Maximum Yield USA August/September 2019 | Page 41

f or many, indoor gardening is an exciting hobby, one that often leads to the possibility of setting up a profitable business using new skills and knowledge. While hydroponics is the basis of many successful commercial enterprises, selecting the right crop is essential and, given the high intensity but limited area of many indoor gardens, niche-market crops are usually a good option. Crops that currently receive the highest returns in local markets include those such as ginseng, bay, tarragon, and saffron, all of which are suited to both hydroponics and indoor cropping. While a high rate of return per pound may look lucrative, growers also need to take into account the difficulty of the crop, yields per square foot, time to harvest, and availability of information on hydroponic cultivation. Some of the most highly priced niche crops are relatively low yielding and slow to mature, so growers need to weigh up all these factors before deciding which to grow. French Tarragon French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) has long been a staple hydroponic herb and is relatively easy to grow. It is a perennial bushy plant with slender branching stems and smooth olive green, narrow leaves. The flavor of tarragon is strong, sweet, aromatic, and reminiscent of anise and licorice and has been growing in popularity as a culinary flavoring. While French tarragon does receive considerably higher prices per pound than most other herbs (currently around $16/lb), it is slow to produce good yields and can take up to a year before regular harvests of fresh-cut product can be taken and the foliage is light in weight. French tarragon, being a long-lived perennial plant, is suited to free draining media bed systems with substrates such as perlite as the plant is intolerant of high moisture levels. Bay leaves may be sold as a fresh or dried product. “ SOME OF THE MOST HIGHLY PRICED NICHE CROPS ARE RELATIVELY LOW YIELDING AND SLOW TO MATURE. ” Maximum Yield 41