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USA

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Hydroponic Starts Starting plants for hydroponic systems www.maximumyield.com

2011

Indoor gardenING expo Denver

Colorado, USA

Spring 2011

SAN FRancisco long beach California, USA

summer 2011

california, usa

Fall 2011

indoorgardeningexpo.com

FEATURES

46

CONTENTS November 2010

46

Hydroponic Starts: Starting Plants for Hydroponic Systems

58

Humic Acid: The Black Nectar From the Gods

64

Becoming Sustainable: Permaculture

74

The Cultivation Recipe

88

ISH in Niger: Ongoing Food Crisis Addressed on the Edge of the Sahara

by Dr. Lynette Morgan

by Cindy Rea

by Joshua T. Serpa

by Lee McCall

by Peggy Bradley

88

100

Grow Tents for the Constructionally Challenged

by Gabriel Bronzstein

106

Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

118

Soy: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

132

Life and the Sea: Sea Solids in Agriculture

by Dr. J. Benton Jones, Jr.

by Michael Bloch

72

DEPARTMENTS 10 12 14 20 22 34

From the Editor Letters to the Editor MaximumYield.com Simon Says MAX Facts Product Spotlight

72 86 98 114 128 140

Avant-Gardening Beginner’s Corner Green Thumb Gardening You Tell Us Growing for Health

142 144 148 149 150

Tips & Tricks Max Mart Coming up in December Do You Know?

Distributors

Talking Shop

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

9

FROM THE editor

jessica raymond The constant change in our industry—the return to nature and sustainability, new tips and trends, emerging manufacturers, the latest high-tech products and explosive growth—means that “indoor gardening” takes on a new connotation every few months.

We’re keeping pace with that change and growth by bringing you new trends to try, basic to expert grow tips that are easy to implement and the latest industry issues to ponder.

One of those issues is the food crisis in Niger, Africa (pg. 88).

During this season of thanksgiving, we are grateful for the abundance of sunshine, moisture, nutrient-rich soil and innovative technology that allows us to feed ourselves and our families. Hearing about the Niger food crisis makes us all the more thankful for these gifts.

As I write this, the MY Expo team is boarding the plane that will take them to the Long Beach Indoor Gardening Expo. Back in the office, we’re wrapping up the designs for the final mags for 2010 and preparing for a busy 2011, which will include a three show Expo Tour (check out indoorgardeningexpo.com for full details). 2010 has been a busy year and 2011 is looking to be just as busy and exciting. Keep us updated with all your growing ideas by sending me a note at editor@maximumyield.com. I love to get your letters.

Jessica Raymond, Editor editor@maximumyield.com

contributors Dr. J. Benton Jones Jr. has 50 years of experience growing plants hydroponically. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia, Athens and has authored eight books and written articles for magazines that deal with hydroponic issues.

He currently has his own consulting company, Grosystems, Inc. Dr. Jones currently lives in Anderson, SC, USA.

Lee McCall graduated from

Peggy Bradley is the executive director

Johnson and Wales University with a concentration in Culinary Arts.

Culinary school opened the door to research and work with hydroponics and organic production. Currently, Lee attends business school in Denver and focuses on continuing advancements with Maximum Yield and indoor gardening technology.

for Carbon Question International. She has a master’s degree in civil engineering and works in the field of hydroponics, specializing in using the technology to help humans reduce their impact on the earth. She was nominated for the Japan Institute of Technology Environmental award and completed the Children’s Hydroponic Exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

Dr. Lynette Morgan holds a B. Hort.

Michael Bloch is the owner and

Joshua Serpa graduated from

Tech. degree and a PhD in hydroponic greenhouse production from Massey University, New Zealand. Lynette is a partner with SUNTEC International Hydroponic Consultants and has authored five hydroponic technical books. Visit www.suntec.co.nz/ consultants.htm and www.suntec. co.nz/books.htm for more information.

editor of GreenLivingTips.com, an online resource powered by renewable energy. The site offers a wide variety of earth friendly tips, green guides, advice and environment-related news to help consumers and businesses reduce costs, consumption and environmental impact.

Southern Oregon University with a degree in communication and computer science. He is the division manager at Aerolife Systems, a company that manufactures high output aeroponic systems. His book, “The Art of Aeroponics,” will be available Spring 2011.

Gabriel Bronsztein is president

and founder of Everest Garden Supply, a wholesale-only distribution company based in Northern California. Involved in the hydroponics industry for over 15 years, Gabriel focuses on market leadership through product innovation and superior customer service. He is a member of the Progressive GardeningTrade Association and The International Carnivorous Plant Society.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Become a Maximum Yield contributor and have your articles read by 250,000 readers throughout USA, Canada, UK and Australia. Maximum Yield is the largest free-to-consumer indoor gardening magazine in the world. Every issue is available on maximumyield.com, which has thousands of unique visitors monthly.

LETTERS TO the editor

Distributors Near You How can I get the most recent list of hydroponic retail stores in southern California?

John Matthews

Every issue of Maximum Yield contains the most current list of retail distributors of our magazine.

Simply flip to the back of the magazine and locate your state for a complete list of stores. Over 300 California stores are listed in this issue of Maximum Yield USA. Where can I get print copy of Maximum Yield in Michigan, USA—Howell or Novi?

Thanks Ravi Mamidi

While there are no shops in Howell or Novi that currently carry Maximum Yield, there are a number of reputable retail distributors in Michigan that are just 30 minutes away including: The Cultivation Station in Allen Park and Chesterfield, Gro Blue in Ann Arbor and High Tech Garden Supply in Taylor. I also encourage you to ask your local shops to request Maximum Yield for their customers.

Sticker Support I love your magazines and have been reading them for years. I was wondering if you guys had any posters or stickers that you would be willing to send me. I would love to put them up and represent your magazine. I would really appreciate it. Great all around products; two thumbs up.

Thanks. Keep up the good work.

Wesley Whitmer Irvine, California

A few Maximum Yield stickers are coming your way.You can also support Maximum Yield by linking to maximumyield.com on your website or blog. A variety of sizes and styles are available at http://maximumyield.com/my_link2.php. Joining the Maximum Yield online community is easy.

Choose between one of four innovative banners and buttons, copy the appropriate code and paste it into your website. It's that simple.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Hooked Up Dear Max, You have a great magazine. I have moved to a two acre farm in central east Nevada where there is no phone or internet— pretty remote. How could I go about getting a copy of your magazine sent to me? Do you have a subscription form? When I lived in Las Vegas, I got them at my local hydroponics shop when I bought my supplies. Keep up the good work and I hope there is some way I can get you publication.

Thank you Norm Millett Lund, Nevada I was wondering if you could start sending me issues of Maximum Yield magazine. My printer is broken so I can't print the subscription form to mail in to you. I really appreciate your help.

Ishmael Smith Middleport, Ohio

Thanks for your support. We appreciate your interest in Maximum Yield. A subscriptions form is available on page 148 in this issue. Subscriptions can also be ordered by calling our office at 1-250-729-2677 or visiting http://maximumyield.com/subscriptions.php, if you ever find yourself near a computer hooked up to the internet.

Ishmael, for a list of Maximum Yield retail distributors in Ohio near you, simply flip to the back of the magazine for our distributor listings.

Maximum Yield reserves the right to edit for brevity.

We want to hear from you!

Write us at: Maximum Yield Publications Inc. 2339A Delinea Place, Nanaimo, BC V9T 5L9 or Email us at: editor@maximumyield.com

Coming up on the Web Maximum Yield Announces 2011 Expo Tour - Get Ready to Grow Big The 2011 Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo Tour has been announced and we are proud to be hosting in Colorado (spring), San Francisco (summer) and Long Beach (fall).

Full details and dates will be available at www.indoorgardeningexpo.com

Featured Articles

With a surplus of nutrient brands and formulations available, it’s hard to know what will work best. But you can get a lot from a little by perfecting the nutritional recipe for your best crops.

Grow Tents for the Constructionally Challenged If building a garden space from scratch is not your idea of a good time, check out the various benefits of indoor grow tents, which come in a variety of sizes and can be assembled by one person in a matter of minutes.

Hydroponic Starts Raising healthy, young hydroponic starts involves an optimal environment, ideal substrate and proper technique. In part one of this series, we cover materials and techniques for raising hydroponic starts.

Are you a subscriber to Maximum Yield’s E-News? You should be, and here’s why: Every month, Maximum Yield mails out our free newsletter full of the latest news, grow tips, upcoming events and more. Subscribe today at http://maximumyield.com/newsletter.php and get in the know.

www.maximumyield.com www.facebook.com/MaximumYield www.indoorgardeningexpo.com

Tell us what you think at editor@maximumyield.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Maximum Yield is published monthly by Maximum Yield Publications Inc. 2339A Delinea Place, Nanaimo, BC V9T 5L9 Phone: 250.729.2677; Fax 250.729.2687 No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

If undeliverable please return to the address above.

The views expressed by columnists are a personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect those of Maximum Yield or the Editor.

Publication Agreement Number 40739092 Printed In Canada.

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER - Jim Jesson GENERAL MANAGER - Don Moores BUSINESS MANAGER - Linda Jesson SALES DIRECTOR - Lisa Lambersek

ADVERTISING SALES 250.729.2677 Linda Jesson - linda@maximumyield.com Lisa Lambersek - lisa@maximumyield.com Ilona Hawser - ilona@maximumyield.com Ashley Heppell - ashley@maximumyield.com PRODUCTION & DESIGN ads@ads.maximumyield.com Mike Linden - mike@maximumyield.com Wes Cargill - wes@maximumyield.com Daniel Peters - daniel@maximumyield.com Nicole Tennison - nicole@maximumyield.com ACCOUNTING - Lee Anne Veres leeanne@maximumyield.com USA DISTRIBUTION Aurora Innovations BWGS, BWGS West and BWGS East General Hydroponics Hydrofarm Hydro International National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply R&M Supply Tradewinds CANADIAN DISTRIBUTION Brite-Lite Group Biofloral Eddis Wholesale Greenstar Plant Products Inc. Hydrotek MegaWatt Quality Wholesale UK DISTRIBUTION Growth Technology Hydrogarden Northern Hydroponic Wholesale Nutriculture UK

Get in the Know

14

G A R D E N I N G

VOLUME 11 – NUMBER 8 November 2010

EDITOR - Jessica Raymond jessica@maximumyield.com

Demystifying Nutrient Solutions (2)

Connect with Maximum Yield

I N D O O R

AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTION House N Garden Futchatec Growth Technology Hydraspher

SIMON says

Simon, When I use plain, reverse osmosis water, my EC is zero. To water my plants, should I add a calcium/magnesium supplement? If so, how much should I add per gallon?

Thanks, Matt My tap water is 30 ppm on my TDS meter. What level should I raise it to with a calcium/magnesium supplement?

Thanks, Joe

These questions are so similar I will try and help both readers with one answer. Unfortunately, while both questions are straightforward, neither question has an easy answer.You’re both very lucky to be starting with good quality water. Nutrient manufacturers assume a low EC or TDS reading when suggesting application rates so all readers should strive for the best quality (lowest conductivity) water to start with. Generally this means reverse osmosis (RO) filtered water, but in some cases just exceptional tap water.

Regardless, be sure that you are adding a quality base nutrient with all the essential elements present prior to considering any supplemental calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), as these two essential nutrients cannot grow plants on their own.

If you are using untreated water with dissolved solids value prior to adding nutrients, it’s imperative to get your water tested. Once you know what elements are already in suspension, you can try and tailor your additional nutrients to correspond to the inherent levels. An RO system takes away this headache.

In a water system or soilless mix, a calcium-tomagnesium ratio of approximately 3:1 is standard. This is much different with outdoor garden soils where a spread of 7:1 or 8:1 is more common. For indoor gardens, providing a moderate level of calcium at 150 ppm, be sure your magnesium is at 50 ppm. Most crops will require between 50 and 300 ppm of calcium and most will fall in the middle of this range.

Remember that all calcium supplements vary in the form they are delivered. Some will come from a chemical source, such as calcium nitrate. Others might provide calcium with a mineral source such as calcium carbonate

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

or even an amino chelate (usually calcium chloride). To verify the calcium source, check the ingredient list. If a product guarantees calcium it must declare the source. None of these inputs will be pure calcium so the adjusted EC or TDS will read higher than the actual value of calcium provided. This is a case where manufacturer suggested application rates are useful.

If you want to be more specific in your adjustment, you must calculate the calcium supply based on your source input.

This will vary depending on the compound used. All possible calcium inputs will also affect the pH of your solution in various ways so be sure to adjust after adding them to your reservoir and monitor for ongoing pH fluctuations.

The level of calcium and magnesium will vary tremendously from plant to plant. To assess your specific requirements I suggest reviewing available university extension information or garden forums. Both will have good advice specific to your crops. Growth rate and stage of growth can have a considerable impact on the levels of Ca and Mg necessary. When adding supplemental Ca/Mg it’s important to remember that calcium is immobile so be sure to provide a consistent supply. For prolifically flowering plants such as tomatoes and peppers, an elevated supply will be essential to avoid substandard fruit development due to deficiencies such as blossom end rot.

In periods of high temperature it is also possible that evapotranspiration can actually be the limiting factor in the calcium supply—regardless of how much you are supplying, deficiencies can occur. In extreme cases, experiment with foliar application to try and work the nutrients directly into the leaf tissues surrounding the fruit set. Also work to decrease the daytime temperature if your plants are displaying nutrient deficiency symptoms.

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

High Caliper Smart Pots Featured in Smart Home: Green + Wired Exhibit, Chicago ________________________________________ High Caliper Growing Inc. is proud to be a part of the Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park, Chicago. The Smart Home: Green + Wired exhibit is a fully functioning, eco-friendly home on the Museum’s grounds, and has been transformed for 2010 by Midwest Living. The home is redesigned to reflect the lifestyle of a couple looking to minimize home maintenance, maximize efficiency and settle into a space that not only is beautiful, but functional. High Caliper’s Smart Pots are featured in the exhibit, growing heirloom varieties of potatoes, horseradish and watermelon. If you’re in theChicago area stop by or visit www.msichicago.org for more information.

School Gardening Enhances Academic, Social and Physical Skills in Children ____________________ A new report from the Royal Horticultural Society has found that when children garden they develop increased life skills, greater literacy and numeracy and are more responsive to the challenges of adult life.

Carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, the report makes a strong argument for the academic, social and physical benefits of a garden plot. A nice spill-over effect was that children became so enthusiastic that they wanted to start gardens at home as well. Children that garden spend less time at the computer or watching the television.

To advance the cause, there are a number of organizations in the USA that are working on school gardens. The National Gardening Association has created a website (kidsgardening.org), which provides a wealth of information for teachers and parents, including research on the subject and tips.

(Source: www.treehugger.com)

A Winner a Week on CO2Boost.com ______________ CO2 Boost is giving away a bucket a week. Simply visit CO2Boost.com and enter to win. It’s so simple. While you’re there, check out their newly redesigned website featuring a sleek new design and vibrant color palette. The new website allows you chat live with a “boost specialist,” and get answers to any questions you have related to the product or the company. You can also locate your nearest retail distributor and even purchase CO2 Boost products online. CO2 Boost is now available globally with new retail locations in Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Europe.

Stop by CO2Boost.com today.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Tower Garden - Taking Restaurants to New Heights _______ The interest continues to grow for urban agriculture, especially for rooftop gardening. The Tower Garden is just one of many options available to those interested in growing their own food, and may very well be one of the easiest.

Almost any crop can be grown in the Tower Garden, the exceptions being root vegetables, bush and tree fruits. The Tower Garden produces highly nutritious crops in half the time it would normally take if grown in the soil. Crops include lettuce and gourmet leafy greens (which can be harvest just three weeks after transplanting), tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, green beans, strawberries and eggplant. To learn more visit hortamericas.com where a video is posted for ABC showing a restaurant in New York using the Tower Garden to feed customers.

Changing the Face of Hospital Food in Virginia While hospital food certainly has a bad reputation, and in many cases, it’s deserved, the University Health System at the University of Virginia is taking steps to change all that thanks to Local Food Hub. With the help of Local Food Hub, the hospital is having more and more produce shipped in from area farms.

Green peppers, squash, apples, tomatoes, broccoli, pears and other seasonal produce are shipped into the hospital each week.

Local Food Hub is a non-profit that provides the infrastructure that makes it possible for small central Virginia farmers to sell their produce to large entities like the hospital.

(Source: www.treehugger.com)

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Got a Question? We have the Answer ___________________________ This year, Hanna Instruments launched a forum section of their website for questions and answers regarding their products and applications. The forum, segmented by the application types of agriculture/greenhouse, aquariums/aquaculture, education, food and dairy, laboratory, planting, water conditioning, wastewater and wine/beer testing, provides an online resource for customers and distributors alike. Come post your Hanna question or look up an answer today by visiting http://www.hanninst.com/forum

New "Ornamental Edibles" Exhibit Added to Arboretum ___________ A new exhibit that will tickle visitors' tastebuds has been added this year at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The new Ornamental Edibles exhibit in the arboretum's National Herb Garden will demonstrate ways that home gardeners can incorporate delicious vegetable plants into their gardens. Visitors to the herb garden are encouraged to experience plants through sight, smell, touch and taste. It is the largest designed herb garden in the nation that includes annual, perennial and woody herbal plants.

The arboretum's exhibit will feature vegetables appropriate for the current season while also highlighting industry research. Spring crops of salad greens and tomatoes were harvested. During the fall, the exhibit included cool season crops such as kale and other leafy greens. If feedback is good, the exhibit will run for another year.

(Source: www.ars.usda.gov)

Maximum Yield Announces 2011 Expo Tour Get Ready to Grow Big __________________ The 2011 Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo Tour has been announced and we are proud to be hosting in Colorado (spring), San Francisco (summer) and Long Beach (fall). Full details and dates will be available made available on www.indoorgardeningexpo.com. The Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expos are the industry’s best opportunity to meet with manufacturers and check out the latest and greatest products, technologies and techniques. The Maximum Yield Expo Experience is a two-day, pre-eminent educational event. Plan to attend one, two or all three of these phenomenal 2011 events. For more information call Maximum Yield at 1-250-729-2677 and stay tuned to indoorgardeningexpo.com for event updates and details for each expo.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

New How-To-Organic Videos from Nature’s Solution ______________________ Nature’s Solution is proud to unveil their new how-to video series available on their website - http://www.nature-technologies.com/Video.html and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sixulbyrcqA. James Eddington, co-owner of Nature’s Solution, demonstrates how each of Nature’s Solution organic products (Compost Tea, Ancient Humate, Sea Kelp, Mycorrhizae and Worm Castings) are diluted, mixed and applied to plants (leaf surfaces and on soil). James is featured in the videos working indoors and outdoors. For more information call 1-415-898-5895 or 1-707225-5762.

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

Happy Anniversary to Anuway Hydroponics __ In celebration of their One Year Anniversary and expansions to the store, Anuway Hydroponics in Rogers, Arkansas invited friends and customers for a party with music, food and fun. Anuway Hydroponics is proud to support local schools and churches by providing gardening supplies and knowledge, and teaching communities and their children how to grow fresh produce at home, year round. We have an ever-expanding stock of products, including a large selection of LEDs and digital and magnetic ballasts; over a dozen different organic soils, and every other media available; plus, the finest hydroponic systems and components from the best in the industry. We are committed to bringing back an American tradition of gettin’ our hands dirty. Anuway Hydroponics is located at 2711 W Walnut St., in Rogers, AR.

The Butterfly Project Educates Kids About Native Plants and Insects ________________ The Butterfly Project, in New York City, is working to teach kids about native plants and the role that beneficial insects, particularly pollinators, play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem—even in the city. The goal is to encourage kids to take part in planting and preserving native plants. Educators with the project teach students about insect pollination, to help foster a spirit of independent thinking and a concern for the natural world—and create potential future advocates.

The Butterfly Project helps kids understand that pollinators are indicator species. If they thrive, we can be sure that our air, water and soil are thriving also. And that holds true even in urban environments like New York City, which was once home to plenty more species and with proper care, could be again.

(Source: http://planetgreen.discovery.com)

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

MAX

facts

hydroponic news, tips and trivia

House Built From Hemp is Full of Green Surprises A new house in Asheville, North Carolina—designed by Push Design—is made of Hemcrete. Hemcrete is a mix of British hemp stems that is grown without agrichemicals, and processed without a lot of energy and no toxic products. It is chopped and graded and mixed with a binder made from hydrated lime. It sequesters 110 kilograms of carbon dioxide per cubic meter of material. The hemp material isn’t structural, so the house has a wood frame, but it is a great insulator and sound absorbent, and will give a complete seal.

Push Design focuses on non-toxic/chemical free and clean air; living and working environments. They looked at and questioned every single material in the house, from the foundation up.

(Source: www.treehugger.com)

Scientists Release First Cultivated ‘Ohelo Berry for Hawaii _____________________ ‘Ohelo is a small, native Hawaiian shrub in the cranberry family. As people scour the landscape to harvest this delectable berry, they unfortunately disrupt the fragile habitats where this plant grows. In an effort to reduce damage to the environment and meet consumer demands, Hawaiian horticulturists and researchers are evaluating ‘Ohelo for small farm production and ornamental use.

The offspring of seed-grown plants were selected to create the new cultivar “Kilauea” for berry production. Research found plant hardiness and vigor improved with age, and some seedlings flowered just 10 months after germination.

Cuttings and tissue culture were also used to propagate selected ‘Ohelo of high ornamental potential. Since the plant is not seasonal, its readiness for market can be scheduled by trimming and fertilizing. Older potted ‘Ohelo plants can be trained into a bonsai and can readily adapt to the office environment.

MY (Source: www.ars.usda.gov)

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it.

Find it at your local indoor gardening store.

Smarten Up With Smart Garden® Plant Starter by Nutrifield® ____________ Smart Garden Plant Starter® (previously X10 Boost) provides the essential nutrition for young plants during the cutting stage. It causes rapid root production to help seedlings and cuttings develop. Plant Starter stimulates the extension of a plant’s root system, ensuring reproductive success and increasing drought resistance. Plant Starter also provides protection from parasitic fungi and nematode infection by effectively increasing the amount of beneficial bacteria in your medium, therefore, restoring the bio-balance to your plant’s health. For more information about this product, please visit an indoor gardening shop near you.

The Green Revolution ________________________________________________ The latest green technology in the indoor gardening industry is the Biowave. The Biowave is a machine that emits harmonic subsonic waves that enhance plant growth. Two models are available. The model designed for farms covers 10 acres and is solar assisted. The other model is for greenhouses and hydroponics. All you have to do is plug it in. With the Biowave you get more flowers, bigger yields and fewer insects. The Biowave comes with a three year warranty. Patent Pending in 160 countries. Ask for the Biowave at your local indoor gardening shop.

Performance in a Bottle – Bloom Grow A & B __ This four part grow and flower nutrient is easy to use and pH stabilized. Yellow bottle Bloom Grow A & B from Agricultural Organics is designed to perform in any growing medium including coco. Chelated elements are available through a broad pH range. Use one teaspoon per quart throughout the grow and flower cycle. Visit your favorite indoor gardening shop for more information.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Hanna Instruments Upgrades Combination Meter ____ Hanna Instruments presents the HI 9813-6N meter, upgraded from the HI 9813-6 meter. It is a versatile, water resistant multi-parameter (pH/EC/TDS) portable meter specifically designed for agricultural applications such as hydroponics, greenhouses, farming and nurseries. It features a larger LCD screen, tutorial messages for calibration, a new battery level indicator and lowered calibration knobs, which prevents calibration loss. The HI 9813-6N uses our exclusive Cal Check™ feature to check probe calibration status at any point during measurement. Order meters from your local gardening shop today.

PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it. Find it at your favorite indoor gardening store.

Performance in a Bottle - Euro Bloom A & B _______________ This two part grow and flower nutrient is a one product formula to be used from the grow cycle to the end of flower cycle. Euro Bloom is easy to use and pH stabilized. It is designed to perform in any growing medium including coco.

Chelated elements are available through a broad pH range. Use two teaspoons per quart throughout the grow and flower cycle. Visit your favorite hydroponics shop for more information.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

ZoneMaster™ Zone Control Dampers ______ ZoneMaster™ Zone Control Dampers save you money on heating and cooling by controlling temperatures in individual rooms. Available in normally open or normally closed with power off and sizes: eight inches, 10 inches and 12 inches. Housing length is eight inches. Complete with safe, low voltage, stud mount transformer and motor.

A free-wheeling coupling between the motor and damper shaft ensure a longer life. The ZoneMaster comes with a limited three year warranty.

Contact your authorized Hydrofarm retailer for more information.

PRODUCT spotlight

See it. Want it. Find it at your favorite indoor gardening store.

Smarten Up With Smart Garden® Compost Tea Organic Accelerator by Nutrifield® ______________________________________ Smart Garden® Compost Tea Organic Accelerator by Nutrifield® (previously Take Off) speeds up the activation of your compost. This organic plant invigorator decomposes dead roots, and if used as a foliar spray, fixes food directly to the leaves to increase plant health. Compost Tea Organic Accelerator is your dormant micro-organism arsenal that invigorates your plant’s rhizosphere. It also includes predatory micro-organisms to ward off pathogens and has the ability to fix minerals to enhance the uptake of nutrients and water. For more information about this product, please visit your local hydroponics retailer.

Stimulate Your Rootz ____ Cash Crop’s Rootz is an organic based root stimulator. It consists of a special blend of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, humates, microelements and natural hormones derived from seaweed kelp, leonardite rock and natural minerals. Rootz is made for performance in hydroponic applications. Use Rootz in the early stages of plant growth. Can also be used as a stimulator for seed germination and root stimulant for cuttings. For more information visit your favorite indoor gardening or hydroponics retailer.

Certified Organic Gorilla Grow ___ Mycelium is the cornerstone of our ecosystem, spreading underneath the forests and fields of our planet. We’ve taken the power of nature—mycelium—and put it into Gorilla Grow. Gorilla Grow breaks down and makes available nutrients that are locked in soil, releasing water, heat and CO2. It also acts as a super catalyst bringing porosity and water retention back into your soil, even restoring structure in clay soils. It creates an architectural structure for all biodiversity, working symbiotically with mycorrhizae. Leverage the power of nature to work for you with certified organic Gorilla Grow.

Ask for it today at your local hydro shop.

Black Tray Huggers go Green ___________________________ Humboldt Wholesale is helping indoor gardeners make earth friendly decisions with Tray Huggers, eco-gardening trays made from 100 per cent recycled materials. Tray Huggers are made from post consumer product and manufactured in a California facility powered by solar energy. Tray Huggers come in two choices – white (85 per cent post consumer with a thin durable UV coating), and now black (100 per cent post consumer product). Tray Huggers are designed extra tough so you get a quality, sustainable alternative. Visit your favorite hydroponics shop for more information.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

PRODUCT spotlight

Hydro-Logic Introduces 1,000 Gallon (Per Day) Reverse Osmosis System ______ The evolution of reverse osmosis is here. Hydro-Logic’s latest addition to our family of professional quality water filters, the Evolution-RO1000, will produce 1,000 gallons per day of ultra low PPM water at only 60 psi. This is a breakthrough in reverse osmosis (RO) technology and sets a new standard for high flow RO systems capable of light commercial applications. The system includes a proprietary KDF/catalytic carbon pre-filter that reduces chlorine, chloramines, iron, sulfur and heavy metals—great for city or well water. The Evolution-RO1000 boasts a two-to-one waste water to RO water ratio—the lowest in the industry All these features come in a super compact design and include all the parts necessary to start producing pure water immediately.

Pure water’s not magic, it’s logic!

The Evolution will replace our Merlin.

For more information visit your local indoor gardening shop.

Instant Karma _______ Cash Crop’s Instant Karma is a natural flower, brix, resin and yield stimulator. This is the pride and signature product of Cash Crop Co. Instant Karma consists of a special blend of natural mineral phosphate, potassium, manganese and boron. It is not the amount of the elements in Instant Karma that make it perform so well; it’s the quality of the ingredients.

To be used from the fourth week of the flowering cycle until the last two weeks. For more information visit your favorite indoor gardening shop.

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

PRODUCT spotlight

Smarten Up With Smart Garden® Disease Protector by Nutrifield® Smart Garden Disease Protector® (previously Defence System) prevents and cures diseases like black spot, rust and powdery mildew and stimulates the plant to turn on its natural defence system. Disease Protector helps plants produce abundant, healthy roots while increasing their drought tolerance. Once the micro-organisms make contact with roots, they begin to colonize the surface area. They then flood the plant’s rhizosphere with beneficial bacteria.

These micro-organisms can devour an enormous amount of fungi, including pathogens—Rhizoctonia, Scerotinia, Fusarium and Verticillium, and the Straminopiles Pythium and Phytophthora. For more information about this product, please visit your local hydroponics retailer.

Rasta Bob’s Death Mite ______ Rasta Bob’s Death Mite is a plant based, non-toxic, amazingly effective alternative that effectively kills mites in the garden. Three applications over seven days should completely break the lifecycle of the mite population in your garden including juveniles and eggs. Rasta Bob’s Death Mite can be spot applied at full strength to adults as well as any visible eggs.

Furthermore, all of the ingredients used to formulate Rasta Bob’s Death Mite are listed as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) so you can be confident that your produce will be safe to consume. Give Rasta Bob’s a try before the mites suck you dry. Ask for Rasta Bob’s Death Mite at your local indoor gardening shop.

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45

Starts1

Mo rgan

Hydroponic part

tte

Starting Plants for Hydroponic Systems

ne Ly . r

by D

R

aising healthy new plants for a hydroponic system is a skill many growers learn through trial and error.

Unfortunately since many plants are naturally small and tender during their early stages, much can go wrong— freezing, frying under incorrect temperatures, suffocation, salinity and stress, not to mention the dreaded Pythium attack. However, getting the environment, substrate and technique right can result in a highly rewarding and profitable experience with many healthy young plants that will thrive once planted out in a hydroponic system.

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There are a wide range of materials and techniques used for raising hydroponic starts. Many of the annual food and flowering crops can be raised directly from seed, potentially giving high numbers of tiny, uniform seedlings. Some species are better propagated by cuttings—also referred to as clones—since the resulting new plant will have the same genetic characteristics of its mother plant. Others are propagated as bulbs, corms or

“Most problems with hydroponics starts fall into three categories, and all three are preventable.” rhizomes, which naturally form as plant division or as small, pre-rooted plantlets that cluster around the mother plant ready for removal. Some species can be propagated using more than one method, but generally for each plant type there is a time tested method of raising fresh new starts.

Starts for hydroponic systems Since hydroponic systems are soilless, new planting stock needs to be raised in a soilless growing medium so as to prevent any potential contamination from soil. While it’s possible to carefully rinse all the soil from seedlings or cuttings and establish them into a hydroponic system, there is always the risk of a carry over of pests and pathogens. For this reason, many hydro growers raise their own soilless transplants. The type of propagation media used for either seeds or cuttings is also dependant on the type of hydroponic system the plant will ultimately end up growing in.

Solution culture systems such as NFT, aeroponics, deep flow and float or raft systems don’t incorporate any solid growing media other than that which the young plants have been raised in and rely on the trouble free functioning of drippers, emitters and misters. Ideally these types of systems need

Cuttings or clones produce new starts, which are genetically identical to the parent plant.

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Hydroponic Starts Part 1

under cool conditions where another needs high heat. Some plants need higher concentrations of rooting hormone than others to rapidly form roots and some seeds need exposure to light or darkness before they will germinate. Luckily seed suppliers usually provide enough information for germination of most common plant species and there are plenty of internet resources on how to vegetatively propagate just about every hydroponically-grown species.

Problems with planting stock For germination to occur seeds must be viable; they must still be alive and respiring. Unfortunately a dead seed usually looks no different than a live seed and only a germination test can prove viability. Seeds have a limited lifespan or shelf life and over time the percentage of germination will decline. This decline in Small plastic tubes are often used for raising lettuce, herbs and other viability can be slowed by storing seeds in cool, dry conditions salad greens for hydroponic systems. (under refrigeration in sealed packs is good for most species), however, once open many packets of seeds have a rather limited shelf life and should be used as soon as possible. Sowing old to remain free of any particles of grit that may block system seeds is a common cause of germination failure for many components, so propagation substrates such as rockwool or oasis smaller growers who have a tendency to hoard seed packets. blocks are ideal. However, there are many similar propagation Commercial seed suppliers viability test their seed lots so it’s blocks, disks or cubes created from a wide range of materials rare to purchase seeds that have lost that serve a similar purpose of a “A dead seed usually looks no all their viability. A quick germination grit-free propagation media. Some different than a live seed and test can be done by spreading a few of these products are organically seeds on filter paper soaked in boiled, based; others are synthetic with only a germination test can cooled water; covering and checking excellent physical properties for prove viability.” sensitive young plants. For plants the number of germinated seeds before destined for media based or substrate systems there is a range investing time into sowing large numbers of a suspect seed lot. of propagation options for new planting stock. Small tubes, cell Cuttings or clones are a little more difficult than seeds as many trays or pots filled with a fine grade substrate such as perlite, factors influence the ability and rate at which roots may form, vermiculite, coco fiber, organic composts or combinations of these materials are all suitable, although many hydroponic Rockwool propagation cubes are widely used for valuable vegetable growers still prefer to raise higher value plants in individual seedlings such as tomatoes, capsicum and cucumber. blocks or cubes irrespective of which type of hydroponic system they will eventually be grown in.

Problems with hydroponic starts Most growers run into problems with seeds and cuttings at one stage or another. Most problems fall into three main categories—problems with the planting stock (the seed or clone material itself), problems with the environment (of which there can be many) or problems with aggressive disease pathogens, the main one being Pythium, which is a major cause of damping off in young plants. All three are preventable, but recognizing the signs of what is going wrong is sometimes not that easy. To confuse matters further, plant species differ in their requirements; one species may germinate happily 48

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Hydroponic Starts Part 1

some of which are internal plant factors determined by the mother plant and some of which are affected by the size, type and development of the cutting material selected. Many species have certain stages of development and seasons where cutting material is more likely to rapidly form new roots and often this is determined by internal plant factors such levels of endogenous growth regulators, degree of tissue hardness and maturity.

Experienced growers soon learn the best timing and type of cutting material to select for maximum success with clones.

“The important point to remember with rooting compounds is they are biologically active and hence will degrade over time once the bottle has been opened and exposed to the air.”

The most common mistakes with cuttings are selecting stems or foliage that are too soft and desiccate rapidly or are simply not mature enough to form new roots. Older woody stems may also take a much longer time to root and generally there are good guides for each species as to when to propagate and the type and method of preparation of cutting material. The use of rooting hormone treatments or cutting/cloning gels, solutions and powders also play a role in the rate of root formation as well as the length and number of roots formed on a cutting. While the optimum rate of rooting compound and synergists applied certainly plays a role in the success of clones, too much of a good thing can actually work more like an herbicide and kill sensitive stem tissue. Selecting the right product for softwood, semi hardwood and hardwood cuttings is important as these vary in the strength of the plant growth regulator compounds they contain.

The choice of gel, powder or solution soak rooting product is less of an issue although experienced growers often have preferences for different formulations. Many of the rooting products on the

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Hydroponic Starts Part 1

Plant Factories

market also have certain synergists that assist with root formation on cuttings—boric acid is one such compound and certain vitamins have shown some benefit for cuttings of some species as well. The important point to remember with rooting compounds is they are biologically active and hence will degrade over time once the bottle has been opened and exposed to the air.

Contamination of the product with organic material such as plant sap from cuttings, water and organic material can also reduce the effectiveness of a root promotion product so a small amount of the compound should be taken from the bottle for use and the bottle quickly re capped to retain maximum effectiveness. Any left over rooting compound product that has had cuttings dipped into it should be discarded.

Problems with the environment Most failures in germination of viable seeds using hydroponic methods comes from either incorrect temperature or saturation of the germination substrate. Each species has its own ideal temperature for germination, but with use of thermostatically controlled propagation mats and pads the ideal temperature can be dialed up as required. Some species such as lettuce prefer cooler germination temperatures and can actually fail to germinate if it is too warm (seed may enter a secondary dormancy if this occurs), so keeping a close check on the media temperature during seed germination is important. Many inexperienced growers tend to over water seeds and cuttings

Propagation blocks and cubes reduce the transplant shock associated with planting out of young seedlings.

and with the finer particle size used in many propagation media this can lead to suffocation of the germinating seed.

Over watering results in cutting out much of the vital oxygen held around the seed or clone required for germination and root formation resulting in many failures. A good seed raising substrate should be able to retain sufficient moisture and be free draining so that plenty of oxygen is present. Many seeds benefit from not being watered while germinating so a light plastic or paper covering to retain moisture is usually beneficial.

“Over watering results in cutting out much of the vital oxygen held around the seed or clone required for germination and root formation resulting in many failures.”

T hermostatically controlled heat pads and mats are a great tool for starting young plants.

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Root formation on cuttings is also highly dependant on oxygen for formation of the callus on the cut stem, from which the new root initials develop and push through. Oxygenation and moisture are both vital for the rooting process, and with clones, it is a race to form new roots that can take up water before the top of the cutting desiccates and dies back. Root formation is also controlled by temperature; however, the ideal temperature is different for certain species. Many commonly grown hydroponic plants raised from cuttings prefer a root zone temperature of between 64°F to 75°F for rapid root formation, although many deciduous species form roots at lower temperatures.

Water source is also vital for raising successful hydroponic starts.Young seedlings are much more sensitive to water quality

Hydroponic Starts Part 1

“Seedlings and cuttings do benefit from a clean source of water—boiling, UV or similar treatments are recommended where pathogens may be contained in the water.” and can be knocked back with the use of chlorinated or treated city water. Only a few parts per million of certain water treatment chemicals in city water has been proven to retard and even kill young hydroponic lettuce seedlings, so even if the crop in the main hydroponic system is on city water and doing fine, it’s a good idea to consider a purer water source for precious young plants and clones.

Problems with pathogens Seeds, seedlings and cuttings/clones are all highly prone to attack by disease pathogens. Since young plants are sensitive and tender they are especially vulnerable to opportunistic pathogens such as Pythium. Strong and healthy seedlings grown under good conditions do have some natural defenses against many pathogens, which often only create problems where overcrowding, over watering or other unfavorable conditions exist. Seedlings and cuttings do benefit from a clean source of water—boiling, UV or similar treatments are recommended where pathogens may be contained in the water. Use of pre-sterilized media such as rockwool and perlite is usually recommended, however, some organic vermicast and compost type media have been proven to have a natural protective effect against some root rot pathogens, which is thought to originate from the naturally occurring beneficial microbes (i.e. the ‘good guys’) in the substrate.

In part two of this article, the process of raising healthy starts for hydroponic systems will be covered including peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and lettuce/herbs.

MY

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Humic Acid

The Black Nectar From The Gods

by Cindy Rea

model structure of Humic Acid

HUMIC ACID is nature’s “black nectar from the gods.”

Known by its rich dark brown-to-black colour, this organically charged biostimulant has proven to have powerful and significant health effects on humans, animals, plants, and the environment, demonstrating the essential unity of all living things.

Because human bodies are made of materials that come from the earth, it is often the case that materials from the earth are agents of health. Humic acid was used by ancient cultures and in folk remedies for a wide variety of illnesses. It is known to

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be a powerful free-radical scavenger and a natural antioxidant.

Humates taken internally are believed to boost the immune system by attacking unwanted injured or dead cells, thereby decreasing or eliminating infection. Experimentally, humic acid has been used both topically and internally to treat and prevent infection in burn victims. The humates destroy the invading infectious cells, allowing the healthy cells to take over. Russian scientists have had measured success in trials using humic acid to treat radiation sickness in rats.

humic acid

- hu·mic a·cid (plural hu·mic a·cids) noun

Definition: chemical giving color to water: a complex organic acid that is present in soil, peat and coal, formed from the decomposition of vegetable matter. It is responsible for much of the color of surface water.

Ingestion of humic acids through organic foods and clean natural water from unpolluted rivers is believed to reduce or block the body’s absorption of heavy metals and pesticides. This may help diminish the buildup of cancer-causing toxins and pollutants in the human body. It is believed that humic acid is anti-carcinogenic.

Humic acids have also been employed as veterinary medicine therapy successfully using peat mull (extracted humic acid) to prevent the transmission of foot and mouth disease in pigs.

Before mega-production farming practices depleted our land of its natural goodness, humic acid was an abundant part of the soil. Plants and animals nurtured on the land ingested a balanced diet that included humates. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Animals and soil-grown plants have been deprived of the many health benefits that humic acid delivers.

Humic acid can be extracted from recently composted organic manure or peat, but it is not as effective in absorbing and distributing micronutrients as the humic acid that is derived from Leonardite. (Recently is a relative term, which in this case refers to several thousand years). The humic acid referred

leonardite

A soft brown coal-like deposit usually found in conjunction with deposit of lignite. Often defined as a naturally occuring oxidized lignite. Clay rich in humic and fulvic acids; these clays come from a chemical and biological degradation of animal and plant residues as well as synthetic activities of micro-organisms.

to as “black” in hydroponic formulations is the rich material extracted from naturally oxidized and carefully selected sources of Leonardite.

Leonardite is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon shale formed in the earth over millions of years by the chemical and biological decomposition of prehistoric plant and animal matter.

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Humic Acid

Being highly decomposed, natural humus, and having been subject to a significant level of microbial activity, it contains high concentrations of the organic humic and fulvic acids. This organic acid concentration varies from deposit to deposit. Some of the highest quality Leonardite deposits in the world are found in South America.

Humic acid has virtually been leached from our agricultural soil, and crops have endured the deficiency.

The natural antioxidant protection provided to plants rich in a humic-based soil is not available.

Humic acids help to improve the soil’s water-holding capacity, improve the soil structure, and help to maintain soil stability. Humic acids readily form salts with inorganic trace minerals in a form that can be more easily utilized by plants.

Humic acids promote vigor, disease resistance and root development in agricultural crops. The result is faster growth. The acids assist roots by increasing soil permeability, increasing water retention, reducing water evaporation and promoting the growth of beneficial microbial colonies in the root zone. The creation of a healthy, microbially active root zone environment creates stronger plants that take up nutrients better.

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“HUMIC ACIDS HELP TO IMPROVE THE SOIL’S WATER-HOLDING CAPACITY, IMPROVE THE SOIL STRUCTURE AND HELP TO MAINTAIN SOIL STABILITY. HUMIC ACIDS READILY FORM SALTS WITH INORGANIC TRACE MINERALS IN A FORM THAT CAN BE MORE EASILY UTILIZED BY PLANTS.” In a hydroponic environment humic acid supplementation offers many of the same benefits to plants that it does in a soil culture. Because hydroponic growing takes place in an enclosed environment, it is possible to specifically target plants with a minimum of waste.

Adding a humic-acid–based solution, referred to as “BLACK” in hydroponic preparations, to the nutrient reservoir will increase the efficacy of the nutrients, making both micro and macronutrients more readily available to the root zone. Humic acid’s high cation capacity serves as a chelator, which helps plants better assimilate all the nutrients in the solution. The chelation process helps make and keep nutrients readily available to be used by plants as needed.

Environmental stresses can cause irreparable damage to plants—stunting or delaying growth, prohibiting flower production or even causing death. Free-radical molecules result from stress such as high heat or temperature

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Humic Acid

fluctuations, too high humidity, pesticide applications and nutrient deficiencies or toxicities. The biostimulant activity of humic acid black produces antioxidants that combat these free radicals, making plants more resistant to these and other environmental stressors.

Humic acid black remains in the cells, providing ongoing protection.

One of the organic compounds in humic acid black is carbon, which manufactures sugars in plants. Sugars are especially important during flowering because plants require an increased amount of carbohydrates to produce fruit. The carbohydrate infusion delivered in humic acid black will also organically enhance flavor, color and aroma of fruit.

Seed germination is accelerated when humic acid black is added. Humic acid’s effect on seed germination is similar to

its effect on rooted plants. Humic acid, carrying both micronutrients and water, is drawn into the seed through the pore, stimulating growth of the radical. Not only do they germinate faster but also there is a higher percentage of seeds germinating.

Beneficial bacteria and fungi reproduction created in the presence of humic acid black biologically increase plant growth.

The microbial activity produced by these bacteria and fungi are excellent root stimulators. Humic acid black has also been shown to lower pH to a more neutral level, helping with the availability of nutrients. All this translates into healthier, stronger, and more pest-resistant plants.

Humic acid black is an environmentally safe biostimulant that can be used throughout the entire growth cycle. The addition of humic acid black to a high-quality nutrient regimen will result in superior quality crop production, whether it is through soil or hydroponic cultivation. The crops will, in turn, be ingested by animals and humans, enriching the diet MY of the entire food chain.

“one of the organic compounds in humic acid black is carbon, which manufactures sugars in Plants.”

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by Joshua T. Serpa

Becoming Sustainable:

Perma Culture

Every person is born with the natural instinct to sustain themselves. Permaculture is the ideal practice of creating sustainable lifestyles that work symbiotically with existing ecosystems. Defined, permaculture is the development of agricultural ecosystems meant to be self-sustaining and complete. The four basic principles of living sustainably—water storage systems, sustainable food sources, sustainable energy systems and sustainable money—are outlined in this article.

Principle 1: Water Storage Systems Water storage tanks are inexpensive and easy-to-use, selfsustaining systems. A large cistern can attach to your roof to collect rainwater. You will need anywhere from a three to a 10 month supply of fresh, clean, drinking water. You can estimate you will need, on average, a gallon of water per day per person. A family of five should have 150 gallons of clean water stored to survive for 30 days. Consider a cone bottom tank for easy drainage and cleaning. If you live in a 64

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city you can bury the cistern in your backyard to save space; if you live in an apartment you can collect rainwater in 55 gallon drums on your patio. Once you have collected the water, there are different techniques to keep the water viable without growing bacteria or algae. Ideally you want to keep the water cool, in the dark and highly aerated. Municipalities use chemicals to store water for long periods of time, which work well, but those chemicals should be filtered out of the water before consumption.

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Becoming Sustainable: Permaculture

Inexpensive and easy-to-use, water storage tanks (above) and rainwater cisterns (far left) can store enough water for a family of five for 30 days or more.

Principle 2: Sustainable Food Sources The most cost effective way to sustain your family’s diet is to grow your own food. Lettuce seeds range from $2 to $3 per pack. One pack of seeds will yield about 30 heads of lettuce, which have a store value of $1 to $2 dollars per head. So you save at least $27 from your three dollar investment.You will need clean water, medium, seeds/cuttings, plant food and light. In some instances, you can generate these items on your own. The water, seeds and light can be collected, soil can be recycled and composted kitchen scraps make great plant food. As you gain experience gardening at home, you can try your hand at growing other foods such as

Low acidic foods like tomatoes, will last two to five years if canned with all nutrients intact.

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Becoming Sustainable: Permaculture

peppers, potatoes, apples, pears, blueberries, cherries or almonds. These foods can be dried and stored for long periods of time by using food dehydrators and canning techniques. It is recommended that each person have one pound of food stored per day of survival.

Store a six month supply of food to insure a sustainable future for the people in your family.

Principle Three: Sustainable Energy Systems There are several different ways to source energy. Solar skylights installed in your home provide natural sunlight. Next you can purchase wind generators, solar panel systems or small scale hydroelectric generators if you have the luxury of water on your property. Most states offer great incentives to do this and the tax rebates can be even greater for businesses.

Renewable energy systems are costly so look at ways to reduce your energy consumption first. Look into energy efficient appliances; if you garden indoors, purchase electronic ballasts, which use energy efficiently.

“Most states offer great incentives to [install solar panels on your property].”

Solar panels and wind generators are two sustainable options for sourcing energy on your property.

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Becoming Sustainable: Permaculture

Principle 4: Sustainable Money Getting out of debt and saving money is critical to living a financially sustainable lifestyle. Simply spend less than you make, pay your debts down as fast as you possibly can, then save 10 to 20 per cent of you net income after expenses. Before you buy, first ask yourself, “do I need this and why?” Buy what you need with cash only. Paying off your debts from smallest to largest will give you a sense of accomplishment, motivating you to pay off more. On the other hand, you

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may want to pay off those debts with the “Currently you can get 10 highest interest rates ounces [of silver] for first.Your mortgage about $200.” will take more time and discipline. Once you have paid off everything except gold standard is a great way to maintain your mortgage, start saving money and stability within economic systems and put it towards making your home more is one of the main reasons that the US sustainable. Think of alternative ways to Dollar is the world’s reserve currency save money. Cash is good but precious today. Unfortunately the US dollar was metals are much better. Silver is much officially removed from the gold standard more affordable than gold; currently in 1971 by President Nixon. The simple you can get 10 ounces for about $200 fact is that it is impossible to print more at your local coin store. Ten ounces of metal; it has to be mined out of the earth gold would cost close to $13,000, which and like oil, metals are becoming much makes it unreasonable to the majority harder to extract. This makes the inflation of the public. The unique thing about rate of metals like gold close to 1.5 per precious metals is that there is a finite cent annually versus paper money that is supply of them on this planet and between five to 20 per cent depending throughout history they have been on the currency. To sustain your money, used as currency for trade. In fact pay off your debts and save your money the founding fathers of the in a form that is not easily manipulated.

USA wrote in the US You have the potential to live a fully constitution in article sustainable life. It will take hard work, 1 Section 10 that “No focus and a major dedication to these state shall….make anything but gold and four simple principles but the outcome silver coin a tender in will be a happy and healthy lifestyle. payment of debts.” The Once you mastered these principles, help your friends and family achieve these same goals. These permaculture principles are essential if we are going to evolve as humans that share the same earth. MY

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AVANT-GARDENING

Heirloom Seeds: Defining Authentic

by Charlene Rennick The debate continues for dedicated heirloom seed-saving hobbyists and serious collectors with private or public seed vaults: is there a definitive point in time at which a seed can be identified as an heirloom?

Standardizing the Definition of Heirloom An interesting point of reference for dedicated heirloom seed seekers is the origin of the seed. The convoluted history of the seed and integrated diversity from which it originated leads to a corresponding difficulty identifying and standardizing a definition of said seeds.

Heirloom seed enthusiasts appreciate the seed for its natural evolution, open-pollination genesis and manufacture-free authenticity; yet it is this very attribute that makes it elusive to verification and control by heirloom seed seekers.

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The quandary is that heirloom, by definition, means it is a result of open pollination. There is no hybridizing, controlled environment or selective reproduction. If an heirloom seed produces a plant that has desirable characteristics over and above any other variety, preserving it in any way or restricting the pollination variables will condemn it as a hybrid.

Sowing the seed and letting nature take its course is part of the uniqueness of the heirloom varieties. Contaminating the pollen, even through open pollination with the pollen of a hybrid, exposes the seed to censure.

seeds from heirloom status simply because they were packaged by a commercial seed company, is taking the definition a bit too literally. Does it need to be rare to be an heirloom?

Is it possible to accept that a good quality variety that germinates and cultivates easily can be mass marketed by an heirloom-compassionate company? Often, large commercial plots devoted to open pollination sow and then harvest seeds only from the parent plant. Seeds are saved and stored for the purpose of re-sowing them. Hubbard squash, seeded melons, potatoes and pumpkins have been great examples of successful open pollinated varieties.

Heirloom Seeds: Rare Treasure or Mainstream Expectation?

Diminishing the quality and reputation of an heirloom seed because it has enjoyed commercial success or because it is available for mainstream purchase doesn’t necessarily make it less of an heirloom simply because it isn’t rare. Heirloom characteristics isolate their hardiness as cultivars; they germinate easily and flourish readily. Because plants are allowed to evolve, we continue to enjoy the quality that random selection provides for us. MY

Hybrids Infiltrate the Market in the 1950s The age of seeds is among the topics of controversy. Some contend that any seed originating after 1950 is not an heirloom variety. Denouncing any seed developed after the introduction of hybrids in the 1950s, solves the problem for some.

Others argue that seeds which pre-date World War II are the only genuine recipients of heirloom status.

While the debate over lineage will continue, there is some substance to the dispute that excluding

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The

Cultivation Recipe tion R a v i t l e Cu

by Lee McCall

ecipe

d the aroun t, or hit it g n i w or e , cts br and fall sh , nutr ition u d o r p k O t c i n u H e q differ s. Air, 2 ajor in ome many at either c ivation art trol, are m ospece r a t There ndustry th ze the cul lanced con me of a pr been i i n ba o o r , i has utco t y d l u y t h the o ming and the benevol mportan r e d n i n ter m ry is boo big a d most i r ing s and n hat de scove st il ght, a g factors t . The indu ople are di ning. LED ooms r e de ial cin fluen p’s potent rs. More p rough gar table grow s a h r o e t r a o y c e p alw y d abl ew tive past f elf-sustain tilation an There has mulations e h t gs for ven ing. s and for f bein utput arden ding efits o hts, high o indoor g ient brand nding fee hese d o tr g .T e T-5 li volutioniz vailable nu y a cor resp additives ives d e b a n r dit f a d d e o e s a v i ha ula an lus nd p p a m r e r s m u t o s o f n c a se de th ac r ie been ually ncludes ba ar ious nut and inclu o a s u e r that a le, which i lace the v roduction mixed int hedp c e u fp sched schedules e weeks o uct is to b ek one a s lar t e g d a n o i c w i u feedi e appropr ich the pr mple, in a part or stay f o a h h x n t e llo r tw ease into rate a lution. Fo oon per ga rease, decr product. n o i t inc dilu of so ne teasp f the r ients ount o e may t tion o set am ht call for o, this rat and func quality nu the w e g t i t s s u o k m o f ee r, r m he ule . In w ding on t find that s. Howeve utr ient t c u d I t pro en epen rowers, esul me d g tive r ing th ower’s the sa any other er ing posi ut perfect ror is a gr r o v i e m Like able of del ll, it’s all ab tr ial and d a p n s a a c u g e n i ar tin isseur . de tes conno Side-by-si ng success i . v e recip t for achie e best b

Th

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“[Kelp is] one of the highest concentrated natural forms of plant soluble vitamins, hormones, proteins, amino acids, gibberellins and micro‑ and macronutrients.”

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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The Cultivation Recipe

“When selecting a choice nutrient system with additives, or building your own, several factors should influence the final decision before a purchase is made.”

Nutrients are always a headlining topic for advanced growers. This is when things become exceptionally fun from an experimentation standpoint, especially if an environment is dialed in for optimal control and production.

When selecting a choice nutrient system with additives, or building your own, several factors should influence the final decision before a purchase is made. First, what kind of system will be used (i.e. drip, ebb and flow, aeroponics, drain-to-waste, etc.)? Also, what type of grow medium will be used (i.e. coco, rockwool, hydroton (expanded clay), PET-1, organic soil, etc.)? My nutrient choice is dependent on the variance of these two factors and for several reasons. Different liquid nutrients feature different viscosities, compounds and derivatives. This means that after being diluted into water, the color, viscosity, amount of sediment (if any) and odor of the final solution will vary. My nutrient preference for an aeroponics or drip system will differ from an organic soil garden in a raised bed or container. After identifying the method of cultivation and the desired medium, choose a base nutrient. “Grow and Bloom” base nutrients come in a variety of parts and systems. Three part systems, A and B formulas and one part nutrients are most common nutrient systems available in the market.

Many companies also make specific 76

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77

The Cultivation Recipe formulations that target growers who use coconut coir as their base grow medium. These special “coco” formulated nutrients may be slightly different in composition opposed to those that are made for other types of hydroponic or soil gardens.

The base formula will serve as the foundation for the accompanying additives to work from. Most major sources of micro and macro elements will come from the base. Occasionally, a calcium supplement is necessary to accompany different base nutrients, but this mainly depends on if the base contains calcium or not. Calcium is a very important micronutrient and should always be available on the menu, particularly during flowering.

During vegetative growth, that is from the point at which any seedling or cutting is healthily rooted and transplanted into its first grow medium, supplement the base growth formula with a seaweed/kelp derivative. This aquatic plant serves as one of the highest concentrated natural forms of plant soluble vitamins, hormones, proteins, amino acids, gibberellins and micro- and macronutrients.

Whether the base nutrient(s) are synthetic or organic, and no matter what type of

Lee Mccall Article

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The Cultivation Recipe system, kelp will enhance the vitality and vigor of the garden. It also works excellent applied as a foliar spray during the transition week from vegetative growth into bloom. Only apply foliar sprays during a “lights out” period or during the night cycle, otherwise you risk burning delicate foliage. B vitamins are also a great additive to accompany the initial feedings of any vegetative base nutrient system as this will reduce stress and transplant shock that may have resulted from the initial planting.

Once flowering is induced, phosphorous and potassium concentrations increase, while nitrogen levels may decrease. P/K boosters overload the plant to the point at which it believes it should produce fruits/flowers/seeds and end its life for the season. These P/K boosters come in a wide range of concentrations, powder and liquid forms, each designed to influence fruit set, bloom production and ripening. Boosters that feature lower N-P-K concentrations 10 per cent or lower can be used more frequently than those that are closer to 50 per cent phosphorous or potassium. Guano is an organic booster that will enhance fruit/flower production quantity and quality; this is a must in my opinion.

Guano can be used in conjunction or as an alternative to synthetic P/K boosters. Guanos have a tendency to stress the essential oil production of most fruit/flower bearing plants thus increasing flavor and aroma profiles of the end product. Silica is becoming an increasingly popular additive as well, and is not as overlooked as

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it once was now that more people are familiar with its benefits. Used in low concentrations at the proper ratio, silica is “meat on the bone.”

Tissue becomes increasingly stronger and thicker, tolerance to environmental stressors is increased, and as an end result, the plant is stronger and able to uptake more essential nutrition for stronger, healthier plants and maximum yields.

Every nutrient recipe should be hooked up with an enzyme formula to break down dead root material and keep the root mass healthy. Carbs are a great addition as well. Plants that consume carbohydrates tend to have increased density and weight profiles of fruits and flowers.

Simple and complex forms of these carbs fuel microbial production in the root mass and increase the biomass of the actual seed pod (fruit).You should never use straight tap water. A de-chlorinator and sediment filter will work in the garden and not procure any waste water. This inexpensive

is an ter o n a u “G nic boos nce orga will enha that /flower fruit uction prod tity and quan ity.” qual

The Cultivation Recipe

investment will ensure optimal result from your expensive nutrients and additives, and keep beneficial organisms healthy and flourishing in the root system.

Mycorrhizal inoculants between transplanting will expand the size of the root mass and production of the feeder roots. Granular mycorrhizae may be cascaded onto the top soil, diluted into non-chlorinated water or placed directly in the planting site at which the transplant will occur. A probiotic bacterium applied once every three to four weeks will keep negative pathogens out of the rhizosphere and protect the delicate feeder roots. The addition of these two beneficial microbial families should increase overall production and yield by a minimum of 10 per cent. Compost teas are also a superlative choice for microbial activity.

Many of the strains of bacterium and fungi found in compost teas have not yet been dubbed with a scientific name or class because of the overwhelming population. With so many different beneficial microorganisms each assisting with the bond between plant and element, it is advantageous to incorporate this additive into any existing nutrient recipe.

“The addition of [mycorrhizae and a probiotic bacterium] should increase overall production and yield.”

Less is more. For every additive that joins the rank, reduce the amount of everything else. It all adds up eventually.

Document side-by-side testing in order to record the most accurate results of a nutrient test; use a host with and a host without. Determine which products are most effective and do everything as efficient as possible. The idea is to put as little in as possible and get the most out.

Cover the garden’s food pyramid and reap the benefits of a healthy, heavy-hitting, high quality product. MY

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BEGINNER’S CORNER

Organic Garden Aids Pest and Disease Control

by Therese Cressman

W

ith a little bit of planning you can help cut down on pests and disease organically by planting natural repellants near problem plants. I have a few suggestions along with a few recipes using non-harsh ingredients that can help deter pests (and some disease).

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10 Organic Garden Aids Epson salts spray: Two ounces of salt per two gallons of water Benefits: Helps with black spot, mildew, wilt and rust Mineral oil spray: Three parts oil per 100 parts water Benefits: Helps with aphids, codling moth, leaf roller, mealybugs, scaled insects and white fly Beer: Stale or mixed with molasses Benefits: Helps control slugs Tomato leaf spray: Crush leaves and soak in water for a couple days, stain then spray Benefits: Grasshopper and white fly control Soap spray: Two tablespoons of soap flakes dissolved in one quart of water. *Don’t use detergents Benefits: Aphid control Basil: Plant in pots and place around patio or deck Benefits: Repels flies and mosquitoes Rosemary, Mint, Thyme: Plant near cabbage Benefits: Repels cabbage worms Nasturtiums: Plant near cucumbers, melons and squashes Benefits: Repels squash bugs Summer savory: Plant near beans Benefits: Repels bean beetles Radishes: Plant near cucumbers Benefits: Repels cucumber beetles

Here’s a short and sweet recipe to help with pest control for indoor and outdoor gardens and houseplants. You can use this as a preventative spray as well as a bug and pest killer.

Ingredients: 1 cup Sunlight dish soap 1 tablespoon vegetable oil Directions: • Mix ingredients together then store in a plastic, airtight container.

• When you’re ready to spray your plants, take one to two teaspoons of the concentrate and mix with a quart of water. Pour into a spray bottle.

• Spray your plants making sure to get underneath the leaves as well as the flower buds and new shoots.

• In a hot environment, repeat every third day (three applications over seven days).

• In a warm to cool environment, spray once a week for three weeks.

Organic Insect Repellent • Save onion skins, peels and ends then refrigerate in an empty margarine-sized tub or bag until the container is full.

• Once you have enough, place the onion pieces in a pail and fill with warm water. Soak for a few days, up to a week.

• After one week, strain the onion bits out and store the onion water in spray bottles. Bury the onion bits around plants that are prone to aphids, spiders and other pests.

• Spray both houseplants and garden plants with the water to fight aphids and pests. *You could also mix your garlic trimmings in with the onion MY pieces; bugs hate garlic too.

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Ongoing Food Crisis Addressed Peggy Bradley on the Edge of the Sahara

Article

by Peggy Bradley A food crisis is occurring in the Western African Country of Niger. In 2005, thousands of people died of hunger after a prolonged drought. Another drought of two years has created a far greater crisis with nearly eight million of Niger’s 15 million people in real danger of starvation.

The United Nations Development Program ranks Niger as the second least developed country in the world. One Nigerian child in four dies before reaching five years of age. Food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread problems in Niger; the country suffers from food shortages every year. Now, aid agencies need $371 million to feed eight million people, including 925,000 acutely malnourished infants. So far, only $142 million has been received.

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ISH in Niger

Current Crisis A food crisis is occurring in the Western African Country of Niger. In 2005, thousands of people died of hunger after a prolonged drought.

Another drought of two years has created a far Handaga village greater crisis with nearly eight million of Niger’s 15 million people in real danger of starvation.

Traditionally the growing season in Niger is during the rainy season, from June through August. Millet, the main staple grain crop of Niger, is planted at the onset of the ‘rains’ and harvested just after the rains subside. Okra, potatoes, onions and some leafy vegetables are also grown during this short cycle and then stored dry to provide food for the rest of the year.

Niger has the highest birth rate of any country in the world (51.5 births/1,000 population), the highest fertility rate in the world (7.75 births/woman) and the

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Village women

working in JTS

n

Handaga garde

“Niger has severe problems feeding the current population, and in 18 years the population is estimated to double to 30.9 million.” second highest population growth rate of 3.67 per cent per year. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Niger as the second least developed country in the world, and Niger has the second highest infant mortality rate in the world.

One in four Nigerien children die before reaching the age of five. Niger has severe

problems feeding the current population, and in 18 years the population is estimated to double to 30.9 million.

Help Arrives Mervyn Church, from the United Kingdom, came to Niger in October 2008 to visit 9-year-old Zouera, a child he sponsored through the Christian charity World Vision. Zouera lives with her grandmother in Handaga, a village of 750 people situated near Tera in Western Niger. Mervyn was the first white person to ever visit this village.

After a short guided tour of the village by World Vision, Mervyn was surprised by how little had been achieved by this non-governmental organization. There was no evidence on the ground that any sustainable improvements had been made to the villagers’ way of life other than the provision of two water boreholes and two classrooms.

The policy of the UK Charity World Vision restricted re-visits within a two year period so he returned unannounced the following December.

ISH in Niger

Meetings with the chief, village elders and the school headmaster to assess the needs of the village convinced Mervyn to register his concerns with World Vision. Mervyn has been to Handaga village seven times in the past two years. It was during these trips that Mervyn recognized the need for these villagers to be self-sufficient and grow nutritious vegetables outside of the rainy season. To answer this eed, Mervyn formed “Quest Zouera.”

A Solution Mervyn brought a Consultant Agronomist from JTS Seeds (a French company based in Niamey) up to Handaga. The chief gave Quest Zouera land previously used for millet cultivation for the garden.

This initial garden successfully grew onions, lettuce and okra, which the villagers sold for profit in the local market.

This was the first time the villagers had ever seen crops grown outside the rainy season. Seeing this has given the chief and villagers confidence to double the garden’s size and sacrifice even more land normally used for millet production.

Mervyn decided to install a modified JTS system Tropical Garden, which has a reservoir/drip irrigation system and plastic lined troughs. The basic JTS Garden kit is designed to provide a surface area of 5.5 square feet, which can produce over 1,500 pounds of vegetables a year.

“It was during these trips that Mervyn recognized the need for these villagers to be self-sufficient.”

Mervyn’s modified JTS Seed Tropical Garden has 11 separate systems in a 5.5 acre area. The systems have a total surface area of about 7,100 square feet. The cost was $3,000. There is no fertilizer added to the water in this system. The use of local manures enhances the sandy soil providing the nutrients.

A sturdy fence was first constructed to keep goats, cows and camels out. This garden has 30 foot long trenches that are five feet wide, dug 35 inches deep, laid out in a cross pattern. These trenches are lined with thick black plastic, but down through the center there remains a 12 to 16 inch gap of open earth for drainage. The trenches are refilled and leveled with a mixture of the original sandy soil plus animal manure to form a row. A 65 gallon plastic barrel is placed in the center of the cross pattern, raised about 36 inches upon a mud brick platform, and fitted with a stopcock and drip irrigation tubing radiating outward down

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ISH in Niger

“With effort, hard work and determination, they can take charge of their own destiny and stop relying on hand-outs.” the rows. This elevated reservoir provides enough hydrostatic pressure to irrigate the rows thriftily and evenly through the tubing, switched on for one hour twice daily, in the morning and evening by the villagers. The basic idea is that the irrigation water is conserved and retained by the plastic lining, yet during heavy rainfall there is adequate drainage through the gap in the plastic sheeting.

Mervyn Church invited a filmmaker from California, William Prosser to accompany him and document the famine crisis and Quest Zouera’s garden project during his latest trip to Handaga in August 2010. William had just finished a corporate instructional video project for Grodan rockwool, and enlisted the help of ISH through the Grodan contacts. After Mervyn reviewed the ISH Easy Gro DVDs, he became interested in investigating the possibility of introducing Simplified Hydroponics (SH) to Niger.

The Institute of Simplified Hydroponics (ISH) is now working with Quest Zouera to adapt the SH system, which has been so successful in Latin America, Bangladesh and Senegal, to the harsh and arid

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environment of the sub-Saharan Sahel. The usual construction method for hydroponic grower beds from used wooden pallets is not an option in Niger, and a system would need to be developed using locally available material. Plastic to line the grower, tubing and hydroponic nutrients would need to be brought in.

Mervyn and William planned to show the villagers the ISH Easy Gro lessons with a digital projector and sound system through a laptop computer, powered by a gas generator. Time constraints caused by the village’s Ramadan fasting and language translation issues caused the presentation to be shortened to about an hour and a half, and consisted of a mixture of the ISH Easy Gro DVD video footage as well as photos from the Easy Gro lesson kit. In the end, the chief and villagers understood the concept of simplified hydroponics and agreed to try it.

The next day a prototype model hydroponic grower was fashioned above an adjacent unused JTS Tropical Garden trough. A rectangular area three by five feet and 12 inches deep was carefully carved from the compacted sand on the bank of the trench. This ‘sand box’ was leveled, and the black plastic was laid inside and held in place by the village’s discarded mud bricks. A substrate consisting of a 1:1 mixture of readily available river stones and millet husks were placed in the grower. These millet husks are discarded after the women pound the millet in large mortars with long pestles and make an ideal medium for the substrate mix. Imported inorganic fertilizer or organic fertilizer produced in the village can be used as hydroponic nutrient.

The JTS garden uses a mesh over the plants to reduce evaporation. This innovation could be very useful in existing hydroponic gardens. In the Tehuacan Mexico SH garden, shade cloth is used to cover the crop area and this can reduce water use by half. An unshaded garden uses two gallons per three feet per day, and a shaded garden uses one gallon per three feet per day.

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ISH in Niger

On August 28 Will Prosser reported that the school director in Handaga has requested a garden at the school to support the curriculum for elementary school children. There is the possibility of introducing these school gardens throughout the entire Tera region.

Church and Prosser had meetings with several of the potential funding agencies to request assistance for the Handaga Project and to introduce SH to the World Bank, UN FAO director in Niger, UNICEF administration in Niger and the Farmers Cooperative Federation of Niger.

As Mervyn Church explains, “The real hurdle is to somehow engage the villagers fully and immerse them in the growing process, and find systems that work in their environment so they can have year-round crops. With effort, hard work and determination, they can take charge of their own destiny and stop relying on hand-outs from the World Food Programme, which are by definition minimal anyway.”

manufacturers participating in Hydro for Hunger.

The International ISH is now writing grant proposals for all schools in Niger to build school gardens, teach this system and experiment with local crops. While this may not be of immediate help in this critical time, it could greatly help in reducing the need for more international food aid in the future.

Anyone wishing to donate can send money to Institute of Simplified Hydroponics 1860 E, 166 Road El Dorado Springs, MO 64744. Since the ISH is a 501-C-3 non-profit organization, all donations are tax deductible. All funds collected by the ISH will go directly to the school, or other schools to begin the SH gardens curriculum. MY

Peggy Bradley Article

ISH Response The ISH has donated black plastic, seeds, nutrients and drains—all supplied by the donations of stores and

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Resources: www.carbon.org www.questzouera.com/why.asp www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGAJBNe6PiM www.pronatura.org/archives/Newsletter_SuperGardens_EN.pdf

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GREEN THUMB GARDENING

We seem to live in a more environmentally conscious world.

We sort our garbage for recyclables and compostable organics.

Most gardeners are environmentally friendly. It is only logical that the next step is to take the principals of recycling, reducing and reusing into the grow room. Things that are normally thrown away, recycled or composted can be useful to gardeners.

Coffee grinds become fertilizer, and coffee cups become small pots for seedlings to mature in. There are many ways to recycle in the grow room. Each is good for the earth as well as the soul.

If you have a fireplace or a wood stove you might find it interesting to know that ashes can be a great additive to soil and potting mixes. Paper ash will contain roughly five per cent phosphorous and two per cent available potash. Hardwood ashes can contain 10 per cent potash where softwood ashes only contain around five per cent. Either ash is beneficial to plants, especially those in the bloom phase since they require phosphorous and potassium to grow beautiful flowers and large, healthy fruit.

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Ashes can be applied as a top dressing at a rate of ¼ cup of ash for every three gallons of soil or potting mix. Be careful not to over apply or apply too often. Ashes can make soil sticky and poorly aerated. Ashes can also make soil too alkaline. To keep an eye on the soil pH one can test the water that comes out the bottom of the pot as well as the water going in.

Used coffee grinds are something that many of us throw away on a daily basis. Coffee grinds also contain nitrogen and trace

elements and can encourage acidloving beneficial bacteria. This is an excellent organic additive for plants in their vegetative stage.

Coffee grinds must also be used in moderation because of their levels of acidity.

Most indoor gardeners prefer a rotational crop. Clones or seedlings will need to be started in order to maintain a continual harvest. This inevitably means the gardener will require small pots or containers for the clones or seedlings to mature before being transplanted into their final large containers. Why pay for these small Used paper cups are ideal for cloning and allowing seedlings to mature. Because the cup will break down over time, they can also be used to transplant into larger containers.

pots? There are plenty of items we throw away that can be used instead of store bought pots. Used paper coffee cups are great for this purpose and can actually be transplanted along with the plant into the larger container if holes are punctured into the sides and bottom of the used paper coffee cups. The holes allow for the roots to penetrate through the coffee cup, into the larger growing container. The coffee cup will eventually break down if left long enough.

Yogurt containers make excellent small pots for seedlings once a couple holes have been put in the bottom for water drainage. Since they are made of plastic they won’t break down, therefore, the seedlings should be removed, then transplanted. This also means that yogurt containers can be reused making them a very environmentally friendly choice.

Recycling does not have to only exist at the curb on collection day; it can be part of every aspect of our lives. From the garden to the curb, let’s all make a difference.

MY

Used coffee grinds, which are normally discarded, contain nitrogen and trace elements that make an excellent organice additive for plants.

Source

Van Patten, George. Gardening Indoors: The Indoor Gardening Bible.Van Patten Publishing, 2002.

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Grow Tents for the Construc ionally Challenged

by Gabriel Bronzstein

If building a garden space from scratch is not your idea of a good time, check out the various benefits and ease of set-up with indoor grow tents, which come in a variety of sizes and can be assembled by one person in a matter of minutes.

Why build a grow tent?

One of the biggest obstacles for indoor gardeners is designing and building or setting up the grow space. For the DIYchallenged, grow tents are an excellent alternative for those gardeners that don’t feel comfortable swinging a hammer or using a screw gun.

Indoor grow tents come in many sizes from 1.5 square feet to 10 square feet. They are extremely compact, and even the largest available size fits in a single box that most people could carry.

Grow tents are easy to set-up and can be assembled by one person in a matter of minutes.

Many grow tents are lined with a highly reflective material, usually a metalized film to maximize light efficiency. Initially, due to the limited sizes available, these tents were most attractive to beginner gardeners lacking experience setting up a grow room. With the recent addition of many new sizes, these tents have become much more attractive to a variety of gardeners with varying levels of experience. Even expert growers are finding grow tents to be convenient and effective for their needs. If you are considering the DIY route, consider this, you will spend more time at Home Depot in line at the check out 100

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

counter than it would take to assemble a grow tent! When you get home, laden with heavy lumber, sheet rock, screws, paint and primer, you’ve set yourself for more than a few days work.

While I think it's a great idea to build a custom indoor garden if you are a homeowner, it’s not the most logical option for renters. Indoor grow tents can be taken down and put up in a new location so easily and quickly your plants won't even notice they moved.

Really making it work It is becoming increasingly popular for vegetable gardeners to start their plants indoors before moving them outside in late spring. This gives them a head start allowing them to start their plants earlier without fear of frost. Indoor grow tents are so versatile allowing temporary gardens to be made in just about any indoor space. The space returns to normal in a few weeks when plants are moved outdoors.

Today most indoor gardeners take cuttings or clone plants that have desirable characteristics. Too often these plants are shared among fellow gardeners. Inadvertently they are also sharing pests. It is good practice to isolate or quarantine new plants in a

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

101

Grow Tents

for the

Constructionally Challenged

separate garden to observe them for pests. This quarantined area can also be used to treat plants with pests before you introduce them into the main garden. This is a great idea that can save you from a serious pest infestation in your garden.

Often after building a grow room the grower realizes it would be nice to have a separate (second or even third) grow space. If not as a quarantine area, the additional space could be used to grow parent material for cuttings (mother plants). Or, it could be a vegetative room featuring a long day light cycle to help your plants grow large and healthy before transferring them into a bloom room with a short day cycle. Having two (or more) separate areas allows you to grow your plants under 18 hours of light until they have reached the desired bloom height.

Then you can move them into your bloom room with 12 hours of light. This has a number of advantages. First, you can have a perpetual harvest by harvesting a few plants every week while having replacements ready to go in the garden. Another advantage is that by eliminating the veg time you can have more harvest cycles in a given period of time. See page 104 for three easy steps in constructing a grow tent.

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Benefits of indoor grow tents

• can be set up and taken down quickly and easily • create gardens with a minimal impact to homes and rental properties • allow for separate garden spaces to be created easily for separate vegetative and blooming gardens, quarantine areas or temporary gardens to establish plants for outdoor growing • are sturdy but flexible to eliminate breaking or snapping • are non-toxic • are adjustable and can be modified

Grow Tents

for the

Constructionally Challenged

Constructing a Grow Tent - Easy as 1...2...3

1

Begin to construct your grow tent by assembling the tent poles from the ground up. Start at one corner piece and install the top poles.

2

3

After unpacking the tent, unzip its main zipper as well as the top and bottom too. Drag the tent over the top of the frame, ensuring the vent port is on top. The floor of the tent can now be pulled under the frame and positioned properly.

Once the tent is properly positioned, install the roof supports. The tent can now be zipped and the viewing windows opened if desired. Happy growing!

MY

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Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

by Dr. J. Benton Jones, Jr.

In part one of demystifying nutrient solutions (October USA), such parameters as elemental content and forms, concentration ranges and ratios, chelates and essential mineral elements were discussed in detail. In part two we cover pH and Electrical Conductivity, concentrates and reagents, use factors and various hydroponic system parameters.

Nutrient Solution Elemental Content: Determination and Monitoring A prepared nutrient solution should be assayed to confirm its elemental content and concentration before use. The elemental concentration of a prepared nutrient solution will always be based on the reagents used. Their weight per volume of water is insufficient since errors in identifying the reagent and amount weighed are not uncommon. Injection pumps used to feed nutrient solution concentrates into a flow of water frequently malfunction, affecting the composition of the delivered nutrient solution.

For those hydroponic growing systems in which a nutrient solution is applied to a rooting medium, the

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elemental composition of the nutrient solution and frequency of application will affect the residual elemental content in the rooting media. In addition, the volume of nutrient solution applied will determine the distribution of elements within the rooting media. With time, the rooting media will require water leaching in order to remove what is referred to as “accumulated salts.” Accompanying the accumulation of salts, that is ions in solution remaining in the rooting medium; precipitation begins to occur, precipitates of calcium sulfate and phosphate that in turn either trap or co-precipitate with other elements, such as magnesium (Mg), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). Although these precipitates are insoluble, the elements in the precipitate can be absorbed when in contact with plant roots.

“Diluted nutrient solution formulations are less likely to create an insufficiency.”

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Demystifying Nutrient Solutions Table 1. Major Element and Micronutrient Ionic Forms and

pH and Electrical Conductivity (EC) It is essential that the pH of the nutrient solution as well as the rooting medium be maintained between pH 5.0 to 6.0. However, it isn’t necessary to adjust the pH unless the nutrient solution or rooting medium is greater than 6.8, or even becomes alkaline, greater than 7.0. Plants can grow quite well at a pH level as low as 4.5. Therefore, no adjustment is generally needed when both the nutrient solution and rooting media are acidic. For organic rooting media, the pH should be kept between 5.5 to 6.0.

The electrical conductivity (EC) of a nutrient solution is an important parameter. As the EC increases, the ability of plant roots to take up water and nutrients from a solution decreases. Hydroponic growers are advised to monitor the runoff from the rooting media or the solution retained in the media for their EC and when it exceeds a certain level, the rooting is to be leached with water. An increasing EC in the rooting media suggests that the elemental concentration in an applied nutrient solution is either too high, or the frequency of application greater than needed.

One procedure that can keep the EC from increasing in the rooting medium is to irrigate with a nutrient solution, and

“Nitrate nitrogen will likely be excessive in most nutrient solutions stimulating plant growth that makes plants vulnerable to disease.” then follow with water only, the scheduling of both based on that needed to satisfy the water requirement of the plant.

Another procedure is to apply a nutrient solution at the beginning of the day, to be followed by water only the rest of the day, its scheduled application sufficient to meet the water requirement of the plant.

The scheduling of alternate sequences of nutrient solution and water will depend on the stage of plant growth. In general, dilute nutrient solution formulations are less likely to create an insufficiency.

Nutrient Solution Formulation: Elemental Contents The ranges in elemental concentrations for those formulations that have been published are given in table one, ranges that serve as a guide for comparing elemental composition among nutrient

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Normal Concentration Range Found in Most Nutrient Solutions Element

Ionic Form

Concentration Range, mg/L (ppm)a

Major Elements Nitrogen (N)

NO3-, NH4+

100 to 200

Phosphorus (P)

HPO42-, H2PO4-b

15 to 30

Potassium (K)

+

K

100 to 200

Calcium (Ca)

Ca2+

200 to 300

Magnesium (Mg)

Mg2+

30 to 80

Sulfur (S)

SO42-

70 to 150

Boron (B)

BO33-c

0.30

Chlorine (Cl)

Cl-

not specified

Copper (Cu)

Cu

0.01 to 0.10

Iron (Fe)

Fe3+, Fe2+d

2 to 12

Manganese (Mn)

Mn2+

0.5 to 2.0

Molybdenum (Mo)

MoO4-

0.05

Zinc (Zn)

Zn2+

0.05 to 0.50

Micronutrients

2+

solutions. In general, most nutrient solutions contain more phosphorus (P) than that needed by most plants, and frequently, there is an imbalance among the major cations, potassium (K), calcium (Mg) and magnesium (Mg) that can result in either a Ca or Mg deficiency. Nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) may also be excessive in the formulation, stimulating plant growth that makes the plant vulnerable to disease and sensitive to changes in atmospheric demand conditions.

Nutrient Solution Concentrates and Reagents There are numerous reagent concentrates commercially available that when diluted with water—and some requiring the mixing with other concentrates—will constitute a particular nutrient solution formulation. Some of these formulations may be marketed for general use, or designed for a particular growing system or for a particular plant species at various stages of plant growth, or a combination of both suited for most growing systems and plant species.

Some concentrates may contain most or all of the essential plant nutrient elements, including the micronutrients, while others contain only compatible element reagents. Therefore, one needs to read the label carefully to learn what elements are included in the concentrate and which concentrates are needed to prepare a nutrient solution formulation that contains all the essential elements, or just those needed for use with those rooting media that already contain a sufficient supply of an essential element(s).

A nutrient solution can be made by using reagents that contain the element(s) needed to make a complete formulation, containing all the required mineral elements, or only the major elements or micronutrients, or combinations of both. Reagents, including their elemental content, commonly used to make a nutrient solution are given in table two.

Use Factors The lack of a use factor, volume per plant per time of exposure, associated with a particular nutrient solution formulation is what frequently leads to insufficiencies. Although elemental content in a nutrient solution is important, the extent of root exposure is a factor that affects elemental absorption. This can be best illustrated in a standing-aerated nutrient solution experiment.

Using a vigorously growing plant, changing either the volume of nutrient solution, its element concentration content or its time of exposure, will equally have significant affect on plant growth.

Best growth will be obtained when the plant roots are exposed to a constant elemental concentration that can be obtained by using an “infinite” volume of a dilute nutrient solution. In a limited volume of nutrient solution, most of the easily absorbed elements will be depleted in a relatively short period of time, changing the pH and elemental ratios among the remaining elements.

Frequently replacing a concentrated elemental content nutrient solution will quickly lead to nutritional insufficiencies. Frequently replacing a dilute elemental content nutrient solution may eventually lead to a nutrient element insufficiency, particularly for those elements that are less competitive and are not easily absorbed by plant roots.

The use of a nutrient solution has four parameters: 1. mineral elemental content and concentration 2. volume applied at each irrigation 3. frequency of application 4. number of plants These four parameters are interdependent that vary considerably depending on the hydroponic system used and plant requirements.

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Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

1. Standing-Aerated or Circulating-Aerated There is no set number of plants, volume of nutrient solution and elemental concentration parameters for this hydroponic method. In general, the greater the volume of nutrient solution per plant, the lower the elemental concentration and the less frequently the nutrient solution will have to be replaced.

Plant species, rate of growth and stage

of growth are also factors that can affect these determinations. Plants will grow best when the volume of nutrient solution per plant is large with the nutrient solution elemental content lower than that found in most nutrient solution formulations.

2. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) The number of plants, volume of nutrient solution, its elemental

Image supplied by General Hydroponics

concentration and frequency of application are the significant parameters when using this hydroponic method. Plant species, rate of growth and stage of growth are also factors that will determine plant nutritional sufficiency, which in turn affects plant performance.

Normally, the frequency of nutrient solution application is based on the water needs of the plant that can vary with the number of plants, their stage of growth and atmospheric demand.

The most common error with this hydroponic growing method is using a nutrient solution with an elemental concentration greater than what the plant needs, resulting in elemental accumulation in the root mass and possible nutrient insufficiencies.

Alternating between a nutrient solution

“Although elemental content in a nutrient solution is important, the extent of root exposure is a factor that affects elemental absorption.” application and water only can ensure sufficient water is supplied to meet the atmospheric demand of the plants, while minimizing the potential of a nutrient element insufficiency due to excess. Dividing the roots by using a “W” formed trough, a nutrient solution can be applied down one side of the trough and water only down the other, providing better control of the nutrient element requirements of the plants.

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drip emitter

aeroponic roots With aeroponic systems, plant roots are either continuously or periodically bathed with a nutrient solution. With drip irrigation the nutrient solution is retained in rooting medium.

3. Aeroponics With this system of hydroponic growing, the plant roots are either being continuously or periodically bathed with a nutrient solution, sufficient to keep the roots moist. Since very little of the applied nutrient solution adheres to the root surface, a high elemental concentrated nutrient solution may be required to meet the nutritional requirements of the plant. However, if a portion of the plant roots are allowed to lie in a small reservoir of nutrient solution in the base of the rooting chamber, most of the elemental requirement of the plant will be supplied from this portion of the applied nutrient solution, therefore, a high elemental concentrated nutrient solution will not be needed.

4. Flood-and-Drain (Ebb-and-Flow) The number of plants, volume of nutrient solution, its elemental concentration and frequency of application are significant parameters when using this hydroponic method. Plant species,

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Demystifying Nutrient Solutions

“Plants will grow best when the volume of nutrient solution per plant is high with the elemental content lower.” rate of growth and stage of growth are also factors that will determine plant nutritional sufficiency, which in turn, will affect plant performance. Normally, the frequency of nutrient solution application is based on the water needs of the plant that can vary with the number of plants, their stage of growth and atmospheric demand. The most common error with this hydroponic growing method is using a nutrient solution formulation whose elemental concentration is greater than what the plant needs, resulting in elemental accumulation as retained nutrient solution and the formation of precipitates in the rooting medium, leading eventually to possible

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nutrient insufficiencies. To minimize the accumulation of unused nutrient elements, having the provision to periodically circulate water through the rooting medium is desirable.

5. Drip Irrigation Volume of nutrient solution, its elemental concentration and frequency of application are the affecting parameters when using this hydroponic method. Plant species, rate of growth and stage of growth, are also factors that will determine plant nutritional sufficiency, which in turn will affect plant performance. Normally, the frequency of nutrient solution application is based on plant water needs that can vary with the number of plants, their stage of growth and atmospheric demand. The most common error with this hydroponic growing method is using a nutrient solution whose elemental concentration is greater than the plant need, resulting in elemental accumulation in the rooting medium and possible plant nutrient insufficiency. The volume of nutrient solution applied with each application will affect elemental retention in the

rooting medium, and the distribution of the applied elements within the rooting medium. A common recommendation is to apply a sufficient volume of nutrient solution so there is a slight outflow from the overflow opening in bottom of the rooting vessel. The retained nutrient solution in the rooting medium requires monitoring for its electrical conductivity (EC), so when reaching a certain level, the rooting medium requires leaching with water. Allowing the electrical conductivity (EC) of the rooting medium retained nutrient solution to go above a certain point, plant nutritional disorders can occur and plants will begin to wilt when the atmospheric demand is high.

Table 2. Reagents Commonly Used for Making a Nutrient Solution Reagents Formula Elemental Content (%) Major Element Potassium dihydrogen phosphate

KH2PO4

P (32), K (30)

Potassium nitrate

KNO3

K (36), N (13)

Calcium nitrate

Ca(NO3)2.4H2O

Ca (19), N (I5)

Magnesium sulfate

MgSO4.7H2O

Mg (10), S (23)

Micronutrient Boric acid

H3BO3

B (16)

Borax

Na2B4O24.10H2O

B (11)

Manganese sulfate

MnSO4.4H2O

Mn (24)

Manganese chloride

MnCl2.4H2O

Mn (28)

Zinc sulfate

ZnSO4.5H2O

Zn (22)

Copper sulfate

CuSO4.5H2O

Cu (25)

Ammonium molybdate

(NH4)6MoO24.4H2O

Mo (8)

Iron (ferrous) sulfate

FeSO4.7H2O

Fe (20)

Iron (ferric) sulfate

Fe2(SO4)3

Fe (28)

Iron (ferric) chloride

FeCl3.6H2O

Fe (14)

Iron ammonium sulfate

FeSO4

Alternating between water and nutrient solution applications, the buildup of retained nutrient solution will be moderated.

6. Sub-irrigation This method of hydroponic growing is a total consumption system as all the applied water and elements in the nutrient solution will pass through the plant, therefore, the elemental concentration of the nutrient solution must be lower (½ to ⅓) than that recommended for other hydroponic growing systems to avoid insufficiencies due to high accumulation of elements by the plants.

Summary Nutrient solutions, their formulations and uses, are still a mystery to many, with varying formulations and use concepts being accepted that frequently have little or no scientific verification. Plant roots have the ability to adapt to surrounding elemental concentrations or that in the rooting medium without resulting in a nutrient element insufficiency unless certain limits are reached. It is the accumulation of nutrient elements either in the rooting mass or the rooting medium that is main cause for plant nutrient element insufficiencies. How to prevent or control this accumulation should be the objective, accomplished by two practices, nutrient solution formulation adjustments and alternating nutrient solution applications with that of water only.

How both of these can be accomplished is based on monitoring the nutrient element status of both the rooting mass and rooting medium, and the plant itself as well as the skill of the grower MY through experience.

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YOU TELL US

Jennifer Roldan, operations manager with True Liberty Bags (TLB), shares the benefits and uses of their Turkey Bags with Maximum Yield readers and discusses TLB’s community involvement and their affiliation with community-minded organizations that are fighting for a more sustainable future.

MY: How are TLTB beneficial to indoor and outdoor gardeners?

Maximum Yield (MY): What made you decide to market the True Liberty Turkey Bag (TLTB) to the indoor gardening industry?

Jennifer Roldan: The True Liberty Bags team heard a call from the millions of farmers demanding an affordable and durable bag.

It was clear that there was an increasing need for a better way to buy large bags, and it was extremely rare to find these bags in hydroponic or gardening stores. We decided we could provide a higher quality product, in bulk, while reducing the amount of packaging. It is a win-win situation for our community and for our planet! At first, we focused on promoting our product locally in Sonoma County, California, and the market embraced us whole-heartedly. This led us to expanding our territory. Who came to mind to help us expand? Maximum Yield Magazine, of course, as the leader in advocating innovative products and educating the indoor gardening industry.

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Jennifer: There are benefits to using our bags in every stage of the gardening process, from germination to harvest and consumption.Yes, seeds can be germinated within a TLTB! Need a more humid environment for cuttings, or to keep frost from forming on your plants? Just pop it open and cover the desired area: instant greenhouse. Whether growing indoors or outdoors, gardeners will reap the most benefit from TLTB after harvest. At first, simply by containing and preserving produce, and secondly, when it comes time to prepare a delicious and nutritious homegrown meal.

MY: What else can they be used for?

Jennifer: The uses of TLTBs are limited only by your imagination. As far as food preparation, our bags can be used in marinating meats and vegetables. Do you buy or grow food in bulk? Are you not going to eat it all at once?

No problem. Place your food in the bag, remove as much air as possible, use a bag tie or twist and tie bag into a knot, freeze it and when you’re ready…bake, boil, microwave

Jennifer Roldan or slow cook in the very same bag!

Another gardening application, the idea given to us by customer feedback, is to store stinky nutrient bottles in a TLTB. Some of the organic nutrients on the market reek of unpleasant odors and residue can collect on the outside of bottles. Protect your self from these smells and stains. Keep your nutrients tied up in a TLTB to avoid encountering your fish emulsion first hand.

MY: For how long will food stay fresh and aromatic in TLTB? Jennifer: The shelf life of food stored in a TLTB varies. The time depends upon what is in the bag and the many possible environmental factors. Is it in the freezer or sitting in a southfacing window sill? The freezer is preferable for longevity, and we suggest a cool, dry and dark environment for the best appearance, taste and texture when preserving.

MY: What temperature extremes can TLTB handle?

Jennifer: TLTB can go from the freezer right into boiling water or the oven. They are so versatile that the temperature change will not affect the quality of TLTB. When baking in a conventional oven, 450° is the maximum temperature limit for a TLTB.

MY: How are Turkey Bags made to ensure fresh and better smelling and tasting food?

Jennifer: Unlike most food storage bags, TLTBs are not made of plastic. Our bags are completely BPA free, FDA approved and made of 100 per cent food-grade nylon. The difference in the material is the key to ensuring the excellent aroma barrier, reducing odor transfer and locking in freshness, flavor and nutrients. The nylon molecule is smaller than its poly counterpart. This means no out gassing or off gassing from the bag to what’s inside of it. Similarly, this difference in material also keeps the smells and flavor of what’s in the bag where it belongs: concealed in the bag.

MY: How were you able to reduce the amount of packaging while still maintaining a thick bag?

Jennifer: We knew the market could benefit from a thicker bag than what was formerly available.We wanted to end up with a comparable amount of material as the leading brand on the market, so in time we can replace them on the shelves.This is how we came up with the dimensions for TLTBs at 18 by 20 inches.

MY: Your website states you are affiliated with non-profit, community-minded organizations. Who are they and how do you support them in their fight for a sustainable future?

Jennifer: True Liberty Bags is currently a member of GO LOCAL and 1% For the Planet. It is one of our highest values to reduce our carbon footprint and provide a greener alternative.

GO LOCAL is a regional organization that helps customers find local options to fulfill their needs. We have networked with other business that are also members of this organization who are doing both buying and selling locally. 1% For the Planet, on the other hand, is the organization involved in monitoring our charitable donations. We have committed at least 1% of our profits to an approved non-profit group or agency of our choosing.

MY: What plans do you have to give back to your community as your business grows?

Jennifer: We gave more than one per cent of our gross sales for 2009 to the Breast Cancer fund, and we chose a local agency, the California Parenting Institute, for our 2010 donations. We have also donated bags to various soup kitchens around the US, which brings food to families during the holidays. With the holidays approaching, we are in a perfect position to help many soup kitchens and food banks. These are just a few small ways that we can give more to our community. MY

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Soy

THE GOOD,

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

by Michael Bloch

When I was growing up, soy was pretty much confined to being used in our Chinese food takeaways or something that hippies and health nuts crowed about. Today, the humble soybean plays a large role in much of our lives, and while it is certainly a wonderful plant, our reliance upon it and exploitation of the land suitable for cultivating the crop has also presented some major challenges.

Here's the good, the bad and the ugly about the soybean in brief.

The good.

Soybeans are an amazingly versatile crop, providing oil, carbohydrates and protein. The protein content is around 40 per cent, oil approximately 20 per cent and carbohydrates about 35 per cent. Soybeans can grow in a wide range of soils and mediums and as they are a legume, can help restore nitrogen levels to nitrogen depleted earth.

Uses: • meat replacement • dairy replacement - soy milk and cheese • biofuel as a replacement for crude oil • stock feed • candles • soaps • cooking oil • flour 118

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• butter (like peanut butter) • ice cream • chips • cosmetics • resins • plastics • inks • clothing • vodka

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soy - the good the bad and the ugly During my days as a baker, I used soy flour instead of gluten to give the bread more strength as we had many customers with gluten allergies. If you look on the ingredients list of many processed foods, you'll likely see soya flour or oil listed.

Even for us omnivores, a meal or two of soybased meat replacements can help reduce the environmental impact of meat consumption.

Given that products such as tofu absorb

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the flavors of what it's cooked with, even a partial substitution is a good way to go if you simply cannot give up meat altogether. The same goes for dairy products.

Candles are often made from petroleum, crude oil, as are cosmetics, plastics and resins, so soy offers an earth friendly alternative to these too.

With so many uses, you'd think that we could just about live on soy alone; but

“Soya flour has also been shown to cause cancer in rats, but no equivalent human studies have been done.” there are some issues you need to know about before you start making radical changes in your diet and general consumption habits by replacing traditional products with soy.

The bad.

Any well educated vegetarian or vegan will tell you soy contains many health benefits, but it is not the be all and end all replacement for meat and dairy. For example, it's not high in calcium or iron, two critical elements of good health; so these nutrients need to be garnered from other products. Many manufacturers of soy dairy replacements fortify their products with calcium to address this.

Soy also contains appreciable levels of phytoestrogens or plant hormones.

There's a great deal of controversy as to whether a diet high in soy contributes to issues in men such as lowered libido, increased breast tumor growth rates in women with a high risk of breast cancer and soy formula for infants is thought by some to increase the risk of autoimmune disorders of the thyroid gland.

Soya flour has also been shown to cause cancer in rats, but no equivalent human

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soy - the good the bad and the ugly studies have been done. According to Wikipedia, approximately eight per cent of children in the USA are allergic to proteins in soybeans.

Back in 2000, a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition stated brains of elderly people who ate tofu at least twice a week for several decades were aging faster than normal. If you are considering switching to a soy-rich diet, exercise due diligence and research thoroughly.

The ugly.

Probably one of the most disturbing issues of the burgeoning soy industry is the destruction of the Amazon forest and clearing in other countries.Vast swathes, thousands of square miles of this incredibly important resource are being cleared in order to grow soybeans; primarily for stock feed.

Cattle farms are being replaced by soy farmers who buy or rent land from cattle farmers. The cattle farmers then push on deeper into the Amazon forest.

The lucrative soy market has also seen agribusiness sinking their claws in for

control over the crop. Soybeans are a popular biotech food crop, meaning that it's increasingly being genetically modified. The biotech companies actually own these variants and no one can use them without their approval. The danger in this, aside from the unknown long term health and environmental effects of GM crops, in addition to the legal ramifications of GM crops infecting non-GM crops, is that big business is increasingly controlling our food, and the future of our food.

“Soybeans grow fast and easy.

They have many uses in food products, and are also good for your garden.”

The use of soy as a biofuel is another thorny matter. It's my opinion that food

as fuel on an industrial scale is just wrong on so many levels—environmental and humanitarian.

It takes an incredible amount of land and feedstock just to make enough fuel to fill up a car. Additionally, food prices are rising around the world due in part to the demand of biofuels. Like anything else we buy these days, just because something is made from soy, it doesn't mean that soy has been grown sustainably. Exercise caution when buying soy products. If you're choosing soy for environmental reasons, it would be terrible to discover rainforest was recently destroyed in order to make your "earth-friendly" alternative.

An environmentally friendly and healthy alternative is to grow your own soybeans. The following tips for growing soybeans are brought to you by Heather Higinbotham.

Soybeans grow fast and easy. They have many uses in food products, and are also good for your garden. They are sometimes used as a "green manure," which is a plant that is grown for the purpose of providing organic matter in the soil. After the plants are grown, they are tilled into the soil. Soybeans have nodules that grow off their roots that convert nitrogen gases into nitrogen compounds in the soil. Soybeans are part of the Leguminosae family and are rich in protein. Due to the ease of growth and their many uses, soybeans are a great crop to add to your garden.

Grow Tips 1. Soybeans need a lot of light and can mould if they are in a moist environment. Try to plant them where they will not get shaded by other crops.Ventilation is also beneficial to successful growth.

2. Soybeans are a pole bean, which means they need something to grow on.

You can use vertical gardening systems,

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soy - the good the bad and the ugly or if you’re growing outdoors, stick a pole in the ground and aid the beans in twisting around them. Some people place three poles in the ground in a triangle and tie them together at the top. The plants may need to be thinned as they grow to prevent overcrowding.

3. Wet medium or soil can rot the seeds, so there must be good drainage. For outdoor gardening, a raised bed may work best if you live in a wet climate or your garden is in a wet area.

4. If growing outdoors, rotate your soybean crops from year-to-year. This means not to plant soybeans in the same spot as the year before. Also avoid planting where other legumes have recently grown.

5. Dust seeds with a bacterial innoculant to speed up the growth of nitrogenhelping nodules. This will also reduce the need for fertilizer.

6. Pole beans can take as long as 10 weeks to start producing, so if you would like to speed it up you can add a low nitrogen fertilizer to the medium.

Mexican Bean Beetle Aphids

7. Plant the soybeans about one and a half to two inches deep. If using soil, make sure the topsoil is soft and loose.

If your soil is lumpy, try to loosen any large lumps.

8. Soybeans can stand a cool environment. Do not try to plant if the soil or medium is under 65°F.

Maintenance Tips • Mulch is helpful for soybeans as it prevents damage to the delicate root system that can occur during weeding.

It also prevents over-watering and keeps the soil moist, but not saturated.

If the soil dries out too much the beans will only grow a little then curl up at the ends and reduce the amount of beans you will get from the crop.

• Do not touch or move around in a crop with wet leaves. This causes the spread of disease among plants.

• Soybeans can be bothered by Mexican bean beetles, Japanese beetles and aphids. Pick off or spray off any bugs and scrap off any egg masses you see to prevent damage.

Japanese Beetle

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soy - the good the bad and the ugly • Before shelling put them in the freezer for about three hours. This kills anything that may be inside, such as bugs or their eggs.

• Store your beans in a container with a lid in a dry cool place.

Soybeans are rarely, if ever, a hassle to the indoor or outdoor gardener. If you have never tried growing soybeans now is the time to start.Watch how many you plant because you could end up with way more than expected. Follow the tips listed here and you should have a bumper crop of soybeans this year.

MY

Soybeans at harvest time.

• Soybeans can get diseases, like anthracnose, bacterial blight and mosaic. If you have a disease make sure you are rotting the crops and buy seeds that are a disease resistant variety.

Harvest Tips • Let the pods get brown and dry before picking. If you expect frost you can pick before this and finish drying inside, but it is best if they are left to dry on the vine, if possible.

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Blue Lab Full Page NEW

GROWING FOR HEALTH

Let us Grow Lettuce

by Charlotte Bradley

Fresh produce in remote and inhospitable places is now economically feasible, thanks to the science of hydroponics.

Areas such as the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, which are devoid of native mammals and native trees, now have access to nutrient rich fresh vegetables.

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Hydroponics Bring Life to Land of Rock The main geographic feature of the Falklands, an archipelago of islands 300 miles east of Argentina, is rock. The islands, composed of two large islands and over 700 small, uninhabited islands, are volcanic formations. Grass and ferns are the primary native forms of vegetation. Because of the rocky terrain, traditional farming is not an option. Fresh fruits and vegetables of questionable freshness had to be shipped to the island residents, at escalated prices. In 1988, conditions changed. The Falkland Islands Development Corporation invested in a greenhouse in which to grow vegetables, and a new era sprouted.

Water, Water Everywhere Though the islands are completely surrounded by water, salt water cannot be used for hydroponics nutrient solutions. Thus, the largest expense encountered is for purified water. Electricity is also a must for growing vegetables under glass during cold winter months. That is where cruise ships become part of the equation. Oil from cruise ships stopping to pick up the fresh produce is recycled into fuel to heat the greenhouses.

Planes, Trains and…Boats Cruise lines praise the fresh, high quality lettuce, greens, peppers and other produce grown at the farm. Few other places in the region can supply enough vegetables to make a stop worthwhile. Quality of the hydroponics lettuce grown also helps ensure its place in Cruise Industry Cuisine. The farm is one of the top suppliers to the cruise industry. After a long process to set up a military contract, the farms now provide hundreds of tons of fresh produce to military personnel passing through the region; a great addition to pre-packaged military meals.

Tomatoes Lead to Trees The first product produce on the farms were tomatoes; however, on islands marked by little native vegetation, ornamental trees and flowers produced by the farm have become popular as well. Residents of the islands now landscape their yards with plants. What started as a hydroponics greenhouse to provide some fresh vegetables has turned into a multi-faceted industry in the tiny town in the middle of a tiny rock, in the middle of the huge ocean. MY

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PRODUCT

Continued from page 42

spotlight

Organically Approved Dino Grow ______ Organically approved Dino Grow was created from 300 million year old minerals, mined from remnants of prehistoric swamps. These minerals, rich in humic and fulvic acid, are a direct by-product of forest mycelium. Dino Grow improves nutrient uptake and absorption, leading to vigorous root and plant growth. It is non-transient so it stays around the plant site for continued benefit. Now you can experience the rejuvenating power of ancient, organic Dino Grow in your soil. Works symbiotically with Gorilla Grow as a food source for the live mycelium. But hurry, it's been on back order for 300 million years. Ask for it at your local hydro shop.

Performance in a Bottle – Bloom Flower A & B __ This four part grow and flower nutrient is easy to use and pH stabilized. Yellow bottle Bloom Flower A & B is designed to perform in any growing medium including coco.

Chelated elements are available through broad a pH range.

Use one teaspoon per quart throughout the grower and flower cycle. Visit your favorite hydroponics shop for more information.

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Life and the Sea: Sea Solids in Agriculture

When Dr. Maynard Murray’s groundbreaking book “Sea Energy Agriculture” was published in 1976, the good doctor traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, and at Charles Walters’ request, spoke to the ACRES USA Conference. In his presentation, simply titled “Sea Solids,” Murray explained the theories behind his discoveries during 30 years of research and experimentation, and his wish that his work be continued on in future generations for the purpose of improving human health. The following is the edited transcript of this historical speech.

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Life and the Sea There are about 380,000 people studying life and making a living thereby in the U.S., but no one really knows what life is. We do know some essential characteristics of life, however.. There can be no life without a transfer of electrical energy. In other words, each cell is a little battery that puts out a current. If a cell is unable to put out a current, it is dead and can never return to living tissue. Anything living alters its environment for its benefit in order for it to live and reproduce.

This is the difference between living and non-living tissue. Life is always contained in a cell. It’s surrounded into a definite volume, not like inorganic things—it is always in a cell. Cells, of course, vary in size. The largest cell on

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earth is an ostrich egg.

The smallest cell is a tiny bacteria. In warmblooded animals, the reproductive cells are the largest and the smallest—in other words, the sperm cell is the

the smallest bacteria, cannot do this, and has to live within the cell. A cell, a living tissue, has to get its food by either concentrating or diluting its environment or altering it some way in order to make its environment part of its tissue. All of life is parasitic, with few exceptions. In fact, one living thing lives on another and so on all the way up and down the scale.

The exception to this rule is plants. Plant life contains chlorophyll or some chlorophylllike pigment. There are three different pigments by which plant cells can synthesize their own tissue out of simple inorganic things: chlorophyll, the pigment in blue-green algae, and the pigment in the retina of our eye. If that is contained by certain cells, it is with the aid of light, able to synthesize food and proteins, etc., out of simple inorganic materials.

Green plants, in other words, will not use organic materials. I think the organic farmer and gardener has one of the best things going for them except the name.

They’re doing exactly the right thing, but they’re using the wrong name! You’re not really feeding a plant “organic” material—it has to be broken down into inorganic material before the plant, the green plant, can use it. If we’d just started with a different name, it would have been more accurate, and people might have understood it better. Nevertheless, the idea of keeping all the organic tissue on the soil and let it be broken down by bacteria and fungi in the inorganic form for the plant is a commendable practice and very good.

Plants can’t use organic or tied-up elements, and animals can’t use inorganic elements, or shouldn’t. Salts are the only real inorganic compounds we take in.

We know that salt for the most part is a toxic material, sodium chloride. It

“If you eat organically tiedup iodine, it increases your metabolism. If you take potassium iodide, salt, it’s the compound we use to step down the metabolism.” smallest cell in the body of a human or any other mammal, and the egg cell is the largest. These cells are able to carry on the processes of life alone. They do not need anything except food from the outside.

They can manufacture many of their food products. They can break down complex compounds and synthesize their own body tissues.

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Life and the Sea produces swelling in tissues, and your doctor will take you off of it if you have any swelling, heart disease or if you’re pregnant.

He does this not knowing why, except for his awareness that salt produces swelling. The reason it produces swelling is because it’s tied-up in an inorganic form, and you, being an animal, can’t utilize it. If you take carrot juice, or many different vegetables, they contain sodium and chlorine that you can tolerate without any harmful effects whatsoever, if it’s tied-up right, in an organic form.

Take iodine, for instance.

We do take some inorganic iodine and form a potassium iodide in salt. Here too, the iodine shows an opposite effect to that produced when it’s tied-up organically. If you eat organically tied-up iodine, it increases your metabolism. If you take potassium iodide, salt, it’s the compound we use to step down the metabolism. We do know, however, that inorganic iodine prevents us from having a certain type of toxic goiter.

This is probably due to the fact that iodine is indeed hooked-up organically in small doses in plant life in your intestine. In the same way, we know that ruminant animals can tolerate large

doses of inorganic salts, because the protozoa and bacteria in the stomachs of the ruminant animal can tie these things up.

We do the same thing with iron. If we take ferric chloride, which is an inorganic iron, we do not get the benefit of the iron as such. It has to be absorbed by the bacteria of the intestine, then released as an organic tie-up before we can utilize it. In other words, the idea that animals have to have organically tied-up elements is still true.

We can prove that anytime an animal benefits from the ingestion of an inorganic substance. It is because it is made organic by the action of either the fermentative juices or bacterial life in the intestine.

Life on Earth started in the sea. In fact, your own blood, the plasma of your blood, is about ¼ seawater. If you look at the trace elements in your blood plasma, it’s almost the same chemical analysis as ¼ strength seawater.

Even today, 85 per cent of the life on our planet is in the sea.

If we’re allowed to live without artificially killing ourselves off with atomic bombs and so forth, then we must know that in the future life on Earth will also end in the sea. Why is this so?

The answer is simple. Number one: the sea receives all of the elements washed off the land. This is a tremendous amount of nutrition leaving the land and going into the sea. Because the sea is around pH neutral or a little bit on the alkaline side, there are two elements that will not stay in solution—phosphorous and iron. Certain research and tests suggest that phosphorous will be the limiting element to life. In other words, life is dying at a tremendous rate. We don’t realize it, but it is leaving the land at a tremendous rate, because of the lack of phosphorous.

“Phosphorous is one of the elements that is absolutely essential for all life, both plant and animal.”

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life and the sea

Phosphorous forms salts very easily with iron and other things and if in an alkaline solution or even neutral solution, it will go out of solution and form an insoluble salt. Now this is taking place in the sea. We’re losing phosphorous in tremendous amounts. And the only way the phosphorous is brought back to the soil is by bird droppings, which amounts only to about one to three per cent of what is lost in the sea.

Phosphorous is one of the elements that is absolutely essential for all life, both plant and animal. So until we do learn to recover this lost element, we can look forward to the time when all life on Earth will quit and not go on— simply because one of the 92 elements has become insoluble, unusable for living processes. If you want to make money, invest in phosphorous, because the future is there—it has to be.

Because of all of these things, life started and is still more abundant in the sea, and life will end in the sea. Of course, I chose many, many years ago to begin using sea solids for fertilizer. People turn up their eyebrows when they hear this, because I do not take out the sodium chloride. We use everything—all of the traces of 92 elements found in the universe actually are in our ocean. We use them all. We spread them on the soil. We use from 250 pounds to as high as 2,200 pounds of total sea solids per acre. We also grow many things in hydroponic solution using seawater. Of course, we have to add some NPK to the seawater, because

“We use everything— all of the traces of 92 elements found in the universe actually are in our ocean. We use them all. ”

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land animals and plants have become acclimated to higher concentrations of NPK than is in the sea.

We’ve discussed phosphorous, but now let’s consider nitrogen. The sea is a place that does fix the nitrogen.

We talk about our plants fixing nitrogen out here by electrolysis; that’s nothing compared to what nature does through bacteria! Lightning and other phenomena fix nitrogen too, but the bacteria in the sea are the main sources of the fixation of nitrogen. Their food source is the sea. So if you use the sea solids on the soil, you gradually build up nitrogen in your soil year after year, because these bacteria will actually live in your soil.You’ll get to the

place where you don’t need nitrogen supplements at all on your soil, because the bacteria will do it for you, just as it does in the sea.

Remember, 72 per cent of the Earth’s surface is sea.You never heard of a sea mammal having diabetes, arthritis, cancer or malnutrition, did you? I never did.

It just doesn’t happen. There are no hospitals in 72 per cent of the Earth, you see. It sounds logical that maybe

there’s something in the sea that means something health-wise, doesn’t it? Many years ago we started to work out the amount of sea solids that could be used both in hydroponic solutions or spread on the soil. After many years of trial and error, we did work it out, and now we’ve been able to grow any crop that we’ve ever tried on soil or solution containing total sea solids—sodium chloride and all.

MY

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TALKING SHOP

Sales representative Logan Carlson and garden manager Darrin Christopherson are key employees at Midwest, initiating the introduction of a variety of new and hightech products.

AT A GLANCE Store name: Midwest Hydroponics Owners: Dave Turbenson Location: 5825 Excelsior Boulevard Minneapolis, Minnesota Phone: 888-449-2739 Email: service@midwesthydroponics.com Web: www.midwesthydroponics.com

Just like herbs, veggies and flowers thrive under the confident hands of Dave Turbenson and the rest of the crew at Midwest Hydroponics, so does the store. Since it opened in 1995, it has just kept growing and growing and growing. Dave and his then partner and friend Dan Reith welcomed their customers into a spacious shop boasting 2,500 square feet. They immediately added beer and wine brewing to the business to diversify their offerings during the slow season. However, the “slow season” never did rear its ugly head. Sure there were days in that first year when the only person to come through the door was the mailman with bills. But those days were rare. Both the hydro and home brewing business were busy year round. Their customer base grew, as did “Minnesota locals have always been limited by a short growing season, about five months a year. Even still, convincing mainstream gardeners to grow indoors has been challenging.” their aspirations for the business and a relocation was in order.

Sadly, Dan died in a car accident just nine months after the store opened, leaving 27-year-old Dave to run the store on his own. Dave went ahead with the upgrade to a 6,000 square foot space. But it wasn’t enough. A subsequent move gave them more than double the square footage. Today a staff of 50 fills the 24,000 square feet location.

It’s Dave’s belief that gardening is America’s number one hobby. Minnesota locals have always been limited by a short growing season, about five months a year. Even still, convincing mainstream gardeners to grow indoors has been challenging. Dave’s marketing scheme, therefore, includes attendance at numerous gardening tradeshows and expos that allow him to put hydroponics where people can see it. “We really do our best to get people to take that first step. All they really need is a few feet of unused space, in a basement or a laundry room for instance, and they can grow a nice little garden at home,” says Dave.

A Growing Passion Dave’s father Jim grew up on a farm where he helped out in the family garden.

It was he that cultivated Dave’s interested gardening. Dave wasn’t afraid to ask

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other gardeners for cuttings, shoots or runners to enhance his collection. His passion for plants carried through high school and college when he worked as a greenskeeper at a nursing home complex.

In 1998 he married his wife Gail.

Together they created a masterpiece of an outdoor garden with over 125 perennials that bloomed intermittently throughout the seasons, providing constant color and flowers all year. Their beautiful garden was forgotten temporarily when their son Jack and daughter Kay came along,

Midwest’s current location is the last of four moves, as the shop consistently outgrew space after space.

Dave with his wife Gail and their children, 7-year-old Jack and 6-year-old-Kay .

but Dave still maintains a small outdoor container garden with tomatoes on his deck. A small herb garden, reserved for Jack and Kay, thrives in the backyard. He also grows lettuce and herbs indoors.

Before Dave opened Midwest he had never experimented with hydroponics.

But he caught on quickly to the basic

principles—which he believes are fairly simple—through hands-on experience and reading books and magazines. “Once you get the basics of water, nutrients, pH, pumps and timers down, it’s not too tough to grow a successful hydro garden,” says Dave.

There’s always something growing in the store. The staff regularly maintains about four gardens year round; most of them When Dave Turbenson was a child his room was a are ebb and flow systems so they jungle, crowded over with a variety of plants. Today, his plants take residence in his 24,000 square foot can be moved around easily as shop, serving to entice and inspire customers. needed. The gardens serve as excellent examples of what to do, and because they all feature a different the store, Gail is also an integral part of nutrient line, the customer gets a real the business’ success. “She keeps the lights time view of the results achievable with on,” says Dave fondly. the available products. They primarily grow lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and flowers. Life Lessons Marigolds, known to be natural pest In this fast moving industry, it’s always repellants, are frequently blooming in a battle to be smarter than your the store. Dave likes to encourage his customers. You need to stay on top customers to use natural pest control, of what’s hot. Even our industry’s but the marigolds also serve to protect knowledge of plant physiology is the store’s gardens from all the little pests growing, and it’s up to the retailer that ride in from his customers’ indoor to be aware of these changes. Indoor gardens. Dozens of gardeners visit the gardeners are intelligent and their store daily and they can bring in a lot of knowledge is sometimes more advanced little bugs from their own gardens, bugs than the retailers that are supposed to that are looking for a vacation. be educating.

Jon Kammer, Dave’s first hire, still works The store is a success partly because for the company today. There was a Dave, Darrin, Jon and the rest of the staff time when Jon was an expert on indoor at Midwest are dedicated to staying ahead gardening, but today he is mainly in of the information curve. It also helps charge of purchasing and management. that they like what they do. It shows and Midwest’s garden manager Darrin the customers can sense that. They back Christopherson—who has been with that up with friendly support and service. the company for eight years—and Logan In the early years Dave lived and Carlson—who joined the team just over breathed his business. With a qualified four years ago—initiated bringing in and dedicated staff of over 50 employees, many new and innovative products to the Dave is now able to spend more time store. “Darrin and Logan have been key with his family. Weekends in the summer employees for expanding our product are spent with Gail, 7-year-old Jack and line,” says Dave. Back when carbon filters 6-year-old Kay at their cabin. and T5 fluorescents were first being “In business, and in life, you create your introduced, Darrin and Logan ordered own luck”, says Dave. “Success does not them in. More recently, they ordered magically happen.” But for Dave and the enclosed gardening huts, which have staff at Midwest Hydroponics, success has been a huge hit with the customers. As arrived; the proof is in the plants. MY the account manager and bookkeeper for Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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TIPS & TRICKS

The ABCs of Hydroponics

For the beginner, hydroponics can be a bit daunting.

Technological terms and sophisticated language are a regular occurrence and can cause the new gardener to give up too early due to misunderstanding.

Thankfully, help is here. Below you will find a list of terms commonly used in hydroponics. Before too long you will be relaxing with your feet up while your indoor garden thrives.

This list has been expanded to reflect our changing industry.

Aeroponics: a variation of hydroponics that involves the misting of plant roots with nutrient solution.

Allele: different forms of the same gene; allele "A" may produce a tall plant, while allele "a" gives a short plant.

Anther: part at the top of the male flower that produces the pollen.

Aquaponics: the integration of aquaculture (the raising of marine animals, such as fish) with hydroponics; the waste products from the fish are treated and then used to fertilize hydroponically growing plants.

Botrytis: any of several fungal diseases that afflict plants; commonly called bacterial soft rot or gray mold.

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Capillary action: when the surface of a liquid is in contact with a solid, the liquid is elevated or depressed depending upon the relative attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other or for those of the solid. This is similar to how plants seemingly defy gravity when they transport liquid from the roots upward through the plant.

Cladosporium: any of several fungal diseases that afflict plants; commonly called leaf mold.

Closed system: a hydroponic system, like nutrient film technique (NFT) systems, that recirculates the nutrient solution.

Conductivity: the scale, described as electrical conductivity (EC) or conductivity factor (CF), that is used to measure the strength of nutrient solution.

Cross-pollination: transferring pollen from the flowers of one plant of a species to the stigma of another plant of the same species.

Dioecious: varieties or species with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Fusarium: any of several fungal diseases that afflict plants; commonly called dry rot or wilt.

Mineral deficiency: when a plant is not receiving a required nutrient—at all or in an insufficient amount—a disorder will result.

Monoecious: varieties or species with separate male and female flowers on each plant.

Nutrient solution: minerals dissolved in water that are used to feed hydroponically grown plants.

Osmosis: the flow or diffusion that takes place through a semipermeable membrane typically separating a solvent and a solution that strives to bring about a condition of equilibrium.

Parts per million (ppm): a ratio figure that represents the amount of

one substance that is in one million parts of another substance; commonly used to describe the relative concentrations of nutrient solutions.

Pistil: the entire female section of the flower, including the eggs, ovary, style and stigma.

Pollen: the mass of microspores in a seed plant that usually appears as a fine dust and is the agent of pollination.

Stalk: on a male flower, the portion of the stamen that supports the anther.

Stamen: the basic part of the male flower that includes the stalk (or filament), anther and pollen.

Sterilization: the act of rendering something free from living cells. In hydroponics it is essential that all materials (especially any growing medium) used are sterile to avoid contaminating the hydroponic system. Steam and chemical agents are often used in this process.

Stigma: the surface at the end of the pistil on a female flower where pollen lands and germinates.

Style: the part of a female flower that supports the stigma.

Verticillium: any of several fungal diseases that afflict plants; commonly called wilt.

Several texts were useful as resource materials while creating this glossary: • Source: www.growingedge.com/basics/glosssary.html • Hydroponic Food Production, Fifth edition, by Howard M, Resh, (Woodbridge, 1997) • Hydroponic Lettuce Production, by Dr. Lynette Morgan, (Casper Publications, 1999) • Hydroponics Q&A, by Howard M. Resh, (Woodbridge, 1998) • Hydroponics: A Practical Guide for the Soilless Grower, by J. Benton Jones, Jr., (St. Lucie, 1997) • Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, (Merriam-Webster, 1993) MY

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MAX-MART

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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MAX-MART

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Get your Max-Mart ad into the next issue!

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COMING UP IN december

Maximum Yield Announces 2011 Expo Tour - Get Ready to Grow Big The 2011 Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo Tour has been announced and we are proud to be hosting in Colorado (spring), San Francisco (summer) and Long Beach (fall). Full details and dates will be available at www.indoorgardeningexpo.com

FEATURED ARTICLES The Hydroponics Greenhouse

When building a greenhouse from the ground up, the choice of materials used has both economic and biological implications. Basic design and flooring are the first items to be considered.

The Ins and Outs of HVAC

Ventilation is an essential component of any grow room and will ultimately influence the quality of the end product and your set-up’s efficiency. The question up for debate in this article related to ventilation is, should you run a sealed room?

Gardening Challenges and Solutions

Yellowing leaves can be a result of a variety of inconsistencies in EC, nutrient levels and pH. Discover the most common causes and combat yellowing leaves with easy solutions

Hydroponic Starts 2

In Hydroponic Starts part two, we cover the propagation environment, propagation materials and the process for growing healthy tomato, pepper and cucumber starts.

www.maximumyield.com will be available December 1 for FREE at selected indoor gardening retail stores across the country and on maximumyield.com I N D O O R

G A R D E N I N G

Subscriptions are available at maximumyield.com/subscriptions.php

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DO YOU

know?

to Wikipedia, approximately eight per 1 According cent of children in the USA are allergic to proteins in soybeans, which produce skin irritation. procedure that can keep the EC (electrical 2 One conductivity) from increasing in the rooting medium is to apply a nutrient solution at the beginning of the day, to be followed by water only the rest of the day, its scheduled application sufficient to meet the water requirement of the plant. living in the African village of Handaga exist on 3 People a basic diet of millet no supplements, no vegetables,

6

In warm-blooded animals, the reproductive cells are the largest and the smallest— in other words, the sperm cell is the smallest cell in the body of a human or any other mammal, and the egg cell is the largest.

7

Most problems with seeds and cuttings fall into three main categories: problems with the planting stock (the seed or clone material itself), problems with the environment or problems with aggressive disease pathogens, like pythium.

8

In a limited volume of nutrient solution, most of the easily absorbed elements will be depleted in a relatively short period of time, changing the pH and elemental ratios among the remaining elements.

9

Many crop species have certain stages of development and seasons where cutting material is more likely to rapidly form new roots. This is often determined by internal plant factors such levels of endogenous growth regulators, degree of tissue hardness and maturity.

are an amazingly versatile crop, providing 10 Soybeans oil (20 per cent), carbohydrates (35 per cent) and protein (40 per cent). when accompanying the initial feedings 11 Bofvitamins, any vegetative base nutrient, will reduce stress and transplant shock that may have resulted from the initial planting.

the only additives being leaves from the trees. and kelp aquatic plants serve as one of 4 Seaweed the highest concentrated natural forms of plant soluble vitamins, hormones, proteins, amino acids, gibberellins and micro- and macronutrients. plasma in humans is about one-fourth 5 Blood seawater. If you look at the trace elements in blood plasma, it’s almost the same chemical analysis as quarter-strength seawater.

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

ALABAMA Alabama Organics 3348 Bethel Road, Valley Head, AL 35989 256-635-0802

ALASKA Brown’s Electrical Supply 365 Industrial Way, Anchorage, AK 99501 907-272-2259 Far North Garden Supply 300 Centaur Street, Wasilla, AK 99654 907-376-7586 Far North Garden Supply 2834 Boniface Parkway Anchorage, AK 99504 907-333-3141 Holmtown Nursery Inc. 1301 - 30th Avenue, Fairbanks, AK 99701 907-451-8733

ARIZONA ACI Hydroponics 1325 South Park Lane, Tempe, AZ 85282 800-633-2137 Homegrown Hydroponics 601 East Broadway Road, Tempe, AZ 85282 480-377-9096 Homegrown Hydroponics 1702 East Prince Road, Tucson, AZ 85719 520-323-1212 Natural Pools & Gardens 2143 North Country Suite C, Tucson, AZ 85716 520-323-2627 Sea of Green Hydroponics 1301 E. University Dr. Tempe AZ, 85281 800-266-4136 Sea of Green West 2340 W. Bell Road, Suite 116, Phoenix, AZ 85023 602-504-8842 Sea of Green Hydroponics 402 North 4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705 520-622-6344

ARKANSAS Fermentables 3915 Crutcher Street, N. Little Rock, AR 72118 501-758-6261 Mickey’s Mercantile 1303 Highway 65 South, Clinton, AR 72031 501-412-0214 Old Soul Organics and More 1771 Crossover Road, Fayetteville, AR 72701 479-444-6955

CALIFORNIA 3rd Street Hydroponics 636 3rd Street Oakland, CA 94607 510-452-5521 805 Hydroponics & Organics 1785 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 805-494-1785 A+ Hydroponics & Organics 1604 Babcock Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 949-642-7776 A Fertile World (Eureka) 65th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-444-0200

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A Fertile World (Fortuna) 610 7th Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-0700 Abundant Hydroponics LLC 1611 Shop Street, #1-A, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-54 HYDRO Advanced Garden Supply 2660 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, Building C, Unit 9, S. Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-541-4769 Advanced Garden Supply 3113 Alhambra Drive, Unit F, Cameron Park, CA 95682, 530-676-2100 Advanced Hydroponics 17808 Sierra Highway, Canyon Country, CA 91351 661-299-1603 AG Natural 403 Idaho Maryland Road, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-274 0990 All Seasons Hydroponics 17614 Chatsworth Street, Granada Hills, CA 91344 818-368-4388 Alternative Hydro 3870 East, Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91107 888-50-HYDRO Always Sunny Hydroponics 708 W. Swain Road Stockton, CA 95207 209-473-9827 Always Sunny Hydroponics 2511 West LN. Stockton, CA 95205 209-939-0660 All Ways Hydro 2220 Eastridge Ave. Suite C Riverside CA 92507 888-HYDRO98 American Hydroponics 286 South G Street, Arcata, CA 95521 800-458-6543 America’s Best Hydroponics & Gardening Center 641 W. Palmdale Blvd. Unit D Palmdale, CA 93551 661-266-3906 Anthony’s Garden & Lighting Supply 30 Ridge Road, Suites 8 & 9 Sutter Creek, CA 95685 209-267-5416 Anything Grows 10607 W. River Street, Building 3 Suite C, Truckee, CA 96161 530-582-0479 Art of Hydro 2636 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 805-230-2227 Atlantis Garden Supply 2851 A Whipple Road, Union City, CA 94587 510-487-8007 Atwater Hydroponics 3350 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90039 323-663-8881 Auburn Organic 4035 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn, CA 95602 530-823-8900 B & S Gardening Supplies 590 Commerce Court, Manteca, CA 95336 209-239-8648

Bakersfield Hydroponics 2408 Brundage Lane, Suite B Bakersfield, CA 93304 661-323-7333 Bare Roots Hydroponics 1615 East Cypress, #5 Redding, CA 96002 530-244-2215 Beginning Hydroponics PO Box 1232, Corona, CA 92787 951-735-4446 Berkeley Indoor Garden 844 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94710 510-549-2918 Berkeley’s Secret Garden 921 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710 510-486-0117 Best Coast Growers 4417 Glacier Avenue Suite C, San Diego, CA 92120 800-827-1876 Best Yield Garden Supply 3503 West Temple Avenue, Unit A, Pomona, CA 91768 909-839-0505 Better Choice Hydroponics 610 S. Washington Street, Senora, CA 95370 209 533 2400 Better Grow Hydro Pasadena 1271 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasedena, CA 91106 626 737 6612 Better Grow Hydro Los Angeles 5554 Bandini Boulevard, Bell, CA 91106 323-510-2700; 877 640 GROW Bloom Hydro 1602 53rd Ave. Oakland CA 94601 707 980 0456 Box Of Rain Inc. Po Box 302, Rexford, CA 59930 406-755-7245 Brentwood Hydroponics & Organics 560 Valdry Ct #85 Brentwood, CA 94513 925-634-6704 BWGS-CA 7530 W. Sunnyview Avenue Visalia, CA 93291 888-316-1306 California Hydro Garden 1043 South Glendora Avenue, Suite A West Covina, CA 91790 626-813-0868 California Hydroponics 310 Coral Street, Suite C Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-423-4769 Calwest Hydroponics 11620 Sterling Avenue, Suite A Riverside, CA 92503 800-301-9009 Central Coast Hydrogarden 1951 Santa Barbara Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-544-GROW Citrus Heights Hydrogarden 8043 Greenback Lane Citrus Heights, CA 95610 916-728-4769 City Farm Hydroponics 8903 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Sun Valley, CA 91352 818-767-2076 City Farmer’s Nursery 4832 Home Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105 619-284-6358

Clover Hydroponics & Garden Supply 43 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport, CA 95453 707-263-4000 CNG Garden Supplies 22 Ricknbacker Circle, Livermore, CA 94551 209-836-5550 Coca’s Central Valley Hydroponics 116 West Orangeburg Avenue, Modesto, CA 95350 209-567-0590 Concord Indoor Garden 2771 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94519 925-671-2520 Conejo Hydroponics 3481 Old Conejo Road #106 Newbury Park, CA 91320 805-480-9596 Conrad Hydroponics Inc. 14915 Unit E, Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422 707-994 3264 Constantly Growing 6200 Enterprise Drive, Suite A Diamond Springs, CA 95619 530-642-9710 Constantly Growing 4343 Hazel Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA 95628 916-962-0043 Constantly Growing - Davis 123 D Street Davis, CA 95616 530-756-4774 D&S Garden Supplies 17-130 Doolittle Drive San Leandro, CA 94577 510-430-8589 Dazey’s Supply 3082 Redwood Drive, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-3002 Direct Hydroponics Wholesale 14228 Alberts Way, Chino, CA 91710 909-606-5885 Dirt Cheap Hydroponics 17975 H Highway 1, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-964-4211 Discount Hydroponics 4745 Hiers Avenue, Riverside, CA 92505 877-476-9487 Dr. Greenthumbs Hydroponic Garden Supplies 566 San Ramon Valley Blvd.

Danville, CA 94526 925-314-9376 Eel River Hydroponics & Soil Supply 164 Dinsmore Drive, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-726-0395 El Centro Hydro & Brew Supply Inc. 591 main Street, Suite N-2 El Centro, CA 92243 760-235-4985 Elite Horticulture Supply 22330 Sherman Way, C13, Canoga Park, CA 91303 818-347-5172 Emerald Garden 8249 Archibald Avenue, Ranch Cucamanga, CA 91730 909-466-3796 Emerald Garden 13325 South Highway 101, Hopland, CA 95482 707-744-8300 Emerald Garden 307 East Perkins Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 707-463-2510 Endless Green Hydroponics 25 Enterprise Court, Suite 3 Napa, CA 94558 707-254-0200 Evergreen Hydroponics 923 N. Central Avenue, Suite B, Upland, CA 91786 909-946-7100

Everything Green Hydroponics 915 Texas Street, Fairfield, CA 94533 707-432-0774 Everything Green 448 Georgia Street, Vallejo, CA 94590 707-647-0774 Extreme Hydroponics 11479 San Fernando Road C, San Fernando, CA 91340 818-898-0915 EZ Green Hydroponics 7017 Reseda Boulevard, Reseda, CA 91335 818-776-9076 Farm Hydroponics, The 1950 Lake Tahoe Boulevard #3, S. Lake Tahoe, CA 96150 530-541-3276 Flairform 1751 S Pointe Avenue, Ontario, CA 91761 213-596-8820 Flower Hut Nursery 603 4th Street Wheatland, CA 95692 530-633-4526 Foothill Hydroponics 10705 Burbank Boulevard, N. Hollywood, CA 91601 818-760-0688 Foothills Hydrogarden 3133 Penryn Road, Penryn, CA 95663 916-270-2413 Full Sun Supply 3535 Industrial Drive, Unit B-3 Santa Rosa, CA 95403 877-FULL-SUN Funny Farms Hydroponics 963 Transport Way, #12 Petaluma, CA 94954 707-775-3111 G & G Organics and Hydroponics 901 W. Victoria Street Unit D, Compton, CA 90220 310-632-0122 Garden Connection, The 2145 Park Avenue, Unit 2 Chico, CA 95928 530-342-7762 Garden Depot, The 203 Commerce Street, Suite 101 Lodi, CA 95240 209-339-9950 Garden Highway Garden Supply 598 Garden Highway #22 Yuba City, CA 95991 530-755-2877 Garden Shed, The 1136 El Camino Real San Carlos, CA 650-508-8600 Garden Spout, The 44800 Highway 101, Laytonville, CA 95454 707-984-7260 Garden Spout, The 630 S. Main Street, Willits, CA 95490 707-456-0196 Garden Warehouse 6355 Scarlet Court, #2, Dublin, CA 94568 925-556-3319 Gardening Unlimited 60 Old El Pueblo Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 831-457-1236 Go Big Hydroponics 4501 Van Nuys Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 818-789-3341 Go Green Hydroponics 15721 Ventura Boulevard, Encino, CA 91436 818-990-1198 Golden Gecko Garden Center, The 4665 Marshall Road, Garden Valley, CA 95633 530-333-2394

Golden Harvest Hydroponics & Garden Supply 8626 Lower Sacramento Road #48, Stockton, CA 95210 209-951-3550 Gonzo Grow 2550 Guerneville Road, Suite C,Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-546-1800 Gottagrow Garden Supply 769 Wilson Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 707-544-7782 Grass Roots Hydroponics 31875 Corydon, Suite 130 Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 951-245-2390 Grass Valley Hydrogarden 12506 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-477-2996 Green Acres Hydroponics 1215 Striker Avenue, Suite 180, Sacramento, CA 95834 916-419-4394 Green Coast Hydroponics 3560 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805-898-9922 Green Coast Hydroponics 2405 Mira Mar Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815 562-627-5636 Green Coast Hydroponics 496 Meats Avenue Orange, CA 92865 714-974-4769 Green Coast Hydroponics 11510 Whittier Boulevard Whittier, CA 90601 562-699-4201 Green Door Hydro and Solar 830 Traction Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90013 212-625-1323 Greenfire Sacramento 3230 Auburn Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95821 916-485-8023 Green Giant Hydroponics 7183 Hwy 49 Unit B Lotus CA 95651 530 622 4465 Green Gopher Garden Supply 679 Redwood Avenue, Suite A, Sand City, CA 93955 831-899-0203 Green Joint Ventures 61 Tarp Circle, Salinas, CA 93901 831-998-8628 Green Lady Hydroponics 4879 Newport Avenue, San Diego, CA 92107 619-222-5011 GreenLeaf Hydroponics 2212 Artesia Boulevard, Redondo Beach, CA 90278 310-374-2585 Green Light Hydroponics 2615 Honolula Ave. Montrose, CA 91020 818-640-2623 Green Logic Garden Supply 860 Piner Road, #38, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-843-3156 Greenmile Hydroponic Garden Supply 1480 South E. Street, Suite D, San Bernardino, CA 92408 909-885-5919 Green Thumb Hydroponics 35 Quinta Court, Suite B, Sacramento, CA 95823 916-689-6464 Green Thumb Lighting & Garden 1647 W. Sepulveda Boulevard, Unit 5, Torrance, CA 90501 888-326-GROW Greentrees Hydroponics Inc. 2581 Pioneer Avenue, Unit D Vista, CA 92081 760-598-7551

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

GreenWay Hydroponics 11510 Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, CA 90601 562-699-4201 Grodan Inc. 5152 Commerce Avenue, Moorpark, CA 93021 541-646-8245 Gro More Garden Supply 2937 Larkin Avenue, Clovis, CA 93021 541-646-8245 Grow It Right Aquaponics POB 552, Eureka, CA 95502 707-407-6519 Grow A Lot Hydroponics, San Diego 1591 N. Cuyamaca Street, El Cajon, CA 93612 619-749-6777 Growers Choice Hydroponics 1100 Carver Road, Modesto, CA 95350 209-522-2727 Growers Choice Hydroponics 16754 East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA 94578 510-278-6200 Grow It Yourself Gardens 401 Sunset Drive, Suite L, Antioch, CA 94509 925-755-GROW Grow Light Express 5318 East Second Street suite 164, Long Beach, CA 90803 888-318-GROW Grow Your Own 3401 Traval Street, San Francisco, CA 94116 415-731-2115 Grow Zone 718 Willow Rd. Menlo Park CA 94025 650-326-4769 Grow Wurks Hydroponics 765 S. State College Boulevard. Suite J Fullerton, CA 92831 Grunder Family Organics & Hydroponics 12321 Magnolia Avenue, Suite C, Riverside, CA 92503 877-468-7974 H20 Gardening 355 West 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731 310-514-1416 Hahn’s Lighting 260 E. VA Suite 1, San Jose, CA 95112 408-295-1755 Harvest Hydroponics 6650 Merchandise Way Suite B, Diamond Springs, CA 95619 530-622-5190 Healthy Harvest Hydroponics and Organics 2958 S. Higuera St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805.596.0430 High Desert Hydroponics 13631 Pawnee Road, #7 Apple Valley, CA 92308 760-247-2090 High Street Hydro 180 Cleveland Avenue, Auburn, CA 95603 530-885-5888 Hi-Tech Gardening 5327 Jacuzzi Street, #282, Richmond, CA 94804 510-524-4710 Hollywood Hydroponics and Organics 5109 1/2 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027-6105 323-662-1908

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Home Brews & Gardens 3176 Thorn St San Diego, CA 92104 619 630 2739 Home Life Hydroponics and Organics 1745 East Vista Way, Vista, CA 92084 760-643-2150 Hooked Up Hydroponics 339 S. Golden State Boulevard, Turlock, CA 95380 209-668-1300 House of Hydro 224 Weller Street, #B, Petaluma, CA 94952 707-762-4769 Humboldt Electronics 2547 California Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-443-9408 Humboldt Hydroponics 1302 Union Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-443-4304 Humboldt Hydroponics 2174 Pine Street, Redding, CA 96001 530-241-7454 Humboldt Hydroponics 601 I Street, Arcata, CA 95521 707-822-3377 Humboldt Hydroponics 2010 Tunnel Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-1402 Humboldt Nutrients 65th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 888-420-7770 Hydroasis 2643 S. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90232 888-355-4769 Hydrobrew 1319 South Coast Highway, Oceanside, CA 92054 760-966-1885; 877-966-GROW Hydro Depot 5665 Redwood Drive, #B, Rohnert Park, CA 94928 707-584-2384 Hydrogarden Delight 13762 Doolittle Drive, San Leandro, CA 94577 510-903-1808 Hydrogarden Mendocino County 1240 North Main Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 707-962-9252 Hydro International 7935 Alabama Avenue Canoga Park, CA 91304 Hydro King 105 Hartnell Avenue, Suite C and D, Redding, CA 96002 888-822-8941 Hydro King 2540 South Whitman Place, Chico, CA 959282 530-893-GROW (4769) Hydro-Logic Purification Systems 2825 Mattison Lane, Suite 103, Santa Cruz, CA 95065 888 H2O LOGIC Hydronation 2491 Boatman Drive, Suite B West Sacramento, CA 95691 916-372-4444 HydroPacific - Hydroponics & Garden Supplies 351 C Hastings Av., Ukiah, CA 95482 707-467-0400

Hydroponic Connection Warehouse, The 1995 Evans Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94124 415-824-9376 Hydroponics 4 Less 41669 Winchester Avenue, Temecula, CA 92590 800-A1-HYDRO Hydroponics Market 15816 Arminta St Van Nuys, CA 91406 818-305-6261 Hydroponics Plus 2250 Commerce Avenue, Suite C Concord, CA 94520 925-691-7615 Hydroponics Unlimited 641 W. Palmdale Blvd. “D” Palmdale, CA 93550 661-266-3906 Hydrostar Hydroponics & Organics 1307 W. Sixth Street, #211, Corona, CA 92882 951-479-8069 Igrow Hydro 2280 Veatch Street, Oroville, CA 95965 530-534-4476 Igrow Hydro 9000 Atkinson Street, Roseville, CA 95678 916-773-4476 Inland Empire Hydrogarden 1301-C South State Street, San Jancinto, CA 92853 886-72-HYDRO Inland Empire Hydrogarden 28822 Old Town Front St. #206 Temecula, CA 92590 886-74-HYDRO Innovative Growing Solutions (IGS) 7922-B Miramar Road, San Diego, CA 92126 858-578-IGS7 Kaweah Grower Supply 1106 1/2 N. Ben Maddox Way, Visalia, CA 93293 559-625-4937 Kern Hydroponics 2408 Brundage Lane, Suite B, Bakersfield, CA 93304 661-323-7333 La Habra 1301 S Beach Boulevard, La Habra, CA 90631 562-947-8383 LAX Hydro 10912 S. La Cienaga Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90304 310-337-6995 Lazy Gardeners Hydroponics ‘N’ More 14626 East Whittier Boulevard, Whittier, CA 90605 562-945-0909 Let it Grow 1228 2nd Street, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-464-9086 Let it Grow 160 Westwood Center, Arcata, CA 95521 707-822-8733 Liquid Gardens 21752 Devonshire Street, Chatsworth, CA 91311 818-718-7624 Long Beach Hydroponics & Organics 1772 Clark Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815 562-498-9525 Los Angeles Hydroponics and Organics 3007-3009 W. Artesia Blvd.

Torrance, CA 90504 310-323-4937

Lumatek Digital Ballasts 33 Commercial Boulevard, Suite B Novato, CA 94949 415-233-4273 M&M Garden Supply 2509 West Lane, Suite B Stockton, CA 95205 209-939-0664 M&M Garden Supply 22540 D Foothill Boulevard, 2509 Westlane Suite B Stockton, CA 95205 Marin Hydroponics 1219 Grant Avenue, Novato, CA 94945 415-897-2197 Medicine Man Farms 1602 53rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 707-980-0456 Mendocino Garden Shop PO Box 1301, 44720 Maint Street (at Hwy. 1), Mendocino, CA 95460 707-937-3459 Mendocino Greenhouse & Garden Supply 900 East School Way, Redwood Valley, CA 95470 707-485-0668 Merced Hydroponics 1809 East 21st Street, Merced, CA 95340 209-726-4769 M.G.S. 22540 D Foothill Boulevard, Hayward, CA 94541 510-582-0900 Mighty Garden Supply 4780 Mission Gorge Pl. #A-1, San Diego, CA 92120 619-287-3238 Modern Gardens 26620 Valley Center Dr. Santa Clarita, CA 91351 661-513-4733 Monterey Bay Horticulture Supply 224B Reindollar Avenue, Marina, CA 93933 831-38-HYDRO Monterey Bay Hydroponics and Organics 81 Hangar Way, #1, Watsonville, CA 95076 831-761-9999 Myron L Company 2450 Impala Drive, Carlsband, CA 9210-7226 760-438-2021 Mystic Gardens 8484 Florin Road, #110, Sacramento, CA 95828 916-381-2464 National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 1900 Bendixsen Street , Bldg. 1, Samoa, CA 95564 800-683-1114 (Northern CA) National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 6485 Brisa Street, Livermore, CA 94550 888-570-4678 (Southern CA) National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 1950 C South Grove Avenue, Ontario, CA 91761 888-888-3319 Natural Pest Controls 8320 B Hazel Avenue, Orangevale, CA 95662 916-726-0855 Nature’s Secret Garden and Supply 41469 Albrae Street, Fremont, CA 94577 510-623-8393 New Leaf Hydro 34150 123rd Street, Parablossom, CA 93553 661-944-2226 NorCal Creations PO Box 28, Cedar Ridge, CA 95924 Nor Cal Hydroponics 4837 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94118 415-933-8262

Northcoast Horticulture Supply 60 West 4th Street, Eureka, CA 95501 707-444-9999 Northcoast Horticulture Supply 357 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-5550 Northcoast Horticulture Supply 1070 Highway 101, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-464-1200 Northcoast Hydrogardens 3450 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 707-462-7214 No Stress Hydroponics 7543 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90046 323-845-9874 Nutes Int’l 204 N Quarantina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 805-687-6699 One Stop Hydroponics 12822 Victory Boulevard North Hollywood, CA 91606 818-980-5855 Oracle Garden Supply 5755 Oberlin Drive, Suite 100 San Diego, CA 92121 858-558-6006 Orange County Hydroponics 12687 Beach Boulevard, Unit H, Stanton, CA 90680 714-893-9493 Organic Bountea 1919 Dennis Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 800-798-0765 Orville Organic Gardens 5250 Olive Hwy Ste 1 Oroville, CA 95966 530-589-9950 Orsa Organix 111 Willow Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 650-369-1269 Pacific Beach Hydroponics 1852 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109 858-274-2559 Pacific Coast Hydroponics 4147 Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230 310-313-1354 Pacific Garden Supply 128 H Carlos Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903 Pacifica Hydroponics 90 Eureka Square Pacifica, CA 94044 650-355-5100 Palm Springs Hydroponics 4651 Ramon Road, Palm Springs, CA 92264 760-327-ROOT Plant It Earth 2279 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 415-626-5082 Plant Life 32 Race Street, San Jose, CA 95126 408-283-9191 Plant-N-Grow 1602 53rd Avenue, Oakland, CA 94601 707-980-0456 Precision Hydroponics 132 Kennedy Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008 408-866-8176 Probiotic Solutions 20889 Geyserville Avenue, Geyserville, CA 95441 707-354-4342 Pro Gardening Systems 3715 Santa Rosa Avenue #2, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707-585-8633

Pro Gardening Systems 4936 Highway 12, Santa Rosa, CA 95472 707-538-8402 Pro Gardening Systems 765 Petaluma Avenue, Sebastopol, CA 95472 707-829-7252 Redway Feed Garden and Pet Supply 290 Briceland Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-2765 Redwood Garden Supply 55 Myers Avenue, Myers Flat, CA 95554 707-943-1515 Reforestation Technologies International 1341 Daton Street, Units G&I Salinas, CA 93901 831-424-1494; 800-RTI-GROW RH Distribution 1751 S. Pointe Avenue Ontario, CA 91761 888-545-8112 Roots Grow Supply 1330 North Hulbert, #101 Fresno, CA 93728 559-840-0122 Roots Grow Supply 40091 Enterprise Dr. Oakhurst CA 93644 559 683 6622 Sac Hydroponics 9529 Folson Boulevard, Suite C Sacramento, CA 95827 916-369-7968 San Diego Hydroponics East County 11649 Riverside Drive, Suite 141, Lakeside, CA 92040 619-562-3276 San Diego Hydroponics Beach Cities 4122 Napier Street, San Diego, CA 92110 619-276-0657 San Diego Hydroponics North 802 N. Twin Oaks Valley Road #108 San Marcos, CA 92069 760-510-1444 San Francisco Hydro 123 Tenth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 San Rafael Hydroponics 1417 Fourth Sreet San Rafael, CA 94901 415 455 9655 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - West Side 815 Almar Avenue, Unit K, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831-466-9000 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - East Side 4000 Cordelia Lane Soquel, CA 95073 831-475-9900 Santa Cruz Hydroponics & Organics - North 6241 Graham Hill Road, Felton, CA 95018 831-335-9990 Santee Hydroponics 7973A Mission Gorge Road, Santee, CA 92071 619-270-8649 SB Hydro 1109 W. 190th Street, Unit #F, Gardena, CA 90248 310-538-5788 Seaside Hydrogarden 1070 Highway 101 North, Crescent City, CA 95531 707-465-3520 Shadow Valley Aquatics 75 Kimick Way, Red Bluff, CA 96080 530-526-0479 Skywide Import & Export Ltd. 5900 Lemon Hill Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95824 916-383-2369

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Socal Hydroponics 1727-B Oceanside Boulevard, Oceanside, CA 92054 760-439-1084 South Bay Hydroponics and Organics - Mtn. View 569 East Evelyn Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94041 650-968-4070 South Bay Hydroponics and Organics - San Jose 1185 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128 408-292-4040 South County Hydroponics 22511 Aspan Street, Suite E Lake Forest, CA 92630 949-837-8252 South Valley Hydroponics 320 Kishimura Drive, #3 Gilroy, CA 95020 1-866-848-GROW Southern Humbolt Garden Supplies 34919 Yucaipa Boulevard, Yucaipa, CA 92399 909-797-6888 Sparetime Supply 208 E. San Francisco Avenue, Willits, CA 95490-4006 707-459-6791 Specialty Garden Center 1970 East Vista Way, Suite 10, Vista, CA 92084 760-758-4769 Stop N Grow 340 Pine Avenue, Goleta, CA 93003 805-685-3000 Stop N Grow 4160 Market Street, Unit 11 Ventura, CA 93003 805-639-9489 Stop N Grow 640 S. Frontage Road, Nipomo, CA 93444 805-619-5125 Sun-In Hydroponics 1257A Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 707-578-5747 Sunland Hydroponics 8300 Foothill Boulevard, Sunland, CA 91040 818-352-5300 Sunland Hydroponics 4136 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90065 323-254-2800 Supersonic Hydroponic and Organic Garden Supply 850 Shasta Avenue, Suite B Morro Bay, CA 93442 805-772-5869 Supersonic Hydroponic and Organic Garden Supply 3850 Ramada Drive, Unit D2 Paso Robles, CA 93446 805-434-2333 Super Starts PO Box 732, Bellmont, CA 94002 650-346-8009 Surf City Hydroponics 7319 Warner Street, Suite B Huntington Beach, CA 92647 714-847-7900 Sweet Leaf Hydroponics 1611 Sebastobol Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95407 707-575-GROW (4237) Sylvandale Gardens 1151 Evergreen Road, Redway, CA 95560 707-923-3606

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Tahoe Garden Supply 645 Westlake Boulevard, Suite 2, PO Box 487 Tahoe City, CA 96145 530-581-3200 Tell 2 Friends Indoor Gardening 62 Sutherland Drive, Auburn, CA 95603 530-889-8171 The Green Shop 66420 Mooney Boulevard, Suite 1 Visalia, CA 93277 559-688-4200 The Hydro Source 671 E. Edna Place Covina, CA 91723 877 HYDRO 82; 626-915-3128 The Hydro Shop 3980 Saco Road Bakersfield, CA 661-399-3336 The Otherside Hydroponics 19425 Ventura Blvd Tarzana CA 91356 818 881 hydro (4937) The Shop 6542 Front Street, Forestville, CA 95436 707-887-2280 The Urban Farmer Store 653 E. Blithedale Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941 415-380-3840 The Urban Farmer Store 2833 Vicente Street, San Francisco, CA 94116 415-661-2204 The Urban Farmer Store 2121 San Joaquin Street, Richmond, CA 94804 510-524-1604 Thrive Hydroponics 70 A West North Street, Healdsburg, CA 95446 707-433-4068 Thunders Hydroponic Center 1729 Yosemite Boulevard, Medesco, CA 95354 TNC Supply 9490 Main Street, P.O. Box 763 Upper Lake, CA 95485 707-275-9565 Tower Garden Supply & Organic Nursery 403 W. Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA 93728 559-495-1140 Tradewinds Wholesale Garden Supplies 1235 Striker Avenue #180, Sacramento, CA 95834 888-557-8896 Tulare County Growers Supply 435 W. Noble Avenue, Unit A, Farmersville, CA 93223 559-732-8247 Turbo Grow 1889 San Pablo Avenue, Pinole, CA 94564 510-724-1291 Two Chix Garden Supply 1230 Yuba Street, Marysville, CA 95901 530-923-2536 Quail Mountain Ranch 230 Palm Ave Auburn, CA 95603 530-889-2390 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Under The Sun 12638 Foothill Boulevard, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423 707-998-GROW (4769)

Urban Gardens 22516 Ventura Boulevard, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 818-876-0222 Urban Gardens Unlimited 704 Filbert Street, San Francisco, CA 94133 415-421-4769 US Orchid & Hydroponic Supplies 1621 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, CA 93033 805-247-0086 Valley Garden Solutions Inc. 15650 Nordhoff Avenue, Suite 104, North Hills, CA 91345 818-336-0041 Valley Hydroponics 6632 N Blackstone Avenue, Unit B Fresno, CA 93710 559-449-0426 Valley Rock Landscape Supply 2222 N H Street Lompoc CA 93436 P: 805 736 0841 805 735 5921 Vital Landscaping Inc. 12817 Loma Rica Drive, Grass Valley, CA 95945 530-273-3187 Watch It Grow Hydro 9453 Firestone Blvd.

Downey, CA 90241 562-861-1982 Wai Kula Hydrogardens 5297 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92110 619-299-7299 Weather Top Nursery 44901 Harmon Drive, Laytonville, CA 95454 707-984-6385 We Grow Hydroponics 3350 East Los Angeles Avenue, Simi Valley, CA 93063 805-624-4566 West Coast Growers Hydroponics 13481 Colifax Highway, Grass Valley, CA 95945 888-924-4769 West Coast Hydroponics, Inc. 27665 Forbes Road, Unit 10 Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 949-348-2424 Western Auto 1156 Main Street, Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-1189

COLORADO Bath Nursery & Garden Center 2000 E. Prospect, Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-484-5022 Big Tomato, The 14440 E. 6th Avenue, Aurora, CO 80011 303-364-4769 Big Tomato, The 3000 Main Avenue, Durango, CO 81301 970-375-1238 Boulder Hydroponics 1630 N. 63rd Street, #5, Boulder, CO 80301 303-415-0045 BWGS-CO 11685 E. 55th Avenue Denver, CO 80239 888-316-1306 Cultivate Hydroponics & Organics 7777 W. 38th Avenue, #A120A, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 303-954-9897

Deep Roots Garden Supply 1790 Airport Road, Unit 1 Breckenridge, CO 80424 970-453-1440 Denver Hydroponic & Organic Center 6810 North Broadway, Unit D Denver, CO 80221 303-650-0091 Desert Bloom Hydroponics 445 Pitkin Avenue, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-245-6427 Ever Green Hydroponics Inc. 1131 Francis Street, Suite A, Longmont, CO 80501 303-682-6435 Family Hydroponics-Boulder 2125 32nd Street Boulder, co 80301 303-996-6100 Garden Tech 737 Garden of the Gods Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 719-278-9777 Go Green Hydro 1005 Caprice Drive, Castle Rock, CO 80109 303-688-0599 Greeley Nutrients 700 11th Street Unit 101 Greeley CO 80631 970 673 8302 Greenhouse Tech 917 East Fillmore, Colorado Springs, CO 80907 719-634-0637 GroWize 3225 S. Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, CO 80227 303-986-2706 Grow Store South, The 5050 S. Federal Boulevard, #37, Englewood, CO 80110 303-738-0202 Grow Store, The 8644 W. Colfax Avenue, Lakewood, CO 80215 888-510-0350 GWS Hydroponics 7025 Highway 82 Building 4B, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601 970-384-2040 Head Start Hydroponics & Organic Gardening Emporium 34500 US Highway 6, Unit B-9, North Edwards, CO 81632 970-569-3139 Hydro Grow Supply 644 Peterson Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80915 719-596-2600 Hydro Planet 711 Washington Avenue, Golden, CO 80401 303-279-6090 Hydro Shack, The 220 Main Street, Suite E Frisco, CO 80443 970-668-0359 Indoor Garden Warehouse 8100 S Akron St., Suite 322, Centennial, CO 80112 720-496-2110 Indoor Paradise Hydroponics 309 S. Summit View, Unit 17, Fort Collins, CO 80524-1462 970-221-3751 J&D Organic Growing Solutions 217 1/2 Clayton Street Brush, CO 80723 970-310-5408 Lyons Indoor Gardening 138 Main Street, Lyons, CO 80540 720-530-3828 Mile High Hydroponics 37 Strong St. Brighton, CO 80601 303 637 0069 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 3550 B Odessa Way, Aurora, CO 80011 866-877-4188 (Northeast)

Nick’s Garden Center 2001 S. Chambers, Aurora, CO 80014 303-696-6657 Olympic Hydroponics Supply LLC. 1530 S Nevada Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80906 719-635-5859 Polar Ray 5171 Eldorado Springs Dr. Boulder, CO 80303 303 494 5773 Primo Gardens 1600 North Ave. Suite B Grand Junction, CO 81501 970-241-1209 Rocky Mountain Hydroponics and Organics 15985 S. Golden Road Golden, CO 80401 720-475-1725 Rocky Mountain Lighting and Hydroponics 7100 N. Broadway, Suite 3D Denver, CO 80221 303-428-5020 Roll-N-Green Farms Horticultural Supply 25797 Conifer Rd #A-8 Conifer, Co 80433 303-838-5520 The Grow Outlet 4272 Lowell Boulevard Denver, CO 80211 303-586-5543 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Way To Grow 301 East 57th Ave. Denver, CO 80216 303-296-7900 Way To Grow 3201 E. Mulberry Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524 970-484-4769 Way To Grow 6395 Gunpark Drive, Boulder, CO 80301 303-473-4769

CONNECTICUT Harvest Moon Hydroponics 775 Silver Lane, East Hartford, CT 06118 860-568-4067 LiquidSun® CT 10C South Main Street, East Windsor, CT 06088 860-254-5757 Organix Hydroponics 749 Saybrook Road, (Tradewinds Plaza) Middletown, CT 06457 860-343-1923

FLORIDA 3D Hydroponics and Organics 7139 US Highway #19, New Port Richey, FL 34652 727-847-3491 Absolute Hydroponic Garden Center Inc 1607 Old Daytona Steet Deland, FL 32724 386-734-0696 Advanced Hydro Gardens 4960 NW 165 Street, Suite B-4, Miami, FL 33014 866-97-HYDRO Atlantic Hydroponics 430 Count Street, Melbourne, FL 32901 321-821-1535 Best Hydro 4920 Lena Road, Bradenton, FL 34211 941-756-1928 Blossoms Experience, The 7207 NW 54th Street, Miami, FL 33166 866-452-4769 Cultivating Eden Hydroponic Supplies 946 18th Avenue SW, Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-564-8880

East Coast Hydroponics & Organics 461 Forrest Avenue, Suite 105 Coca, FL 32922 321-243-6800 Eden Garden Supply 5044 N. Palafox Street, Pensacola, FL 32505 850-439-1299 Esposito Garden Center 2743 Capital Circle NE, Tallahassee, FL 32308 850-386-2114 EZ Grow Green 604 S.W. Bayshore Blvd.

Port St. Lucie, Fl 34983 772-807-7755 Florida Garden Supplies 2692 W 79 Street, Hialeah, FL 33016 1-800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 8020 Belvedere Road, Unit 4, West Palm Beach, FL 33411 800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 9545 Sunset Drive, Miami, FL 33173 800-931-5215 Florida Garden Supplies 8442 Tradeport Drive, Unit 200, Orlando, FL 32827 800-931-5215 Future Farms Inc., The 14291 SW 120th Street, Suite 105 Miami, FL 33186 305-382-2757 Gardener’s Edge Gainesville 5000 NW 34th Street, Suite 13, Gainesville, FL 32605 352-375-2769 Gold Coast Hydroponics 1539 SW 21st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 1-800-780-7371 Gold Coast Hydroponics 4241 SW 71st Avenue, Miami, FL 33155 1-800-780-6805 Grace’s Hydro-Organic Garden Center 8877 North 56th Street Tampa, FL 33617 813-514-9376 Green Thumb Hydroponics Supplies 13482 North Cleveland Avenue, Fort Meyers, FL 33903 239-997-4769 GreenTouch Hydroponics Inc. 5011 S State Road 7, Suite 104 Davie, FL 33314 954-316-8815 Green Winters Inc. 147 Tomoka Avenue, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 386-235-8730 Grower's Choice & Hydroponics 11855 North Main Street, Jackonsonville, FL 32218 904-683-4517 Growing Garden Inc., The 12811 SW 42nd Street, Miami, FL 33175 305-559-0309 GrowSmart Indoor Garden Centers 14587 Southern Boulevard, Loxahatchee, FL 33470 561-429-3527 Harvest Time Hydroponics 14414 N. Florida Avenue, Tampa, FL 33613 813-264-7101 Healthy Gardens and Supply of Florida, Inc. 196 East Nine Mile Road, Suite F, Pensacola, FL 32534 850-912-4545 High Tech Garden Supply 2975 West New Haven Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32901 321-821-0853 Hydroponic Depot II 2395 S Tamiami Trail #19 Port Charlotte FL 33952

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

941 255 3999t Hydroponics International Inc. 7029-10 Commonwealth Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32220 904-693-6554 Hydroponics of Tampa 120 W. Bougain Villea, Tampa, FL 33612 813-333-6828 Hydro Terra Corp.

924 North Federal Highway, Hollywood, FL 33020 954-920-0889 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 455 S. Andrews Avenue, Pompano Beach, FL 33069 877-649-3567 (Southeast) Palm Beach Hydroponics Supply, Inc. 968 N. Congress Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33409 561-296-6161 Palm Coast Hydroponics 4490 N Hwy US1 Ste. 108 Bunnell FL 32110 386 246 4119 Simply Hydroponics & Organics 7949 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33773 727-531-5355 Simply Hydroponics & Organics (North) 3642 South Suncoast Boulevard, Homosassa, FL 34448 352-628-2655 Stoney Hydro @ Schiro's Barn n Garden Supplies 7812 Causeway Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33619 813-626-0902 The Healthy Harvest Ste. 126 21113 Johnson St. Pembroke Pines, FL. 33029 Tel: 954-538-1511 Urban Organics & Hydroponics 5325 Fairmont Street, Jacksonville, FL 32207 904-398-8012 Urban Sunshine 6142 S. Orange Ave Orlando, FL 32809 407-859-7728 Urban Sunshine 6100 Hanging Moss Rd ste 500 Orlando, FL 32807 407-647-4769 Urban Sunshine 1420 E. Altamonte Dr. Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 407-830-4769 VitaOrganix 7921 NW 67th St Miami, FL 33166 786 845 8633 Worm’s Way Florida 4412 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL 33610 800-283-9676; 813-621-1792

GEORGIA Atlantis Hydroponics 1422 Woodmont Lane, #4, Atlanta, GA 30318 404-367-0052 Atlantis Hydroponics 2561 West Point Avenue, College Park, GA 30337 678-510-0032 Flora Hydroponics Inc. 2475 Jefferson Road, Suite 600 Athens, GA 30607 866-404-0551 Savannah Hydroponics & Organics 4107 Eighth Street, Suite C Garden City, GA 31408 912-349-4030

HAWAII 156

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

Aqua Plant Hawaii / Kahala Hydroponics 4224 Wailae, Suite 1A, Honolulu, HI 96816 808-735-8665 Eco-Island Supply 810 Haiku Road, #394 Haiku, HI 96708 808-575-9171 Green Hands of Aloha 1713 Mary Street, Honolulu, HI 96819 808-847-4263 Ohana Greenhouse & Garden Supply 300 Hukilike Street, #2M, Kahalui, HI 96732 808-871-6393 Pahoa Feed & Fertilizer 15-2754 Old Government Road, Pahoa, HI 96778 808-965-9955

Gardening Center 3427 Old Chatman Road, Springfield, IL 62704 217-341-0821 Let it Grow - Carbondale West Main Street, Carbondale, IL 62908 573-450-5401 Prairie House Garden Center 15151 South Harlem Avenue, Orland, IL 60462 708-687-3131 Water Works Indoor Gardening 1900 South Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703 217-553-6929

INDIANA BWGS-IN 7854 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 800-316-1306 Five Point Gardens 56555 Oak Road, South Bend, IN 46619 574-287-9232 Frogs Lilly Pad, The 706 Citation Road, Carmel, IN 46032 317-846-4610 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 4200 S. East Street, Indianapolis, IN 46227 317-780-8070 Hops & Harvest 4616 E. DuPont Road, Suite Q, Fort Wayne, IN 46825 260-918-3035 Magic Bulb Garden Center 6229 Allisonville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46220 317-202-2852 Sunleaves Garden Products 7854 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 888-464-9676 Worm’s Way Indiana 7850 North State Road 37, Bloomington, IN 47404 800-598-8158 Worm’s Way Mail Order 7850 North State Road 37 Bloomington, IN 47404 800-274-9676

IDAHO Boise Hydroponics 614 North Orchard Street, Boise, ID 83706 208-344-3053 Greenthumb Greenhouses 5895 Ensign Avenue, Boise, ID 83714

ILLINOIS Aerostar Global 824 South Kay Avenue, Addison, IL 60101 Alternative Garden Supply 615 Industrial Drive, Unit A Cary, IL 60013 800-444-2837 Big Grow Hydroponics 9225 Trinity Drive, Lake In The Hills, IL 60156 847-854-4450 Brew and Grow 359 W. Irving Park Road Unit E, Roselle, IL 60172 630-894-4885 Brew and Grow 3625 N. Kedzi Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 773-463-7430 Brew and Grow 3224 South Alpine Road, Rockford, IL 61109 815-874-5700 Brew and Grow 2379 Bode Road, Schaumburg, IL 60440 630-771-0555 Brew and Grow 181 Crossroads Parkway, Bolingbrook, IL 60194 847-885-8282 Fertile Ground 463 West MacArthur Drive, Cottage Hills, IL 62018 618-259-5500 Goldman's Grow Shop 910 Greenwood Road, Glenview, IL 60025 847-657-7250 Green Fields 8137 N. Milwaukee, Niles, IL 60714 847-965-5056 Grow Big Hydroponics 7817 B North 2nd Street, Manchesney Park, IL 61115 815-637-4769 Hydrocork 20647 Renwick Road, Crest Hill, IL 60435 815-838-0100 Kreation’s Indoor

KANSAS Green Circle Hydroponics 6890 W. 105th Street, Overland Park, KS 66212 913-642-3888

KENTUCKY

Inc.

Garden Grove Organics 29 East 7th Street, Covington, (Cincinnati Metro), KY 41011 859-360-1843 Grow Shop, The of Lexington 2320 Palumbo Drive, Suite 130, Lexington, KY 40509 859-268-0779 Louisville Hydroponics 3471 Taylor Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40215 502-366-4000 New Earth Garden Center 9810 Taylorsville Road, Louisville, KY 40299 800-462-5953 Worm’s Way Kentucky 1360 Donaldson Hwy. Suite A, Erlanger, KY 41018 800-669-2088

LOUISIANA

Geaux Hydroponics!

2126 O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 225-751-4769 Laughing Buddha Nursery 4516 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, LA 70006 504-887-4336 Ourcrazydeals Hydroponics 201 Angus Drive, Yungsville, LA 70592 337-303-6146 Urban Organics 285 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117 504-352-4709

MAINE Green Thumb Indoor Gardening 19 Stage Road, St. Albans, ME 04971 207-938-5909 Greenlife Garden Supply 611 US Rt. 1 York, ME 03909 978 262 9966 Urban Garden Center 235 Lewiston Road, Toposhan, ME 04086 207-373-0990

MARYLAND East Coast Organics 2800 Sisson Street, Baltimore, MD 21211 Healthy Gardens and Supply 5001-F Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 443-708-5144 Maryland Hydroponics Inc. 10051 North 2nd Street, Laurel, MD 20723 301-490-9236 Maryland Hydroponics Inc. 12130 Nebel Street, Rockville, MD 20852 240-551-4625 Meadowview Feed & Garden Center 1202 Meadowview Road, Pasadena, MD 21122 443-817-0018 Purple Mountain Organics 100-7010 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912 877-538-9901

MASSACHUSETTS Greenlife Garden Supply 481 Boston Road, Unit 4, Billerica, MA 01821 978-262-9966 Green Path Garden Supply 276 West Main Street, Northborough, MA 01532 508-393-4181 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 29 Washington Street, Route 1 Foxboro, MA 02035 800-660-6977 LiquidSun® MA 8 Lynwood Avenue, Holyoke, MA 01040 413-539-6875 New England Hydroponics 15 D Coolege Hwy. (Rt. 10), Southampton, MA 01073 888-529-9025 Worm’s Way Massachusetts 121 Worc-Providence Turnpike, Sutton, MA 01590 800-284-9676

MICHIGAN BIg Creek Hydroponics 555 Old Little Lake Road, Marquette, MI 49855 906-249-5297 Cultivation Station of Michigan Inc., The 23529 Little Mack Avenue, St. Clair, MI 48080 586-775-9485

Cultivation Station of Michigan Inc., The 6540 Allen Road, Allen Park, MI 48101 313-383-1766

Cultivation Station 3 Inc. 46912 Gratiot, Chesterfield, MI 48051 586-949-7453 Flo-N-Grow.

214 N. 2nd Street, Niles, MI 49120 269-683-1877 Gro Blue Indoor Gardening Supplies 270 W. Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-913-2750 Grow Store, The 721 W. Blue Star Drive, Traverse City, MI 49684 231-421-5191 Growco Garden Supply 1042 Michigan Street, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 877-939-6900 Growing Consultant 2260 Apple Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49442 231-773-5600 High Tech Garden Supply 7889 Telegraph Road.

Taylor, MI 48180 313-908-7554 Holland Hydroponic Outlet 587-40 East 8th Street Holland, MI 49423 616-298-7395 Home Grown Hydroponics 8075 Gratiot Road, Unit C, Saginaw MI 48609 989-781-1930 Homelight Gardens 3471 S. Huron Road, Bay City, MI 48706 989-922-0088 Horizen Hydroponics 1614 Leonard Street, NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 866-791-1664 Horizen Hydroponics 4646 W. Main Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49006 269-567-3333 HotHydro® 5245 Jackson Road, Suite F Ann Arbor, MI 48103 734-761-5040; 877-893-0716 Hydroharrys.com 24500 Dequindre, Warren, MI 48091 800-461-8819 Hydro Heaven 73647 W 8th Mile Road, Detroit, MI 48235 313-861-0333; 877-823-2076 Hydro Grow, The 8210 Telegraph Road, Taylor, MI 48180 313-633-0641 Hydrospot 34236 Michigan Avenue, Wayne, MI 48184 734-722-1285 Indoor Garden Superstore 2570 Dixie Highway, Waterford Twp., MI 48328 248-673-2200; 877 22 HYDRO J&L Growco 206 S. Michigan Avenue, Big Rapids, MI 49307 231-796-1528 Kalamazoo Indoor Garden 450 W. Maple, Kalamazoo, MI 49001 269-344-2550 Light Green Water 3661 Highland Road, Waterford, MI 48329 248-681-0001 Stealth Hydro 15 E. Cross Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48198

866-998-1916 Sunnyside Hydroponics 24930 Gratiot Avenue, Eastpoint, MI 48021 586-777-2528 Sunshine Supply Co. 5800 East Pickard Street, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858 989-775-3700 Superior Growers Supply 19582 Middlebelt Road, Livonia, MI 48152 248-473-0450 Superior Growers Supply 4870 Dawn Avenue, East Lansing, MI 48823 517-332-2663 Ultra Lo Hydro ultralohydro.com 937-252-4769 Urban Gardening Center, The 2520 22nd Street, Detroit, MI 48216 313-898-0200 Van Hydro 7480 N State, Davison, MI 48423 810-653-8267 Wild Child 7740 M 72 East, Traverse City, MI 49690 866-711-GROW

MINNESOTA American Garden Supply 601-6th Avenue, North, Princeton, MN 55371 763-631-0543 Brew and Grow 8179 University Avenue, Fridley, MN 55432 612-780-8191 Duluth Hydroponics 26 W 1st Street Duluth, MN 55802 218-341-7253 Eco Garden Supply 800 Transfer Door 25 in rear St. Paul, MN 55114 651-647-1896 Eden Indoor Organic Gardens 831 Highway 75 North Moorhead, MN 56560 218-477-EDEN (3336) Indoor Gardening 10 NE 3rd Street, Faribault, MN 55021 507-209-1546 Interior Gardens 115 -1620 Central Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 800-498-4178; 612-870-9077 Midwest Hydroponics 3440 Belt Line Boulevard, Suite A, Minneapolis, MN 55416 888-449-2739 Still-H2O Inc. 14375 North 60th Street, Stillwater, MN 55082 651-351-2822

MISSISSIPPI Indoor Garden Shop LLC 1310 Bienville Boulevard, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 228-875-3725

MISSOURI Divine Hydroponics 301 North Bishop Avenue, Rolla, MO 65401 573-426-2348 Grow Your Own Hydroponics 3617 Saint John Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64123 816-241-2122 Green Circle Hydroponics 12 East Missouri,

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

Kansas City, MO 64106 816-421-1840 Green Thumb Organics 249 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters, MO 63376 636-397-4769 (GROW) Heartland Hydrogardens 705 Vandiver Drive, Suite G Columbia, MO 65202 573-474-4769 Let It Grow - Springfield 2519 E. Kearney Street, Springfield, MO 65803 417-862-GROW Let It Grow - Girardeau 879 S. Kings Highway, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703 573-803-0628 U-Grow 1724 North, 13th Street, St. Louis, MO 63106 314-452-6368 Worm’s Way Missouri 1225 North Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132 800-285-9676

HYDROGARDENS

190 West Moana Lane, Reno, NV 89509 775-828-1460 Best Hydroponic Supply 6818 W Cheyenne, Las Vegas, NV 89108 702-750-9300 Carson Valley Hydroponics 2520 Empire Ranch Road, Carson City, NV 89701 775-884-4769 Hydro Store, The 7145 W. Ann Road, Las Vegas, NV 89130 702-434-9376 Hydro Store, The 1014 W. Sunset Road, Henderson, NV 89014 702-434-7365 Lorraine Ink 290 Spear Court, Fernley, NV 89408 775-575-7757 Nevada Hydroponics 4700 B Maryland, Suite 1, Las Vegas, NV 89119 702-798-2852

MONTANA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Alpengrow Nursery Supplies 238 Highway 93 S., Eureka, MT 59917 406-882-4496 Bizzy Beez LLP 5875 Highway 93 S, Whitefish, MT 59937 406-863-9937 Big Sky Garden Supply 528 West Idaho, Kallispell, MT 59901 406-755-1465 Cornucopia Grow Your Own 127 Stoner Creek Road Lakeside, MT 59922 406-709-1076 Dr. Green Thumbs 1106 West Park, Livingston, MO 59047 406-222-7440 Heightened Harvests 2018 Main Street #4, Billings, MT 59105 406-252-4311 Heightened Harvests 3103 Harrison Avenue, Suite B Butte, MT 59701

Hydro World 17 White Birch Lane, Lincoln, NH 03251 603-745-3030

NEBRASKA Advanced Hydro-Ponics 10711 Mockingbird Drive, Omaha, NE 68127 (108th and L-Q) 402-991-6630 Paradigm Gardens 8949 J Street, Suite 5, Omaha, NE 68127 402-339-4949 Patio-Ponics 3255 Cornhusker Highway, Suite 4 Lincoln, NE 68504 402-466-9218

NEVADA AAA Indoor Organic Garden SuperCenter 2101 S. Decatur Boulevard, #21, Las Vegas, NV 89102 702-450-4769 Advanced Gardens Hydroponics 3111 South Valley View, (on Desert Inn West of Valley View) Suite V103 Las Vegas, NV 89102 702-257-4769 All American Hydroponics 2675 East Patrick Lane, Unit 8, Las Vegas, NV 89120 702-894-9888 Anything Grows

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Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

NEW JERSEY 77HYDRO 37 Fairfield Place, West Caldwell, NJ 07006 877-774-9376 Claraqua 4 Redwood Court, West Windsor, NJ 08550 East Coast Horticultural Supply 1652 Hurffville Road, Swewell, NJ 08080 856-228-5290 Garden State Hydroponics 511 Avenel Street, Avenel, NJ 07001 888-300-8711 Green Touch 2 Hydroponics Inc. 888 Route 33, Unit 1, Hamilton, NJ 08619 HYDROPONICS 609-570-8829

greentouch2

NEW MEXICO AHL Year Round Garden Supply 1051 San Mateo Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 505-255-3677 AHL Year Round Garden Supply 9421 Coors Blvd. NW Suite K, Albuquerque, NM 87114 505-899-0592 All Seasons Gardening 3600 Osuna Road, Suite 406 Alburquerque, NM 87109 505-508-4292 All Seasons Gardening 1228 Parkway, Suite E Sante Fe, NM 87507 505-438-GROW Common Shaman 1319 San Mateo N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87110 505-255-6463

NEW YORK Bklyn Hydro & Garden 3116 McGuiness Blvd Brooklyn NY 11222 718-383-0095 Bronx Hydro & Garden 39 Bruckner Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10454 718-993-3787 Brooklyn Farms

INC.

521 Hicks Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 347-725-3491 California Hydroponics 27 Corporate Circle, East Syracuse, NY 13057 315-432-9387 East Coast Hydroponics 14649 Horace Harding Exp, Flushing, NY 11367 718-762-8880 Environmental Gardens 8 John Walsh Boulevard, Suite 310 Peekskills, NY 10566 800-254-0507; 914-736-6676 FutureGarden Inc. 59 Central Avenue, Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-420-0884 Greentree Nursery 308 Elmira Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 607-272-3666 Grow Room, The 8 Bridge Street, Nyack, NY 10960 800-449-9630 Harvest Moon Hydroponics Henrietta Townline Plaza, 3047 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623 716-865-7353 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 340 West at 59, Central Nyack, NY 10960 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 147 Fourth Street, Troy, NY 10960 Healthy Harvest Organics and Hydro 163 Broadway, Fort Edwart, NY 12828 518-480-4698 Hudson Valley Hydroponics 217 Route 32 North, New Paltz, NY 12561 845-255-3633 Hydro Garden Center 1069B Lyell Avenue, Rochester, NY 14606 1-800-277-1322 Hydroponics of Buffalo 1497 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14216 716-838-3545 Hydroponics Shops of America 2606 Erie Boulevard, Syracuse, NY 13224 315-251-2516 Indoor Outdoor Gardener 8223 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209 718-836-2402 KG Garden Supply 1327 Floyd Avenue, Rome, NY 13440 1-877-KG-HYDRO Saratoga Organics & Hydroponic Supply 19 Front Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 518-885-2005; 800-850-4769 Sunlight Solutions Hydroponics 2045 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Suite 13, Niagara Falls, NY 14304 888-GROWBOX Sunset Hydroponics & Home Brewing 1590 West Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14615 866-395-9204 Upstate Hydroponics 2026 Lake Rd unit B Elmira, NY 14903 607 483 9199

NORTH CAROLINA Be Well Hydroponics & Urban Gardening

4732 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205 704-344-8010 BWGS-NC 4045 Perimeter West Drive, Suite 400 Charlotte, NC 28214 800-316-1306 Fifth Season Gardening Company 21 B Westside Dr. Asheville NC 28806 828-225-5007 Fifth Season Gardening Company 45 Banks Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 828-253-4112 Fifth Season Gardening Company 106 South Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC 27510 919-932-7600 Fifth Season Gardening Company 1616 D-3 Battleground Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27408 336-271-3373 Fifth Season Gardening Company 5619-A Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 919-852-4747 Flow & Grow Hydroponics & Organic Garden Center 4521 Cumberland Road, Fayetteville, NC 28306 910-423-FLOW (3569) High Tech Garden Supply 2712 B Freedom Drive Charlotte, NC 28208 704-697-0911 New Age Gardens 2236A US Highway 70, Swannanoa, NC 28778 828-299-9989 Progressive Gardens 6005 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403 910-395-1156

OHIO Advanced Hydrorganics Indoor Garden Center 5204 Darrow Road, Hudson, OH 44236 234-380-1287 Akron Garden Center 434 W Wilbeth Road, Akron, OH 44314 330-724-2700 Cleveland Garden Center Inc. 727 East 185th Street, Cleveland, OH 44119 216-481-7868 CropKing 134 West Drive, Lodi, OH 44254 330-302-4203 Carefree Garden Center 134 West Drive, Lodi, OH 44254 330-302-4203 Dayton Hydroponics 3856 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, West Carrolton, OH 45449 937-859-3999 Eastside Hydroponics 550 Ohio Pike Cincinnati, OH 45255 513-528-GROW Garden Connections 3341 Centerpoint Dr. Grove City OH 43123 614 871 0707 Garden Indoors of Ohio 4720 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH 43214 800-833-6868 Greenleaf Hydroponics 1805 Elm Road, Warren, OH 44483 330-372-1039 Grow Wizard, The 5700 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102 216-961-2500 Harvest Moon 9215 Market Street, Youngstown (North Lima), OH 44452 800-776-8399 Herb-N-Garden Center

14901 Puritas Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44135 216-252-2001 Hydro Gardens and Lights 1144 N Memorial Drive Lancaster, OH 43130 705-65 Hydro Indoor Garden Worx 906 Blue Avenue, Zanesville, OH 43701 866-900-9679 Indoor Gardens 1222 Hill Road, North, Pickerington, OH 43147 614-866-6065 Kissed by the Sun Hydroponic 10740 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45241 513-769-0159 Magic Home Gardens 209 Cemetery Road, Canal Winchester, OH 43110 614-837-2440 Magic Home Garden 4538 Indianola Avenue, Columbus, OH 43214 614-263-2440 Summit Hydroponics 1030 Kenmore Boulevard Akron, OH 44314-2114 330-753-5222 Sweet Greens 5540 Brecksville Road Independence, OH 44131 800-421-7084 Toledo Hydroponics Ltd. 855 S. Holland-Sylvania Road, Suite 2 Toledo, OH 43615 1-877-893-0716 Trinity Hydro Organics 435 Woodman Drive Riverside, OH 45431 937-252-GROW Urban Gardens 671 E. Center Street Marion, OH 43302 740-375-2800

OKLAHOMA AAAAHA! Hydroponics Unlimited P.O. Box 74, Oakhurst, OK 74050 Organics OKC Garden Supply 3620 N Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73118 405-528-GROW Tulsa County Hydro-Organics 1928 W. Albany, Broken Arrow, OK 74012 918-259-HYDRO Urban Garden 3141 E. 15th Street, Tulsa, OK 74104 918-289-0018

OREGON American Agriculture 9220 Southeast Stark Street, Portland, OR 97216 800-433-6805 Anthony’s Garden & Light Supply 93779 B Troy Lane, Coos Bay, OR 97420 541-266-8822 Aqua Serene 2836 W. 11th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97402 541-302-9073 Aqua Serene 465 Applegate Way, Ashland, OR 97520 541-482-7600 Aurora Innovations PO Box 22041, Eugene, OR 97402 866-376-8578 Basin Indoor Gardening 1221 Main Street, Klamath Falls, OR 97601 541-273-2023 B.I.G.S.

155 SW Century Drive, Suite 401, Bend, OR 97702 541-385-5222 BIGS Warehouse 2606 SW 4th Street, Unit B Redmond, OR 97756 541-504-8886 Cascade Horticulture 39570 Pioneer Boulevard, Sandy, OR 97055 503-668-8242 Corvallis Hydroponics & Organics 5490 SW Philomath Boulevard, Corvallis, OR 97333 541-738-2820 Everybody’s Garden Center 2701 SE 14th Avenue, Portland, OR 97202 800-669-5483 Forever Green Organic Hydro Gardens 7530 Crater Lake Highway, White City, OR 97503 541-826-2946 Garden Spout, The 4532 South East 63rd Avenue, Portland, OR 97206 503-788-4769 Gorilla Garden Supply 1810 Virginia Avenue, North Bend, OR 97459 Garden Supplies 541-756-5005 Green Thumb Hydrogarden and Organic Supply 2021 West Main Street, Medford, OR 97501 541-779-8600 Grow America Garden Supply LLC 11511 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, OR 97223 503-841-6868 Growing Crazy (Hooked On Hydroponics) 817 W. 2nd Street, Medford, OR 97501 H2organic LCC 620 NE 3rd Street, McMinnville, OR 97128 503-434-6107 Herb N’ Jungle Hydroponics 930 SE Textron Drive, Bend, OR 97702 541-382-4010 Homegrown Garden Supply 7112 NE Gilsan Street, Portland, OR 97213 877-EZ2-GROW In and Out Gardens 1574 Skypark Drive Medford, OR 97501 541-858-3333 Indoor Garden Center 1697 SE 25th Street, Salem, OR 97302 503-566-7888 Indoor Garden Depot 15828 SE McGloughlin Boulevard, Milwaukie, OR 97267 503-786-2445 Indoor Garden Supply 536 SW 6th Street (rear alley), Redmond, OR 97756 541-504-7750 Island Flowers & Indoor Garden Center 909 N. Tomahawk Island Drive, Suite 103, Portland, OR 97217 503-546-3185 J-N-B Hydro 2 Go 155 West Central Avenue, Sutherlin, OR 97479 541-459-9211 Ladybug Indoor Gardens 3960 W. Main Street, Medford, OR 97501 541-618-4459 Lights Distributing 9843 SW 55th Avenue, Portland, OR 97219 Liquid Sun 1845 Southwest Highway 101, Lincoln City, OR 97367 541-994-7070 Moonshine Park Farm

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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MAXIMUM YIELD distributors

135 South East 62nd, Unit F South Beach, OR 97366 541-444-2298 Northern Light and Garden Beaverton 9290 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton, OR 97005 503-297-7331 Northern Light and Garden Grants Pass 1203 Rogue River Highway, Grants Pass, OR 97527 541-474-1700 Northern Light and Garden Salem 1915 Lancester Drive, Salem, OR 97305 503-364-4769 Oregon Rainforest Co. 19949 E. Burnside Street, Gresham, OR 97233 503-465-9909 Paradise Supply LLC 560 NE. "F" Street, Unit C, Grand Pass, OR 97526 541-955-7293 Rain or Shine 13126 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97230 503-255-1981 Rogue Silicates Inc. POB 21, Azalea, OR 97410 541-837-8590 Roots Garden Supply 5426 North Gay Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503-285-4768 Roseburg Hydroponics 853 SE Stephens Street, Roseburg, OR 97470 541-229-1420 SunInside Gardening Co. 665 Conger, Unit F, Eugene, OR 97402 541-686-9966 The Good Earth Organics 30088 Redwood Highway, Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-4496 Urban Flora 2865 South East, Portland, OR 97214 503-236-3344 Vital Organix 932-B SE “M” Street Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-226-9283 Westcoast Organic and Hydroponic Supply 12410 SE 282nd Avenue, Unit C Boring, OR 97009 503-766-4106 Wizard's Garden, LLC 621 Spruce Street, Unit C, Myrtle Point, OR 97458 541-572-2333

PENNSYLVANIA 422 GROW 1775 North Main Street Extension Butler, PA 16001-1327 724-561-3777 Flairform POB 1417, Lansdale, PA 19446 215-395-6353 Full Bloom Hydroponics 84 South 24th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 888-872-3602 Garden Indoors of Pennsylvania 208 Route 13, Bristol, PA 19007 800-227-4567 Harvest Moon Hydroponics 1239 South Airport Road, Allentown, PA 18103 610-432-4949

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Healthy Gardens and Supply 1012 Lincoln Avenue, Prospect Park, PA 19076 866-32-HYDRO High Tech Garden Supply 20232 Route 19, Unit 6, Cranberry Twp., PA 16066 724-473-1113 Home Hydroponics of Pittsburgh 2008 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412-232-7030 Home Hydroponics of Pittsburgh 830 Route 119, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-836-1118 Hydro Ponics of Harrisburg 310 South 10th Street, Lemoyne, PA 17043 877-684-3808 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 450 Grim Lane, York,PA 17406 877-779-7111(Northeast) New Stanton Hydro 150 Post Ave. New Stanton, PA. 15672 724-635-0297 Organic Garden Center 800 Washington Blvd.

Williamsport, PA 17701 570-322-3120 PA Hydroponics & Home Gardening Supply 20 Quaker Church Road, York Springs, PA 17372 717-528-4175 Pocono Hydroponic Solutions 25 Route 611 Bartonsville, PA 18321 Tel: 570-730-4544 RH Distribution POB 1417 Lansdale, PA 19446 888-545-8112

RHODE ISLAND Good To Grow 34 Nooseneck Hill Road, West Greenwich, RI 02817 401-392-3100 Hydro-Earth 1243 Mineral Springs Avenue, North Providence, RI 02904 401-305-5520 LiquidSun® RI 1179 Central Avenue, Pawtucket, MA 02861 401-722-2724 Oakworld Garden Center 39 West Street, Barrington, RI 02806 401-245-5705 Organically Grown 768 Atwood Ave Cranston, RI 02920 401-944-0549 Solar Seed Hydroponics, Inc. 2406 Putman Pike, Chepachet, RI 02814 401-710-9010

SOUTH CAROLINA 247 Garden Supply 535 D Clemson Road, Columbia, SC 29229 803-788-4445 All Good Hydroponics & Gardening 6729 Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC 29223 803-708-4819 GreenSpirit Hydrogarden 1864 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29405 843-225-1GRO; Green Thumb Unique Gardening & More 1230 Rutherford Road, Greenville, SC 29609

864-271-8830

SOUTH DAKOTA Green Earth Products Inc. 5700 Highway 79 S.,Unit 1, Rapid City, SD 57702 605-342-1307

TENNESSEE Advanced Hydroponic Garden 783 French Mill Road, Dandridge, TN 37725 800-521-1643 Advanced Hydroponic Garden 6912 Clinton Highway, Knoxville, TN 37921 866-938-3318 All Seasons Gardening and Brewing Supply Co. 924 8th Avenue, South, Nashville, TN 37203 800-790-2188 Atlantis Hydroponics 1800 Rossville Avenue, #3, Chattanooga, TN 37408 423-752-5400 National Garden Wholesale/Sunlight Supply 126 Belinda Parkway, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122 888-265-9005 Perpetual Harvest 75 Riverport Drive, Jackson, TN 38301 877-422-3391 Sun City Hydroponics 2235 Whitten Road, Suite 104, Memphis, TN 38133 901-372-8100 Worm’s Way Tennessee 901 Main Street, Nashville, TN 37072 800-397-4153

TEXAS Abundant Harvest Hydroponics & Organics 3101 Avenue E East, Arlington Road, TX 76011 817-649-0100 Airline Hydroponics P.O. Box 980904, Trader’s Village #363, Houston, TX 77098 713-942-0484 Botani Garden 15120 Bellaire Blvd Houston, TX 77083 281-575-1999 Brite Ideas Hydroponics & Organics 4360 S.Congress Avenue, #310, Austin, TX 78745 512-444-2100 Earth Organics 1360 Lee Trevino Drive,Suite 105 El Paso, TX 79936 915-591-9500 Field of Dreams Indoor Growing Supplies 5302 Slide Road Unit B, Lubbock, TX 79414 806-793-2901 GreenMaker Nursery 3030 Northwest Loop, Stephenville, TX 76401 254-965-7273 GroGreen Hydroponics 4015 Main Street, Dallas, TX 75226 214-370-9984 Happy Harvest Hydroponics & Organic 1500 Crescent Drive, Suite 202 Carrollton, TX 75006 972-466-1300 Houston Discount Hydroponics 9384 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77063 713-464-9406

Hydro Mart 3841 Main Street, Rowlett, TX 75088 972-475-6114 Hydroponic Nation 9700 Almeda Genoa Road, Suite 108, Houston, TX 77075 281-501-9636 Innergrow Hydroponics 24451 Interstate Highway 20, Wills Point, TX 75169 866-475-4769 Jolly Green Hydroponics (Greenhouse Horticultural Supplies) 13628 Neutron Road, Dallas, TX 75244 (866) WE-JOLLY; 469-341-5555 Lone Star Hydroponics and Organics 1302 Motor Circle, Dallas, TX 75207 214-634-9376 Sol Organics & Hydroponics 1634 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78229 210-366-9082 Texas Growers Supply 5990 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E. #602, Humble, TX 77396 281-441-3739 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Central Austin) 5126 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78756 512-459-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (South Austin) 2125-A Goodrich Avenue, Austin, TX 78704 512-440-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Dallas) 3400 Elm Street, Dallas, TX 75226 214-744-4769 Texas Hydroponics & Organics (Houston) 7730 A Park Place Boulevard, Houston, TX 77087 713-641-4769 Ultimate Hydroponic Garden Supply 6125 West Sam Houston Parkway, North Suite 206 Houston, TX 77041 713-856-8425

UTAH Salt Lake Plant & Hydro 60 West 3300 S. #6, South Salt Lake, UT 84115 801-488-3200

VERMONT Green Thumb Gardening P.O. Box 235, Route 15, Underhill, VT 5489 800-564-9376 Greenthumb - Vermont 394 Route 15, Jericho, VT 05465 802-899-4323 LiquidSun® VT 1 Bellows Falls Road, (Route 5 North) Putney, VT 05158 802-387-1100 Peak Hydroponic Garden Supplies 20 School Street, Plainfield, VT 05667 802-454-8000

VIRGINIA Blue Ridge Hydroponics & Home Brewing Co. 5524 Williamson Road, Suite 11 Roanoke VA 24012 540-265-2483 Clean & Green Technologies 196 Corning Drive, Christiansburg, VA 24073 866-694-1628 Fifth Season Gardening Company 900 Preston Ave. Charlottesville VA 22903 434-293-2332

Hydroponics & Growlights 13400 Occoquan Road, Woodbridge, VA 22191 703-490-0700 I Love Hydroponics 612 N. Sheppard Street, Richmond, VA 23221 804-377-3020 I Love Hydroponics 368 Newtown Road, #105, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 757-490-5425 Inside-Out Garden Supply 6517 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22150 703-451-3259

West VIRGINIA Panhandle Hydroculture 800 East Moler Ave. Martinsburg, WV 25401 304-240-7587

WASHINGTON 509 Grow 2718 N Division Spokane, WA 99207 509-327-GROW(4769) Aqua Serene 3839 Stone Way North, Seattle, WA 98103 206-547-GROW (4769) Eco Enterprises 1240 NE 175th Street, #B Shoreline, WA 98155 800-426-6937 Garden Smart 500 Bond Drive, Castlerock, WA 98611 360-274-7960 Green Gardens Distributing 12738 Bel-Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98005 425-454-5731 Green Tree Hydroponics and Garden 12316 Pacisic Ave South Tacome, WA 98444 253-495-6757 Grow Center, The 17524 N. Franklin Crescent, Colbert, WA 99005 509-456-GROW GROGRO HYDRO 12316 32nd AVE NE #103 Seattle, WA 98125 Hydro-Tech 2121 Aurora Avenue, North, Seattle, WA 98103 206-547-2202 Indoor Garden Depot 6400 NE Highway 99, Suite H, Vancouver, WA 98665 360-993-7779 Indoor Garden Depot 1401 S. 324th Street, Federal Way, WA 98003 253-874-1112 Indoor Garden & Lighting 3839 6th Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98406 253-761-7478 Indoor Garden & Lighting 23303 Highway 99, Suite A, Edmonds, WA 98026 425-673-2755 Indoor Garden & Lighting 714 South Central Avenue, Kent, WA 98032 253-373-9060 Indoor Garden Supply LLC 1250 Atlantic Ave, Woodland, WA 98674 360-841-8055 InDoor Gardening 1158 Commerce Longview WA, 98632 360-353-3851 Island Hydroponic & Supplies 1515 5th Street #B, Marysville, WA 98271 425-299-5855

Kent Garden Supplies Ltd. 18817 East Valley Highway, Kent, WA 98032 425-251-9299 Kitsap Garden & Lighting 2130 6th Street, Bremerton, WA 98312 360-377-1277 Linda’s Gardening & Hydroponics 11522 Canyon Road East, Puyallup, WA 98373 253-531-9641 Liquid Sunshine Hydroponics 5087 Lincoln Road, Blaine, WA 98230 M & R Lighting 17238 Memorial Drive, Mt. Vernon, WA 98273 360-848-1080 M & R Lighting Unit C 22914 Highway 410, Buckley, WA 98390 253-891-4190 Mike's Indoor Garden Supply 6121 172nd Street NE #A, Arlington, WA 98223 425-346-6481 National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 4525 NW Fruit Valley Road, Vancouver, WA 98660 888-478-6544 (Northwest) National Garden Wholesale / Sunlight Supply 5408 NE 88th Street, Building A, Vancouver, WA 98665 888-478-6544 Northern Lights Gardening 4159 Hannegan Road, Bellingham, WA 98225 360-715-8585 Northwest Horticulture Supply 161 Hooker Road, #1, Sequim, WA 98057 360-582-0702 Renton Indoor Garden Center 207 Sunset Blvd. N, Building A, Renton, WA 98055 425-917-9000 River City Hydroponics 1514 East Francis Avenue, Spokane, WA 99208 509-464-0246 Sodo Hydro 1727 1st Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98134 888-904-9376 Solar Shop 306 West 4th Street, Tonasket, WA 98855 509-486-4508 Spokane Organic and Hydroponic Supply 4823 East Sprague Avenue E., Spokane Valley, WA 99212 509-534-4055

WISCONSIN Aric's Indoor Garden Supply 1104 West Wisconsin Avenue, Appleton, WI 54914 920-574-3258 Brew and Grow 285 N. Janacek Road, Brookfield, WI 53045 262-789-0555 Brew and Grow 3317 Agriculture Drive, Madison, WI 53716 608-226-8910 Grow BIG Hydroponics 954 S. Westland, Appleton, WI 54914 920-749-4769 Paradigm Gardens 4539 Helgesen Drive, Madison, WI 53718 608-241-3800

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Call 250-729-2677 or Email ilona@maximumyield.com

Maximum Yield USA | November 2010

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