Photo Blog – Tour the Technology Center East Grow Rooms

Those that have been keeping up with our Plant Profile blog series have been provided with an inside look at how we produce crops here in our controlled environment grow rooms. However, we wanted to offer more than just a brief glimpse into our controlled growing environment and instead offer an all access pass to provide a better understanding of how we’ve converted former warehouse space into two 30′ wide by 72′ long, state of the art grow rooms.

Plant Profile: Favorita Cherry Tomatoes

Photo credit: De Ruiter

At Growers Supply, we love growing. Our greenhouses and grow rooms are jam packed with dozens of varieties of vegetables and herbs all grown with hydroponic or aquaponic techniques. I mean, if you think about it, it would be kind of weird if we didn’t love growing. We geek out over the tiniest details and are passionate about the success of all growers, large and small.

CEA School: Molding the Minds of Aspiring Growers…and Employees

Our most recent CEA school provided a great opportunity for our attendees, and myself, to learn the ins and outs of controlled environment agriculture. I am new to FarmTek and have been working here for just about a month, and while I moved here from a small town in New Hampshire, I truthfully have very limited agricultural and farming knowledge. The most I could tell you about farming prior to this is that cows have dry tongues, and catching loose chickens is a tougher task than you originally think. However, after being given the opportunity to sit in on the majority of lectures at our most recent CEA school here at Technology Center East, I, like all of our attendees, have gained a lot of knowledge and interest in the previously mysterious topic of controlled environment agriculture.

Getting 100,000+ Miles Out of Your Greenhouse!

There is something about growing in a greenhouse that is very satisfying. Maybe it is all of that oxygen? Or is it the satisfaction of working with your beloved plants on the most inclement days? Maybe it is the great jump-start you can get on your outdoor garden or is it the diverse variety of plants you are able to grow? For me personally, it is the vine-ripened tomatoes for the holidays and throughout the winter!

Photo Blog: FarmTek’s First-Ever CEA School at Technology Center East

With the grand opening of FarmTek’s Technology Center East this month came our first-ever CEA School in South Windsor, CT. We had 58 people attend the school from not just across the county, but across the world. People came from down the street to as far away as Burnley, England! We had presenters from local businesses, non-profits, academia, vendors and our own experts on controlled environment agriculture, including several of our frequent blog contributors.

Into the West with FarmTek’s Fodder Trailer

Today’s blog post comes from our fodder specialist Ken Erha. Ken travels across the country with our fodder trailer to attend trade shows and events. He went into the west for events in Idaho, Utah and Colorado to spread the word about hydroponics and fodder, and came back with a story to tell.

Idaho

WODPA Fall Conference and Organic Trade Show
Our tour began at the Western Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Fall Conference and Organic Trade Show in Twin Falls, ID. This two-day event was a great way to begin the tour.

CEA Q&A: What You Need to Know

If you’re a fan of ours on Facebook, or have followed our blogs for any amount of time, you may know that we have a strong commitment t not only providing great products to the agricultural community, but we like to teach people about the latest and greatest in different growing trends. We believe that teaching people about these new and upcoming technologies is a great way to excite the communities we serve about new ways of growing more successfully and sustainably.

That said, we are pleased to announce the first of many educational opportunities in our newest facility, Technology Center East, which is located at our South Windsor, Connecticut campus. We will be offering CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) Schools to those who are interested in learning about hydroponics, fodder production, aquaponics and more. Think you may be interested in signing up? Here are some Q&A’s for you to read over and perhaps decide to join us at our first CEA School in November!

Gone Fishin’ – Growers Supply Dives into Aquaponics

At Growers Supply, we are always looking to try out new things. We stay up to date on the latest innovations and try to delve into new markets as often as we can. That’s why we are so excited to announce that not only do we have a great new aquaponic system at our Iowa location, but we have developed a line of aquaponic systems that will make its debut in our August catalog!

Special Invitation: Growers Supply’s CEA School in Dyersville, IA

At Growers Supply, we don’t want to simply sell you products. We think it is important to teach customers about the most up-and-coming trends in the agricultural and horticultural communities. Our CEA School will be a three-day, hands-on event that covers fodder production, hydroponics and aquaponics. The first CEA School of 2013 will be held from March 19 to 21.