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Dig This
Friday, March 24, 2000
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
This king palm was planted as a seed three years ago. Its
hydroponic root allows it to live in water 24 hours a day.
IF you're reading this column, chances are you're fairly good at getting plants to grow. But maybe you know someone who isn't. Tony Pasquariello calls them brownthumbers and they are among his best customers. Hydroponics
a no-brainer"We turn their brown thumb into a green one," said the owner of Kahala Hydroponics.
He accomplishes this feat by introducing them to soiless plants.
Pasquariello grows 40 varieties of plants in cinders and standing water. An interior cage holds the plant and cinders, an exterior pot holds the cage, water and nutrient packet.
Each pot has a water meter with a calendar that reminds the plant owner when to change the tea bag full of fertilizer, once every six months. "It'll tell you if you over watered it, it tells you if it needs water, it'll tell you where to water it to," said Pasquariello.
Developed in Switzerland, which could be the global capital of neatness, the system eliminates mess from drainage or dirt. "This is a very clean way," he says. It also eliminates soil-borne insects and disease, and the repercussions of over/under watering and fertilizing.
Sounds too good to be true? You've got nothing to lose but your preconceptions. Pasquariello guarantees every plant that leaves his shop for six months or more.
"If my plants didn't live, I'd be in big trouble by now," he said. In fact, Pasquariello only sees about 7 percent of those plants come back through the door. If garden shops had a similar policy, he expects the marketplace would be a lot less crowded. "Anybody who guarantees plants for six months to a year in soil is crazy; they're going to go broke," he said.
GET JUICED
What: Introductory hydroponics class
Houseplants potted in soil often rot after being brought home because at the nursery, water is allowed to run through the pots and out again. As soon as a customer gets a plant home, he sticks a tray under it or puts it in a closed pot to keep the water from spilling out. But the plants aren't conditioned for standing water. "Rotting happens only in soil," said Pasquariello. His plants don't rot in the standing water because they have developed a hydroponic, or water-adapted root, and there is no soil, he said.
Healthy plants can be transferred to a hydroponic system. The plant must be removed from the soil and its roots carefully rinsed. Up to 50 percent of the roots should be trimmed away. Then the plant must be placed in water alone for 14 days before the nutrients are added, during this time it develops its hydroponic root.
In addition to the self-contained potting systems, Pasquariello sells hydroponic trays that hold multiple plants and can be linked to create an ever-expanding garden.Popular with back-yard vegetable growers, a tray large enough for 12 plants runs on the same 20 gallons of water and 20 teaspoons of fertilizer for 30 days, at which point fresh water and nutrients must be added. The water is circulated via a pump and timer nine times a day. The same soil-based garden would consume hundreds of gallons of water in a month and the gardener would have to remember to fertilize.
Hydroponic trays use rockwool, a foamy substance made of lava rock and fiber, as a planting medium. The growing trays sit in solid trays that serve as a flow-way for the water, which falls back into the main tank. "Basically we have a river. It comes up, it goes back down," said Pasquariello.
In a 6-by-10 room in the back of the store, Pasquariello is growing Swiss chard, Thai basil, mint, red lettuce, cucumber, roma tomatoes, oregano and a zucchini vine that looks like a stage prop for "Little Shop of Horrors."
Customers who started as skeptics -- it seems they all do -- come in with pictures and tell him stories like they've grown their biggest mizuna plant ever. One client, who's recovering from a heart attack, is growing so much food he's feeding half the block. His wife goes around with gift bags. " 'I do all the work, my wife makes all the friends,' he says," said Pasquariello. "They're all excited."
Some customers express doubt that food grown without soil tastes as good as regularly grown produce. He doesn't argue; he sends them home with samples to try. They usually come back as converts. "People think the plant is getting the food from the dirt, but it's getting it from the water" and the nutrients, said Pasquariello, who is also passionate about conserving water.
His pet peeves abound: only thinking about water conservation during a drought, wasting gallons on unhealthy plants, selling seeds for plants that cannot be grown in Hawaii, and air-polluting "silk" plants are among them.
He's a man with a mission. "People are going to realize this is a good thing," he said. "This is a very educational shop here. When you come in and spend $200, you are going to get $200 of information from me."
He offers an introductory education for free. On the last Saturday of each month, more often if demand warrants, he teaches a class from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Kahala Hydroponics on Waialae Avenue, across from Kahala Mall. For reservations, call 735-8665.
Gardening Calendar in Do It Electric!
Stephanie Kendrick's gardening column runs Fridays in Today.
You can write her at the Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802
or email skendrick@starbulletin.com
