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Show ' I ' X r .. 4 . t : '-. 2 V v ,. - . -. j. ' ' ' I : ' - v '' . ' ' - ,v .,...., Ta. V 1 tomatoes grown in water based on a hydropaners concept, at a greenhouse in West Bountiful will be ready for marketing in about two weeks. I f - r . ,- - f ! i Jr k . ;'' if ! 1.)' ' x a' 1 Doug Casper, one of the owners of the hydroponics grenhouse, checks the progress of the plants. Plastic air ducts control temperature and air. . """ Construction of four additional green houses is now underway - Contractor - J DeH "olbfook is supervising the construction. Internal support is provided by metal poles. "'.;" " z "I , ": ,V fe see(ls are placed in grow blocks before transplanted to plastic tubes, which supply nutrients. 1 7- x ' .'X , I 0 ''XHF'- , t ,,';'', , -.- ! 4 ,'I i 'V.. . t-u . .r'.r s , f :i m t ' . , -; ' . 7. :? 1 K ,- ' ' : v M - M ? 4 t . , . - t r 4 - ' ' . , - ?i , ,-2v - r- r '-- -' 1 a ... j 1"" .- - - The intenor or me greenhouse, constructed from heavy plastic, holds 1 ,000 tomato plants. The plants are placed in plastic tubes, which run the length of the greenhouse and supply nutrients and water to the tomatoes. r- 1 ! Hy7(oFo)ln)Dg I I By ROSELYN KIRK Water and energy conservation are on the minds of everyone, but owners of a J local business in West Bountiful think j they have found how to conserve both and I still make money at the same time. THE BUSINESS owned by Harry j Phillips and Douglas Casper of Bountiful is based on the hydroponics concept of growing vegetables in water without soil. The process was developed in Panama j City, Fla., Mr. Casper said. J "We had been thinking about going into I a family business and the idea looked I good to us." Mr. Phillips, who is a cer- . tified public accountant, did a cost . j analysis on the proposal and the two I families decided it would work. j MR. CASPER, who is an electrical en- J gineer by trade, was in Alaska at the time I working on at Prudhoe Bay. He came I home to Bountiful every month where he and Mr. Phillips and Mr. Casper's sons j Kirt 18, and Mark 16, worked on their I idea. "We began putting the idea together in October," Mr. Casper said. j In November Mr. Phillips, Kurt and j Mark began to dig post holes by hand to I construct the greenhouse, using pipe I shaped to form the frame. The pipe is covered by a heavy plastic cover. When j Mr. Casper returned from Alaska, he I completed the electrical wiring. About the middle of February the first tomato J plants were planted in individual celluloid J grow blocks in the new greenhouse. I THE TWO partners had decided to try I tomatoes the first year because they felt there was a market. The building and j , system they have developed allows them to branch out into lettuce, green peppers and cucumbers when their four other ! greenhouses are built. They plan to market the tomatoes locally, Mr. Casper says. When Mr. I Phillips and Mr. Casper were thinking of I setting up the partnership, they inves- tigated the hydroponics method of grow-I grow-I ing vegetables, but were not sure what i kind of greenhouse was the most prac- tical. They went to Hill Field to check on , the possibility of using an old barracks, ' but knew light was needed. The heavy I plastic construction was decided upon. j EVEN THOUGH a heating system and a cooling system had to be installed in the I I ! ! i j ' k. -w -- - in pxhaust fan at the north end of the building helps to maintain the right balance of carbon dioxide, which is necessary for plant growth. building to keep the tomato plants at an all-around temperature of about 70 degrees, Mr. Casper says the business is ecologically sound since the plants produce year round. In the winter some of the heat needed comes from the sun. But the biggest conservation is in water, he says. Although the plants are grown in the water, containing a nutrient, he estimates that only about 300 to 400 gallons of water are used each day to support the 1,000 plants in the greenhouse. THE HYDROPONICS process begins when the seeds are placed in the grow blocks. They are started from seed and planted with no nutrients, not even water. . In about three to six weeks they are ready to be replanted in a plastic tube that runs the length of specially constructed tables. The nutrient contained in the water is pumped through the tube, passes into the roots of the plants and is collected through a collector system, Mr. Casper said. The nutrient, which contains nitrates, ni-trates, a metal mix; magnesium chloride, and a patented substance called hygorso! plus, is circulated everv hour. IT TAKES THE tomatoes about 90 days to mature, about the same amount of time that is needed for earth grown tomatoes. Mr. Casper said hydroponics has been tried for many years and that early estimators es-timators said plants grown in water with nutrients could out produce regular garden gar-den vegetables about 80 to 1. Mr. Casper said their company called "Americhem" will test this concept this summer on a practical basis. The company hopes to finish construction on the other four greenhouses and have all five in operation by August. In addition to the partners and the boys, building contractor J. Dell Holbrook and builder Brent Thomas are working on the project. Mr. Holbrook has contracted to build the other four buildings, although the first was constructed by the family. THE GREENHOUSES are 30 feet wide, 12 feet long and 13 feet high. They contain a total of 13,000 square feet. Metal posts and bowed pipes provide the internal support. The outer plastic skin requires about six men to place it over the frame, Mr. Holbrook said. The special plastic filters out ultra-violet rays from the sun. Heating and air conditioning is also supplied through heavy plastic heat and cold air ducts inside the greenhouse and PHOTOS BY FRED WRIGHT forced from a heater and cooler. Mr. j Casper estimates that it costs more to i heat the greenhouse than it does to cool it, but says the cost is not appreciably J - different. j ALTHOUGH MR. Phillips is only able to I ' work on the project after hours, Mr. : Casper spends his full time at the j business. The plants require daily care. I - They must be pollenated, the nutrients i ; kept correctly mixed and the air exchange j systems maintained. The plants, which ! -: need carbon dioxide for growth must get j ; it through the air exchange ducts piped in I from air outside the greenhouse. - The hydroponics method of growing . food is not new to Utah, Mr. Casper and j Mr. Holbrook say. Similar greenhouses, I .;. using a solvent for growing plants are t - located in Utah in Lehi, Clinton, Mantua, J Uintah and Garland. J THE PARTNERS purchased the I : acreage, located at 1200 West 1500 North I in West Bountiful, and plan to eventually build IS greenhouses in the area if the j ' project goes well. The boys will work after i : school in the afternoon and plan to be at the site all summer. In addition, a son- ! in-law Jim Kentner, a BYU graduate, will j ; work with the family this summer. Right j " now, Mr. Casper needs help since he has a I broken ankle. ,' The partnership has had setbacks. j Right after the first 1,000 plants were I seeded in February, Mountain Fuel Sup- ply didn't arrive in time to install the fuel ! .. lines to heat the greenhouse. Over 800 of ' " the plants were lost. But even with the j - setbacks, the partners have convinced I Mr. Holbrook that the business has po- I ; tential. "And I'm the world's biggest j skeptic." After he completes the con- struction for Americhem, he plans to i begin construction on some hydroponic greenhouses for himself. ! MR. CASPER said the first tomatoes I should be ready in about two weeks and I then the marketing process will begin. "We plan to market only locally. It will j take a lot of tomatoes to feed Bountiful." j Mr. Casper said an experiment with Mr. Phillip's mother proved that the hydroponic plants can't be distinguished J in taste from the home grown variety. j Last year they placed several of the I hydroponic grown tomatoes in with her I homegrown Bountiful tomatoes. "She couldn't tell the difference," Mr. Casper j said, rk j J ft " ! . tx : -Jl i ( i'H"-.? oZIi ' , 3 i , J I I I -i. - ' If I V v I f j t rBiirf m fn i- -rv n-ff'-r- ifrnrtr - 1 - sVAawfe&Wtrt ..... 4 A cooling tower and evaporators at the south end of the greenhouse act like a giant swamp cooler to keep the temperature at about 70 degrees. |