Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CLOSING COMMENTS
I wish to share with you some comments received over the years from
hydroponic enthusiasts. I became involved in hydroponics while a gradu-
ate student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
While the initial work was in commercial hydroponic greenhouses, it soon
became evident to me that there was a great potential for this type of grow-
ing at the hobby level. An engineer and I incorporated a company to build
backyard hydroponic greenhouses. We used to go to exhibitions to display
our hobby greenhouses and to our surprise found a constant line at our
exhibit to enter our greenhouse and see tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce
growing in rocks. Many people would come in disbelief that these plants
were real and they would have to feel them before becoming convinced
that they were not plastic. That was back in 1975 when hydroponics was
known in the commercial greenhouse industry but not as a hobby.
We began manufacturing small greenhouses of a basic size of 10½ × 12
feet and then larger ones 10½ × 16 ft as shown in Figure 8.1. Most clients
thought they were fairly large and would not need all the space, but within
months once they were producing their own vegetables they became very
diversified in their crops, and of course there were always those house-
plants that needed rejuvenating in the greenhouse. Soon their greenhouse
was so full they ran out of space. I always remember the biggest complaint
we would soon get was “I wish you would have sold me a larger one.” The
same is true of small indoor units.
FIGURE 8.1
Small 10½ × 16 foot backyard greenhouse.
