This project, featured on Treehugger.com is one of the best home greenhouses I’ve ever seen. The ambitious garden was built by Jim Dunn and is totally tricked out with features. The dome is all about providing a stable growing climate. To achieve this, the location was carefully chosen to maximize exposure to the sun, and 600 gallons of water are used as a thermal mass to trap heat and slowly release it. The planting beds sit on top of heat pipes to keep the root zone perfectly warm, and the dome structure features a solar panel and temperature activated vents. The farmer isn’t growing hydroponic veggies, but I’d imagine that the water tank could be easily converted into a reservoir!

The greenhouse right now is filled with flowers. Remember the fruit trees that are waiting for transplanting? Many of them are currently in full bloom. I took some really crazy closeup shots, and it just blows my mind how each flower is so different from the next, yet so the same.

Right now we have a crop of dark, leafy green kale going nuts in the greenhouse. It’s a power veggie, packed with vitamins and minerals. Most people know that it’s super nutritious, but did you know that vegetables grown with General Hydroponics nutrients actually have more nutrition than most soil grown crops? This is due in part to the fact that our products have the complete macro and micro nutrients needed for growth, and that those nutrients are formulated to be easily available to the plant.

But just because we know kale is healthy, it’s often a challenge to want to eat it. Here is a super short and entertaining presentation on “How to Crave Kale”

I took this shot on August 11:

They have exploded in the last month. Amazing.

Tigerlilly, what would you say the TDS would be in a fully fortified grow & a fully fortified bloom hydro-organic solution…. I saw that you (Tigerlilly) posted that you were using these new products…Do you have a TDS meter & can you test the resevior ?….and post your test results ? that is, if you’re using reverse osmosis water..and can get 0.0 ppm reading as a control for a comparison . I am going to say I hope it’s about 0.0-0.09 …..but it’s not a perfect world …I know.

In my “about me” page I said I was running the new organics, and at the time I was. But now my room is down, in the process of a lengthy remodel…. And when I was running the organics, I love them, but wasn’t the most meticulous record keeper. So I got in touch with Darek, our Greenhouse Operator, and asked him for the numbers. Here is what he sent, and I hope it helps!

When I used Organic nutrients, I followed the high ratios ( let’s call it expert program)
I checked my data and that’s the numbers I have had during my trail:
Grow 20ml/gal (4tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 1000-1100
Grow 10ml/gal(2tsp/gal) + Bloom 10ml/gal (2tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 750 – 900
Bloom 20ml/gal (4tsp/gal) + Calcium 5ml/gal (1tsp/gal) = ppm 1150-1250

Didn’t use RO Water, just tap water and the ppm is about 180-200.

Assuming that nutrients change is every 7 days, the ppm values I gave you are from day 1, later on ( i mean day 3th, 6th from your change the ppm may rise and that depend mostly on the temperature (in the room,  and in the reservoir – based on water evaporation.)

Our biologist and greenhouse operator had one on one time with the students.

The professor and a student hear about stats from Terry.

Larry, on the left, joins the discussion, and analyzes with the group.

Everyone learned something, and the visit was as fun as it was informative!

UPDATE: One of my favorite readers wrote in to let me know that the plants seem to be getting different light! I wanted to let everyone know this photo was shot in the greenhouse at about 7pm, so the tray on the right only seems to have more light on it. The tray on the left also gets strong light, but in the morning. There is no artificial light on these, just the sun.

Besides the difference in size between this and the smaller greenhouse, their functions are different as well. The smaller environment is easier to control, and better suited for testing. The large greenhouse is for exhibition plants, like the ones that travel to trade shows and festivals.

I love the rustic looking, extra wide doors on the entrance. 

The building is massive inside.

Shade cloth and electrical outlets hang from the ceiling.

With the doors wide open all day, the temp still got pretty high.

Huge fans help with that.

GHE stands for General Hydroponics Europe. Did you know that we have a large, successful branch of the company that operates out of France? GHE serves to bring the same quality and innovation to the gardeners outside of the American continent. They produce and sell many of the same products that we release. Their markets include all of Europe, as well as Russia, and parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Here is a blip from their website: “In our greenhouse in the south of France, we study the potential of several high cash crops, that will give the grower an alternative to traditional crops, and will allow him to step out of the vicious circle of subsidies. We especially study the field of medicinal plants, where there exists a constant demand of quality stock, and where it is urgent today to stop the gathering of many endangered species, as is the case, for instance, of Arnica montana. Our research is aimed on selecting the right species, optimising their harvest and increasing their content in active principles.”

Can you believe the size of the trunks growing out of those buckets? Just further proof that hydro saves space. Check out the rest of their photo galleries and learn more about our sister company at eurohydro.com.