Article 677 of alt.sustainable.agriculture:
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From: arminius@violet.berkeley.edu (;;;;PM10)
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture
Subject: Hydroponics
Date: 5 Mar 1993 07:29:20 GMT
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First let me comment that I am new to this session,  have much 
appreciated what I have read over the past few months, even the 
eccentricities (sometimes too long, but deletable!).
I am involved in the nutrient chemistry of hydroponics, among my 
chemistry interests.  I can comment on the several recent postings.

Phone number correction for the manufacturer "General Hydroponics" - 
1-800-37-HYDRO is the new number as in the advertisement in The 
Growing Edge magazine.  Local number for GH is 1-415-924-3390.

Is it useful to post the contents of the current issue of The 
Growing Edge (Spring 1993, just arrived)?
    The Lives of a Plant Part 1 - Seedlings, Cuttings and Transplants
    Seeds - Embryonic Plants
    The Orchid Environment
    A Down-to-Earth Space Garden
    System Earth - Healing a Wounded Planet
    Mutation Breeding Part 2
    The Fruit/Herb Dryer
    More Oxygen for your NFT

Comment on costs: small magazines are expensive when there are few 
subscribers!  Do your share.

Note that there is a serious professional organization, the 
Hydroponic Society of America.  The annual conference of the society 
will be in Portland, Oregon April 9-11. The HSA annual directory has 
a long list of books available at discount to members.

I am told that "Aeroponics" actually originated in Italy in the 
'30s.  In Israel it has been much advanced in theory and application 
by Dr Hillel Soffer, at the Ein Geddi research center.  The 
aeroponic objective is adequate oxygen availability to the roots, 
since they of course require oxygen for metabolism and growth.  
General Hydroponics has aeroponic planters designed by Soffer for 
sale.

A perhaps delicate question in alternative agriculture is, Is "soil" 
required by definition, for "organic" products?  Is aquatic medium 
accepted?  There is a very good defining document available, the 
"1993 Certification Handbook" available ($10) from the California 
Certified Organic Farmers, 303 Potrero Street Suite 51, Santa Cruz, 
CA 95060.  This reflects and explains California law on organic, and 
would seem to allow aqueous media conforming to nutrient 
restrictions.  The difficulty in organic hydroponics is that most of 
the specified nutrients for organic certification have very low 
solubility in water, so it is difficult to supply the plant's 
mineral needs.

Should this posting be cross-filed to another topic-group?  If so, 
how to do it?

Thanks again, Cal Herrmann, U. of California at Berkeley:


Article 679 of alt.sustainable.agriculture:
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From: uaturoff@mcs.Drexel.edu (Z)
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture
Subject: Hydroponic Society of America
Message-ID: <UATUROFF.93Mar5150249@queen.mcs.Drexel.edu>
Date: 5 Mar 93 20:02:49 GMT
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Does anyone have an address for the Hydroponic Society of America?

Specifically, I'm looking for leads to a graduate level program in Hydroponics.
Are there any "big-name" schools in the field, either in the US or the world?

Thanks...
Adam.
uaturoff@mcs.drexel.edu



