Z.I. Route de Lectoure, 32500 Fleurance, France, Tél. : 33 (0)5 62 06 08 30, Fax : 33 (0)5 62 06 64 04E-mai l : gheurope@compuser ve.com - http : //www.generalhydroponics .com

GENERAL HYDROPONICS EUROPE

www.eurohydro.com

General Hydroponics was founded in the mid 70's near San Francisco, California, by a group ofscientists, researchers and technicians. Today, GH is recognised by the international scientificcommunity for its reliability, the quality of its products and its sense of innovation.Within a few years, its reputation crossed international borders, extending to Canada, Australia,and on to Europe, where GH Europe was established in 1995, in the south-west of France.

Since the beginning our objectives have remained the same: to stay at the cutting edge of tech-nology, to offer the best quality of service, and to bring solutions for some of the environmentalproblems that our planet faces today.

Our technology is called "Aero-hydroponics": plants grow without substrate, in a perfectly bal-anced flow of nutritive solution, saturated with oxygen. (A more detailed description follows).Thanks to its flexibility, this alternative growing method holds an enormous potential of oppor-tunities. It can be adapted to most situations, allowing one to grow anywhere, from the city tothe most remote country-side.

One of the first concepts we developed in California was the " Family Farm ".A Family Farm allows a family or individual wherever they are based, to produce part of the veg-etables they consume, eliminating the expensive middlemen, and eventually providing surplusto sell within the local farmer's markets, co-ops, restaurants, etc.

In our greenhouse in the south of France, we study the potential of several high cash crops, thatwill give the grower an alternative to traditional crops, and will allow him to step out of thevicious circle of subsidies.We especially study the field of medicinal plants, where there exists a constant demand of qual-ity stock, and where it is urgent today to stop the gathering of many endangered species, as isthe case, for instance, of Arnica montana. Our research is aimed on selecting the right species,optimising their harvest and increasing their content in active principles.

Aware of the insufficiencies in the food and water supply on the planet, we participate in fooddevelopment projects in the third world. Indeed, by adapting our technology to the existingresources, we teach populations a way to provide for their immediate basic needs and to create,whenever possible, an unexpected but well needed source of income.

As environmentalists, when possible we utilise recycled materials. To respond to the problem ofelectrical consumption, we are currently testing in California, the first systems powered by solarenergy.

Our line of products is vast, often unique, and always in evolution. It is developed by our team ofresearchers, thoroughly studied, then tested in our greenhouses in California and in France.Today our products are used by growers world wide. They are sought after by the most importantlaboratories in the world and NASA uses Flora-series and the AeroFlo in their studies on cultiva-tion in their space stations.

For additional information please feel free to contact us or visit our websites:EUROPE: www.eurohydro.com & US: www.generalhydroponics.com

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What is hydroponics?Hydroponics is the art of growing plants in water. Theword comes from the Greek "hydro = water" and "ponos= work". The concept was re-discovered in 1930, at theUniversity of Berkeley in California by Dr. Gericke but inreality this growing method has existed since the earli-est of times.We all heard of the hanging gardens of Babylon, and ofthose people living at altitudes around mountain lakeslike Titcaca in Peru and Inle in Myanmar, who cultivatetheir gardens on the water surface, over straw mats,water hyacinth beds or any other local substrata.

In hydroponics, as in these mountain lakes, plants liveover water with their roots hanging in the dynamic flowof a nutrient solution.

Although plants such as rice, water lilies or carnivorousplants can adapt well in scarcely oxygenated, or evenstagnant environments, most have difficulty in adaptingto oxygen deficiencies.Indeed, if a plant lacks oxygen in its root zone, it asphyxi-ates even though it is adequately watered: actually a recur-rent cause of death for houseplants is due to overwatering.This is often what happens in "hydroculture" (notto be confused with "hydroponics"), a growing methodwith wicker buckets standing in a "dormant" nutritivesolution.

Thus, plants can grow in water, but not under all condi-tions. Water has to be "alive". One must be aware that,whatever the environment they are growing in, be itsoil, air or water, plants absorb their food in the form ofions dissolved in oxygen. In water, when food and oxy-gen are absorbed, they must be replaced. This is thefunction of hydroponics: a soil-less cultivating methodwhich stimulates plant growth while controlling thequantities of water, mineral salts and most important,dissolved oxygen.

The basic concept is quite simple. When roots are sus-pended in moving water, they absorb food and oxygenrapidly. If the oxygen content is insufficient, plant

growth will be slow. But if the solution is saturated withoxygen, plant growth will accelerate. The grower's task isto balance the combination of water, nutrients, and oxy-gen, with the plant's needs, in order to maximise yieldand quality.

For the best results, a few important parameters need tobe taken into account: temperature, humidity and CO2levels, light intensity, ventilation and the plant's geneticmake-up. Essentially this is what any conscientious gar-dener would do.

What would we say are theadvantages of thismethodology?Hydroponics can be used by a wide range of people;plant lovers in general, private or professional plant col-lectors, small and large greenhouse growers, horticul-tural societies, research centres, schools and manymore.

The following list is a summary of its applications andadvantages:

� Optimal utilisation of the plant's genetic potential.� Better control of the plant's nutrition� A visible improvement in quantity and yields� A significant shortening of the growth / productioninterval for a large variety of species.� A more efficient use of space� An excellent propagation success rate.� Huge savings on fertilisers, and most important, ofwater, in a situation of ever increasing global scarcity.� A total absence of herbicides. To replace pesticidesand fungicides, hydroponic growers will often use IPM(Integrated Pest Management).� The strength and vigour of plants started in hydro-ponics then transplanted in soil is such that it opens upenormous commercial perspectives, especially for pottedplants.� In the field of education, at all stages, hydroponics fillschildren and adults with wonder. Several countriesalready introduced it in their school or universityprograms.

� Last but not least, hydroponics was, and still is, usedfor research purposes. For the last 50 years th ismethod has been applied in most important researchcentres because of its reliability, its precision and thebroad spectrum of its applications. Thanks to hydro-ponics enormous leaps forward were made possiblein the understanding of plants and especially theirnutrition.

Like all things, hydroponics can have good or badresults depending on the people who apply it andtheir objectives.

1. It can be used for mass production and to producetomatoes with little taste or roses with no perfume.But it can grow products with the best nutritive qual-ities, bursting with flavour and aroma.

2. It can be a pollutant when used with rockwool or inrun-to-waste conditions. But it can be applied eco-logically in respect to the environment, sustain alarge portion of the planet's population with qualityfood, and allow third world countries to feed theirown, even when the soil is poor and water scarce.

Another recurring question is, "are hydroponic cropsorganic"? The answer is no, they are not. The merefact that this is a soil-less operation already prohibitsan "organic" designation. As for the fertilisers, there isno complete organic fertiliser for hydroponics, to thebest of my knowledge. But what is sure, is that thereare fertilisers on the market with such a preciselycrafted formulation, that they deposit no toxicity orh e av y m e t a l s w h a t s o e v e r i n p l a n t s , w h e n u s e daccording to instructions.

Today several variations of our technology are on themarket: NFT, Drip Systems, Ebb & Flow, Aero-hydro-ponics. They are applied in industrialised countrieslike Australia and Canada, and are spreading to manysouth east-Asian countr ies, where an increasingacreage of hydroponic greenhouses are used to growvegetables, fruits, potted plants, cut flowers, etc…

In some third world countries too, teams of volun-teers are teaching people to build their own hydro-ponic systems from industrial scrap, and to producefertilisers with domestic wastes.

Hydroponics has other applications, particularly inthe field of outdoors and indoor gardening. In the US,for more than 25 years, manufacturers have devel-oped small sized units for hobby gardeners, using thesame technology as the greenhouse industry. Thosesystems are designed for a wide public and can beinstalled on a balcony or a patio, a sitting room or akitchen. They vary from one-plant mini-modules, toreal small kitchen gardens.

It is true that these techniques are not relevant foreveryone. A common error is to think that, if plantshave sufficient water supplies, they can be left unat-tended longer. In fact, their accelerated metabolismrequires greater attention. This methodology is not tosave time on maintenance, rather it is conceived tom a x i m i s e r e s u l t s . I n t h i s s e n s e h y d r o p o n i c s i sintended for plant lovers and collectors, beginnerso r p ro fe s s i o n a l s , ra t h e r t h a n fo r t h e o c c a s i o n a lgardener.

Of course the concept of hydroponics may appearinconceivable to some. Others will see it as anotherfad… Others will be curious, amused or interested…To you all, whatever your reaction, don't hesitate tocontact us to give us your opinion or to request moreinformation.

Noucetta KehdiGeneral Hydroponics Europe

Hydroponicsis not a Technology of the Future Anymore

Interesting Internet sites exist, mainly in English

Professional magazines www.growingedge.comwww.hydroponics.com.auwww.maximumyield.com

Hydroponics for children and third world countries: :www.hydrogarden.com

For general information on hydroponics:www.genhydro.com/articles.html

There are many books in English

For beginners :Hydroponics Home Food Garden - Howard M. Resh Woodbridge Press – Santa Barbara – CA 93160 – 1990

For the more advanced :Hydroponic Food Production - Howard M. Resh Woodbridge Press – Santa Barbara – CA 93160 – 1995

There are a few in French

The classicsLes Cultures Végétales Hors Sol - Philippe Morardéditions PAA - Agen -1995

Cultures hydroponiques - C. Lesaint et Y. CoïcLa Maison Rustique – 26, Rue Jacob – 75006 Paris

New publications are issued regularly. Inquire in any goodbook store.

Often when discussing hydroponics we are greeted, not only by a lack of knowledge but, also,with incredulity, scepticism and occasionally downright disapproval, especially when weexplain that this method of cultivation consists of growing plants directly in water and plastic,rather than in soil.

And yet our technology represents one of the most sensational developments in recent years. Itis increasing rapidly in Australia, in Canada, in the US and in Holland, to mention the best knowncountries.

Ad r e s s e s & i n f o s

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