Hydroponics Equipment

hydroponic farmingTomato Farms want Tasmanian Bees

Tomato growers are eager to hear from the Federal Government about a proposal to boost their yields and save on labour.

The Australian hydroponics kits and Greenhouse Association has put in an application to introduce bumble bees from Tasmania to the other states for pollination purposes.

They’ve applied before and been knocked back, because of worries about how the bees would affect the environment if they escaped from the greenhouses.

But north-west Tasmanian tomato grower Marcus Brandsema says this application is watertight.

“There are always issues when you’re introducing a species into a country that wasn’t there initially - nobody wants another cane toad,” he says.

“But the study that has been forwarded to the government looks at the whole issue in very great depth to make sure that they are going to be a benign introduction.”

UK Greenhouse produces veggies year-round.

Highly demand for salad vegetables all-year round has led to the creation of a massive greenhouse development in Kent in the UK.

Seven high-tech greenhouses - each one covering land equivalent to about 10 football pitches - are being constructed at a cost of 80 million pounds on a 91-hectare site in the county of Kent, Thanet, in southern England.

The project is a joint venture between the UK’s biggest fresh produce supplier, the Fresca Group, and three major specialist Netherlands companies. They are Rainbow Growers (peppers), A&A (cucumbers) and Red Star Trading (tomatoes) that had watched the consumer trend, seen the value of the UK market and initiated the scheme.

The aim of the venture is to produce hydroponic farming home-grown tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers all-year round and the project has been given the name Thanet Earth that the developers hope will reflect its “Planet Earth” green credentials.

Up to now, the increased call for salads in and out of season has been met by transporting produce from other countries in Europe or further still. The Thanet Earth plan will help to reduce the “food miles” required to meet the demand, says Fresca. It will also mean much greater freshness because the interval between picking tomatoes and other crops and their arrival in the shops will be much shorter.

Each of the computer-controlled 140-metre-long greenhouses is equipped with environmentally approved combined heat and power units instead of conventional boilers, and these will have several benefits, such as providing electricity.

Reducing energy use and resulting carbon emissions are, indeed, part of the UK government’s long-term plans.

Insects are expected to play their part in the scheme.Worker bees are going to be released into the greenhouses to pollinate the plants, and natural predators such as wasps will be used to deal with pests.
Advanced hydroponic techniques are to be used to grow the plants that will eventually number more than a million when each super-size greenhouse is fully operational.

Hydroponic growing techniques are relatively common in various countries including the Netherlands but, said a Fresca spokesman, they have not been tried on such a massive scale in the UK before.

Thanet Earth is expected to be fully functional by 2010.

Planting will start in September and by October the first produce will be start to appear on supermarket shelves.

Hydroponic head of the class.

Students at Chiles Elementary are learning how to grow lettuce, but not the way you might think. Sharon Cutler is teaching students how to grow lettuce hydroponically, not only that she is teaching them how to do so while reducing their carbon footprint.

Cutler is using the money she received from a $1000 grant from general motors and discovery education. She was among 40 educators in the U.S. to be named winners of the live green teacher grant program.

“General Motors and Discovery Education are interested in empowering educators to develop creative ideas for furthering environmental and energy sustainability,” said Stephen Wakefield, communications manager for Discovery Education.

“We found out it cost $1,000 a year for lettuce,” she said. “I want them to learn that we can grow our own lettuce for less while consuming unconventional energy.”

The Hydroponic garden is in a screened lanai that she and students built last year to raise butterfly larvae. When the kit was purchased it was being used to grow sunflowers, but will now be used to grow lettuce to feed the turtles, and some 50 rodents and reptiles that reside in the classroom. The hydroponics pumps are powered by an array of solar panels.

“It’s very cool,” said Lynn Chen, a 10-year-old fifth grader. “If you put your hand in front of the light,” blocking the solar panels, “then energy doesn’t transfer to the pipes.”

Cutlers grant applications have brought in over $5000 in the past year, and is currently applying for another $1000 grant to set-up another solar hydroponic garden.