Our growing method has several advantages. First, we grow our crops in a controlled greenhouse environment. Here we feed them with carefully balanced nutrients conveyed by a recirculating hydroponics system. We do not use pesticides. We select the best seeds available and are constantly on the lookout for new or improved varieties. We seed, transplant and harvest on a tight schedule so that crops never suffer from being rushed or held back. We pick fresh produce six days per week and in most cases ship the same day or the following morning. We employ team-oriented workers with a background in agriculture.
What is your policy on pesticides?
Our policy is to grow strong plants that don't require the use of pesticides, and we take particular pains to ensure this. To begin with, we give them the protection of a screened greenhouse. We also employ so-called beneficial insects such as ladybugs and predatory mites on a regular basis. But most importantly we meet the temperature, light and fertilizer requirements essential to a plant's capacity to fight off pests. On occasion we find it necessary to apply mild deterrents like baking soda for powdery mildew or soap solutions for aphids or white flies, but that is the extent of our pest control.
What is the goal of ARC Greenhouses?
Our goal is to get back to providing fresh produce locally, just as farmers did in the early part of the past century. Back then everyone had access to either home-grown or locally-grown crops, fresh-picked and pesticide-free. Unfortunately such crops were available only during the growing season; the rest of the year people had to rely on canned or dried goods. With the advent of the freezer it was possible for people to obtain fresh-frozen produce all year long. The result was that agricultural production became concentrated, farms grew larger and the practice of monoculture became standard--all for the purpose of lowering production costs. While this type of operation is satisfactory for produce that can be frozen, it is little help to the grower of greens and herbs. And since shipping fresh products over long distances speaks to its own inadequacy, the door has been left wide open for hydroponics. We think that as we and others continue to make progress in perfecting hydroponics, and as space becomes more and more scarce, much if not most produce will be grown in this way. People will have access to locally-grown, fresh-picked, pesticide-free produce on a year-round basis.
Why are your products not labeled organic?
We prefer the term hydroponics, which in our view refers to a superior form of agriculture that is now on the cutting edge. We at ARC Greenhouses share the major principles of organic agriculture, including an avoidance of pesticides and an emphasis on wholistic plant culture. But our mission is to raise crops all year long, not just during the local growing season, and to do this in the Northeast it is necessary to grow in greenhouses. Our commitment to hydroponics--by far the most efficient way to grow fresh plants indoors--requires us to alter three common organic practices. First, we do not grow in soil so we can't grow plants in a way that increases the health of the soil (increasing soil health is an important organic principle) except that we free farmland from having to be productive, thereby resting the land for future use (which is another organic principle we share). In effect we grow in one acre of greenhouse what it takes 25 to 50 acres of field space to grow. As a result, for every acre of space we use, we permit up to 50 acres to be preserved. Second, we do not limit ourselves solely to natural fertilizers because we find that some of the manufactured fertilizers dissolve better in water. And third, we apply more nutrients per acre than permitted under organic regulations, an unavoidable situation since we grow crops 365 days per year.
What is Hydroponics?
Hydroponics is growing plants in nutrient-enhanced water. We use a system called recirculating hydroponics. In this system the water is channeled through troughs or tubes in which plants have been placed so that their roots can absorb what they need from a properly formulated nutrient solution. When the excess water and nutrients leave these channels they return to a tank where the fertilizer solution is readjusted to maintain a constant balance. This system has a distinct environmental advantage: none of the chemicals are allowed to go into the ground, which means, for example, that nitrogen can't build up in ground water--a major factor in the contamination of America's waterways. Today nutrient buildup threatens such important bodies of water as the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. Meanwhile the EPA is trying to control nutrient enrichment of our underground streams in order to keep our drinking water safe.
How can plants grown in water taste better?
We believe healthy plants taste better. Healthy plants require healthy roots. Roots obtain the nutrients that plants need. With hydroponics the roots always have a good supply of the necessary nutrients. This is especially true with micro-nutrients, those essential trace elements such as iron, zinc and copper that must be present in minute doses for a plant to thrive. While it is relatively simple to provide the basic NPK nutrients (Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), it is another matter to deliver the delicate balance of micro-nutrients--and we believe it is these that define the flavor. Our system maintains the optimum quantities of these essentials in its continuous flow. At the same time, the roots of our plants receive an ample supply of water for the important process of transpiration, which enables the leaves to hold a constant, safe temperature. In addition, this steady flow carries an endless supply of oxygen to the roots. Oxygen is of course vital to healthy growth, and since our plants are placed in such a way that a part of each root is in water and the rest is in air, there is never a lack of this requirement.
It should be noted that many of the enemies of plants live in soil where they can attack plants in the root zone where they feed. Research has shown that roots are better able to fight off unhealthy organisms, and that the quality of the plant is superior, when water supply is optimum, thus contributing to an abundance of healthy microlife: simply stated, plants grown in this way are healthier and hence taste better.
Can you guarantee that your plants won't carry a disease like e. coli?
We believe the vast majority of plants in the United States are safe to consume, but of all the growing methods, whether orthodox field agriculture, organic farming, or hydroponics, we're confident ours has the highest probability of providing safe plants. Since we don't grow crops in the field, our plants don't come into contact with the ground, which is where bacteria such as e. coli thrive under circumstances where manure or contaminated matter may exist in a raw state.
Do you have priority trade secrets that make your system more efficient?
We have been in the business of growing since 1984. We are dedicated to a program of sustained process improvement and have made what we think are major innovations in product development and system design. These improvements permit us to grow better plants at less cost. Through the use of computers - all developed in-house - we continue to upgrade various facets of our greenhouse complex. Recently we designed a new type of greenhouse (with associated growing systems) which holds the promise of even greater efficiency. As we increase in size we are able to invest more each year in our program of process improvement. As a result we produce better plants today than we did in 1984 and we will produce even better plants in 2010. From the beginning ARC Greenhouses has relied on original rather than borrowed ideas and business models and at this stage our proprietary information is extensive.
How do you get energy to operate, heat and light your greenhouses?
We employ a total energy system to obtain the electricity for operating and lighting our greenhouses, in addition to the BTUs required to heat them. Our total energy system originates in large reciprocating engines running off natural gas. The engines drive a generator that produces the electricity to operate pumps and light the crops in winter. The water to cool the engines goes through a heat exchanger which heats the water which eventually heats the greenhouses. The exhaust heat is channeled in much the same way. A great amount of the energy is used to operate equipment located in the growing areas, especially the lights. In this way we usefully employ over 90% of the BTUs contained in the natural gas we consume. The result is a win for us and a win for the environment. In our case we save money: in winter we either get our heat free and pay for electricity, or we get our electricity free and pay for heat (Included costs are gas, maintenance and acquisition). In the case of the environment, the less natural gas used, the less pollution through emissions.
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ARC Greenhouses
P.O. Box 191
Shiloh, NJ 08353
(856) 451-3561
© Copyright 2001 by ARC Greenhouses
