Alternative Growing

Learn how farming is

Growing Up!

Everything you need to

know about Hydroponics,
Aquaponics, and more!

June 2017
By: Gracie Nino
Graphic representation of hydroponics Graphic representation of aquaponics
Photo by: Hydroponicsgrower.org Photo By: The Aquaponics Source

A Different Way to Grow

I n 1987 the United Nations met to discuss an
important topic sustainability. The greatest
minds all over the world got together and defined the
methods happen really fast so you need to be on top of
it. If you know what to look for, the plants will tell you
everything. Although if you do make a mistake, its a
term as meeting the needs of the present without forgiving process.
compromising the ability of future generations to meet Over the years other developments have
their own needs. Since that meeting there has been stemmed from hydroponics including aquaponics
advanced developments in solar and aeroponics. These two
energy and alternative food methods use the principles of
sources and production practices. If you know what to look hydroponics but then add their
Men and women across the
globe have been researching
for the plants will tell you ownIntwists. aeroponics plants are
and fine-tuning agriculture and everything. Although if you continuously kept in an
sustainable efforts over the past do make a mistake, its a environment saturated with a
few decades. mist or aerosol of nutrients. This
One alternative method of forgiving process. method uses 65 percent less
food production is hydroponics. water than hydro and the plants
Hydroponics literally means are able to grow at an extremely
water labor and is the process of growing plants in fast rate, Barnhard said. Barnhard described aeroponics
a nutrient-dense, water-based solution as opposed to as freaky the growth happens so fast that, you can be
the traditional method of soil. The overall benefits of sitting there having a cup of coffee in the morning and
hydroponics, or hydro for short, are a faster growing, actually see the leaves bloom.
higher density yield according to Grady Barnard, a Aquaponics, another branch of hydro, is an
local expert and businessman in sustainable growing integrated system that grows fish and plants
methods. simultaneously. The fish provide waste which acts as an
There are two main types of hydro. The first is organic food source and the plants naturally filter the
solution culture type. This method exposes the plant to water the fish live in. Bacteria in the system take the
a continuous flow of nutrient solution beyond the roots. ammonia from the fish waste and convert it into a form
As stated by Alabama A & M and Auburn Universities., of nitrogen that the fish can use as explained by the
the main advantage is the abundance of water, oxygen Aquaponics Source, a group dedicated to educating the
and nutrients the plant receives. There are some public on the aquaponics system.
concerns with water logging, and the dependence on Farmers work to perfect these methods of farming
electricity. The other method is called medium culture. everyday. Some crops dont take to these methods
In this method the plant actually sits in a substrate with and often times it can be expensive to mass-produce a
its roots suspended in a nutrient solution. commodity however with the research and refinement
Grady Barnhard explained, These growing of these methods the future of farming looks bright.
Photo by: Urban Produce
I nnovative. Thats the best way to describe the work
the team at Urban Produce accomplishes. The
company has been changing the face of farming and
doing so quickly. With patents purchased from a
plant physiologist, Urban Produce operates using the
Urban Produce High Density Vertical Growing System
(HDVGS).
All of this came into being because CEO Edwin
Horton had a vision. In 2013 he founded Urban
Produce with the desire to Globalize locally grown
produce worldwide. Hortons background in
greenhouses and hydroponics paired with 25 years
in the tech industry set the stage for the companys
success.
In a HDVGS system the produce is stacked vertically
on 354 aluminum shelves rotating 24/7 and 365 days
a year in an automated environment. The automated
environment uses radio frequency identification
(RFID) to know exactly what is on each shelf. With
this information the system applies exact water and
lighting needs per each crop and shelf.
According to Danielle Horton the director of
marketing at the company and daughter of Edwin
Horton, without the issue of water runoff, Urban
Produce cut water use by 93 percent compared to
traditional soil methods. Another benefit of this
indoor system is the fact that no pesticides are needed,
making all of their produce 100 percent organic.
Urban Produce
Today the company can produce 16 acres of product
at one time all on an area of 5,800 square feet or 1/8
acre. The USDA certified organic crops include mainly
micro greens, wheatgrass, basil, culinary herbs and
leafy greens. When the products are delivered to
the distributer they are still growing in the medium
they were planted in. This extends their shelf life to
around 21 days if the consumer doesnt take care of it
and between 30-45 days if the consumer keeps up on
watering the product.
Urban Produce has the incredible ability to grow
to order. A purchase order will come in from one
of their distributors, the staff will seed it, send it to
a germination room, then load it on the system for
about two to three days, and they are usually able to
harvest it the day they ship it out.
This process all takes around two weeks with their
longest product taking 23 days. This super efficient
system allows the company to have an extremely fast
turn around, and the faster the turn around the more
economical the system is. When explaining how they
got to this point Danielle said that her father always
told her, If you have to touch something more than
once, you are taking profits away from yourself.
Going forward the company plans to determine new
locations to build around the U.S. and globally as well
as educate the public on their growing system.
 Growing Microgreens on To learn a little more about
sustainable agriculture, scan
this code:

Your Windowsill Information courtesy of: Julia Dimekos

1. Fill a container 3/4 full with the soil-less potting mix.
2. Sprinkle seeds thickly over the surface of the soil. The seeds can be close
together since they only need to grow to the size of the first true leaf.
3. Water the seeds just enough to moisten them. Use a gentle water stream,
otherwise the seeds will take a swim. If the soil looks like it has too much
water, gently drain excess water out the side, without spilling any soil.
4. Label your garden.
5. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and place in a dark spot.
6. Check your little garden daily until the seeds have sprouted.
7. Once the seeds have sprouted, remove the plastic wrap and place in a sunny
window.
8. Begin snipping greens anytime after the cotyledon leaves have emerged or
after the first true leaves. Water gently whenever needed.