Wednesday, May 19, 2010
CNN Highlights Hydroponics
Watch the whole video to see our friends at the Science Barge and Lee Mandell of Boswyck Farms.
I think it's time hydroponics has a serious PR makeover. Anyone want to help me?
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I think the PR folks for Science Barge did a fine job with their PR. They got CNN to come and visit and share their work with a huge audience. The Showtime series Weeds presents hydroponics in a smart, efficient light in spite of what they're growing and how you feel about that. And I've read articles about hydroponic farms providing local restaurants with a "plot" so they can have their own provision of fresh, possibly organic, veggies for their customers.
ReplyDeleteThe one side where I feel an image improvement is needed is in the hydroponic shops I've seen. Many seem shady, almost seedy (puns unintentional, but appreciated.) places for pot growers to get their wares and discuss crops. If they'd shift to urban gardening [http://bit.ly/aTuycD], and turn up the nerd notch a couple of points, they might take a higher place at the chamber of commerce meetings.
Joe, thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the Science Barge. I really couldn't be any happier about how much positive publicity they're receiving.
Still, I think hydroponics has a taboo around it. It's diminishing, but it's still there. My concern is that there needn't be any taboo at all around a perfectly good method of growing food.
Hydroponic stores have no incentive right now to become less seedy. It's not like there's a huge mass of people who would purchase more hydroponic supplies for their own legitimate grow operations if only the stores catered to law abiding citizens. Who changes first: the consumer or the retailer? I don't know.
But I think you might have hit on a business opportunity: a hydroponics retail store that assumes its customer base wants to grow food only. Now that I think about it, there's a store in Brooklyn doing just that. It's called Brooklyn Farms (http://shop.bkfarms.com/). I bet there's room in the market for more stores like it.
Couldn't agree more man. Hydroponics is in serious need of an image makeover. Its been hikacked by weed growers and rap culture, all of which is totally unfortunate because its such a clean and nifty way of growing food year around...especially in cities.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah I've been to Brooklyn Farms. Those guys were pretty awesome. Legitimately gave me advise on my food crop - at the time I was having mystery issues with my indoor herb garden (don't even think it...I am actually an herbalist). They hooked me up with knowledge and some free nutrients samples (after I bought a compact flourescent - hey it is a business ha! ;)
Sorry i diverge. My point is nothing beats having fresh herbs in the winter. And for my money hydroponics is the way to go. What these guys are doing at Science Barge, Boswych, and Brooklyn Farms should be encouraged and emulated not villified.