The orchard of Gravenstein apples at General Hydroponics is blooming. There is no more beautiful sign of spring than apple blossoms. Click here to read about Gravensteins, an heirloom apple variety.

Wow, the basil in the test greenhouse is huge! The stems are strong and the leaves are dark green. They look practically ready to harvest, right? These shots show the progress they made in 20 days. I think that’s a pretty good turnaround. I’m thinking about profits! (and pesto!)
Here they are yesterday, April 29.

And here [...]

With the recent Earth Day focus and post, I started thinking I should share the GH solar panels. 
General Hydroponics is dedicated to reducing our impact on the enviroment, and when it comes to being the world’s largest manufacturer of hydroponic nutrients, one of our major impacts is energy. In 2005 the decision was made to [...]

There are two new additions to the GH animal family. Georgia, head of human resources, recently adopted Lucy, from the Sonoma County Animal Shelter. 

And Martin in Graphics just adopted Tag, from Bones, a rescue group in Covelo. Tag is a McNabb, the original Mendocino dog breed! 

I for one, welcome our new puppy overlords!

Clematis is one of my favorite plants. They are a climbing vine, and they come in different, distinct, growing and blooming habits. There is one blooming in front of GH right now that is very, very beautiful. I have found that these flowers in particular take well to being fed high strength food. They love [...]

I pulled some leeks and beets from the FarmLab yesterday. The farm is in a weird transition: the winter crops never quite took off, and are still in the ground being harvested bit by bit. And for the summer, our local water authorities have called for VERY strict rationing, so it remains to be seen [...]

The hydro roses are blooming again, in full force. Late last year I posted about them, but they look so much better right now, that I thought it would be good to share them again now. I wish you could smell them, each has its own potent fragrance. And the colors are deep and intense. 

One of [...]

I was digging through piles of vintage posters at a shop this weekend, when I found two posters depicting hydroponics and the power of nutrients. They were listed as posters for a Chinese science classroom, that had been printed in Russia. Each one was $95, pricing them out of my range So, instead [...]

This weekend is the Progressive Gardening Trade Association annual meeting in Las Vegas. The PGTA is an organization dedicated to spreading awareness of modern gardening. Here’s their mission statement from the website, “The Progressive Gardening Trade Association (PGTA) is an international organization of retailers and related businesses bringing earth-friendly, water-wise and organic products and practices [...]

Just checked in on the greenhouse, and found a stunning tray of produce. It looks great. They are set up as an ebb and flow, and are getting some beta test nutes and supplements. 

Aquaponics is word for hydroponic crops grown in harmony with fish. It is basically a closed loop, with the water being continuously reused. I would love to see a system like this up close.  Wikipedia outlines the pros and cons:
The unique advantages of aquaponic systems are:

Conservation through constant water reuse and recycling.
Organic fertilization of plants [...]

No matter how you feel about Disney, they are rocking hydro at the Epcot center, and it looks amazing. Here’s a short article with a video link, featuring their innovative gardens. What do you think of the Mickey Mouse veggie molds? Trippy, right? The image is from cnet.com

Epcot Hydro Video
Epcot Image Gallery

On Earth Day, people around the globe celebrate a sustainable future and forward thinking progress. The goal is to find ways to make less of an impact on the planet, and I think that hydroponics is an essential tool for these means. Hydroponics is the most ecologically efficient way to grow crops. Hands down. Growing plants in soil-less [...]

Earth Day is everyday. Such a cliche, but its true. April 22 is a fine day to spotlight sustainable ecology and green living, but the habits need to stay with us all the time. That’s why today I want to set some personal resolutions for the year. Below I have outlined, via estimates, my household’s [...]

The large greenhouses are progressing really well. The asphalt is done.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted links to the industry magazines. Max Yield is gearing up for a summer of trade shows, Urban Garden magazine stopped by the GH office last week, and Growing Edge is transitioning well into the online world. Click to visit them all.
Urban Garden
Growing Edge
Maximum Yield

General Hydroponics has been lucky to have a Cal Poly Engineering Intern for the last few years. His name is Jonathon, and he sent a link to this video to Luc, who sent it on to me. This is a fascinating lecture about the science of bacteria and the future of medicine. It’s 18 minutes [...]

Darek, our Greenhouse Operator sent me a great photo of the greenhouse lit up at night, from the outside. I can tell from the size of the pepper plants growing outside that this was prolly taken about a year ago.[Update: October 2007] I love this shot. 

Red-Icculus recently visited Interior Gardens, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and sent in some photos and his thoughts on their store. I couldn’t be more grateful, and I want to encourage anyone who loves a store to shoot some pics and send me an email!

Here is what Red-Icculus has to say about the shop:
I just went up [...]

Here’s a tech article I found that takes the botanicalls idea to the next level. We live in the future and while I am the laziest grower around, am I wrong to worry that if we teach robots to garden, they will grow their own corn, produce their own fuel, and then take over the [...]