroponics Unlimited P.O. Box 74, Oakhurst, OK 74050 Organics OKC Garden Supply 3620 N Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 405-528-GROW Tulsa County Hydro-Organics 1928 W. Albany, Broken Arrow, OK 74012 918-259-HYDRO Urban Garden 3141 E. 15th Street, Tulsa, OK 74104 918-289-0018

OREGON American Agriculture 9220 Southeast Stark Street, Portland, OR 97216 800-433-6805 Anthony’s Garden & Light Supply 93779 B Troy Lane, Coos Bay, OR 97420 541-266-8822 Aqua Serene 2836 W. 11th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97402 541-302-9073 Aqua Serene 465 Applegate Way, Ashland, OR 97520 541-482-7600 Aurora Innovations PO Box 22041, Eugene, OR 97402 866-376-8578 Basin Indoor Gardening 1221 Main Street, Klamath Falls, OR 97601 541-273-2023 B.I.G.S. 155 SW Century Drive, Suite 401, Bend, OR 97702 541-385-5222 BIGS Warehouse 2606 SW 4th Street, Unit B Redmond, OR 97756 541-504-8886 Cascade Horticulture 39570 Pioneer Boulevard, Sandy, OR 97055 503-668-8242 Corvallis Hydroponics & Organics 5490 SW Philomath Boulevard, Corvallis, OR 97333 541-738-2820

Everybody’s Garden Center 2701 SE 14th Avenue, Portland, OR 97202 800-669-5483 Forever Green Organic Hydro Gardens 7530 Crater Lake Highway, White City, OR 97503 541-826-2946 Garden Spout, The 4532 South East 63rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97206 503-788-4769 Gorilla Garden Supply 1810 Virginia Avenue, North Bend, OR 97459 Garden Supplies 541-756-5005 Green Thumb Hydrogarden and Organic Supply 2021 West Main Street, Medford, OR 97501 541-779-8600 Grow America Garden Supply LLC 11511 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, OR 97223 503-841-6868 Growing Crazy (Hooked On Hydroponics) 817 W. 2nd Street, Medford, OR 97501 H2organic LCC 620 NE 3rd Street, McMinnville, OR 97128 503-434-6107 Herb N’ Jungle Hydroponics 930 SE Textron Drive, Bend, OR 97702 541-382-4010 Homegrown Garden Supply 7112 NE Gilsan Street, Portland, OR 97213 877-EZ2-GROW In and Out Gardens 1574 Skypark Drive Medford, OR 97501 541-858-3333 Indoor Garden Center 1697 SE 25th Street, Salem, OR 97302 503-566-7888 Indoor Garden Depot 15828 SE McGloughlin Boulevard, Milwaukie, OR 97267 503-786-2445 Indoor Garden Supply 536 SW 6th Street (rear alley), Redmond, OR 97756 541-504-7750 Island Flowers & Indoor Garden Center 909 N. Tomahawk Island Drive, Suite 103, Portland, OR 97217 503-546-3185 J-N-B Hydro 2 Go 155 West Central Avenue, Sutherlin, OR 97479 541-459-9211 Ladybug Indoor Gardens 3960 W. Main Street, Medford, OR 97501 541-618-4459 Lights Distributing 9843 SW 55th Avenue, Portland, OR 97219 Liquid Sun 1845 Southwest Highway 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 541-994-7070 Moonshine Park Farm 135 South East 62nd, Unit F South Beach, OR 97366 541-444-2298 Northern Light and Garden Beaverton 9290 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton, OR 97005 503-297-7331 Northern Light and Garden Grants Pass 1203 Rogue River Highway, Grants Pass, OR 97527 541-474-1700 Northern Light and Garden Salem 1915 Lancester Drive, Salem, OR 97305 503-364-4769

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Oregon Rainforest Co. 19949 E. Burnside Street, Gresham, OR 97233 503-465-9909 Paradise Supply LLC 560 NE. "F" Street, Unit C, Grand Pass, OR 97526 541-955-7293 Rain or Shine 13126 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97230 503-255-1981 Rogue Silicates Inc. POB 21, Azalea, OR 97410 541-837-8590 Roots Garden Supply 5426 North Gay Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503-285-4768 Roseburg Hydroponics 853 SE Stephens Street, Roseburg, OR 97470 541-229-1420 SunInside Gardening Co. 665 Conger, Unit F, Eugene, OR 97402 541-686-9966 The Good Earth Organics 30088 Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-4496 Urban Flora 2865 South East, Portland, OR 97214 503-236-3344 Vital Organix 932-B SE “M” Street Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-226-9283 Westcoast Organic and Hydroponic Supply 12410 SE 282nd Avenue, Unit C Boring, OR 97009 503-766-4106 Wizard's Garden, LLC 621 Spruce Street, Unit C, Myrtle Point, OR 97458 541-572-2333

PENNSYLVANIA 422 GROW 1775 North Main Street Extension Butler, PA 16001-1327 724-561-3777 Flairform POB 1417, Lansdale, PA 19446 215-395-6353 Full Bloom Hydroponics 84 South 24th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 888-872-3602 Garden Indoors of Pennsylvania 208 Route 13, Bristol, PA 19007 800-227-4567 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 1239 South Airport Road, Allentown, PA 18103 610-432-4949 Healthy Gardens and Supply 1012 Lincoln Avenue, Prospect Park, PA 19076 866-32-HYDRO High Tech Garden Supply 20232 Route 19, Unit 6, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066 724-473-1113 Home Hydroponics of Pittsburgh 2008 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412-232-7030 Home Hydroponics of Pittsburgh 830 Route 119, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-836-1118

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Hydro Ponics of Harrisburg 310 South 10th Street, Lemoyne, PA 17043 877-684-3808 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 450 Grim Lane, York,PA 17406 877-779-7111(Northeast) New Stanton Hydro 150 Post Ave. New Stanton, PA. 15672 724-635-0297 Organic Garden Center 800 Washington Blvd.

Williamsport, PA 17701 570-322-3120 PA Hydroponics & Home Gardening Supply 20 Quaker Church Road, York Springs, PA 17372 717-528-4175 Pocono Hydroponic Solutions 25 Route 611 Bartonsville, PA 18321 Tel: 570-730-4544 RH Distribution POB 1417 Lansdale, PA 19446 888-545-8112

RHODE ISLAND Good To Grow 34 Nooseneck Hill Road, West Greenwich, RI 02817 401-392-3100 Hydro-Earth 1243 Mineral Springs Avenue, North Providence, RI 02904 401-305-5520 LiquidSun® RI 1179 Central Avenue, Pawtucket, MA 02861 401-722-2724 Oakworld Garden Center 39 West Street, Barrington, RI 02806 401-245-5705 Organically Grown 768 Atwood Ave Cranston, RI 02920 401-944-0549 Solar Seed Hydroponics, Inc. 2406 Putman Pike, Chepachet, RI 02814 401-710-9010

SOUTH CAROLINA 247 Garden Supply 535 D Clemson Road, Columbia, SC 29229 803-788-4445 All Good Hydroponics & Gardening 6729 Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC 29223 803-708-4819 GreenSpirit Hydrogarden 1864 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29405 843-225-1GRO; Green Thumb Unique Gardening & More 1230 Rutherford Road, Greenville, SC 29609 864-271-8830

SOUTH DAKOTA Green Earth Products Inc. 5700 Highway 79 S.,Unit 1, Rapid City, SD 57702 605-342-1307

TENNESSEE Advanced Hydroponic Garden 783 French Mill Road, Dandridge, TN 37725 800-521-1643

Advanced Hydroponic Garden 6912 Clinton Highway, Knoxville, TN 37921 866-938-3318 All Seasons Gardening and Brewing Supply Co. 924 8th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203 800-790-2188 Atlantis Hydroponics 1800 Rossville Avenue, #3, Chattanooga, TN 37408 423-752-5400 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 126 Belinda Parkway, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122 888-265-9005 Perpetual Harvest 75 Riverport Drive, Jackson, TN 38301 877-422-3391 Sun City Hydroponics 2235 Whitten Road, Suite 104, Memphis, TN 38133 901-372-8100 Worm’s Way Tennessee 901 Main Street, Nashville, TN 37072 800-397-4153

TEXAS Abundant Harvest Hydroponics & Organics 3101 Avenue E East, Arlington Road, TX 76011 817-649-0100 Airline Hydroponics P.O. Box 980904, Trader’s Village #363, Houston, TX 77098 713-942-0484 Botani Garden 15120 Bellaire Blvd Houston, TX 77083 281-575-1999 Brite Ideas Hydroponics & Organics 4360 S.Congress Avenue, #310, Austin, TX 78745 512-444-2100 Earth Organics 1360 Lee Trevino Drive,Suite 105 El Paso, TX 79936 915-591-9500 Field of Dreams Indoor Growing Supplies 5302 Slide Road Unit B, Lubbock, TX 79414 806-793-2901 GreenMaker Nursery 3030 Northwest Loop, Stephenville, TX 76401 254-965-7273 GroGreen Hydroponics 4015 Main Street, Dallas, TX 75226 214-370-9984 Happy Harvest Hydroponics & Organic 1500 Crescent Drive, Suite 202 Carrollton, TX 75006 972-466-1300 Houston Discount Hydroponics 9384 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77063 713-464-9406 Hydro Mart 3841 Main Street, Rowlett, TX 75088 972-475-6114 Hydroponic Nation 9700 Almeda Genoa Road, Suite 108, Houston, TX 77075 281-501-9636 Innergrow Hydroponics 24451 Interstate Highway 20, Wills Point, TX 75169 866-475-4769

Jolly Green Hydroponics (Greenhouse Horticultural Supplies) 13628 Neutron Road, Dallas, TX 75244 (866) WE-JOLLY; 469-341-5555 Lone Star Hydroponics and Organics 1302 Motor Circle, Dallas, TX 75207 214-634-9376 Sol Organics & Hydroponics 1634 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78229 210-366-9082 Texas Growers Supply 5990 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E. #602, Humble, TX 77396 281-441-3739 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Central Austin) 5126 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78756 512-459-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (South Austin) 2125-A Goodrich Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 512-440-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Dallas) 3400 Elm Street, Dallas, TX 75226 214-744-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Houston) 7730 A Park Place Boulevard, Houston, TX 77087 713-641-4769 Ultimate Hydroponic Garden Supply 6125 West Sam Houston Parkway, North Suite 206 Houston, TX 77041 713-856-8425

UTAH Salt Lake Plant & Hydro 60 West 3300 S. #6, South Salt Lake, UT 84115 801-488-3200

VERMONT Green Thumb Gardening P.O. Box 235, Route 15, Underhill, VT 5489 800-564-9376 Greenthumb - Vermont 394 Route 15, Jericho, VT 05465 802-899-4323 LiquidSun® VT 1 Bellows Falls Road, (Route 5 North) Putney, VT 05158 802-387-1100 Peak Hydroponic Garden Supplies 20 School Street, Plainfield, VT 05667 802-454-8000

VIRGINIA Blue Ridge Hydroponics & Home Brewing Co. 5524 Williamson Road, Suite 11 Roanoke VA 24012 540-265-2483 Clean & Green Technologies 196 Corning Drive, Christiansburg, VA 24073 866-694-1628 Fifth Season Gardening Company 900 Preston Ave. Charlottesville VA 22903 434-293-2332 Hydroponics & Growlights 13400 Occoquan Road, Woodbridge, VA 22191 703-490-0700 I Love Hydroponics 612 N. Sheppard Street, Richmond, VA 23221 804-377-3020 I Love Hydroponics 368 Newtown Road, #105, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 757-490-5425

Inside-Out Garden Supply 6517 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22150 703-451-3259

West VIRGINIA Panhandle Hydroculture 800 East Moler Ave. Martinsburg, WV 25401 304-240-7587

WASHINGTON 509 Grow 2718 N Division Spokane, WA 99207 509-327-GROW(4769) Aqua Serene 3839 Stone Way North, Seattle, WA 98103 206-547-GROW (4769) Eco Enterprises 1240 NE 175th Street, #B Shoreline, WA 98155 800-426-6937 Garden Smart 500 Bond Drive, Castlerock, WA 98611 360-274-7960 Green Gardens Distributing 12738 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98005 425-454-5731 Green Tree Hydroponics and Garden 12316 Pacisic Ave South Tacome, WA 98444 253-495-6757 Grow Center, The 17524 N. Franklin Crescent, Colbert, WA 99005 509-456-GROW Hydro-Tech 2121 Aurora Avenue, North, Seattle, WA 98103 206-547-2202 Indoor Garden Depot 6400 NE Highway 99, Suite H, Vancouver, WA 98665 360-993-7779 Indoor Garden Depot 1401 S. 324th Street, Federal Way, WA 98003 253-874-1112 Indoor Garden & Lighting 3839 6th Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98406 253-761-7478 Indoor Garden & Lighting 23303 Highway 99, Suite A, Edmonds, WA 98026 425-673-2755 Indoor Garden & Lighting 714 South Central Avenue, Kent, WA 98032 253-373-9060 Indoor Garden Supply LLC 1950b Belmont Loop, Woodland, WA 98674 360-841-8055 InDoor Gardening 1158 Commerce Longview WA, 98632 360-353-3851 Island Hydroponic & Supplies 1515 5th Street #B, Marysville, WA 98271 425-299-5855 Kent Garden Supplies Ltd. 18817 East Valley Highway, Kent, WA 98032 425-251-9299 Kitsap Garden & Lighting 2130 6th Street, Bremerton, WA 98312 360-377-1277 Linda’s Gardening & Hydroponics 11522 Canyon Road East, Puyallup, WA 98373 253-531-9641

Liquid Sunshine Hydroponics 5087 Lincoln Road, Blaine, WA 98230 M & R Lighting 17238 Memorial Drive, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273 360-848-1080 M & R Lighting Unit C 22914 Highway 410, Buckley, WA 98390 253-891-4190 Mike's Indoor Garden Supply 6121 172nd Street NE #A, Arlington, WA 98223 425-346-6481 National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 4525 NW Fruit Valley Road, Vancouver, WA 98660 888-478-6544 (Northwest) National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 5408 NE 88th Street, Building A, Vancouver, WA 98665 888-478-6544 Northern Lights Gardening 4159 Hannegan Road, Bellingham, WA 98225 360-715-8585 Northwest Horticulture Supply 161 Hooker Road, #1, Sequim, WA 98057 360-582-0702 Renton Indoor Garden Center 207 Sunset Blvd. N, Building A, Renton, WA 98055 425-917-9000 River City Hydroponics 1514 East Francis Avenue, Spokane, WA 99208 509-464-0246 Sodo Hydro 1727 1st Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98134 888-904-9376 Solar Shop 306 West 4th Street, Tonasket, WA 98855 509-486-4508 Spokane Organic and Hydroponic Supply 4823 East Sprague Avenue E., Spokane Valley, WA 99212 509-534-4055

WISCONSIN Aric's Indoor Garden Supply 1104 West Wisconsin Avenue, Appleton, WI 54914 920-574-3258 Brew and Grow 285 N. Janacek Road, Brookfield, WI 53045 262-789-0555 Brew and Grow 3317 Agriculture Drive, Madison, WI 53716 608-226-8910 Grow BIG Hydroponics 954 S. Westland, Appleton, WI 54914 920-749-4769 Paradigm Gardens 4539 Helgesen Drive, Madison, WI 53718 608-241-3800

PUERTO RICO Tecno-Hydro Ave Campo Rico GJ17, Carolina, PR 00982 787-752-8252

MY ARE YOU CURRENTLY DISTRIBUTING MAXIMUM YIELD FROM YOUR RETAIL STORE?

If so, pass along your contact information to us here at the magazine care of ilona@maximumyield.com and we will add your store’s name, address and telephone number to our distributor listing in an upcoming issue.

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