Maximum Yield Cannabis Canada 2017 July/August | Page 58

groundbreaker
you tell us
Next Generation Hydroponic Farming:
Desert Greens H 2 O
After more than 10 years of research and development, the man behind
Desert Greens H 2 O’s flagship, broad-scale hydroponic greenhouse,
which is the first of its kind in Nevada, believes his systems have
the capacity to redefine the current global food paradigm. Here’s Tom
Blount with more info on his A-frame systems that are capable of
producing four times the yields of average greenhouses.
58
groundbreakers
photos by Infinite Imaging Photography
2016 was one hell of a year for Tom
Blount, systems designer and grower
at Desert Greens H 2 O. In May, Blount’s
flagship hydroponic greenhouse, locat-
ed in Nevada, became fully operational.
It was a proud moment for him, as he
spent more than 10 years perfecting
the system—a hydroponic grow system
with a unique height and pitch design
that exponentially reduces the carbon
footprint of any traditional soil-grow
or existing hydroponic application.
“Our proprietary systems help
us focus on the ever-changing
needs of the plants to ensure
maximum growth, using a fraction of
the space and water, to consistently
produce exponentially larger
greenhouse yields with unparalleled
flavour profiles and nutritional
value,” he says. “Our next-generation
greenhouse is sustainable and can
revolutionize the way food is grown.”
Before discovering hydroponics,
Blount owned a small restaurant on
Kauai. “The cost of the produce was
a bottom line killer,” he recalls. This
was 1988. “Back then, lettuce there
cost $45 to $60, compared to $8 to
$12 per case in the rest of the US. And
half of it was rotted by arrival. I had a
friend who grew hydroponic lettuce, so
I asked her to show me how to do it.