Hydroponic Gardening News

SHOPS selling hydroponic equipment would be licensed and customers would require photo identification before they can buy anything if the Liberals win government in March.

The policy, proposed by Opposition police spokesman Robert Brokenshire, would also require those buying hydroponic equipment to detail the purpose and place in which the equipment would be used.

Mr Brokenshire said illicit drug use would be slashed by the initiative, which also proposes to root out connections between the industry and bikie gangs.

"We recognise legislative reform is needed to stamp out illegal activity which stems from many of these hydroponic stores," he said.

"A licensing system will ensure police can better scrutinise activities within hydroponic stores."

There are no regulatory controls on ownership or association with a hydroponic shop.

But under the proposed legislation, police would be able to inspect the registers of hydroponic shops and the homes of people buying the equipment.

"This becomes an additional tool for police in fighting drug-dealing and growing by allowing them to inspect the registers of shops that give addresses of buyers," Mr Brokenshire said.

"And therefore they can inspect that property. We would expect the normal checks and balances that police put into other powers they have, so people not involved (in cannabis production) won't have to worry."

Mr Brokenshire said when he was police minister he was advised 41 of the 61 hydroponic shops in the Adelaide metropolitan area were operated by people who had recorded criminal involvement in the cultivation or distribution of cannabis.

He said 17 of the 61 operators were alleged to be either full members of or linked to outlawed motorcycle gangs.

"It is also understood that a number of shops are strategically placed across the metropolitan area and allegedly employ people with drug-related criminal records, or who are suspected of drug-related activity," Mr Brokenshire said. Some hydroponic shops in SA were reportedly recording annual turnovers of more than $1 million.

"It is fanciful to believe that such large turnovers are generated purely by avid gardeners trying to grow the perfect lettuce or tomato," he said. "In many cases, police suspect illegal activities are taking place but do not have sufficient powers to monitor and stop them."

Police Association of SA president Peter Alexander welcomed the proposal and said current laws were insufficient.

"We support that because obviously what has started out as a cottage industry has grown and grown in terms of criminality," he said.

"Certainly there's evidence of significant involvement of bikie groups.

"The legislation needs to reflect improper use by anybody in terms of drugs, and people with legitimate purposes have nothing to fear."

When asked whether police could effectively enforce the proposed legislation, Mr Alexander said police resourcing was another issue entirely.

"We're talking to the Government and Opposition about that in the lead-up to the election," he said. "We want it to be at an appropriate level so they can combat these issues.

"Obviously there needs to be legislation that gives police the power to do this."

Pompano Beach Police hit the jackpot today with the discovery of two high-tech hydroponics homes.

The first house of pot is located at 766 NE 27th Street.

The house, which had been gutted, still had its hurricane shutters lowered in an effort to hide the illegal crop growing inside.

When police arrived today, they found 90 potent plants, worth about $5,000 each on the street. Investigators say it was a very sophisticated set up, designed to keep costs down, by hijacking power from F.P.L.

Police had been watching the suspect, Alan Ryan, for about a week and finally moved in today.
He had plenty to say according to investigators, confessing that he had a growing operation in the house and was growing it with the intent to sell.

Neighbors say they always saw Ryan coming and going but never staying at the home. Now they know why.

Police are still trying to determine if Ryan worked alone or has any accomplices.

A second house of pot was also discovered today in Pompano Beach. This one located at 1000 NE 24th street. Police say that one is even more sophisticated than the first one.

CBS4 News

Grape-flavoured rolling papers for sale in your business display case?
Well, chances are you’ll have to obtain a $1,000 licence to keep on selling them, if a proposed bylaw to regulate hydroponics and drug
paraphernalia is passed by Chillwack’s city council.

It’s the “obvious stuff” used to consume or create illegal drugs that city council wants to curtail through the bylaw, says Councillor Chuck Stam, co-chair of the city’s public safety advisory committee, not items like cigarette rolling papers.
“Ninety-per cent of our crimes in this community stem, one way or another, from drugs,” he says.
The city can’t ban outright the sale of drug paraphernalia or hydroponic equipment that can also be used for indoor marijuana grow operations, but charging a hefty licence fee and setting up a buyers’ registry would make those who want to trade in those markets think twice.
City staff say the mayor and council would meet to determine an enforcement policy, if the bylaw is approved. But in the case of a store selling rolling papers, which could be used either for tobacco or marijuana, a municipal enforcement officer would likely have “discretion” over enforcing the bylaw.
The bylaw would also require sellers to register the names and addresses of buyers, similar to a bylaw passed in February to regulate the sale of used and second-hand goods aimed at stopping the practice of fencing stolen goods at local pawnbrokers’ shops.
Stam says the proposed bylaw would also include businesses involved in bulk sales of liquid iodine, used in some dairy operations, but also as an ingredient in crystal meth production. He says iodine is not included in provincial programs aimed at restricting crystal meth ingredients.
The proposed hydroponics and drug paraphernalia bylaw has been reviewed by a team of lawyers, but a public meeting will be held Feb. 6 at city hall to hear public reaction.
Like the city’s anti-marijuana and second-hand goods regulatory bylaws, the proposed bylaw could undergo some extensive “tweaking” after the public hearing and it goes back to council for final approval.
Under the proposed bylaw, drug paraphernalia includes all equipment and products designed for growing, packaging, concealing, injecting, inhaling or “otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance” as defined by the criminal code.
Hydroponic equipment in the bylaw includes tools or devices used, designed or advertised for the delivery of water and nutrients to plants using hydroponic systems.

By Robert Freeman
The Progress

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Students throughout Pennsylvania
will have the opportunity to learn about beekeeping, hydroponics, teen
leadership skills and other subjects with the investment of $110,000 in 31
youth organizations, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.
   "We are making a solid investment in the future growth and prosperity of
Pennsylvania agriculture by giving our young people the opportunity to gain
hands-on learning experiences," said Governor Rendell. "These grants support
and assist youth as they develop skills and pursue their interests in
agriculture."
   The Agricultural and Rural Youth Grant program provides matching and
direct grants to organizations whose projects demonstrate relevance to
agriculture and/or rural issues, originality and community influence.
   "The success of agriculture depends on the educational opportunities that
are made available to aspiring young farmers and students who are interested
in working in agricultural business," said Governor Rendell. "Updating
equipment, holding workshops and seminars, devising new technologies and
conducting studies are just some of the ways this grant money will advance
agriculture throughout Pennsylvania."
   Recipients can receive direct grants of up to $2,500 toward educational
outreach efforts. Matching grants of up to $10,000 are awarded to those groups
needing assistance with building and equipment funds.
   Since 1992, the Agricultural and Rural Youth Grant program has awarded 327
direct grants and 45 matching grants totaling $1,120,650 to FFA, 4-H,
agricultural extension and agricultural educational organizations statewide.
   This year's direct grants totaled $61,987 and matching grants totaled
$48,037.  The grants totaled $110,024.
   Organizations that received grants were selected by a board of
representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the
Pennsylvania Department of Education, FFA, Pennsylvania Vocational
Agricultural Teachers Association, Penn State Cooperative Extension and
members of the State House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Committees.
   The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out
more about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly
newsletter.

Some baby boomers really let the side down. Take Marie Cotter, a 57-year-old described in the papers as a "grandmother". She's organising a march against the drug "P" for February 20 – a commendable enough idea – but why did she have to drag the grandmother bit into it?

Surely no generation ever has been as actively poked and prodded by experts as baby boomers are, nor will signs of aging have been noted with such merciless glee. I fear we asked for it, through being so obsessed (the charitable Ms Cotter aside) with ourselves.

This year the oldest of us turn 60, and still think they're 25, and John Lennon would have turned 65. I'm not that doddery yet, but I'm noting the slow panic around me, and hearing reports of plastic surgery on an epic scale – among the most unlikely people.

How can they afford it? Maybe it explains all the beach properties on the market. One old coastal shack could well fund a tummy tuck, a chin job, all-over liposuction, a vein job, eye jobs of all kinds, cosmetic dentistry, breast reductions and implants, a facelift, cosmetic dentistry, and a Brazilian.

The kids won't get a look-in when we die. We'll have spent the lot on trying to retain traces of our pulling power, leaving nothing behind but gold fillings, G-strings, and souvenirs of Turkestan. Why else would reality TV plastic surgery programmes suddenly be such compelling viewing? And why else are we making our kids pay for their education?

We'll go down fighting, waving our orthoses, though there'll be some who'll take to wearing bloomers down to their knees and breaking wind loudly on the porch, like older women did when we were young. They embraced aging with gusto then, grateful that they didn't have to bother any more.

They were finally free from having to smear lipstick on straight, or wondering whether a 30-year-old frock was still wearable (it always was, especially when they couldn't do the side zip up any more). They were free to become difficult old bags harassing paperboys, and nagging their husbands into hiding in garden sheds all day, pretending to pot cacti. And they descended eagerly into crone status, when the time came, calling their children by the wrong name, and accusing their lawyers of stealing their spoons. Their lives were never dull, but full of excitement – especially when a strange car appeared in their neighbour's driveway, or a strange cat peed on their lawn.

But we boomers won't believe in the liberating pleasure of taking on age actively, and going with it. We're the generation that got the pill and discovered sex, remember, so coping with life without being bonkable, becoming invisible men and women in the meat market, is a terrifying challenge. We don't have role models for doing it the way we'd like to, apart from Mick Jagger and Dolly Parton, and there'll be scarier sights, even, than them ahead.

I dread the hot pants that will be pulled out of old suitcases and worn again – the 70s flares on 70-year-olds, the wizened lips slicked with gloss and the comb-overs compensated for by chin tufts. People drift toward the fashion statements of the time when they looked their best. They really shouldn't.

We'll be out on the pull, sucking in our tummy-tucks, and hopefully passing for 40 forever in the dark. Night clubs catering for us will multiply like our wrinkles. I hear reports already of newly single women my age who carry Viagra in their handbags, prowling the city's nightlife and trying to rekindle the thrill of being 18 again.

Sadly, though, they must be aiming at blokes our own age, whose performance can't be relied on. One-night stands? More like three-week epics, and a lot of mumbled "No really, I don't mind".

Will they check our wardrobes for hydroponics in the retirement home? Will incontinency pants come in designer colours? How can we guarantee that we age with sufficient scandal when we're finally at the mercy of young prudes in the nursing homes? And what will we do when the men our age die off?

I guess we'll cruise the internet for young blokes to push us about in our wheelchairs – Filipino, Russian, Nigerian, whichever country is most desperate; whoever will sing Jumping Jack Flash on demand, and launder our bloomers.

A 107-year-old widow in San Francisco set a fine example when she and her 30-year-old male Filipino "caregiver" died just after Christmas. He seems to have done her in, at her request, then topped himself, too exhausted with waiting for her to die to be bothered living any more. Impressive.

By Rosemary Mcleod

Google correct to resist government subpoenas

Justice Department officials gathering data as part of an effort to resurrect the 1998 Child Online Protection Act -- already rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 -- admitted last week that they issued blanket subpoenas in August to four major Internet companies.

The subpoenas typically asked the firms -- Google Inc., America Online, Microsoft and Yahoo -- to turn over every inquiry typed into their search engines during a given week, while allowing the firms to delete information identifying the individuals who conducted those searches.

While insisting that their compliance did not compromise user privacy, three of the firms complied to some degree. Only spokesmen for Google, the world's most popular search engine, said they continue to resist the demand.

"We complied on a limited basis and did not provide any personally identifiable information," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako told The Washington Post. "In our opinion this is not a privacy issue."

Indeed, privacy advocates told the Post they would not object to government subpoenas of Web search histories in criminal cases where a specific individual is suspected of a crime. But fishing expeditions as broad as this constitute "the government's nose under the search engine's tent," warns Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit privacy group. "Once we cross this line it will be difficult to turn back."

"The real issue here is, is Google being deputized to spy on us?" asks Richard Smith, a Boston-based software engineer who has written about the Internet age. "What will the next case be? It's a terrible precedent."

Indeed. "Slippery slope" and "camel's nose" arguments would seem even more tedious, were it not for how often they're proved right. Many a constitutional outrage that was once tolerated "only in emergencies" has now become so commonplace as to draw little notice. How many younger Americans today realize that in the 1960s drivers licenses carried no photographs and were not shown to anyone but traffic officers; airline passengers and their bags were not searched; and the friendly stewardess would help a traveling hunter find room in the overhead bin for his fully functional high-powered rifle?

Wouldn't police and prosecutors find their jobs made easier if they could cross-index lists of people who searched marijuana cultivation Web sites against those with higher-than-usual electric bills or credit card charges for hydroponics equipment? They might well want to search the homes of people who "Google" for online information on machine guns -- even if the researcher turns out to be a kid writing a school report.

And once we've started down that road, wouldn't it be merely prudent for the FBI to keep a close eye on those who visit Web sites that seem to espouse obstructive methods of protest against the Iraq war, or in favor of "animal liberation," or any other radical cause du jour?

Not only would officials be tempted to so use a new Internet monitoring power -- they might be judged derelict in their duty if they failed to do so. (Look how they were criticized for not doing enough about Arabs attending flight schools, they might earnestly explain.) Note that the case in hand involves an effort by the Justice Department to resurrect a 1998 law that may have been intended to shield children from Internet pornography, but the enforcement of which was already blocked by the high court, ruling the federal government failed to show the law's criminal penalties would protect children without unduly limiting the freedoms of adults.

As the government prepares for a new trial in that case in Philadelphia this fall, Justice Department officials coo that they merely need the baseline Web search data to establish a "factual record" buttressing their contention that the 1998 law would be more effective than filtering software in preventing children from accessing online porn.

They're warned that the proposed law would limit our freedoms, and they decide to bolster their case by violating our privacy? What next -- a little vacation for opposing counsel in a dog kennel in Guantanamo?

Of course easy access to pornography by children is a concern. But this creates, in parents, a ready market for screening and filtering technologies that will be developed -- that are already being developed -- far faster and more efficiently by private industry than could ever be anticipated from some lumbering Washington bureaucracy.

Just as the chance that junior might find dad's copies of Penthouse under the bed never justified government bureaucrats "running" the background of every subscriber, so must we jealously guard today our freedom to use the Internet as we see fit, without fear that Big Brother is watching.

"Their demand for information overreaches," protests Google associate general counsel Nicole Wong. "We had lengthy discussions with them to try to resolve this, but we were not able to and we intend to resist their motion vigorously."

Good.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Marijuana growers gathered in Europe's pot-smoking capital Sunday for a trade show that is taking on the trappings of a major industry fair, complete with scantily clad models, glossy brochures and, of course, samples.

But instead of posing next to muscle cars, the models explained the intricacies of hydroponics culture such as the "iGrow-box Intensive Irrigation System" and exhibitors showed off their bongs, grinders, rolling paper, reflective film, hemp-fabric apparel and how-to marijuana growing videos.

"This gives you an uplifting high, up in the mind, not in your body," marijuana cultivator Arjan Roskam said of his latest Cannabis Cup-winning strain, "Arjan's Haze #1."

Roskam, who says he has hosted celebrities such as 50 Cent and Eminem in his Amsterdam coffee shops, was selling his prize-winning plant seeds for 100 euros ($121) alongside other strains such as the "Great White Shark" and "Hawaiian Snow."

Andre Beckers, the organiser of the International Highlife Hemp Fair, said he was expecting 15,000 to 20,000 visitors at the fair, held for the first time in Amsterdam instead of Utrecht, a smaller Dutch city to the southeast of the capital.

"This is part of the normalization process," Beckers said. "People see this as a normal fair."

Unprecedented in the Caribbean - or at any resort known to date - the CuisinArt Resort & Spa features a state-of-the-art hydroponic farm and a brand-new organic garden.

Located on the Leeward Island of Anguilla in the British West Indies, the CuisinArt Resort & Spa grows its own vegetables, edible flowers and herbs used daily in our kitchens and the Venus Spa.

Hydroponics, the art of cultivating plants in water containing the necessary nutrients for optimum growth, is an excellent way of providing fresh and nourishing food to the Caribbean. Because of a less-than-optimum growing climate, most – if not all – fruits and vegetables used in the Caribbean have to be imported from the United States, South America and other countries. Growing their own vegetables allows CuisinArt Resort & Spa to produce the freshest, healthiest, pollutant-and-pesticide-free fruits, vegetables and edible flowers – guaranteeing that every meal at CuisinArt is as fresh and tasty as possible.

“One of the main reasons I joined the Cuisinart family was because of the products that are available. For a chef, our palette is the produce we select,” says CuisinArt’s Executive Chef Daniel Orr. “With hydroponics, the crops are always reliable and available because the environment is so controlled and not based on seasons or the weather. And now with the addition of our organic farm, we’re raising the local Caribbean vegetables that only locals had known before.” On the plate that means that the beautiful hydroponic tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuces are now enhanced by a huge variety of Caribbean chiles, eggplants and melons.

The half-acre, state-of-the-art hydroponic farm is an excellent complement to CuisinArt’s overall culinary focus – producing fresh vegetables, herbs and flowers that are superior in taste, quality and appearance. A highly controlled environment, the farm is weed-, insect- and pesticide-free, and the plants require no cultivation. The farm generates a cornucopia of fruits, and vegetables such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, peppers, broccoli rabe, bok choy, arugula, watercress, green onions and string beans. Dishes at all three of CuisinArt’s restaurants are spiced with the farm’s herbs including parsley, basil, chives, dill, chervil, thyme, sage, mint, oregano and sweet marjoram.

Guests of the CuisinArt Resort & Spa are welcome to visit and learn about the hydroponic farm while at the resort. Managing the hydroponic farm is Dr. Howard Resh, Ph.D., whose experience with hydroponics spans more than twenty years. He acquired his degree in plant science from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and has been an active member of the Hydroponic Society of America since 1979. Dr. Resh has been a technical project manager and leading consultant for the horticultural industry all over the world, from Venezuela to Taiwan and now Anguilla. He is an accomplished and published author on the subject of hydroponics, and he is an industry authority on the construction of hydroponic farms such as the one at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa. Dr. Resh was a distinguished member of the faculty at the University of Arizona where he arranged for a group of graduate students to design the original landscape of the resort.
The hydroponic farm at Cuisinart Resort & Spa, the only resort in the Caribbean that offers fresh and tasty produce from its own backyard, has won kudos around the world.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Marijuana growers gathered in Europe's pot-smoking capital on Sunday for a trade show that is taking on the trappings of a major industry fair, complete with scantily clad models, glossy brochures and, of course, samples.

But instead of posing next to muscle cars, the models explained the intricacies of hydroponics culture such as the "iGrow-box Intensive Irrigation System" and exhibitors showed off their bongs, grinders, rolling paper, reflective film, hemp-fabric apparel and how-to marijuana growing videos.

"This gives you an uplifting high, up in the mind, not in your body," marijuana cultivator Arjan Roskam said of his latest Cannabis Cup-winning strain, "Arjan's Haze #1".

Roskam, who says he has hosted celebrities such as 50 Cent and Eminem in his Amsterdam coffee shops, was selling his prize-winning plant seeds for 100 euros (69 pounds) alongside other strains such as the "Great White Shark" and "Hawaiian Snow".

Andre Beckers, the organiser of the International Highlife Hemp Fair, said he was expecting 15,000 to 20,000 visitors at the fair, held for the first time in Amsterdam instead of Utrecht, a smaller Dutch city to the southeast of the capital.

"This is part of the normalisation process," Beckers said. "People see this as a normal fair."

While Dutch "coffee shops" are allowed to sell small quantities of marijuana, growing and distribution of cannabis remain illegal in the Netherlands. Police were at the fair but did not appear to be taking action against the growers.

WHEN THE Israelis settled the arid Negev Desert, they perfected the art of hydroponic gardening. It uses very little water, and produce is grown without soil.

Fast forward to rural eastern Pueblo County. Richard Sandquist, a retired airline pilot, has invested about $100,000 for a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse and grows bib lettuce and other greens. The process uses only 100 to 150 gallons of water per day out of the St. Charles Mesa water system, and Mr. Sandquist reports that the enterprise grosses $2,000 to $2,500 a week selling to high-end restaurants in Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver. He says chefs prefer his fresh produced to that trucked in from California, and people who have eaten the lettuce say it’s quite tasty.

This is the kind of forward thinking that’s needed in the agriculture industry of the Lower Arkansas Valley. With farm prices remaining flat, there are pressures on farmers to sell their water rights to cities.

Yet that doesn’t mean ag in the valley must dry up. We’re reminded that new thinking has been part of the valley’s history. John Swink introduced the idea of growing cantaloupes and other melons, and it became a national industry.

Mr. Sandquist notes that the average consumption of lettuce in this country is 6 pounds per person a year. There are 3 million people on the Front Range. That's 18 million pounds of lettuce and most of it currently comes from Arizona and California, so it appears there is a huge market waiting to be served right here in Colorado.

That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface, however. Melons, strawberries, cranberries or most any produce can be grown year-round in hydroponic greenhouses. Peppe Gourmet Food on the Mesa grows and sells hydroponic tomatoes year-round.

Some grains can be grown for livestock feed, sprouting to 8 inches high in eight days, rolled up and tossed into a pen. Some farmers are combining aquaculture - raising fish - with hydroponics.

As Mr. Sandquist notes, “It goes on and on and on, as far as what can be done.” This well could be a powerful tool for some farmers in the region to survive and prosper.

Paula Doneman, crime editor
23jan06 VIETNAMESE crime groups have emerged as one of the nation's major suppliers of hydroponically grown marijuana.

Police sources said the Australian-based groups' move into hydroponics was a shift from their long-standing involvement in the heroin trade.

Hydroponics is now the biggest form of cannabis production in Queensland and growers are developing increasingly sophisticated methods.

Drug Squad Detective Inspector Gordon Thompson said crops had been found mostly in suburban houses and to a lesser extent, on small farms.

Drug growers were renting private homes from unsuspecting landlords and converting them to cannabis hothouses, he said.

Hothouses operate around the clock with some plants able to yield more than 10kg of cannabis each.

"Hydro crops are less labour intensive, less likely to be discovered or stolen. (Unlike outdoor crops) they are less likely to get eaten by bugs, cattle and kangaroos ," he said.

Reduced labor costs, higher quality and a faster production rate meant the demand for hydroponically grown cannabis had increased.

Insp Thompson said Queensland police had seized millions of dollars of suspected proceeds of crime from hydroponic growers. Among assets seized were homes, vehicles, huge amounts of cash and jewellery. "I am unable to put a dollar value on the worth of the industry except to say that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Queensland and the industry is worth millions of tax-free dollars to the growers and distributors," he said.

Last year Queensland police uncovered a sophisticated network of hydroponic nurseries used to grow more than $1.5 million worth of cannabis in four houses in Brisbane's southwest.

Insp Thompson said several Vietnamese suspects, some of whom were illegal immigrants, were charged with several drug offences.

New South Wales Detective Superintendent Ken McKay said the emergence of Vietnamese crime groups in the drug trade had also occurred in Canada.

He said there were indications some of the Australian-based groups in NSW had sent members to Canada to learn to about advanced techniques and technology.

"Anecdotally, some of the Vietnamese criminals have been to Canada to learn about the different types of plants and how to best maximise production levels," he said.

Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace, commander of the NSW South-East Asian Crime Squad, said Canadian authorities had deported several Australians after raids on hydroponic crops. Supt Wallace said police first noticed the involvement of Vietnamese groups, many based on social or family involvement in NSW crops in 2003.

New Delhi, January 21: NGO Greenfield is launching a project in the Capital that will provide employment to 100 people with hearing disabilities in the next few months. The group plans to increase the number with time.

Led by Canada-based Kashyap Bhatt, inventor of the solar-powered hydroponics bay, which can be used to grow beans, leafy sprouts and mushrooms, the NGO is planning to use these greenhouses for commercial purposes. The produce will be sold in kiosks across the capital in collaboration with the Delhi Association of the Deaf, for which only those with hearing disabilities will be employed.

Greenfield has designed kiosks where sprout salad will be sold to at low prices. Bhatt says those employed will be paid Rs 100 a day and the kiosks have been designed with clear signages to avoid any problems.

As I see it, we Golden Agers toddling into our sunset years have limited options. If we are not already planning to move in on our children and use up a bedroom and a major share of their patience, we can sell our home and head for a retirement community of some sort. They include a wide range of accommodations, depending on how much money one has saved, ranging from an elegant continuing care facility, to an adult community where we have our own house and someone else paints it and mows any grass, to a room in a home devoted to the care of the elderly that we can furnish with our own things, but only a few.
If wmy husband and I are adventurous enough, we might do something offbeat like buying a motorhome and touring the country non-stop, seeing the sights we've missed so far but always ending with a visit to one of our eight children scattered across the country where we can use up a bedroom and a major share of their patience, though for only a limited time.
If we do that, I'm going to take some good long showers while I'm there and perhaps a bubble bath or two.
Or we could exchange our house for a houseboat and save on property taxes. When we lived in the San Francisco area, we knew people who had a houseboat in Sausalito .
Actually, they had a barge.
They gave terrific parties and had lots of space. No one lived around them - they had docked the houseboat in a commercial waterfront area, and at night no one else was around. They could play their music as loudly as they wanted to.
Of course, will we want to play loud music when we get into our eighties? On the other hand, will we need to play loud music if we're going to hear it at all?
But by that time, who could we invite to parties? And if either of us suffers from vertigo by then, we may tumble into some bay or other.
And I suspect little gardening occurs on a barge; I'd need to learn about hydroponics.
It wouldn't be the same.
We do have one other option.
Sociologists call it aging in place. They use the term to designate those who choose to get old in the home where they already live.
This option appeals to me.
But I anticipate certain accommodations we may be constrained to make.
Only a little more than five feet tall, I have trouble reaching top shelves, so I put things up there I don't often use.
When I need them, I get out my little kitchen step ladder, climb up and get them.
Best to give those things away to whatever adult child needs them before I can no longer climb.
Setting up the Christmas tree is an annual project; we wrestle the tree into the house, hoist cartons out of the way to get the decorations and haul them out of the basement.
The star on top requires getting out that little stepladder, and not too many days later, we do the entire thing in reverse and vacuum up the pine needles. Perhaps we could buy a small artificial tree, the kind one gives a sharp rap on the floor to make it unfold with the decorations already in place.
I could live with that.
Sooner or later we will need someone to weed and mow and paint and to repair major appliances.
Who will change the spotlights in those fixtures recessed into the ceiling? What if the roof leaks? How often will we be up to cleaning the fridge and changing the bed?
I guess w e could throw away leftovers after the second recycling, and use washable sleeping bags on a mattress.
What about baking?
Our KitchenAid mixer weighs a lot.
Will I be able to move it from our Swedish shelving to the kitchen counter? Will I be reduced to eating Twinkies for dessert?
Retirement requires careful thought.

©The Pennington Post 2006

- IGTG Begins Final Preparation for the OTCBB -

   CALIMESA, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ingen Technologies,
Inc. (OTC: IGTG), a medical device manufacturer of OxyAlert(TM), OxyView(TM),
and Secure Balance(TM), announces that TSI Medical, Ltd. has agreed to
distribute OxyView(TM) in North America.
   Randal Roberts, President of TSI Medical, Ltd. accepted to finalize a
distribution program with Ingen Technologies for the marketing and sale of
OxyView(TM).  TSI Medical is a leader in selling special instruments in Canada
and the United States, with a quality reputation in the physician and hospital
markets.
   "Randy and I go back almost 10 years in working together with the
distribution of medical products with other companies.  TSI Medical has very
strong distribution channels and connections to place OxyView(TM) in every
hospital, nursing home, medical supplier, physician and emergency response
facility in North America.  Both Randy and I are very excited to create
another 'winner' in the medical industry," said Scott Sand, CEO & Chairman of
Ingen Technologies.
   Corporate attorney, Richard Weed, is now finalizing the schedule to move
the company on to the OTCBB.  "While attorney Pete Wilke completes the final
SEC filings for EDGAR, Mr. Weed will begin the process of filing the
documentation needed to complete the move to the OTCBB.  This is expected to
take 30-60 days, depending on the SEC's satisfaction of the EDGAR filings,"
said Thomas Neavitt, CFO.
   The newest product, OxyView(TM), has a patent pending, and is a pneumatic
gauge that provides visual safety warning of oxygen flow for patients in the
hospital, surgical room, outpatient therapy, nursing homes and emergency
response facilities.  This product enhances the safety, assurance and accuracy
of patients being administered oxygen from any source.  OxyView(TM) is a
lightweight pneumatic gauge that is attached to the oxygen tubing just below
the neck.  It informs the nursing staff of the oxygen flow rate near the
patient.  It could quickly inform the physician or technician of any leak or
inaccuracy between the delivery source and the patient.

   About Ingen Technologies, Inc.
   Ingen Technologies, Inc. is a public company trading under
NASDAQ OTC: IGTG, which has been in business since 1999.  IGTG is a medical
device manufacturer and a growth-oriented company that owns US patent(s),
trademarks, and proprietary medical products.
   The Company's flagship product is OxyAlert(TM), a second-generation design
of the Company's BAFI(TM) product line.  Both of these products have been
issued two US Patents: Patent No. 6,137,417 issued on October 24, 2000 and
Patent No. 6,326,896 issued on December 4, 2001.  Both of these products are
low-oxygen safety warning devices used on remote oxygen cylinders for
patients, commercial aircraft, military transport, and fire and safety
equipment.  OxyAlert(TM) technology encompasses the use of digital sensing and
RF frequency transfer so that care givers can access a hand-held remote to
monitor the actual oxygen level of any oxygen cylinder at a reasonable
distance.
   The newest product, OxyView(TM), has a patent pending, and is a pneumatic
gauge that provides visual safety warning of oxygen flow for patients in the
hospital, surgical room, outpatient therapy, nursing homes and emergency
response facilities.  This product enhances the safety, assurance and accuracy
of patients being administered oxygen from any source.  OxyView(TM) is a
lightweight pneumatic gauge that is attached to the oxygen tubing just below
the neck.  It informs the nursing staff of the oxygen flow rate near the
patient.  It could quickly inform the physician or technician of any leak or
inaccuracy between the delivery source and the patient.
   The Secure Balance(TM) product is a private-label product that includes a
vestibular function testing system and balance therapy system.  The vestibular
function testing system is manufactured by Interacoustics LTD. in Denmark and
is referred to as the VNG.  The balance therapy system is manufactured by
SportKAT(R), Inc. in San Diego, California.  The Secure Balance(TM) program
provides equipment, education and training about balance and fall prevention
to physicians and clinicians worldwide.
   The Pure Produce(TM) product is a continuing research & development
program currently under design.  This program uses hydroponics technology to
grow various plants without the use of soil, fertilizer and water consumption.
The Company anticipates entering the nutriceutical and pharmaceutical markets
over the next two years.
   "Our team of professionals has developed our medical products for the
ever-increasing elderly population.  Our products are superior to any of our
competition and they allow for effective medical product availability to
seniors, and at the same time the increasing senior population allows for a
steady growth in sales and profits," said Scott Sand, CEO & Chairman of Ingen
Technologies.

Agriculture has tremendous potential to provide employment, but there is need to understand the role of science and technology in sustaining development of the sector.

"What has to be understood.is that science and technology has to play an expanding role, and what is also critical is how agriculture attracts capital [investment], because people cannot operate with the level of interest rate being asked by the commercial banks," Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke told JIS News.

The Minister was responding to comments made in a poll late last year, which called for a focus on agriculture to create more jobs. The poll showed that Jamaicans believed that more jobs could be created if the Government focused more on the agricultural sector.

Expanding on the link between high interest rates and how it consumed cash flow and disrupted production, Minister Clarke added: "Even to modernize the sector, cash inflow is needed to deal with greenhouse cultivation, hydroponics, the new irrigation system (centre pivot system). it's not cheap. Inputs such as fertilizers and other chemicals have gone up and so has the price of fuel the tractors use".

Mr. Clarke pointed out that some areas in agriculture were ready for expansion to create more jobs. "What we need to do is look at those products we [Jamaica] have a competitive edge in and go after them, such as pepper production and condiments - escallion, herbs, spices," he said.

However, the Minister argued that agricultural expansion might still not solve unemployment because, "you will find some men and women who will not get involved in agriculture, because agriculture has been stigmatized for too long". Mr. Clarke said he believed that the utilization of modern technology in the sector would attract more people.

The Minister said that in spite of the constraints facing the sector, such as hurricanes and droughts, "we are making strides". He commended those international agencies which continue to assist Jamaica's agriculture, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Copyright © 1996 -2003, Jamaica Information Service

Gross Profits Increase More Than 400%

CALIMESA, Calif. -- Ingen Technologies, Inc. (OTC: IGTG), a medical device manufacturer of OxyAlert™, OxyView™, and Secure Balance™, announces substantial increases in revenues and gross profits.

The revenues for the six months ended November 30, 2005 were $767,084, as compared to the previous year of $223,293. Gross Profits for the six months ended November 30, 2005 were $573,025 as compared to the previous year of $128,046.

The company has invested more than $6,000,000 in the research and development of the product lines, including OxyView™ and OxyAlert™. During the six months ended November 30, 2005, the company incurred substantial costs to complete OxyView™ and continue completion of the OxyAlert™ products.

Scott Sand, CEO & Chairman stated: "The revenues for Secure Balance™ sales have increased more than 300%, and the Gross Profits have increased even greater. With a focused emphasis on completing all of the SEC Filings, we anticipate a very smooth transition to the OTCBB."

"The reason for the change in retail pricing of the OxyView™ was due to the unexpected change in manufacturing costs for OxyView™. The current retail pricing of $14.95 is a result of the decrease in manufacturing costs. The company has created a 4+4 Class-A steal mold with special features that have substantially decreased manufacturing costs as compared to the costs published last July-2005 when we released a retail price of $75. This change in retail pricing allows for a more affordable product for hospitals, surgical centers and patients, as well as a higher margin and profit for the company," said Thomas Neavitt, Chief Financial Officer.

About Ingen Technologies, Inc.

Ingen Technologies, Inc. is a public company trading under NASDAQ OTC: IGTG, which has been in business since 1999. IGTG is a medical device manufacturer and a growth-oriented company that owns US patent(s), trademarks, and proprietary medical products.

The Company's flagship product is OxyAlert™, a second-generation design of the Company's BAFI™ product line. Both of these products have been issued two US Patents: Patent No. 6,137,417 issued on October 24, 2000 and Patent No. 6,326,896 issued on December 4, 2001. Both of these products are low-oxygen safety warning devices used on remote oxygen cylinders for patients, commercial aircraft, military transport, and fire and safety equipment. OxyAlert™ technology encompasses the use of digital sensing and RF frequency transfer so that care givers can access a hand-held remote to monitor the actual oxygen level of any oxygen cylinder at a reasonable distance.

The newest product, OxyView™, has a patent pending, and is a pneumatic gauge that provides visual safety warning of oxygen flow to hospitalized patients. This product enhances the safety, assurance and accuracy of hospitalized patients being administered oxygen from any source. OxyView™ is a lightweight pneumatic gauge that is attached to the oxygen tubing just below the neck. It informs the nursing staff of oxygen flow rate near the patient. It could quickly inform the hospital staff of any leak or inaccuracy between the delivery source and the patient.

The Secure Balance™ product is a private-label product that includes a vestibular function testing system and balance therapy system. The vestibular function testing system is manufactured by Interacoustics LTD. in Denmark and is referred to as the VNG. The balance therapy system is manufactured by SportKAT®, Inc. in San Diego, California. The Secure Balance™ program provides equipment, education and training about balance and fall prevention to physicians and clinicians worldwide.

The Pure Produce™ product is a continuing research & development program currently under design. This program uses hydroponics technology to grow various plants without the use of soil, fertilizer and water consumption. The Company anticipates entering the nutriceutical and pharmaceutical markets over the next two years.

"Our team of professionals has developed our medical products for the ever-increasing elderly population. Our products are superior to any of our competition and they allow for effective medical product availability to seniors, and at the same time the increasing senior population allows for a steady growth in sales and profits," said Scott Sand, CEO & Chairman of Ingen Technologies.

SOUTH Australia's major political parties have been urged to make the personal use of marijuana a criminal offence as part of their state election agendas.

SA federal Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Christopher Pyne, said it was time to recriminalise personal cannabis use in SA because of links to mental health problems.

On-the-spot fines for possessing small amounts of cannabis for personal use have applied in SA since 1988.

"It's an illicit drug. The message of decriminalisation is this isn't really a problem," Mr Pyne told The Advertiser yesterday.

With the advent of hydroponics, marijuana today was much stronger than that of the 1980s and people were smoking it from their early teens, he said.

"The states bear a heavy burden because of the rush in the '80s and '90s to decriminalise cannabis laws," Mr Pyne said.

"It's one thing to have tough-on-drugs rhetoric, but the state needs to crack down on the personal use of cannabis.

"They should recriminalise cannabis use in SA."

Prime Minister John Howard recently championed the call, saying "far from embracing further decriminalisation, authorities should be going in the opposite direction". Opposition legal affairs spokesman Rob Lawson yesterday hinted the Liberals would unveil such measures closer to the March 18 state election.

He said the policy would adopt "a tougher and firmer approach" to the current decriminalisation laws in he state.

"We say these laws have not worked," he said.

"We certainly think cannabis laws should be toughened. They're too lenient."

Attorney-General Michael Atkinson said the Rann Government had no plans to change the laws but had considerably strengthened its stance against drug use over the past four years.

The Government had made it a criminal offence to grow even one plant hydroponically and introduced testing and fines for those driving while on drugs.

Fear of being caught driving on drugs would also act as a social deterrent by making people think twice about getting stoned, Mr Atkinson said.

"We've also passed tough, new, serious drug offences targeting drug lords who cultivate, manufacture and traffic drugs, in an effort to combat drug availability," he said.

Mr Atkinson said the Government had also made a considerable gains in drug education.

Personal use of marijuana in SA was decriminalised in 1988 by the then-Bannon Labor government amid concerns small-time users were clogging the courts and receiving criminal records. Initially, a person was allowed a maximum 10 plants in their back yard in return for an on-the-spot fine if busted.

That amount was reduced to one plant by successive governments.

Currently in SA, being caught with one non-hydroponic plant or less than 100g of cannabis attracts a maximum fine of $150.

Having between 100g and 2kg of the drug, or between two and 19 plants, will guarantee a person a court appearance.

Being caught with more means between two and 25 years in prison and fines ranging from $2000 to $500,000.

Mr Pyne will outline his case in a speech to the National Young Liberal Convention in Sydney on Sunday.

By PHILLIP COOREY

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Two Tampa, Fla., men posing as real estate investors got rave reviews from neighbors until police were seen carrying marijuana plants out of their homes.

Christopher Jones and Bryan Pennington have been charged with manufacturing, possessing, selling and trafficking marijuana, the Tampa Tribune reports.

If convicted of trafficking the duo face a mandatory three-year sentence.

Police searched one of the homes the two own as proprietors of Hot Properties Real Estate company Sunday. They said they found 69 plants growing in an elaborate hydroponics growing system and arrested the two.

After finding out the suspects own other homes, police conducted raids. Police said they have confiscated more than 400 plants to date.

Police said every house they raided had the same system -- plants growing in a tub of water in a sealed, climate-controlled room; fertilizer pumped from children's pools; and timers turning grow lights on and off.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Homegrown Hydroponics has recently released a series of self contained growing machines geared towards the indoor or hobbyist gardener. Now indoor gardeners can grow with hydroponics year round, with an effortless turnkey system, right in their own homes. These growing cabinets provide total security, and a perfect environment to grow anything from herbs to tomatoes right at home; effortlessly! Provides an excellent alternative to expensive professionally grown hydroponic herbs.

Weston, FL (PRWEB) January 18, 2006 -- Homegrown Hydroponics of Ft. Lauderdale Florida is a start-up manufacturing company filling a much needed niche. On the heels of the current organic health food craze, Homegrown Hydroponics provides an alternative to expensive store bought organic foods. With the new release of their "Stealth Cab Series" anyone can grow their own fresh herbs on their countertop, all year round.

Howard Birnbaum, owner and operator of Homegrown Hydroponics had this to say "We make growing your favorite vegetables possible, without much effort using our grow cab series. Now housewives can grow fresh basil, or tomatoes right on their countertop. Imagine serving fresh vegetables, homegrown without any chemicals, without even having to even step outside! You can feed your family the most healthy of organically grown foods, knowing they are completely chemical free. And at the same time, the entire family can marvel at the amazing growth rate of hydroponics. Up to 10x faster than soil and without nasty fertilizers."

Mr. Birnbaum is referring to their new Stealth line of grow cabinets, which are futuristic, yet contemporary cabinets that can sit on your countertop or in any room of the house. Contained within the un-assuming black cabinet is a myriad of lights, timers, and electronics all run in-sync with each other to provide a perfect growing environment for any short, bushy plant. Cold air is brought in from below or behind the cabinets, while hot air is exhausted by a series of fans. Odor from stinky plants such as garlic is even reduced to the faintest of smells from a built in carbon scrubber, available on the higher end models.

Howard Birnbaum explains "These systems are truly turn-key driven. Anyone with a little patience and a small green thumb can easily grow vegetables and fruits like the professionals. These systems are completely automated, and self contained environments for plants. There really isn't much to it. Add seeds, a little bit of water, and sit back and watch as nature take it's course!"

"What's really special about these items is how they blend in perfectly with home decor." One model that is particularly sleek features stainless steel doors, and an electronic indoor outdoor thermometer to constantly observe temperature, and a programmable digital timer straight out of the Jetson's. When the doors are opened, a billowing bright light and flourishing sea of green leaves is revealed.

The Stealth series grow cabinets are available in black and silver finishes, and range in size from small to large. The small hydroponic system can house around 7 plants, while the largest in the series is 8 feet tall, and can comfortably fit up to 30 individual plants.

An employee of Homegrown Hydroponics had this to say "We are using Aeroponic technology. The most state of the art, and reliable hydroponic system currently available. Basically water containing plant nutrients is shot out of a series of micro-jet sprayers at such high pressure, the liquid turns to a fine mist. The mist is then effortlessly absorbed by the plants roots, maintaining a high ratio of oxygen to dissolved solids. Plants thrive in these type of environments, as they don't have to work for their food."

Similar technology has been used by commercial hydroponic gardeners, growing in the unsurpassable heat of the desert in Israel, to the freezing cold winter months of Alaska, with outstanding results. Hydroponically grown plants can now be grown anywhere, any time regardless of the conditions outside. Homegrown Hydroponics has brought the joy of growing home; in the digital age.

Eugene, Oregon - The Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show is an exciting new consumer event that is focused on environmentally friendly, natural and healthy products, trades, and services. Coming to the Lane County Fairgrounds in January, the Good Earth Show will bring everything sustainable for the home and garden under one roof. The Show will create a giant marketplace of environmentally aware businesses providing consumers with more efficient, one stop shopping as they seek contractors, supplies and services, for their homes and yards.

With sustainable products and trades in every exhibit, on every aisle, this event will make it so much easier for people to live more healthful, natural and green lives.

At last, eco-friendly and more sustainable businesses will have a powerful, targeted show to expand their markets when they meet new customers from all over Oregon.



Home, Garden & Living Show
January 28-29, 2006
Saturday 10am-8pm, Sunday 10am-6pm
Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene
Free Admission with canned food donations for FOOD for Lane County.Vendor Categories & Pavilions -

It's Seven Sustainable Shows in One Big Home & Garden Show!

Good Homes - Environmental Building Supplies and Trades, Green Building, Architectural and Design Services, Energy Efficiency, Solar, Recycled Building Materials, Alternative & Renewable Energy, Conservation, Repurposed Materials, Sustainable Home and Garden Products, Water and Air Quality Products, Organic Paint, Pest Control, and Hazardous Waste Removal.

Good Gardens - Organic and Natural Gardening Products and Services, Landscape and Design/Build Services, Arborists, Compost and Organic Garden Amendments, Native Plants, Vegetable Gardening, Community Gardens, Hydroponics, Wildlife Gardens, Water Wise Gardening, Garden Art, Trees, Plants and Bulbs, Tools and Garden Apparel.

Good 2 Go - Efficient & Alternative Transportation. Hybrids, Electric Cars, Bio Diesel, Motorcycles, Scooters, Bikes, Roller Blades, Skateboards, Mass Transit, Footwear, Hiking, Running and Walking Apparel, and Eco Tourism.

Good Food - Natural and Organic Food Products, Wine, and Beer. Organic Restaurants, Retail Healthful Foods and Beverages, Grocers, Food Manufacturers, Cookware, Appliances, and Cookbooks to Create More Healthful Meals.

Good Living - Health, Wellness and Beauty Products and Services. Medical Practitioners and Information, Heart Health, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Massage, Spas, Health Foods & Vitamins, Sports and Athletic Clubs, Dance and Movement, Meditation, Sports, Mental Health, Eco Investing, and Sleep Systems.

Earthly Arts & Crafts - Fine Art, Natural and Organic Art, and Fine Crafts. Studios, Clubs, Galleries, Artists, Supply Stores, Music, Handmade Instruments, and Books.

Good 2 Recycler - Recycling Services and Resources, Recycled Materials, Salvaged Building Materials, Re-Purposed Products, Repair Services, Designer Rooms from Reused & Recycled Items, Salvaged and Recycled Art, and Second Hand Stores.

Please call Berg Productions at (541) 484-9247 to inquire about exhibiting in the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show.

Download the exhibitor brochure http://www.eugenehomeshow.com/goodearthshowbrochure.html

And, please give them a call if you have knowledge that you would like to share with our community at the event! There will have four Good Earth stages for presentations, demos, talks, community group gathering, and entertainment.

GetOregonNews offers 300+ news websites for cities and towns around Oregon. Do you have a story you'd like to tell about your community? Try our Citizen's Journalism feature. Signing up is free and the rest is easy. Here is a list of over 300 communities with news websites, forums, free classified ads which go to all websites around the state, event listings and a Citizen's Journalism section:

Richard Sandquist shows a handful of spicy greens at his greenhouse on 38th Lane east of Pueblo as Cliff Rodriguez bags lettuce in the background. Sandquist’s business, Hydro-Pure Growers, grows hydroponic lettuce for upscale restaurants on the Front Range. He sees hydroponics as a wise use for water and a fledgling industry.


Former Ex-pilot on a mission to bring hydroponics to the Front Range


Richard Sandquist’s problems are a lot like any grower’s: surviving stormy weather, developing markets and dealing with rising production costs.

Unlike many farmers, however, Sandquist does most of his fretting indoors.

Sandquist is entering his second year as a hydroponic greenhouse operator. His business, Hydro-Pure Growers, is located on a 3.5-acre farm on 38th Lane and specializes in growing lettuce for top-end restaurants up and down the Front Range.

He’s on the verge of making a profit, but he’d rather make a point.

“It’s not about this little bit of lettuce,” Sandquist said, taking a break from tending to his 10,000 lettuce plants thriving in the middle of January. “This is like a guy growing up and then one day realizing he’s going to be a preacher.”

Sandquist, 54, starting reading about hydroponics, or growing plants without soil, by chance. He picked up a copy of The Growing Edge magazine at an airport in Spokane, Wash., while working as a captain for United Airlines, and got hooked on hydroponics while cruising in a Boeing 737 at 35,000 feet.

While he and his wife, Barbara, a business coach, live in Colorado Springs, he said he was drawn to Pueblo County for several reasons. First, the elevation and weather were more conducive to greenhouse operations. Second, he wanted well water and to work in a farming community. Third, he wanted to be near Colorado State University-Pueblo to develop research ties. Finally, there was an intangible almost spiritual quality.

“This is where I was meant to be,” he said.

He invested some of his pension - about $150,000 - into the enterprise and has watched it grow. He has teamed with three major food distributors on the Front Range and grown into using his greenhouses at full capacity. Along the way, he’s learned there is a huge demand for locally grown produce. “Each week there are new developments,” he said. “It takes a new business three years to break even, and I’m already pretty close to breaking even.”

What Sandquist envisions is a network of hydroponic greenhouses, his own or others, along Interstate 25 from New Mexico to Wyoming. He wants to incorporate earth-sheltered designs, alternative energy and a variety of crops.

“Everything’s in place. Colorado has the sun, the land and the water. It’s an industry waiting to happen,” Sandquist said.

There’s nothing new about hydroponics, Sandquist said.

The Aztecs floated gardens on lakes. The United States grew crops for troops on Pacific islands that were little more than rocks during World War II. Israel, China, Australia and Holland all rely heavily on hydroponics to supply food.

“It’s not caught on in the United States, because: a. We have good soil, and b. We have water,” Sandquist said.

Actually, greenhouses were once more prevalent along the Front Range, but were used to grow flowers, not food, he said.

“Greenhouses have largely vanished along the Front Range,” he said. “When I first came to Colorado, they were being used to grow roses and carnations.”

Part of the problem was that many of those greenhouses were built of glass, which doesn’t mix well with hail - a common occurrence in Eastern Colorado.

Newer materials made from polycarbonate are “bullet proof” against hail, Sandquist said.

But his protection from the elements is relatively low-tech. Two layers of thick plastic separated by a layer of air form a sort of pillow over the metal frame of the greenhouse and the hail just bounces off. In the summer, there’s so much light that a shade cover is employed.

Hot-water pipes provide heat during the winter and a giant swamp cooler with paper baffles takes the heat off in summer. Last summer, the greenhouse held its ground in 70 mph winds as two funnel clouds hovered overhead.

“If I do lose the roof, it only costs about $500 to replace it,” he said.

Although Sandquist wanted a well, he’s switched to St. Charles Mesa water to grow plants.

The domestic supply is safer for the plants and watering is so efficient that he uses only 100 gallons per day, he said.

“A greenhouse is ideal for growing things, including things you don’t want to grow,” Sandquist said. “That includes mold, aphids and root-borne pathogens.”

Sandquist learned that lesson the hard way when first he started up the greenhouse. A root pathogen grew slowly and infected his plants. He had to shut down production for two weeks to disinfect all his trays and pipes. Now he regularly cleans the system, and even has rigged an ultraviolet lamp to periodically zap bad bugs from the recirculated water supply.

“There were so many things to learn as a greenhorn,” he said. “When you see yellow leaves, it’s too late. Things are happening at a microscopic level.”

That’s why he wanted to be near the university. He has been working closely with the biology department and three of his four part-time employees are college students majoring in biology.

“These guys are invaluable to me,” he said.



CHIEFTAIN PHOTOS/MIKE SWEENEY

Heads of mixed lettuce grow in channels at Hydro-Pure’s Pueblo County greenhouse. The lettuce is grown using hydroponics, or water flowing through the channels without soil.

Hydro-Pure starts all its seeds in blocks of rock wool - a superheated limestone sometimes used for insulation. The seedlings are transplanted when they are about an inch high into trays called channels. Water with nutrients is pumped into one end of the system and flows by gravity into a 1,000-gallon tank, where it is pumped back into the system.

In four or five weeks, the lettuce is ready to harvest. Some of the roots are left on the plants, giving them a shelf life of more than two weeks.

About 100 bulk cartons are shipped out to restaurants weekly, and some smaller plastic cartons and bags also are sold. Right now, Sandquist drives much of his product to distributors in Colorado Springs, but he’s working on getting empty food trucks headed north to pick up the cartons on their trips back.

“You get top dollar for it. There are some restaurants that go through $100,000 of produce in a month,” Sandquist said. “I get so many positive comments from chefs.”

Sandquist also is developing a line of microgreens used in garnishes, but said he has had to be careful of filling his primary market niche. He stopped growing two varieties of lettuce to concentrate on his core products - green bib lettuce, spicy greens and a salad mix of eight types of lettuce.

He would like to branch out with more greenhouses at the Pueblo site, adding six bays to the two he now operates. He’d also like to experiment with earth-sheltered or alternative energy designs at the site.

“We could put a shade cover on that corral over there - I’ll never use it - and do some drip irrigation,” he said.

More than that, he’d like to see greenhouses spring up everywhere.

“My ultimate goal is sustainability,” Sandquist said. “Agriculture trashes the soil and the water. We have to start cleaning up the mess for future generations.”

By CHRIS WOODKA
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Left: Allan Rickards ... wants 75 per cent property tax derating on agricultural lands. "That 50 per cent is foolishess." - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Right: A worker at the 300-acre Green Produce Farm in Claremont, St. Ann, owned by Patricia Isaacs-Green, reaping giant-size sweet peppers. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER


Today, we continue our special 12-month comprehensive coverage of agriculture, a vital part of the Jamaican economy.

This is a sector which employs thousands, a sector which has the potential to transform our rural economy, a sector which can create vast opportunities for new jobs. But, this is a sector which does not get the attention it deserves.

Henry Rainford, head of the Jamaica Livestock Association, feels that "agriculture is an area in which we can solve a lot of the social problems that we have in this country; the drift of the rural population into the city, and all these young people that are idle out there. We have idle lands; and idle hands, we need to find the formula to put them to work."

Over the next 12 months, we hope to highlight these and other issues, at the same time putting possible solutions in the public arena for discussion and action in our quest to achieve lasting rural development. Agriculture is a sector that we must transform if we are to achieve significant rural development and create the environment for a better standard of living for more of our people.

We welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Email us at editor@gleanerjm.com; fax 922-6223; or write to: Agriculture Coordinator, The Gleaner Company Ltd., P.O. Box 40, 7 North Street, Kingston.

SEVERAL KEY agricultural interests have identified the current rate of property tax on agricultural lands as a major setback to investments in the sector.

In fact, at least one stakeholder is warning that the industry could further decline if the Government fails to swiftly reduce the rate.

SWIFT MOVEMENT NEEDED

Chairman of the All-Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association, Allan Rickards, wants the Government to move swiftly to impose a 75 per cent derating on agricultural lands. "This 50 per cent is foolishness," he asserted.

According to information from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), in the 1990s, the derating for agricultural lands was increased from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. This means farmers now only pay half the regular amount for property taxes on lands used for agricultural purposes, once they have received approval through the Tax Department.

But several farmers and agricultural interests contend that this rate is still too high.

"I paid quite a bit of money last year on property taxes and if I had that amount of money to put in the farm, I would gladly do it," said Patricia Isaacs-Green, operator of Green Produce Farm in Claremont, St. Ann.

Mrs. Isaacs-Green owns 300 acres of lands in the northern parish, but at present is only able to cultivate 68 acres in citrus and green produce. She wants to expand technologies in hydroponics to increase production to at least 88 acres this year. However, according to Mrs. Isaacs-Green, her dream appears retarded.

"I want to put a lot more in, but as I expand production area I have to expand on security which is an additional cost," she says.

Mrs. Isaacs Green is suggesting that for at least two years, initially, the government allows farmers to divert portions of property taxes into expanding agricultural production once farmers attain increased production levels.

BIG DISINCENTIVE

For more than 30 years, Mandeville based exporter Garfield Thomas has been involved in the agricultural export trade. The success of his business depends significantly on the production of small farmers, hence his sympathy for the farmers whom he believes, are 'burdened' by property taxes.

"Agriculture has been ruined and rural Jamaica is now improvised," he argued. "Property tax is a big disincentive." Given that land is the basis of farming, he said it should not be subjected to high taxation. Against this background, Mr. Thomas is forecasting that the government should expect even more difficulties in earning tax revenues.

"When the tax is fair and affordable, people pay it, when it's killing them they're going to find all means of avoiding it," he charged, adding that the government should consider a de-rating of 90 per cent on agricultural lands.

ENTERPRISE ZONES

Meanwhile, Dr. Marshall Hall, managing director of Jamaica Producers Group, says although the level of property taxes may be a disincentive to land acquisition it has not been the case for his company.

But, according to Dr. Hall, the government must now look seriously at using agriculture as an engine for growth, especially in underdeveloped communities.

He is proposing that 'enterprise zones' be created in these communities, where persons investing in agriculture may have their tax payments returned at the end of a three-year period once their businesses have succeeded.

"It is encouraging investment without an initial outlay by the State, and that's a good thing for Jamaica," he said.

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, agrees with Dr. Hall's suggestion, but he wants tax payments returned at the end of between five to 10 years.

According to him, it is important that the sector is given adequate opportunity for recovery in the event of unexpected shocks such as hurricanes and drought. Senator Grant told The Gleaner that the JAS is currently preparing a comprehensive agricultural plan, which addresses the issue of property taxes and emphasised that there were serious concerns where the property taxes for traditional farmlands are inflated with commercial and residential developments in the respective communities. Mr. Rickards says he too is concerned that a consistent increase in property taxes will result in agricultural lands attracting higher market prices and ultimately higher property taxes.

And he is warning that his association, among others, will be intensifying lobby to have the property for agricultural lands de-rated to 75 per cent. More than a year ago, the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers Association, along with several farmers' organisations, wrote to the Finance Ministry requesting a further de-rating. But he says the government is yet to respond. "This is part of a series of things that indicate to us that the Government is not sympathetic to agriculture," he charged.

NEW HAVEN — Tomato prices have small businesses seeing red these days.

Although the price of the juicy vegetable typically increases every winter, this year prices have really squeezed buyers.

Last summer tomatoes cost $12 for a 25-pound box. Last week, the same amount cost $40 to $60.

So what gives?

Last season’s hurricanes, Wilma in particular, wiped out the winter tomato production in Florida — the state that provides nearly all nation’s winter tomatoes. Florida estimated the losses at $300 million for produce alone.

California also supplies winter tomatoes, but heavy rains damaged the crop there. Hothouse tomatoes, those grown through hydroponics, are still available if you’re willing to pay.

Although other produce prices have gone up, nothing has caused as much consternation as the tomato, the No. 3 selling vegetable in the United States (although technically it’s a fruit). Americans eat an average of 19.3 pounds of tomatoes per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Nothing dresses up a sandwich like a tomato," said George Mihalakos, a co-owner of Clark’s Dairy in New Haven. He uses them in wraps, salads, sauces and pasta.

"Prices have gone up for cucumbers, bell peppers, even lettuce has gone up. But you use tomatoes for everything," he said.

But tomatoes went so high that he would lose money by using them, and he did not want to charge customers different prices for the same BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwich every week.

"I feel that’s insulting to my customers," he said.

In his view, it’s just better to let customers know the real deal. His customers at Clark’s haven’t felt the squeeseHis hand-lettered sign on the counter advises customers that there are no tomatoes due to a shortage and dramatic price increase.

Vegetable haters have taken great pleasure in the tomatoes travails. Tomatoesareevil.com, a Web site for those who hate tomatoes specifically, points out that the tomato is part of the deadly nightshade family, and rejoices in the price spike.

But most people tend to love, or at least like tomatoes. A single fruit has just 35 calories, and is rich in vitamins A and E, making it popular for healthful eating, as well in fast food.

Wendy’s International blamed the tomato prices for poor quarterly earnings and is only serving tomatoes to customers who request them. But most chains continue to offer tomatoes without a special request.

Since prices should ease once the new crop of tomatoes ripens later next month, many businesses would rather eat the loss than risk alienating customers. For most businesses, the crop’s cyclical prices and the occasional spikes represent the cost of doing business.

"We always have too much rain or too little. You always have to deal with the vagaries of Mother Nature," said Clarie Criscuolo, owner of Claire’s Corner Copia in downtown New Haven. "A good tomato is worth the price, and a bad tomato is not worth anything."

"I’m selling at a loss to smooth things over," said Ben Minichino, general manager for Romeo and Cesare Gourmet Shop in New Haven. He charges $2.79 a pound for tomatoes instead of the $3.99 or higher required to break even. "You can’t charge more for tomatoes than for chicken or steak," he explained.

"Every winter they do this," said Billy Pustari, owner of Modern Apizza on State Street in New Haven. His restaurant goes through 12 cases of tomatoes a week, mainly for dishes such as bruschetta, an appetizer of toasted bread, covered with chopped tomatoes, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil.

"It’s always something. Hurricanes, fires," he said.

Some business owners are using the crunch strategically, as an opportunity to lure customers who want better prices on tomatoes.

"Tomatoes will go on sale next week for 99 cents. We take the loss on it," said Vladimir Baez, manager of C Town, a supermarket on Ferry Street in Fair Haven.

"We operate in a neighborhood where there isn’t a lot of money. Tomatoes are a staple," Baez said.

Customers come in for tomatoes and usually buy other items, so the store still makes a profit.

Small shops have taken the hit especially hard.

"In each and every sub we have to use tomatoes. We can’t raise the price because we will lose the customers," said Ajay Patel, owner of Quizno’s on Universal Drive in North Haven. "We don’t waste a scrap of tomato."

The tomato travails makes Criscuolo think that Americans take the food we eat, and the hard work that goes into it, for granted.

"We pay the least for food in the supposed civilized world. We are a nation that wants cheap goods," she said. "When the price of Nike sneakers goes up, how come nobody complains?"

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans spend roughly 9.5 percent of their income on food, a fraction of what consumers in other nations spend for food. Farmers typically get less than a quarter of the retail cost of food.

Mihalakos, on the other hand, thinks consumers are more sensitive to high tomato prices because they’ve already been bruised by higher prices across the board.

"We’re getting screwed left and right. Gasoline prices keep going up and up, and so are utilities. Not enough people ask why," he said.


By Maria Garriga
©New Haven Register 2006

Thinking green might yield some green for local teachers.

BP America’s A+ for Energy program will split a $1 million grant among private and public school pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade instructors who submit proposals for classroom, after-school, extracurricular or summer activities aimed at energy education or energy conservation.

Teachers in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties will compete for $5,000 and $10,000 slices of the grant to bring their proposals to light. Though a teacher can receive only one grant, there is no limit on the number of grants one school can get, said BP spokesman Hugh Depland.

“Each application will be judged on its own and if it turns out there are five teachers in a particular school that have outstanding winning applications, then each of the recipients will receive one,” he said.

A+ for Energy grants have been offered for two years in California, yielding winning projects such as a hydroponics garden, or plants grown in a nutrient solution, powered by four BP panels. This is the first time the program is being offered in Texas, and teachers are encouraged to contribute ideas that will have a “domino effect,” meaning it could reach far beyond the classroom, said BP spokeswoman Cindy Wymore.

“We are very excited to bring the A+ for Energy program to Texas, the energy capital of the world,” Ross Pillari, president of BP America, said in a press release. “It was developed to capture the spirit of innovation. We want to recognize those Texas teachers who inspire learning in their students by creating exciting and memorable experiences around the subject of energy.”

And despite an outward inclination toward science teachers, the grant is available to instructors of all subjects, said Catherine Ryan, a science teacher at Alvin High School and an orchestrator in bringing the grant to Texas.

“In any curriculum … all of us in some form or fashion touch on energy,” Ryan said. “If you’re teaching a foreign language, you could bring studying the environmental aspects of a country. A lot of European countries have damage from energy development. A math teacher could do energy calculations in formulas. Any teacher can incorporate energy into their curriculum.”

In California, a dance teacher was awarded a grant for a project demonstrating the energy of movement, said Iris Cross, community relations director for BP in Texas City.

“It crosses the gamut of energy,” she said of the program.

Though many area school officials were aware of the program and had passed information to their teachers, few knew of individuals with specific plans to apply. Brazosport ISD’s Facilitator of Science Sherry Speir said this is likely because teachers are just returning from break. Beyond that, she said, the more serious issue is they would need to brainstorm and grant write during their own free time, a luxury few teachers possess.

“This is a wonderful opportunity, but the hurdle is the time because teachers are so busy with kids,” Speir said.

Still, Ryan urged teachers to strike while the iron is hot. The program involves only five counties now, which means less competition, Ryan said.

Based on the program’s success, Cross said BP might decide to expand it statewide next year.

“This year the word has not really gotten out,” Ryan said. “A lot of people are intimidated, but it’s very easy to write.”

A+ for Education applications are available online at www.aplusforenergy.com or by calling (409) 943-2693. The deadline for entries is March 24, and winners will be announced May 10.

POLICE called to a house fire in Keilor Downs made an unexpected discovery -- a huge hydroponic drug crop.

More than 100 cannabis plants, worth tens of thousands of dollars, filled the upstairs rooms of the two-storey house.

Sunshine fire brigade station officer Geoff Audsley said firefighters were shocked to discover the mature plants upstairs.

"We were surprised -- a quiet suburban street, a mum and dad house," he said.

"It's not what we would expect to find in a suburban street. It looked like a normal family, a normal street, normal neighbours -- the whole lot."

A woman, 36, and her two young children were at the Gidgee St home at the time of the blaze.

They escaped unharmed, but the woman was yesterday assisting police with inquiries about the drug crop.

Firefighters arrived at the house about 8.30pm on Sunday to find a huge blaze.

The fire was originally deemed suspicious but was later found to have started from overheated cooking oil in an upstairs kitchen.

"The hot oil has spread up and caught up into the roof, spreading the fire right throughout the house," Mr Audsley said.

"They were a family of four. The dad was at work but mum and two young sons, who were pre-teens, were being consoled by neighbours in the driveway," he said.

"They said their father was on his way home from work."

Firefighters found the crop and a large amount of cash after bringing the fire under control.

The clandestine hydroponics lab was in the front upstairs living area. Police were called to the house and set up a crime scene.

They were unable to remove the plants until late yesterday because of fire damage.

Mr Audsley said a panel of Christmas lights hid the drug operation from public view.

"The crews opened the door and were confronted by a whole panel of Christmas lights," he said.

"It looked like everything was going on as normal," he said. "(The lights) were actually hiding what was happening inside the building."

One hundred cannabis plants is deemed a commercial quantity





More than 100 cannabis plants, worth tens of thousands of dollars, filled the upstairs rooms of the two-storey house.

Sunshine fire brigade station officer Geoff Audsley said firefighters were shocked to discover the mature plants upstairs.

'We were surprised -- a quiet suburban street, a mum and dad house,' he said.

'It's not what we would expect to find in a suburban street. It looked like a normal family, a normal street, normal neighbours -- the whole lot.'

A woman, 36, and her two young children were at the Gidgee St home at the time of the blaze.

They escaped unharmed, but the woman was yesterday assisting police with inquiries about the drug crop.

Firefighters arrived at the house about 8.30pm on Sunday to find a huge blaze.

The fire was originally deemed suspicious but was later found to have started from overheated cooking oil in an upstairs kitchen.

'The hot oil has spread up and caught up into the roof, spreading the fire right throughout the house,' Mr Audsley said.

'They were a family of four. The dad was at work but mum and two young sons, who were pre-teens, were being consoled by"

IN A heavily fortified, air-tight bank vault deep below the financial district of Tokyo a small agricultural revolution has taken place: a group of farmers has cultivated the world’s first crop of hydroponically grown rice.

The 60kg (132lb) of Koshihikari rice reaped yesterday may fill only a single regulation-sized sack, but its significance is huge: the rice has grown to maturity without natural light or a paddy field.

If the same process were done on a commercial scale, its creators say, Japanese farmers could reap four harvests every year rather than one, and not be affected by seasonal weather patterns that have become more and more extreme.

The company that owns the bank vault, Pasona, converted it in 2004 and has been using it for biological experiments. The former Nomura vault was designed to isolate its precious contents from attack or accident — a level of environmental control that made it perfect for hydroponics.

Yesterday’s crop is the result of several years of trial and error. When the farm was opened, its lettuces, basil and tomatoes thrived under the ultraviolet and infra-red lights. Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister, even visited to give his blessing to the first artificial field of rice — which withered and died a few weeks later.

The repeated failure of hydroponic rice baffled and infuriated the farmers. Yasuyuki Nambu, Pasona’s president, brought in a panel of experts on hydroponics and biotechnology. Yet another crop failed. Mr Nambu then called on an elderly farmer who has worked the fields outside Kyoto for 40 years.

Within moments of arriving at the bank vault farm, Yoshihiko Morita identified the problem. “I saw it immediately,” he told The Times. “There was no wind and no rain.”

Technicians installed large fans above the artificial paddy and significantly raised the oxygen content of the water to simulate rain. The strategy worked instantly, and even Mr Morita was yesterday able to declare that the rice tasted as good as its outdoor-grown counterpart.

Pasona’s business is temporary staffing, and the thinking behind the farm is to train Tokyo urbanites who might be cajoled into a career in farming as an ageing population becomes increasingly reliant on high-tech farming. The company has already recruited hundreds of young city dwellers.

The honour of scything the first bushel went to Heizo Takenaka, the Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs, and the architect of Mr Koizumi’s most controversial reforms.

“It may have failed in the past, but here we have a rich harvest,” he said. “It is somewhat similar to the postal privatisation Bill that failed last year before the election. When you start something new, you need courage. And there are always people who criticise you for it.”

Ellesmere Port Pioneer


AN ANTI-drugs campaigner has welcomed the Government's move to re-classify cannabis.

Lynn Clare, of the Parents Against Drug Abuse (PADA) group in Ellesmere Port, is worried about its increasing strength and links to mental health.

PADA, based in Church Parade, was against Labour's controversial decision to downgrade cannabis from Class B seriousness to the milder Class C two years ago.

Now she welcomes Home Secretary Charles Clarke's announcement that he is also 'concerned' about the drug, and looking to re-classify it to Class B again.

Mrs Clare said: 'We were anti the initial decision to downgrade cannabis because we're aware of the research into it and mental health, so were very disappointed with the Government's decision then.

'Afterwards, we had huge numbers of people ringing the PADA helpline saying their child had told them it was now lawful, which it wasn't. The Government was giving out a mixed message that I don't think all the people got.

'This is not the kind of stuff they took in the 1960s.

Cannabis now is much stronger, like skunk or hydroponics, which are both popular.

'More younger people are using it, and not just using it socially either. Some people light up a spliff just like they would a cigarette.

'Around half the 12-15,000 callers that PADA gets nationally every year are about cannabis. So I welcome Mr Clarke's decision to look at regrading it again.'

Two years ago the drug was downgraded under Mr Clarke's predecessor, David Blunkett.

The maximum penalty for dealing in a class B drug is 14 years in jail, while class C dealing carries a maximum of five years.

It was hoped that downgrading cannabis would allow the police to focus on tackling harder drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.

'Since that decision, further medical evidence has been developed about the implications of consumption of cannabis on mental health, which is serious,' said Mr Clarke.

He has asked an advisory group to consider the issue again in the light of the latest research.

A COURIER for a drugs gang who stashed cocaine at farm in Pevensey has been jailed for six years.
Anthony Doyle, 48, of Fletcher Close, Hailsham, was arrested after drugs squad officers discovered a storage container at the farm. They set up hidden cameras to watch the container, which was rented by the gang at Churchlands Farm.
Doyle was videoed going to the container on May 15 last year.
Julian Woodbridge, prosecuting, said, 'The following day officers secretly went into the container and discovered a substantial quantity of cocaine and amphetamines inside.
'There was half a kilo of cocaine and three kilos of amphetamines in plastic tubs inside a rucksack and plastic carrier bag.
'Together they had a lower end street value of at least £40,000.'
Electronic scales for weighing drugs were found, along with hydroponic equipment for growing cannabis plants.
Officers resealed the container and Doyle was spotted going to it again on May 18 and 19. The drugs were removed — and officers later saw Doyle and another man removing the hydroponics equipment.
It was taken to Westfield Farm, at Downash, Hailsham, where Doyle's car was seen a number of times.
The farm was raided on July 1 and 40 cannabis plants were found growing in the attic.
The empty rucksack and carrier bag from the container were also found along with the plastic tubs they were kept in, which still had traces of drugs on them.
Doyle was later arrested at an address in Richmond Road, Eastbourne, where he had been hiding.
He admitted possessing cocaine and amphetamines with intent to supply and cultivating cannabis.
Anthony Dunkells, defending, said Doyle was an addict who received cocaine from the drugs gang for acting as a courier.
He had gone to live with his sister in Hailsham after she discovered him living rough.
'He was a successful roofer living in London until the death of his father and mother in 1995.
'His partner left him for his best friend and he discovered at the same time that his 11-year-old child was not his own.
'He fell off a ladder and hurt his back which meant he was unable to work.
'As a result he suffered a complete breakdown and went from being a successful man to relying on alcohol and Class A drugs.'

Police have arrested 19 people in a series of raids against suspected drug dealers in Avon and Somerset.

Teams of officers visited a large number of homes to execute search warrants under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

The crackdown is the latest initiative as part of Operation Relentless - the force's ongoing operation to arrest more criminals, reduce crime and the fear of crime.
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