Randall was in NYC recently and visted Bronx Hydro and Garden. They offer free classes for growers on Saturdays for their customers who are interested in learning more about everything from systems and feeding to cloning and lighting. Randall had the opportunity to meet some amazing people during his talk on the Basics of Hydroponics.

Randall met with a class of about 15 students. He spoke about the basics: pH, PPM, different styles (flood and drain, aeroponics, drip, NFT, aquaponics, DWC, passive), different medias, and nutrition. Everyone was engaged and interested and the group went off on several tangents about cloning and hydroton versus coco.

At the end, Randall hooked everyone up with samples of FloraSeries, Floralicious Plus, and Kool Bloom. Bronx Hydro just opened a new store in Brooklyn (Bklyn Hydro), so people in NYC have two great options for learning about growing. I’m going to be in NYC in 2 weeks and I have their spots down on my list to check out. And when Randall heads back for a new class, I’ll be sure to let you know!

GH sent a great team to Maker Faire Bay area, headed by Luke Silverman. Karlo, our engineering assistant, also came and he took the shots I’m posting today.

They spent the weekend at our booth, which was filled with lush plants and examples of hydro systems. But my favorite part was the cush leather sofa with a perfect view of the music stage and the OkGo performance.

One of the most famous visitors to the Maker Faire is the Electric Giraffe. She walks around the lot dropping house beats. No, seriously. She’s standing in front of the Ray Gun Gothic Rocket Ship, a 4 story installation from another place and time. To get a better view, click the picture for a larger image link.

I don’t even know what this is, but its on fire and it looks like it spins. In my book, that makes it awesome!

Have you seen the Mentos and Diet Coke videos? Where they do the Bellagio Fountains? This is their soda rocket bike. This video from their Maker Faire 2009 show is epic.

Check out Maker Faire Re-Cap: Part 1, and stay tuned for more.

I swear, the hydro roses never seem to stop blooming. I love the dark red and the moon rising in the background of this shot.

This yellow rose with the tinge of pink smells like cinnamon. It’s totally spicy.

The white ones are unique because they open all the way up and show their yellow centers right when they start blooming.

More Roses on the GH Blog: April 2009, October 2008

General Hydroponics is based on firmly held ecological ideals that we actively uphold. Our business practices have always reflected a desire to preserve the earth’s natural resources. We make our choices not just on Earth Day, but on every single day of the year.

Ingredients are sourced with integrity and with the utmost regard for impact on the earth. We run on solar energy and our founder drives a natural gas vehicle. GH brings the stories of environmental successes to the airwaves as the sponsor of Natural Heroes. Our manufacturing team worked hard to reinvent our packaging methods with a goal of reducing waste and reducing the use of fossil fuel for shipping.

This year, General Hydroponics made it’s biggest and most epic move with the release of General Organics. GO is a complete vegan formula, with supplements made from organic sources including plants and fish. The GO product line was developed as our response to the need for consistent organic nutrients in the hydro industry.

Our Earth Day gift to you is the power to make a choice. Save water with our hydroponic and aeroponic systems. Or grow in soil and provide your plants with the veganic nutrition of General Organics. We are proud to know that our efforts will help bring your indoor garden into balance with nature and technology.

General Organics

Check out our Massive Solar Array

Lawrence’s Natural Gas Vehicle

The Benefits of Switching to Pouches

Natural Heroes on PBS

The team behind Urban Garden Magazine has been working hard to create a new hydro event called Grow 2010. They just wrapped up their show in Manchester, UK, and sent the video above as a nice overview. If you don’t live in the UK, no worries. They will be hosting a second event in the US in October, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Can’t wait!

I recently had the opportunity to talk about food with a food and lifestyle editor here in Honolulu, and when I asked about local agriculture as it relates to fine dining, I was very surprised with what I learned. Hawaii has to import 80% of its food, and reportedly only has enough food to last a few days if shipping were halted. With all this sunshine and rain, I couldn’t believe that local farms were not a bigger part of the food supply. Everywhere else in the United States, local and sustainable agriculture is a growing trend and is supplying more and more of what we eat. I was curious about what was so different here, so I had to learn more.

Apparently since Hawaii is a desirable location, land is quite expensive here. In addition to having a very finite landmass surrounded by ocean, much of the land is steep, arid or volcanic, making this extremely expensive land mostly unsuitable for farming. It’s not economically sustainable to grow basic food crops on land which approaches $100,000 per acre. This got me thinking about hydroponics, and the vertical farm model. With the exceptional climate here, and the high cost of imported food, it seems that this could be one of those places where all the factors would combine to make this new strategy actually economical.

Most of the local farms in Hawaii are supplying the fanciest of restaurants, so local agriculture is still considered something of a luxury concern. However, there are many small farms and institutes which are attempting to change the paradigm by achieving a model for sustainable local food production. Check out this sweet blog from Evening Rain Farm on the island of Hawaii to read more about the experience of tropical permaculture. The University of Hawaii also has an extensive agriculture program dedicated to organic and sustainable methods, which points towards a future of sustainability.

GH Blog: Where did the inspiration for opening a grow shop come from?

Green Earth: I’ve worked within different areas of the industry for 10 years. I got my start with a manufacturer/wholesaler in 1999 and later got into retail where I managed a shop for 5 years. When the opportunity came up, my partner and I bought the store and Green Earth Garden Supplies was born.

GH Blog: What sorts of growing products do you specialize in?

Green Earth: My partner and I have a combination of 25 years of indoor gardening knowledge. We consider this to be our main specialty. We sell everything to meet our customers’ indoor gardening needs.

GH Blog: Do your customers mostly grow in soil or hydro systems?

Green Earth: We have 80% soil customers and 20% hydro customers.

GH Blog: What is your favorite product?

Green Earth: Flora Blend for sure. Also love the Flora Nectar, awesome stuff guys.

GH Blog: In your geographical area, what are the most pressing environmental concerns? Is it heat? Pests? Humidity? And tell us what product you recommend to customers that come to your store trying to combat the problem?

Green Earth: All of the above problems exist so we have to be able to trouble shoot all of these concerns frequently. I can proudly say between Daren, Liana and myself, that anyone who comes in to our store will leave with the right knowledge and products that will allow them to overcome all of their environmental challenges.

GH Blog: Can you give us a growing tip?

Green Earth: Always keep your garden clean. Get your climate in check. Having a “bang on” room or green house is a major key to success. Don’t cheap out or cut corners.

Get in touch with Green Earth Garden Supplies by phoning 604-532-7106

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.)

When we were contacted, the immediate response was to appreciate the sacrifice of the Armed Forces. Our second response was to call and work out the details of their exact needs. We shipped them a WaterFarm 8- Pack with a Controller and the Upgrade Kit. And all the FloraSeries and Floralicious Plus they could need. GH has always reached out to communities, sending PowerGrowers for rooftop school gardens, sponsoring festivals, and providing funding for PBS Natural Heroes. We could not be more proud and more hopeful for this project, and hope that hydro in Afghanistan is a complete success.

Partners in Science with UC Davis

General Hydroponics believes in it’s products. Every nutrient is developed under rigorous testing. GH runs a state-of-the-art greenhouse experiment laboratory and tests products in real life situations with local growers. Yet even more extraordinary pride in our work comes when our results are verified by the esteemed agricultural school UC Davis.

Relationships between General Hydroponics and the University of California were forged in the mid 1970′s. Lawrence Brooke not only has a personal affection for the schools, but also was a student and employee of UC Berkeley and Livermore Labs. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1974. During that time Lawrence, working with a friend from the botany program, was able to develop the PH stability that even now GH products are known for. It was in the late 80′s that Lawrence and his chemist Cal met with Dr. Hillel Soffer, a renowned botanist, at UC Davis. Dr. Soffer noticed a protype system that Lawrence had built, inspired by a mountain stream and plants growing beside it. All of Dr. Soffer’s research to that point had been realized, inadvertently, by Lawrence Brooke. The two agreed to work together and became professional peers and allies.

Currently Davis has been providing General Hydroponics with cutting edge research, done by graduate students under the strictest scientific standards. Take SubCulture-B for instance. It was tested for 3 years at the university in many different systems. Not only were the General Hydroponics results confirmed, but the school was able to give some surprising information as well. They were able to prove that when deficient and toxic nutrients were given to plants, SubCulture-B actually protected the plants from nutrient excess. These kinds of results are very satisfying, and help to assure our end users of our commitment to scientific integrity.

General Hydroponics will continue to look to UC Davis for independent tests and studies. With the insightful designs and inspired concepts of Lawrence Brooke and his staff, backed up by the science and hard results of the University of California, we hope you will take as much pride in using GH products as we do in creating them.

He is a great example of an inspired hydro gardener. And totally Do-It-Yourself. He not only posts photos of his sweet herb garden, but he also shares tips and techniques for creating the same results yourself. His seed starter is easy and uses recycled containers. And check out the parsley! Parsley loves being planted in perlite, its so well draining and provides tons of oxygen for the roots. Here are his photos as it grows from seed in a starter to transplanted food:

Such hearty and vigorous results in such a short amount of time. And so simple and so cheap! Love it. I plan to post many more photos as his new glass porch is filled with winter crops. Check out the rest of his photos and make sure to see the Dendrobium Orchid, it’s really doing well. Click to check out Green Horizon’s photo stream, and click to sign up for flickr yourself.

San Francisco is teeming with eco activists, and General Hydroponics has joined with some of the best and brightest in the city. The results: a rooftop hydro-garden setup at one of the most progressive charities in SF.

Glide Church and Community are located in the Tenderloin, and their goal is to offer people services, such as a free health clinic and free meals from their restaraunts. By any standards they are more than successful in that mission. So, a group called Bay Localize joined them to bring sustainable ecological value to their work. Together their mission objectives included creating a rooftop garden that would create integration between farm and city and build an educational tool for urban schoolchildren. 

That’s where we come in. General Hydroponics was drawn to the project because Glide is local with a big window into the San Francisco community, and because Glide is renowned for it’s positive impact. We provided materials, including a PowerGrower 8-Pack, consulting, and expertise. Many other valuable local companies and non-profits were able to contribute as well. Together the efforts produced a fully functional, sustainable and very productive vegetable garden. It is our hopes that children, farmers, and urbanites alike will be inspired for years and years to come. 

When you pull into the parking lot at the General Hydroponics manufacturing facility in Sebastopol, CA, the first thing you notice are the roses. They are set up in bato buckets as a sort of European growing style,  like the EuroGrower. The roses are planted in Hydroton and fed all sorts of interesting new fertilizers. I think they are amazing, and every year they bloom more and more.