There may not be a better time to make the jump to a hydroponic growing system. The exponential burst of the local food movement has made growing produce a profitable side-venture or, even, main business model. But what are the benefits and challenges of making such a jump?
“The main difference, really, between an ornamental and hydroponic growing system is the level of automation. In an ornamental house, everything is really dependent on that soil quality. There’s not too much in the way of retroactive correction if something was going wrong, for example, with the pH,” says Maxwell Salinger, research horticulturist and sales and services with CropKing, a provider of hydroponic growing systems.
The increase in control offerings can reduce labor needs and free growers up to focus on other areas. “You’re able to micromanage in a good way and really optimize a system and speed up growth,” Salinger says. “It all comes down to optimization. For ornamental growers, you’re looking at a three or four month block where you’re taking a plug and growing it out for nine or ten weeks. We’re doing very short cycles and we’re able to make corrections much quicker.”
So, drawbacks?
The obvious one is initial investment. The cost of purchasing a new growing system and potentially altering the layout of your current greenhouse can be costly. “Any time you’re looking at that upgrade in equipment you’re going to have a pretty substantial monetary investment. Here you’re investing thousands of dollars in equipment as opposed to changing your plug or seed,” Salinger says.
Conversion over to hydroponic production often does require some modifications to the ornamental greenhouse. “One of the other challenges is that often, ornamental houses are not designed for growing food. Whether it’s hydroponics, soil or however it’s grown, the pest pressure we see in ornamental houses is different because they have more leniency in pesticides and herbicides. In produce production, we don’t have that,” he expands.
To accommodate the different pest pressure, greenhouses have to be altered to better prevent pests from infiltrating that facility. Growers will also have to consider biological solutions like beneficial insects. Both of which can increase the initial investment price.
Success and tourism
One of the other benefits of a hydroponic system is that its laboratory of the future feel can appeal to tourists.
“I worked with an ornamental grower in the New Jersey area. His business was struggling a little because the margins are getting smaller and it’s harder to make a profit. To offset that, he found a niche in agritourism. Adding hydroponics not only gives you something good to sell at farmer’s markets, it gives you technology that will attract people to your farm,” Salinger says.
“Although the initial investment in hydroponic systems is sometimes a little high, the return will often justify it. It is widely know that diversification is a huge part of running a successful greenhouse operation and whether big or small a hydroponic system can be a perfect fit,” Salinger concludes.