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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-04-27, Page 33tt 1 I • 11x1WHIliti Not • evorybodx., is Wrested in gardPling to. the degree that • -.0Forge. Harrower. of Blyth -is :41*. . volved. Mr. Harrower has • invested approattnatetY. $5,000 in growing his plants and vegetables hydroponically. Hydroponic gardening consists of growing plants. through.. the induction of -a • correct balance (*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% 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 • ivdr9PPAliPailY,.•.NOt• 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, Magne.sium 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 growth to the stem of the to the leaves and PhosPhoras, which. aids growth in the roots of the Plant. • The trace elements in- volved areiton, copper, zinc, inangankse, boron and molybdenum, "It's fascinating to note that the trace elements in 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 of operation. It provides automatic watering, no weeding, no cultivation and no repotting. It provides more control than con- ventional methods with less Plant, nitrogen, which goes insects, less disease and rapid control of deficiencies. The system also provides improved 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 beep 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 canoe in 1920 when a- main 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 make plants grow. Mr. Harrower is a firm believer in the hydroponic method of gardening 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 m 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 100 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 roseitiaffivill 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 tight. Growing your own herbs can be a very satisfying way of reducing food costs while at the same time adding ex- tra flavor to your meals. commercial in India, Israel and Lebanon. closer to NNW Vancouver grew 00. per •.'cent of their tomato crop hydroponically. In 1980 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. fie 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 BE GOLD IN THEM THAR NUS _,et, • 7,e• , ' •1' .v.14;1•••; BUT THERE MAY BE BURIED TELEPHONE CABLES. CALL TELEPHONE REPAIR SERVICE BEFORE YOU DIG AT 611 FOR FREE LOCATE SERVICE PLEASE GIVE AS MUCH ADVANCE NOTICE POSSIBLE. AS BCanaall system. Mr. Harrower says that he Pall See. the hydroponic system being used in the 6future. Ile believes it would be ideal fora space station. "The plants would produce bxygen and the people would provide nitrogen for the plants. The waste from the 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. '• way 13 *It's been as high as 90 degrees in the greenhouse this past winter. As well as Providing additional heat for our home the water in 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. THE SATELLITE TV TECHNOLOGY OF TOMORROW IS AFFORDABLE TODAY WITH.. 110° TV Will never be the sore SATELLITE 11' IS NOW GOVERNIIA*NT APPROVED call Us To -day 348-8943 -UP TO N CHANNEL CAPACITY IncIudIn�* Live Sports * News & Events * Continuous ° R -Rated Adult Movies. Programs SHORTY'S TWO-WAY: RADIO. On Hwy. 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