September 2014 CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE Vertical Farming: Why We Think it Might Just Work Partners and investors Mark Thomann (front) and Mark Weglarz check out the current crop of USDA-certified organic basil at FarmedHere, just outside of Chicago. Page 10 PAGE 14 PAGE 18 PAGE 28 THE LOCAL GROWING USING FOOD HYDROPONICALLY BANKER PLANTS MOVEMENT AND ORGANICALLY Fighting aphids with When did it Can it be done? aphids really begin? 1 Reader Service Number 200 Reader Service Number 201 From Your Editor vertical farming as the way of the fu - ture, but critics argue that the technol - ogy is too expensive for it to be a sustainable means of farming. Read how FarmedHere responds to being in Chris’ hot seat on page 10. Over the past several years, I’ve en - countered the full spectrum of opin - ions on organic hydroponics. I’ve heard that it can, can’t or shouldn’t be certifiable under the USDA’s organic guidelines. (It can and I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it should.) Regardless of politics and semantics, the fact is, or - ganic hydroponic systems are rare compared to traditional organic or hy - droponic systems on their own. The reasons for the rarity are complex and involve discussions of nutrient man - agement, pest control, productivity, marketing, semantics and politics. I touch on it all on page 18. We don’t often offer history lessons We’ve done it again. here in Inside Grower , but the evolu - tion of the local food movement in the For the second time this year, Inside Grower U.S. is a fascinating topic worth dis - has burst out of the seams of its bi-weekly cussing, with deeper roots in American culture than you might expect. Turn to email format, filling a magazine edition to the page 14 for Rich Pirog’s account of how the local food movement has brim with more in-depth coverage of moved from the margins to the main - stream. greenhouse vegetable growing. These special And Eliot Coleman is one well- known American Farmer who grows editions allow us to dig even deeper into the local food for the good folks in Maine topics that matter most in our industry. year-round. Anne-Marie Hardie profiles Eliot’s Farm on page 26. In this issue, you’ll also find valu - able information on growing methods, Since the last print edition of Inside Grower found your including complying with the new Food Safety mailboxes in January 2014, I’ve fine-tuned my skills as Modernization Act (page 24), using banker plants your editor. It took becoming a mother for the first time to fight aphids (page 28), understanding blossom to become painfully aware of the importance of end rot (page 30) and starting a strong lettuce strengthening efficiencies in all aspects of my life. Since crop using a new hydroponic fertilizer (page 32). my daughter was born in January, I’ve learned to better We hope you enjoy this publication of Inside identify and prioritize what’s worthy of my attention and Grower . As always, we welcome your questions filter out everything that’s not. Knowing that your time is and feedback. just as valuable—whether you’re a parent, up to your eyeballs in the business of growing or both—you’ll find this issue of Inside Grower delivers the most pertinent, interesting and useful news in our industry. In our cover story on vertical farming, Chris Beytes wastes no time, cutting right to the chase and asking Annie White some tough questions about an agricultural practice MANAGING EDITOR even he admits he’s skeptical of. Some advocates tout feedback: [email protected] 4 September 2014 EDITORIAL CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE EDITOR Chris Beytes MANAGING EDITOR Annie White CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ellen C. Wells Jennifer Duffield White Jennifer Zurko Jennifer Polanz INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Ron Van der Ploeg DEPARTMENTS 4 | From Your Editor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Anne-Marie Hardie David Kuack 6 | Insider Dr. Vijay Rapaka 31 | New Products ON THE COVER Is vertical farming a viable part of agriculture or an unrealistic pipe dream? Chris Beytes stops PRODUCTION MANAGER Kathy Wootton by FarmedHere right outside of Chicago to find CREATIVE DIRECTOR Chris Truesdale out. Turn to page 10 to read more. PHOTOGRAPHER Mark Widhalm FEATURES COPY EDITOR Sue Olsen 10 | Vertical Farming: A Critic Asks Some Hard Questions Story & photos by Chris Beytes SALES 866.888.4237 “Vertical farming”—multiple layers of plants grown under lights in abandoned urban warehouses—is still in its infancy, but it’s already a media darling. Advocates call it the PUBLISHER | Paul Black future of agriculture. Critics say it’s too expensive to be viable. What’s the truth? SALES MANAGER [email protected] ACCOUNT MANAGER Kim Brown 14 | The Local Food Movement’s Evolution in the United States [email protected] by Rich Pirog SALES ASSISTANT Adriana Heikkila Consumers wondering about the origin of their food didn’t just happen overnight; the [email protected] seeds of the local food movement have been growing since the Great Depression. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING [email protected] 18 | Double Trouble or Twice as Nice? | by Annie S. White The challenges encountered in organic hydroponic vegetable production are complex A Friend Remembered and run the gamut from nutrient management, pest control and productivity to G. Victor Ball, Editor from 194 9–1997 marketing, semantics and politics. GrowerTalks general offices are located at: PO BOX 1660, West Chicago, Illinois 60186 U.S.A. 22 | Greenhouse Edibles Taking Center Stage | by David Kuack ph: 630.231.3675 | fax: 630.231.5254 | Toll-Free: 1-888-888-0 013 www.growertalks.com University of Arkansas researchers are getting serious about greenhouse edibles, as an increasing number of growers look to expand their offerings of locally grown products. 24 | Protecting Greenhouse Edibles | by Rob Larose GrowerTalks (ISSN 0276-9433) is published monthly by In order to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act, you’ll need to follow these Ball Publishing, PO Box 1660, West Chicago, Illinois 60186, best practices. United States. Subscriptions are free to qualified readers in the US. Subscription price for non-qualified readers is $35 per year US and Canada. All other foreign subscriptions must pay 26 | Increasing the Availability of Local Produce $99/year to receive/continue to receive GrowerTalks and Green Profit . GrowerTalks is a registered trademark of Ball Horticultural Story by Anne-Marie Hardie, Photos by Barbara Damrosch Company in the U.S. Periodicals postage paid at West Chicago, One grower shows that four-season farming is possible—even during those New IL and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send address changes to GrowerTalks Magazine, PO Box 1660, West Chicago, England winters. Illinois 60186, United States. ©2010 GrowerTalks Magazine. All rights reserved. Posted under Canada publications mail agreement #40612608. Canada returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, 28 | Fight Aphids With Aphids | by Steven Frank P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 Printed in the U.S.A. Using banker plants for greenhouse vegetable crops can be a key tool to fighting your GreenProfit Supplement Enclosed aphid issues. 30 | Blossom End Rot: Understanding a Perennial Problem by Ron Goldy Blossom end rot is a perennial problem on tomatoes, peppers and other crops. Understanding the causes can help reduce symptoms, but it’s rare to be able to eliminate it completely. 32 | Growing Lettuce? A Beginner’s Guide to a Strong Start by Dr. Vijay Rapaka & Dr. Cari Peters The key for successful hydroponic production is starting with strong young plants. 5 Insider Nexus Donates Growing Vaccines in Genetically Free High Tunnel Greenhouse to Modified Lettuce Hoop House Dr. Henry Daniell’s $2 mil - netically modified plant Construction Denver Hunger lion greenhouse at the produces the proteins for Relief Center University of Pennsylvania the vaccines. The lettuce Guide has all the high-tech bells and leaves are dried and made High tunnel hoop houses are rel - whistles of a new controlled into capsules that can be atively easy to construct and have environment greenhouse. But taken orally, don’t require re - become a very popular addition Dr. Daniell isn’t growing toma - frigeration and can be to many small-scale veggie-grow - toes or lettuce for the local stored for years. ing operations. While there are market; he’s growing vaccines. Dr. Daniell’s research has numerous extension publications A professor in the depart - demonstrated the effective - on hoop house crop culture, very ments of biochemistry and ness of plant-based vaccines few focus on construction. pathology and director of and therapeutics in treating Steve Upson took his 17 years translational research in the nearly 30 conditions, from of experience in high tunnel School of Dental Medicine, Dr. infectious diseases such as hoop house design, construction, Daniell’s doing ground-break - cholera, malaria and an - utilization and education to cre - ing research that could thrax to autoimmune dis - ate a “how to” resource on hoop change the way drugs and eases like diabetes and house construction. vaccinations are delivered. hemophilia. Steve says it’s not the intent of Traditional vaccines con - “This will be a paradigm his publication to offer a com - tain inactivated versions of the shift in delivery of drugs,” Dr. plete set of construction plans for bacteria, viruses or other microor - Daniell says. “This will change any particular type or size of Thanks to a donation from Nexus ganisms that cause the illness. the landscape and save lives.” hoop house, but rather to intro - Corporation, a new hunger relief These costly vaccines require re - Perhaps it will also change duce the novice grower and center in Denver, Colorado, will frigeration during storage and de - how large-scale controlled-en - hoop house builder to the vari - feature a south-facing green - livery, making them unavailable in vironment greenhouses are em - ous tools and techniques used in house for growing fresh veggies.