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Home My WebLink AboutClinton News-Record, 1983-04-27, Page 38Get spent By Rod Hilts Not everybody is in- terested in gardening to the degree that George Harrower of Blyth is in- volved. Mr Harrower has invested approximately $5,000 in growing his plants and vegetables hydroponically. Hydroponic gardening consists of growing plants through the induction of a correct balance of nutrients. Hydroponic gardening in- volves no soil. Mr. Harrower's hydroponic system is set up inside a greenhouse located on the side of his home. Inside the greenhouse are two benches, each 13 feet in length, 2'•2 feet wide and one foot in depth. Each bench is filled with pea gravel that is washed. Two 100 gallon tanks filled with the perfect balance of nutrients and water is pumped into the benches once a day for three or four minutes. The water level in the benches then filters back into the tanks and the process continues. The nutrients are added to the water once a month. The tanks are insulated with two inches of Styrofoam and stay at about the same tem- perature of the greenhouse. According to Mr. Harrower growing hydroponically is the way plants should be grown. He said the soils which we use for growing are missing important nutrients. "I would say you should get double the growth hydroponically. Not only do things grow twice as big but they grow at a steadier rate," he said. Mr. Harrower Learned how to grow hydroponically by writing to the Universities of California and Columbia 30 years ago. It was from them that he got the nutrients formula. The formula is called the Ohio State system and consists of specific amounts Of Potassium Nitrate, Magnesium Sulfate, Ammonium Nitrate and Superphosphate. The major nutrients hydrogen, oxygen and carbon involved in growing are derived from the air. The major elements are calcium, magnesium, which ripens fruit, potassium, which aids enlar r growth to the stem of the to the leaves and phosphorus, which aids growth in the roots of the plant. The trace elements in- volved are iron, copper, zinc, manganese. boron and molybdenum. "It's fascinating to note that the trace elements m plants are of the same element as hemoglobin in blood. Plants and animals are remarkably alike in body chemistry," he enthused. The advantages of growing hydroponically are endless but Mr. Harrower says like any other hobby you have to be really interested and willing to devote time to it. One of the biggest ad- vantages to the system is the ease off operation. It provides automatic watering, no weeding, no cultivation and no repotting. It provides more control than con- ventional methods with less sults the h plant, nitrogen, which goes insects, less disease and a rapid control of deficiencies. The system also provides =proved quality and is more economical in the long run. It provides better color, odor and flavor and allows for multiple cropping. Hydroponics, which means water working, has been around since the hanging gardens of Babylon in 600 B.C. Marco Polo also studied it in great detail in 1217 A.D. and the Aztecs put it into use in 1700 A.D. The first commercial application of hydroponic growing came m 1920 when a man called Gericke from the University of California used it on a large scale and produced 25 -foot tomato plants. In 1945 the United States government used the system to feed their military troops in Okinawa. In 1960 the use of the hydroponic system went George Harrower of Blyth Is one local gardener who really knows how to snake plants grow. Mr. Harrower is a firms believer in the hydroponic method of gardetihig and his produce clearly shows his success. (Rod Hilts photo) Begonias are ready to go anywhere There is nothing mysterious about growing herbs, in spite of their exotic - sounding names, unique tastes and fragrances. As a rule, herbs do best in full sunlight, in a protected location, on well -drained, sandy loam soil away from competing plants, says Bob Hamersma, horticulturist at the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, Vineland Station. The plots need not be large, since only a few plants of each are needed for most home requirements. High fertility is not necessary. In fact, most herbs produce more of the essential oils needed for flavor and fragrance on less fertile soils, he says. If you wish to fertilize, ap- ply an organic compost such as well -rotted manure to the soil at planting time, plus a super -phosphate fertilizer at the rate of one kilogram per 20 square metres (one pound per 11,( square feet) mixing it thoroughly into the top 15 centimetres (six inches) of soil. Once the herb garden is growing it requires only minimum care, Hamersma says. Herbs require no fer- tilizer, very little water, no spraying and only weeding as necessary. Hardy peren- nial herbs to be over - wintered should be mulched with straw to protect the roots. Some tender peren- nials, such as rosemary will not survive the winter out- side, and must be dug up in fall, potted, and grown inside in a sunny window for the winter. The parts of herbs used most often are the leaves and seeds, which contain the flavoring oils. Examples of 'leaf' herbs include mint, parsley, savory, marjoram, basil, thyme and rosemary. 'Seed' herbs include anise, dill, caraway, coriander and fennel. Harvest seed herbs when seeds are just ripe. After harvest, herbs should be pro- perly dried, which concen- trates and preserves flavor- ing oils. Seeds can be dried in almost any warm dry place. Dry the leaves by tying the cut stalks in bunches. Hang upside down in a warm dry, well -ventilated, preferably dark room. When the leaves are dry and crisp, they can be finely ground through a wire mesh, packed in dark glass containers or air -tight tin cans, and stored in a dry place away from direct light. Growing your own herbs can be a very satisfying way of reducing food costs while at the same tirne adding ex- tra flavor to your meals. Cully commercial in India, Israel and Lebanon. (.loser to home Vancouver grew 50 per cent of their torriato crop hydroponically. In 19,1;1 the Bruce Nuclear Power Development set up an experimental greenhouse and used heat from the heavy water to grow plants hydroponically. According to Mr. Harrower the system is more widely used now than when he started growing hydroponically. He says it's used on a commercial scale more than on an individual basis because it's more practical to grow a large number of plants with the THERE MAY NOT RE GO IN THEIR THAR WO BUT THERE MAY BE BURIED TELEPHONE CABLES, CALL TELEPHONE REPAIR SERVICE BEFORE YOU DIG AT Al FOR FREE LOCATE SERVICE., PLEASE GIVE AS MUCH ADVANCE NOTICE AS POSSIBLE. Bell Canada pon.ie system. Mr Harrower says that he can see the hydroponic system being used in the future. He believes it would be ideal for a space station. ..The plants would produce oxygen and the people would provide nitrogen for the plants. The waste from people would produce nutrients for the plants," he explained. The advantage of having a greenhouse has also provided Mr. Harrower with some free heating over the winter. He has installed a fan that kicks -in when the greenhouse heat reaches 70 degrees, blowing warm air into his house. Y ..It's been as high as degrees to the greenhouse this past winter As well as providing additional heat for our home the water to the greenhouse humidifies the air," said Mr. Harrower. Anything from Swiss chard and geraniums to celery and brussel sprouts can be found growing abundantly in Mr. Harrower's hydroponic greenhouse. ".You can get spectacular results growing hydroponically. I can grow plants five times their regular size if I want to. My wife and I get a lot of satisfaction out of it," Mr. Harrower said. NOLOGY JF TOMORROW IS AFFORDABLE TODAY WITH... SATELLITE TV IS NOW GOVERNMENT APPROVED Call Us To -day 348-8943 TV Will never he the same UP TO CHANNEL CAPACITY including: ° Live Sports ° News & Events ° Continuous ° R -Rated Adult Movies Prograi(is j SHORTY'S TWO-WAY RADIO On Hwy, No. 8, 4 miles East of Mitchell Mon.. 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