長島農民卡爾Gabrielsen目前正研發終年可生產農作物技術，並認為是他個人使命，推廣給所有農民知道。
Gabrielsen滿懷熱情帶著參觀者到他的大棚設施說明，在那裡他種植的新鮮水培生菜整個冬天，生產每星期約3000棵。
Gabrielsen說“我們必須能夠整年生產保持競爭力，”，“我希望盡我可能讓其他農戶知道這種耕作方式。”
水培是一種無土的植物生長方法，植物生長在液體介質中，靠平衡pH調節和營養液使植物生長的更快，種植者可以享有較高的收益率，使其食品成為商業生產的理想方式。
Gabrielsen的的經營它的水培操作公司"上西一巷" ，Gabrielsen的農場涵蓋了3個室內溫棚設施，但種植者不需要建造大型溫室和購買昂貴的工廠製造系統，才可開始使用水培。
他說。他們可以建立自己的水耕日益增長的床鋪，起初可以使用簡單框架。
“他們建立具有規模的水耕成本還不到一個新的拖拉機”。
Gabrielsen的和首批投資種植者大衛·麥克拉林一起學習水培技術，去年在亞利桑那大學上課，並迅速對水耕技術著迷，他們快速進入生產模式，並且成功度過這個冬天，計劃明年冬天繼續跨大規模。
“這是一個完全封閉的系統。我們回收所有的水“
植物的營養成分在水中遞送。將循環溶液混合在通過複雜的電腦計算系統控制。
他們不使用農藥，相反，他們依靠益蟲，採用綜合蟲害管理原則。
室內提供最先進的LED植物生長燈，提供溫室內部光源，一個紫粉色的LED燈泡可以持續5萬小時，僅使用20％的普通燈的電量。Gabrielsen說：農場現有的太陽能電池板產生足夠的電力，而無需購買任何的電力。
一旦種子被種植在培養基後即放置在水床槽，植物到成熟採收從未需要被觸摸。生菜的水培準備好包裝和運輸六，七個星期。和它的包裝和運輸的塑料翻蓋，其根系完好，保持其味道十足“餐廳無法獲得足夠的新鮮，本地蔬菜，尤其是在冬季。無法充足提供。 “我們主要的市場優勢就是可以供應冬天的蔬菜。”
Gabrielsen的農場目前以批發為主，除了在冬天出售給當地之外，也提供當地超市供新鮮的本地蔬菜。
這樣種植操作是對於環境安全和經濟上都十分合理 - 不僅成本要低得多，更作物可以在更小的空間中生長。
Gabrielsen的現在從萵苣生產也轉型到溫室花種植。花兒種植7個月，而冬天溫室將全力生產蔬菜。
下一個冬天，他會加入更多的水培床和發展更多的農作物，Gabrielsen的說。有足夠的空間在他的30萬平方英尺的工廠擴大。他將不斷增長的水培規模。
“這真的非常令人興奮”。
其他地方的溫室種植戶都開始嘗試淡季蔬菜生產，Gabrielsen說。 “我要盡我所能來宣傳它的工作原理。”
Hydroponics and new technology make winter vegetable production feasible for Long Island growers
Technology is now making it possible for Long Island farmers to produce crops year-round and Jamesport grower Carl Gabrielsen has made it his personal mission to make sure fellow farmers know it.
Gabrielsen can barely contain his enthusiasm as he takes visitors on a tour of his greenhouse facilities on West Lane in Aquebogue, where he’s grown fresh lettuce hydroponically all winter, producing about 3,000 heads per week.
“We have to be able to produce year-round to stay competitive,” Gabrielsen said yesterday, “and I want other farmers to know it can be done and the means to do it is within their reach.”
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. They are grown in an inert growing medium and a balanced, pH-adjusted water-based nutrient solution. Plants grow faster and growers enjoy higher yields, making it an ideal method for commercial food production.
Gabrielsen’s hydroponics operation on West Lane — one of three greenhouse facilities operated by his company, Gabrielsen Farms, is the ultimate in hi-tec growing. But growers don’t need to build large greenhouses and buy expensive factory-made systems to get started with hydroponics, he said. They can build their own hydroponic growing beds and begin with a frame- or hoop-house. The economic benefits realized will pay for their investment in no time, he said.
“They can put together a great set-up for less than the cost of a new tractor,” Gabrielsen said.
Gabrielsen and head grower David McLarin dabbled in hydroponics last year, took classes at the University of Arizona and quickly became completely hooked. They went into full production mode with it this winter and plan to expand again next winter.
For farmers who are already greenhouse growers, it’s really a no-brainer, both men said.
“It’s a totally closed system. We recycle all our water. Nothing goes into the ground,” he said.
Plant food is delivered through the water that the plants are grown in. The solution is mixed in large tanks controlled by sophisticated computers.
“The computer measures it and dispenses it as the tank calls for it. We never touch it,” Gabrielsen said.
They use no pesticides. Instead they rely on beneficial insects, employing integrated pest management principles.
State-of-the-art LED grow lights provide the plants with light and bathe the interior of the greenhouses in a pleasant purple-pink glow. The bulbs last for 50,000 hours and use 20 percent of the electricity of regular lights, Gabrielsen said. Gabrielsen Farms has solar panels on site to generate enough power to run the West Lane greenhouses without buying any electricity from PSEG.
Once a seed is planted in the growing medium and its placed in a slot in the hydro bed, the plant never needs to be touched. From seed to maturity, a hydroponically grown head of lettuce is ready to be packed and shipped in six or seven weeks. And it’s packed and shipped in a plastic clamshell with its root system intact, preserving its full flavor, Gabrielsen said.
“Restaurants can’t get enough of fresh, local vegetables, especially in winter. There’s just no comparison,” Gabrielsen said. “We could have sold triple what we did this winter if we had the crops to supply them, it’s in such demand.”
Gabrielsen Farms is a wholesale-only operation. Besides selling to area restaurants this winter, it’s supplied fresh local lettuce to the 21 Best Yet supermarkets across Long Island.
The operation is environmentally safe and economically sound — costs are much lower and more crop can be grown in less space.
Gabrielsen is now transitioning from lettuce to flowers inside the greenhouse. Flowers will be grown through July, then the greenhouses will be geared up for winter vegetable production again.
Next winter he’ll add more hydroponic beds and grow additional crops, Gabrielsen said. There’s plenty of room to expand in his 300,000-square-foot facility. He used only a portion of it for hydroponic growing this year.
“It’s really very exciting,” he said. “You get to supply local customers with fresh produce in the off-season and you keep your workers employed, too.”
Other local greenhouse growers are beginning to experiment with off-season vegetable production, too, Gabrielsen said. “And I want to do everything I can to spread the word about how it works and how good it can be.”
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