ANGUILLA, BRITISH WEST INDIES—When chefs at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa on the Caribbean island of Anguilla need vegetables or herbs for dishes they are making, they do not have to go far. The 93-room resort has its own one-half acre, 18,000-square-foot hydroponic farm in a greenhouse. Staffed by four people, including hydroponics expert and author Dr. Howard Resh, the farm produces a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, edible flowers, and herbs such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli rabe, bok choy, arugula, watercress, parsley, sage, chives, dill, chervil, mint, oregano and more. Only organic bioagents and natural organisms are used to deter pests, preserving produce and the surrounding environment from synthetic pesticides and chemicals.
The word “hydroponics,” according to Dr. Resh’s website, comes from the Greek words “hydro” (water) and “ponos” (labor). At CuisinArt Resort & Spa, items are grown using nutrient-rich water or water with substrates. No soil is used. The farm’s hydroponic method uses recirculation systems and drip irrigation, rather than a sprinkler system, which conserves water. Nutrient-rich drainage water is later recycled to feed the outdoor landscape plants.
Various growing techniques are used in the greenhouse. The farm contains two lettuce ponds and a bato bucket system for vine crops like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants. A-frames are used for herbs and lettuce, maximizing the number of plants in an area. Raised beds contain herbs, lettuce and peppers, and plant towers are used for bok choy and herbs.
Built to Withstand Hurricane Force Winds
Dr. Resh says the greenhouse is located north of the resort and about 500 feet from the resort’s entrance. Because of its location in the Caribbean, the greenhouse was built to withstand 110 mph hurricane force winds. The greenhouse was completed at the end of 1999 and may be the only hydroponics farm in the world located on a resort property. Outside of the hospitality industry, hydroponic farms are popping up on top of warehouses and other buildings. One New York City based company, Gotham Greens, constructed greenhouses atop a warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lufa Farms is located in Montreal on top of an office building.
Water for the farm on Anguilla comes from the ocean but is first desalinated using reverse osmosis. Both water and land are scarce on Anguilla so a hydroponic farm is an ideal solution. Dr. Resh says farming this way costs more than traditional farming outside of a greenhouse but adds that one can get more production per unit area year-round with a hydroponic system. Crops still have growing seasons. “You can’t carry a crop through from one year to the next,” Dr. Resh says.
There is most definitely a science to hydroponic growing. The greenhouse at CuisinArt Resort & Spa utilizes two important systems—a greenhouse environmental control system and the actual growing system. There are many different substrates one can use and temperature, humidity and nutrient mix all come into play when growing crops.
Control System is Key
When asked what advice he would give to anyone considering constructing a hydroponic farm, Dr. Resh said, “Know the environment you are in so you can build an appropriate environmental control system.”
One-hour tours of the hydroponic farm are given by Dr. Resh three times a week. He says he typically gets at least 10 to 12 people on each tour.
CuisinArt Resort & Spa also has organic gardens outside of the greenhouse. They include a colorful grove of vegetables and fruit-bearing trees. Caribbean callaloo, black-eyed peas, peppers, pumpkins and okra are joined by soybeans, Chinese long beans, melons and many other healthful selections. The orchards produce avocados, guavas, tamarinds, limes, oranges, and star fruit.
Go to the CuisinArt Resort & Spa for more information.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
