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Bently Mills would not be where he is today were it not for the help and support of his parents and wife, Kelly. “I would have failed a long time ago without each one of their support,” he said.

Bently runs several hydroponics operations. “At BJ’s, we produce food safely without the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides; we conserve water and have a very low impact on the environment,” he said. “We can produce on 1 acre what would take a conventional farm 20 acres.”

Mills started out growing tomatoes after his father’s teaching as a professor at University of Georgia sparked his interest. He currently has switched one shop, BJ’s produce to growing lettuce, basil and cilantro. The other, Flora Hydroponics is currently assisting UGA researchers in studying how algae can produce fuel.

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News

An Australian scientist is on a mission of a different kind at an international aquaculture conference this week, hoping to raise $100,000 for a fish farm project in Africa - funded by fellow delegates.

Steve Magarry’s been working on the Rwanda Village of Hope project in his own time after hearing about volunteers who’d built homes for widows and orphans who survived the country’s genocide in 1994.

He says other countries could also adopt the system but he needs a thousand dollars from a hundred Australian companies to make it happen.

“We’re looking at an aquaponics project which is to grow your aquaculture of your fish but also hydroponic fruit vegetables and value added products,” he said.

“The bottom line is food security and poverty reduction and the aquaponics and sustainable development is something that we can put towards making a real difference.”

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Hydroponics

Founded in 2006 by two brothers, John and Tom Blount, Nevada Naturals offers hydroponic produce to local consumers. The two brothers began their hydroponics business after leaving the restaurant business. They currently have 2 greenhouses and are preparing for four.

Growing many varieties of plants from wild Japanese spinach to merlot lettuce and bronze fennel, even a variety of mint that tastes like mint chocolate. With more than 50 types of plants the brothers pull in about 200 pounds of produce per day.

They are strong believers in hydroponics, their gardens use less water, less land, and no pesticides, and because they are grown closer to market, less fuel to reach their final destination.
Currently they are getting good results in the dry desert climate with ebb and flow in their current green houses, with the third to be used for a new water culture system, and the fourth to be dedicated to aeroponics, where plant roots are misted with nutrients.

Around the world hydroponics has taken off – Australia, Israel, and the Netherlands being the leaders, while the US is lagging behind. “farmers tend to keep on doing what they’ve been doing for generations,” Tom Blount said.

Tips and Tricks

Foliar sprays are a good way of feeding plants that need an urgent application. Foliar feeding should be applied shortly after or just before the night cycle when gardening indoors, although can be applied in early morning as well. (Always remember to use a green light if entering a grow room outside of  normal light cycle)

The major reasons for this time constraint is the biology of the plant leaf and the desire to not burn the plant by wetting it during peak sun exposure resulting in leaf burn.

            A leaf will use its stomata to regulate the process of gas exchange, mainly CO2 and transpiration. Stomata holes are located mostly on the underside of the leaf and the location where the uptake of the feed is going to take place, also where some insects like spider mites suck their meal.

They open and close throughout the day however most transpiring will happen during peak light hours. Intake will be maximized just before night cycle, or when daylight breaks causing a new daily cycle of photosynthesis.

New products have come to market giving gardeners the ability to manipulate these stomata so that they remain open when the nutrient(s) are present. They are added to the foliar feed and they appear to work quite well. Adding a wetting agent, also called penetrating agent, with your regular foliar spray will increase yield and quality.

DO NOT ADD insecticides to these enhancers because you will be in effect feeding them poison, even if mentioned on the bottle. Neem oil, or your own organic recipe should be tested on a small section of the garden before applying to the whole crop.

Pest Control

Integrated Pest Management or IPM Ecology and Out Door Living
This is the EPA definition of IPM:
“In technical terms, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the coordinated use of pest and environmental information with available pest control methods to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage by the most economical means and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment”.

I don’t think it goes quite far enough myself. For it to realy be integrated, and comprehensive, it needs to do more than just integrate the means of treating the symptoms, it needs to find cures, and work on prevention as well. The pests we have in our out door living spaces, are a result of other decisions made earlier.
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