MAX FACTS GROWING TIPS, NEWS AND TRIVIA
Eat Well for the Planet
Eating well isn’t just about choosing what’s good for your body; more consumers are
realizing the necessity of taking the environment into consideration when making
decisions about food. “It’s all connected,” says dietician Kate Geagan, author of Go
Green, Get Lean. “You can’t tackle hunger and obesity and the paradox of the obesity
crisis among hungry children without tying it to food waste, the farm bill and how
the food system has been set up in this country.” The pressure is on for the USDA
to include environmental considerations in its new dietary guidelines, which will be
released by the end of this year, as the USDA’s advisory panel has made this suggestion.
(Source: treehugger.com)
Chicago’s First Year-round Tomato Grower
Fresh tomatoes all winter, anyone? If you live in the Chicago area, you’re in luck! A consortium of Dutch greenhouse
builders recently constructed a 3-ha glasshouse for MightyVine Tomatoes in Rochelle, Illinois. The project is a unique
co-operation between suppliers of Dutch greenhouse technology, a group of US entrepreneurs and a
Dutch grower. MightyVine will grow tomatoes year-round, with the first batch expected to be ready
for market in October. Once MightyVine gets this 3-ha greenhouse well-established, the
company plans to build a second greenhouse identical to the first.
(Source: freshplaza.com)
Mississippi Farmer
Tries Hydroponics
Chip Denman never stops learning, which he says is the
key to keeping his family-run farm in the Olive Branch
area ahead of the competition. His latest project?
Hydroponics. Part of Chip’s robust tomato crop this
year grew hydroponically in 5-gal. buckets set up in
a hothouse. The percentage was only a frac tion of
his total tomato crop, but Chip says the tomatoes that
ripened in buckets of fertilizer, constantly watered in the
hothouse’s warm environment, allowed him
to beat competitors to market. “It’s just
something [I tried] to get the produce
out there earlier,” he says. Hydroponic
tomatoes take about the same length
of time to ripen as those grown
conventionally, but farmers can
start growing them earlier on in the
season. Chip first learned about
hydroponics on YouTube and
decided it was worth a try. “It’s
just a trial and error thing,” he
says. “I’m still learning.”
(Source: elkharttruth.com)
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Maximum Yield USA | September 2015