Maximum Yield USA 2009 March | Page 10

FROM THE editor jessica raymond Improving your quality of life can be as simple eating better or taking the time to relax by enjoying a hobby. If that hobby happens to be indoor gardening, then you’ve come to the right place for inspiration and ideas on how to make that hobby more enjoyable and more beneficial to you and your family’s health or all of the above. By experimenting with and enjoying the benefits of indoor gardening, you can live a simpler, healthier and more satisfying life. The articles this month focus on your well being through hydroponics and how to increase the healthful properties of the food and flowers you grow. Our writer’s delve into new phenomenons in indoor gardening and show you new and philosophical ways of looking at growing. This issue is also jam-packed with great how-to articles, contributors I N D O O R G A R D E N I N G Erik Biksa first appeared in Maximum Yield in December 1999, and in 2000 the first “Ask Erik” column was printed. Erik has contributed dozens of in-depth articles to Maximum Yield since. The “Ask Erik” column has assisted many gardeners by providing answers to a wide range of growing questions. Brian Johns is driven by his passion to change the way people Lee McCall graduated from Johnson and Wales University in 2005 with an associate’s degree in Applied Science with a concentration in Culinary Arts. Culinary school opened the door to research and work with hydroponics and indoor gardening. Lee has represented The Big Tomato, the leading indoor gardening company in Colorado, since 2005. Paul Cronk, the inventor of Adjust a Wings and Super Spreaders, holds a Bachelor of Science and with majors in ecology and chemis try. As owner of Hygro International, he holds three international lighting, reflector and heat manipulation patents. With over two decades of experience in horticultural lighting as an environmental scientist, he has spent significant effort maximizing the efficiency of lighting systems and improving their energy consumption. Jose Luis Pinheiro Bartolo is the President and Chief Executive Roland Evans is lifelong gardener and CEO of Organic Bountea. As Evan Folds is president of Progressive Gardens, A natural approach Benjamin Pererra is a freelance writer based in Montreal, Canada. Armed with a degree in English Literature and an educational background in geology, he launched himself into the world of technical editing and writing, logging over 15 years of experience in researching and writing articles on subjects as diverse as business, fashion, human rights and museum-related technologies. Officer of Biobizz Worldwide Inc., which he launched in 2002. Thanks to his expertise in strategic business and creativity in direct market models, Biobizz Inc. is now a global leader in the production of organic fertilizers and soil mixtures in the hydroponic industry. He is passionate about maintaining a business philosophy that identifies with the organic market and providing the highest service and perfectionism that comes direct from his heart and is projected to all aspects of his life. land care company, and Progress Earth, all located in Wilmington, NC. With a degree in biology and religion, Evan’s interests include making sense of food production and bringing awareness to the myriad injustices we collectively perpetrate upon ourselves as a society, including empty food, municipal water fluoridation and spiritual intolerance. Evan is also a board member on the Progressive Gardening Trade Association. 10 shorter reads, news from USA and the world and an entire section on products and technologies that are all-new this month. The 2009 Indoor Gardening Expo tour dates have been announced with shows this year in Kelowna, BC, Canada (May 30, 31), San Francisco, California (July 25, 26) and Orlando, Florida (November 7, 8). Each expo will have it’s own unique theme and will offer new and exciting venue activities. The Indoor Gardening Expos offer the most amazing opportunity to see first hand the leading products available for the industry. For more information on exhibiting or attending visit www.indoorgardenexpo. com or call us at 1-250-729-2677. If you haven’t already done so, make sure to join our Maximum Yield Facebook page. With original NOW discussion groups, exclusive ON Maximum Yield content, event listings and a place for your photos, there is always something new and exciting to view. MAXIMUM YIELD USA - March 2009 think about agriculture. With a long family history in farming, Brian grew up understanding the true relationship between people and the planet. He is focused on every element of natural food production from seed selection to consumer consumption, from soil to hydroponic farms. Brian has made a career out of his passion. He owns and operates Happy Family Farms in Flint, Michigan where he resides with his wife and business partner, Becky, and their three children, Sara, Stephen and Noah. a student and teacher of Holistic Systems, he actively promotes an ecological approach to cultivation using the Soil Food Web. Trained as a psychologist, Roland also writes on the interface between gardening and personal growth.