Hydroponics Equipment

indoor hydroponics head of the class.

Students at Chiles Elementary are learning how to grow lettuce, but not the way you might think. Sharon Cutler is teaching students how to grow lettuce hydroponically, not only that she is teaching them how to do so while reducing their carbon footprint.

Cutler is using the money she received from a $1000 grant from general motors and discovery education. She was among 40 educators in the U.S. to be named winners of the live green teacher grant program.

“General Motors and Discovery Education are interested in empowering educators to develop creative ideas for furthering environmental and energy sustainability,” said Stephen Wakefield, communications manager for Discovery Education.

“We found out it cost $1,000 a year for lettuce,” she said. “I want them to learn that we can grow our own lettuce for less while consuming unconventional energy.”

The hydroponics kits garden is in a screened lanai that she and students built last year to raise butterfly larvae. When the kit was purchased it was being used to grow sunflowers, but will now be used to grow lettuce to feed the turtles, and some 50 rodents and reptiles that reside in the classroom. The hydroponics pumps are powered by an array of solar panels.

“It’s very cool,” said Lynn Chen, a 10-year-old fifth grader. “If you put your hand in front of the light,” blocking the solar panels, “then energy doesn’t transfer to the pipes.”

Cutlers grant applications have brought in over $5000 in the past year, and is currently applying for another $1000 grant to set-up another solar hydroponic garden.

Costlier than Gold, platinum, and just about anything else

Everyone’s favorite nutrient manufacturer Advanced Nutrients is playing with nutrient compounds that probably cost more than your house… per gram. The research focuses on auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins and other growth hormones, can cost $500 000 per gram. The research is to determine the effects of these designer compounds on plant flowering, root growth, and plant health.

“Some of these hormones cost almost $500,000 USD per gram, of course, at that price we didn’t produce a whole gram. For instance, right now we have discovered a part of a Gibberellin chain that stimulates profuse flower production that initially cost $19,000 USD per gram to make.

We have got the cost down to $1,000 USD right now and will be able to mass produce this hormone for $40.00 USD per gram and at that point it will be commercially viable for high value crops,” says advanced nutrients co-founder Michael “Big Mike” Straumietis “What we’re learning about indoor hydroponics plant growth and yield is worth the research dollars we’re investing.”

The major benefit to this research is higher yields, which means higher profits for both growers and Advanced Nutrients alike. These experimental synthetic and naturally derived hormones are only available to advanced nutrients, and soon the #1 manufacturer of hydroponics nutrients will widen the lead they have over their competitors.

“At first, we winced when the chemists would come to us for a teeny-tiny vial of plant hormone and ask us for tens of thousands of dollars to produce it,” Michael Straumietis explains. “But when our scientists proved how these costly new forms of auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins and other plant growth compounds totally revolutionize our understanding and control of all major plant functions, we realized that all the money we’re spending is obviously worth it. With some of these substances, you can easily more than double your harvest in some crops!”

The research is giving them tons of data about the effect of auxins, gibberellins, and cytokinins affect the growth and development of plants.