RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 9/2/2007

If Tom Blount could make one point about hydroponic gardening, it's that it isn't some stopgap alternative to real agriculture for those without access to dirt.

"The quality of produce is much higher," he said of the vegetables he raises without soil. "They have more nutrition and more flavor, because they get the perfect amount of nutrients."

Blount, 51, and his brother John are co-owners of Nevada Naturals, a year-old Reno company that's a regional pioneer in hydroponic farming. In just 2,000 square feet, Blount said, they raise 32 kinds of lettuce, eight types of tomatoes, six varieties of bell pepper, four kinds of basil and 28 different microgreens.

That's a lot of plants, but Blount said that's one benefit of hydroponics: "We have an 8 to 1 advantage for space" over conventional farming. At that rate, 6,000 square feet could outproduce an acre of fertile farmland.

Creeping into consciousness

Hydroponics isn't a new technique, but it's been slow to catch on in the United States.

"We're the lagging country," Blount said. Australia and New Zealand are global leaders, and hydro farms are common in Europe, Japan and Mexico. On Kauai, where Blount ran a restaurant before moving to Reno, there's a 25-acre hydroponic farm raising nothing but basil, mostly for Thailand.

This summer, Nevada Naturals has sold as much as $2,500 worth of produce a week, nearly all at farmer's markets. They started at zero in spring, but customers seek them out now for the quality and consistency of their tomatoes and peppers.

"I come back very week," said Jocelin Lynne, a repeat customer at the Saturday morning farmer's market on California Avenue. "Everything's just right."

"They do a great job," agreed Stan Pardue, owner of Anything Grows Hydroponics on Moana Lane and probably the area's leading authority on the topic.

Bobby Ferrazano shows off his 4-foot-tall basil plants at Anything Grows at 190 W. Moana Lane.

Photo shows the root system of grass grown on paper towels (seen as the darker substance between the grass and the roots).

The root systems of hydroponic lettuce can be seen protruding from the bottom of a paper-based medium.

Pardue does a good job himself. The back wall of his "grow room" is hidden by basil plants 4 feet tall, double the size of those in most home gardens. His first crop of tomatoes reached the ceiling in July, was harvested, pulled out and replaced by a second batch that's already knee high. A similar tomato planted in dirt just outside the grow room window is still struggling toward three feet.

The rapid growth allows early and frequent harvesting. Blount said he cuts lettuce, normally about a 50-day crop, in 32 to 35 days, and microgreens are ready in 15 to 25 days instead of 45.

Other crops show similar speed, and they can grow all year. The Blounts raise their plants outdoors in summer, but Blount says they do equally well in greenhouses. As the farmer's market season winds down, the brothers are approaching restaurants and casinos with visions of fresh, flavorful tomatoes, peppers and greens year-round. No commitments yet, but they're optimistic.

"It could be a huge business if you had the space," Blount said. He's scornful of the produce available in winter from wholesale suppliers and in grocery stores: "Our quality is so much higher."

Pardue, for his part, leans toward small-scale home gardening. His small shop at 190 W. Moana Lane supplies basil and greens for most of his staff, and he has hydroponics kits suitable for raising leaf crops at home starting at about $55.

Fruiting plants like peppers and tomatoes require brighter lighting, which adds to the cost, but it's still in the range where a hobby gardener can claim to break even, even before factoring in the just-picked flavor.

"Lettuce is $3 a bunch (in winter)," he said. "It can pay off."