Page 42 - Simply Veg Issue 1 2016

Alternative Growing
Methods
by Ian Stocks
I have been growing exhibition and kitchen vegetables for more years than I care to remember.
During this time like a lot of other growers I have experimented with various different things to try and get the upper hand but still always seem to come back to the traditional methods we use - growing in soil. I have also almost been converted by Gareth Cameron into the use of compost tea, mycorrizhal fungi etc etc - but not quite 100%. Why not 100%? well maybe it is the traditional sceptic gene that still has a hold on me so I almost invariably revert to the traditional methods. However after thinking about my growing over the last couple of year’s maybe I need to try and boot the sceptic gene into touch. Why? - Well after all the conversations with Gareth and other people such as Gareth Hopcroft I now realise that the “other” side! has a lot to offer. One of the nal pieces in the jigsaw however was a meeting with Gavin Thomson, who owns the company, with Tom Berwick, Premier Hydroponics Ltd. How did this come about? Well let Tom tell you.
“It was the telephone call I had long been waiting for! Colin Wilson from Ecothrive called to ask if we could help Gareth Hopcroft
with a talk at the National Vegetable Society Scottish Branch Seminar. He wanted us
to bring some examples of hydroponic
products to show whilst he described them to members. It was an offer we could not pass up on, even though the business
was really busy and in a time of transition. We had to take the opportunity as I had a wonderful feeling it may lead to bigger and better things. This introduction to Gareth led us to meet Ian Stocks and Gareth Cameron at the NVS Nationals in Dundee. After a long chat we realised we were all singing from the same hymn sheet - the concept of promoting the growing of vegetables through alternative methods”.
water, use less fertiliser and ultimately, give us higher yields. We can grow in summer, winter, autumn and spring, because we control the environment, it doesn’t matter what is happening outside. Strictly speaking, it isn’t just hydroponics which provides these bene ts; it’s a combination of the growing method, light, temperature and CO2 manipulation, which can all be classed under the term ‘Controlled Environment Agriculture’.”
I think these last three words hit it on the head for me. It’s not all about hydroponics but about controlling the environment your plants are in. If you can control three things - the growing medium, the roots and the
After the Nationals we arranged for
myself and Jim Williams to visit one of the company’s premises in Broxburn to have
a talk about what
we could try and
do with regards to
actually growing
some vegetables.
After speaking to
Gavin and being
blown away by his
enthusiasm to get into
growing vegetables, I
very soon realised that the term hydroponics was only a part of how you could grow alternatively from soil, and as Gavin said amongst some mainstream gardening
press and media the very word hydroponics conjures up a bad name. Again let Tom tell you their thoughts.
“At Premier we believe hydroponics has the potential to play a huge part in feeding the world, plants grow faster, use less
plant itself you are surely going to be successful. So what are we doing?
Gavin and Tom decided it would be bene cial to build a small propagating room with all the controls to make it the
perfect environment for early growth. (They are also constructing a massive growroom
at this time to house even more plants) We gave Tom some different seeds and cuttings with which we were going to try a range of different methods. I have to say the sheer excitement that Tom had when given these seeds was enough for me alone! Around 200 seeds were sown ranging from Kelsae onions from Alistair Gray to tomatoes, courgettes,
It’s not all about hydroponics but about controlling the environment your plants are in.
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