Objectives of the Resort s Hydroponic Farm

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1 Hydroponic Farm

2 Background Hydroponics means water working. Therefore, a true hydroponic culture is one that uses water only, with plant nutrients added in the correct concentrations and ratios for the plants grown. In most cases, hydroponic culture involves a substrate for the plant roots to grow in, and is consequently termed soilless culture. Hydroponics goes back as far as the famous hanging gardens of Babylon and the floating gardens of the Aztecs. From the early 1600s until the 1800s, nutriculture techniques were developed for the growing of plants in laboratories to study plant nutrition. Dr. William F. Gericke of the University of California coined the term hydroponics in the early 1930s, as he developed techniques to commercially produce crops without soil. His first practical application of hydroponics was during World War II in an effort to grow fresh vegetables on non-arable islands where troops were stationed. Installations were established on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the South Pacific, and later, on Wake Island and a 22-hectare (55-acre) project at Chofu, Japan after the war. The U.S. Army, with its own special hydroponics branch, grew over 8,000,000 pounds of fresh produce during Today, there are about 2500 acres of greenhouse hydroponic vegetables produced in Canada, and over 1500 acres in the U.S. Principal crops grown are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants and lettuce.

3 Objectives of the Resort s Hydroponic Farm CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, which is located on Anguilla, a small Caribbean island, must import all of its fruits and vegetables, along with all other food, from North America or Europe via St. Maarten. This is not a problem with processed foods, but for perishable fresh salad vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, and herbs, quality is greatly reduced by such a lengthy shipping process. The Resort wanted the freshest ingredients for their guests. As Anguilla is non-arable and has no fresh water apart from that generated by reverse osmosis, hydroponics was the obvious solution for growing fresh vegetables. A special greenhouse was engineered to withstand strong winds up to 150 mph caused by hurricanes that occasionally pass over these islands. In this way, the crops can be grown all season, regardless of outside weather conditions. Hydroponics saves water through the use of recirculation systems and drip irrigation. In the Hydroponic Farm, we recycle the drainage from the greenhouse to feed the outdoor landscape plants. All of the tomatoes and peppers are vine-ripened to give maximum nutritional value and backyard flavor. The lettuce is very tender with a mild flavor. Our fresh tomatoes are used in pastas, pizzas and all cooking, as well as served fresh in salads. We also grow all our own herbs, so that they are always fresh in all our dishes.

4 Tour of the Hydroponic Farm The hydroponic greenhouse is 18,000 square feet in area. The crops are grown with several hydroponic cultures. As you go through the south entrance, there are two lettuce ponds growing buttercrunch lettuce. This is a true hydroponic system of water culture termed raft culture, from the Styrofoam rafts or boards that float on top of the nutrient solution. The water contains a special recipe for lettuce, using all 13 plant nutrients. The lettuce is seeded in rock wool cubes. After 18 days, the lettuce is transplanted to the ponds and is ready for harvest in 26 days. With 52 boards in the two ponds, we have a daily supply of 128 heads of lettuce from two boards. The raised beds on the sides of the lettuce ponds contain sand and Promix, which is a peat-perlite mixture. This is also a soilless culture system. These beds are fed with drip lines coming from a central injection system on the other side of the greenhouse. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, bok choy and herbs are grown in perlite. Tomato and pepper plants receive one drip line, while the cucumbers receive two to three drip lines per plant. All of these vine crops are trained vertically as staking varieties. This is to permit optimum use of the greenhouse area. As the tomatoes reach the above support wires they are lowered weekly, and the lower leaves are removed once the fruit is harvested.

5 By the end of the season, the tomato plants will be in excess of 30 feet in length. The bare stems will be laid along the tops of the pots, with the upper seven feet of growth continuing to produce fruit. European cucumbers will start producing fruit within five weeks from seeding. We harvest them five weeks before changing the crop. By keeping two rows staggered in age by five weeks, we keep a constant supply of cucumbers for the restaurants. The plants grow up to six inches a day. When they reach the overhead wires, several suckers are permitted to hang down and produce fruit. When these suckers are finished producing, they are cut back and replaced by two more suckers that repeat the process. Peppers and eggplants are trained to two main stems, unlike tomatoes which are single-stemmed. The peppers are initially green, and upon maturing, turn to yellow, orange or red. Remember that these colored peppers have more nutritional value, as do red tomatoes, compared to the green ones. Hydroponic greenhouse eggplants are experiencing a surge in popularity! Smaller and firmer than traditionally grown eggplants, they are well-suited to the wide variety of dishes prepared in our restaurants, especially Anguilla s first authentic Japanese restaurant, Tokyo Bay, and Italia, serving up homemade pasta and ravioli at the Clubhouse. The plant towers are made up of a series of 10 pots stacked vertically, one on top of the other. They are filled with perlite and are fed with several drip lines in the top pot and one in the middle pot. The nutrient solution percolates from the top down, and any excess is picked up by the drainpipe at the bottom for re-use with the landscape. We grow bok choy and herbs such as basil, parsley, mint, thyme, oregano, chervil, dill, sage, chives, lavender and sweet marjoram.

6 Injector/Nutrient System The plants are fed through a drip irrigation system. Part of the drip system includes the use of a proportioner or injector. Three stock solutions feed the injector, which dilutes in the correct ratios the concentrated stock solutions into a blending tank where they are mixed with water to produce the final plant nutrient solution. This is a timesaving device, since we can make up sufficient stock solution to last a period of two weeks. Upon making up the stock solutions, we send a sample for atomic absorption analysis to a laboratory in Georgia. The results, given in mg/l, indicate what adjustments need to be made to keep the elements in optimum ratios and concentrations. Howard M. Resh, Ph.D., is creator and manager of the Resort s on-premise Hydroponic Farm and Retreat. Dr. Resh has experience in hydroponics that spans more than 40 years. He acquired his Ph.D. degree in plant science/horticulture from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and is active in lecturing at universities and conferences throughout the world.

7 Micro Greens Microgreens are similar to sprouts, but are grown in full sunlight, making them more nutritious and flavorful. We use them in salads and as garnishes in our restaurants, especially in the Japanese cuisine at Tokyo Bay. Our microgreen offerings include radishes, amaranth, lettuce mixes, cole crop mixes, mizuna, red komatsuna, bull s blood beets, arugula and more. Depending on the species of plant, they grow from seed to harvestable plant in 7 to 10 days. Books by Dr. Howard M. Resh Hydroponic Food Production Hydroponic Home Food Gardens Hydroponic Tomatoes Hydroponics Questions & Answers Hobby Hydroponics These books are available in the CuisinArt Golf Resort gift shop or on the Internet at Please visit Dr. Resh s website for more information on hydroponics.

8 PO Box 2000 Rendezvous Bay AI-2640 Anguilla Phone Reservations and information or