Give Students the Gift of Growing

Greenhouses are a wonderful tool for growing flowers and produce, but more and more educators are realizing that they have a second benefit that can help children grow into well-rounded, health-conscious adults. Using greenhouses as part of schools’ curriculums is increasing in popularity, as people are becoming more curious about where their food comes from. By adding a greenhouse to school property, children will be able to get out of the classroom and into the fresh air to develop skills that will help them lead healthy, responsible lives.

Photos are worth 1,000 words—or $500!

Do you love taking pictures as much as you love your Growers Supply products? Well, it’s time to get inspired and take some great photos of your favorite Growers Supply items in action because our 2013 Photo Contest starts June 18th! We love our loyal readers so much, we wanted to give you a couple days head start to find (or take) the perfect photo!

Get ready for your ten seconds of fame, because if you win, you’ll be featured on our website and this very blog. Anyone can enter and we’re looking for photos showcasing how you use our products, so get snapping.

The grand prize winner will receive a $500 Growers Supply gift certificate and five lucky runners-up will each receive a $200 FarmTek gift certificate. How’s that for motivation?

My Journey into the Land of Plenty- Literally!

Today’s blog post comes from our guest blogger, Nichole Kemp. Nichole is the marketing and event specialist for Growers Supply’s parent company ESAPCO where she manages and organizes all our trade shows, open houses and workshops. She is also the brand manager for our building division, ClearSpan Fabric Structures, and the self titled “ClearSpan Brand Evangelist”. Last month Nichole had the opportunity to visit our Dyersville, IA manufacturing facility where she observed one of our fodder workshops. This is the tale of her travels and, as she likes to put it, her journey into the land of plenty!

Frequently Asked Questions―Hydroponic Systems

Hydroponics is becoming increasingly popular among commercial and hobby growers for many reasons. Simply put, hydroponics is growing plants without soil. As long as there are nutrients in the water supply, soil is not essential for plant growth. Since this discovery in the 19th century, hydroponic growing has evolved into different types, with many benefits over traditional, soil-based cultivation. With the right setup, hydroponic growing is a cost-effective method of producing high-quality crops with maximum yields. Since this form of growing is becoming so popular, many of our customers have had questions on how to get started, and what they need to succeed. Here is a list of some of the more common questions we’ve had.

General Questions

1. What is the simplest system to start out with?

Dutch buckets are very easy to start with because you don’t have to worry about recirculating the water. Also, with a Dutch bucket system you can start off small and expand from there. With NFT channels, the channels themselves can be a bit difficult to handle. If you’re just starting out and have a small space, we recommend Dutch buckets, otherwise NFT channels will work well.

Hydroponics: A Revolutionary Way to Grow

Did you know that soil is not needed for plant growth? That’s right – as long as nutrients are present in the water supply, it is possible to grow beautiful, thriving plants without anything but water and nutrients. This radical way of growing is surprisingly not a new phenomenon, as it was discovered back in the 19th century. Other parts of the world have utilized the system for decades, but our culture has never fully adopted it until recently. Hydroponics is now growing in popularity and, since its acceptance, has progressed to be available in a variety of styles, each with different benefits over traditional soil-based growing. Almost any crop can be grown hydroponically, the most typical being tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, cucumbers and animal fodder.

Hydroponic Vegetable Photo Tour

There’s lots “growing” on in our Iowa greenhouse.  We’ve got a few different kinds of lettuce growing in our NFT channels.  There are pole beans growing so tall Jack would be tempted to climb them.  I could go on and on, but wouldn’t you rather see it for yourself?

Special Invitation: Hydroponics Workshop Featuring Guest Speaker Dr. Lynette Morgan

Drum roll please! We’re excited to announce that we will be holding the first hydroponics workshop at our state-of-the-art Technology Center on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. This day-long event will be hosted by our greenhouse manager, Sam Shroyer, and features a special Q & A session with Dr. Lynette Morgan via audio conference.

From Abigail’s Desk: Hydroponic Tomato Producer Grows Big With Growers Supply

Hydroponics is a huge movement in the growing industry in recent years. Although as early as the 1600s scientists discovered that plants did not need soil to survive, it wasn’t until the mid 1800s that the correct nutrients needed for water-based plant growth were identified. Since then, universities and large-scale producers started using and teaching various types of hydroponic techniques and now growers all over the world are experiencing great success.

I have a customer that is located in northern Vermont who is an excellent example of how growers can benefit from hydroponic production.  A large-scale tomato farm that has been in business since 1993, this company sells 10 pallets of the fruit to grocery stores and markets across the northeast each week.