The greenhouse effect

Marvin Wilhite gets no dirt beneath his fingernails as he finds success at climate-controlled hydroponic farming.

By JOSH ZIMMER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 21, 2003

ODESSA -- Marvin Wilhite is showing off his latest crop of chervil sprigs when an employee enters the greenhouse with an urgent question.

How much, Bobbi Hauser wants to know, is Wilhite going to charge a New York City distributor for a 1-ounce package of hydroponically grown microgreens?

The petite edibles, raised in rows of standing, water-fed trays rather than in soil, are marketed to an upscale food industry eager for their elegance and flavor. Never slow for an answer, Wilhite whispers a figure that sends Hauser scurrying back to the phone. She'll quote $1.85 an ounce, costlier than filet mignon.

Figures like that make Wilhite smile. The hydroponic investor-turned-producer sees a bright future for his fast-growing Cahaba Clubs Herbal Outpost off Rustic Woods Trail.

"This has been a lot of fun," he said during a recent tour of the 10-acre operation he opened three years ago. "We probably sell to 17 different distributors every week."

From supermarkets to fine-eating establishments, an increasingly sophisticated and health-conscious public is beginning to embrace hydroponic food as never before.

The secret is perfect weather, thanks to climate-controlled greenhouses, and the precise mixing of water and nutrients.

New greenhouses are cropping up across the country as investors swallow higher upfront costs for better returns down the road. While the Southwest, California, Colorado and Texas are the hot spots because of their above-average amount of sunlight, Florida is joining in the national trend.

Countries with less arable land than the United States -- Canada, Australia, Israel and the Netherlands, to name some major players -- have depended heavily on greenhouse technology for decades. Their American counterparts, playing catch-up, are getting much of their know-how from them.

In Florida, greenhouse acreage is up, although the number of hydroponic farmers is down to about 125 due to an expansion by existing growers, said George Hochmuth, a University of Florida horticultural sciences professor and a leading proponent of the state's budding hydroponics industry.

"Hydroponics has been around for a long time, mostly in the small, family type operations . . . selling mostly tomatoes and cucumbers locally," Hochmuth said. The total acreage in the state "has gone from maybe 20 acres in the early '80s to almost 100. That's not a lot, but when you consider what goes on in hydroponic production . . . 1 acre of hydroponic tomatoes might equate to 20 acres of outdoor tomatoes."

The industry has caught the eye of the federal government, which is subjecting hydroponics to more regulations. But Wilhite says he doesn't mind; it's another sign that hydroponics is going mainstream. He anticipates more opportunities as hydroponic producers, including himself, go organic and tap into the public's growing affection for pesticide-free foods.

The soilless science of hydroponics turns nature on its head.

Wilhite raises summer crops in the winter and vice versa. Yields can be 30 times greater per acre in just half the usual time. Precise plant nutrition guarantees robust flavor and aroma.

During the recent freeze, much of Florida's outdoor basil crop died while Wilhite's herbs grew unhindered, blanketed by humidity. Wilhite, whose client list includes a host of Disney restaurants, made a killing.

"I've never had a freeze," he said, "even at 24 degrees out here."

Passionate and technically acute, Wilhite, 41, is helping take Florida hydroponics to a new level. Cahaba Clubs turned its first profit last month, not bad for an industry where the average break-even period is five to seven years.

"He's the kind of person who takes the bull by the horns," said Steve Sargent, an agriculture professor at the Unversity of Florida to whom Wilhite often turns for marketing advice. "He's doing a good job."

Wilhite grew up around agriculture in Jacksonville. After attending college on a tennis scholarship and majoring in computer systems, Wilhite and his father bought cheap land in Alabama under a federal program designed to take surplus crops out of production. They planted pine trees.

Suddenly, Wilhite could borrow a lot of money for investment. In the early 1990s, he would use it to help a hydroponic go-getter named Harrison Frolick start Frolick Farms in Odessa.

Wilhite sold him greenhouses. But business turned downward for Frolick, who later sold out to Hydro Grow, another local hydroponic grower. When Hydro Grow failed, Wilhite saw an opportunity.

Under a default agreement with Hydro Grow, he obtained their greenhouses. With equipment he bought for "pennies on the dollar," he opened Cahaba Clubs in mid 2000.

The business now employs six full-time people and two part timers.

The loudest sound around Wilhite's 40,000 square feet of greenhouses is the steady hum of fans. The cool air blows through floor-to-ceiling metal grates bathed with dripping water. Without them, the greenhouses would overheat under the Florida sun.

The vegetables and herbs are perched upon neatly placed rows of upturned aluminum roofing -- a Wilhite trick that saved him thousands on expensive hydroponic equipment. Angled rows ensure the roots get maximum exposure to nutrient solutions distributed by feeder tubes, Wilhite said. The recirculating well water is tested periodically for contamination.

Some hydroponic growers raise their crops in immense pools of water. Wilhite uses absorbent materials.

The lettuce sprigs are set in sponges. Like athletes on steroids, the Bellisimo, red Lollo Rossa, red oak leaf and lettuce Nevada plants grow unnaturally fast. In a matter of weeks they are fighting for space.

"It's 27 days from here to a head of lettuce," he said. "A row cropper takes 55 to 60 days."

Next door, a carpet of chervil, basil and arugula promises tidy profits. Workers can cut the basil every day for four months before the plants need to be replaced. At 65 cents an ounce, "It's an awesome return," he said.

The designer herbs and vegetables have chefs and restaurant suppliers flocking to Wilhite's door.

"We try to search out the best possible local ingredients and he's the best in the area for hydroponic herbs and microsprouts," said Gary Pfenning, head chef at Mia's, an upscale restaurant in Hyde Park. "He's growing stuff that really nobody else does around here."

In Hauser's home state of Indiana, friends and family have trouble relating to hydroponics. What kind of farmer has clean fingernails?

"They don't understand" hydroponics, she said. "It's a corn state."

But Wilhite and others are convinced consumers are ready for the cleaner food that hydroponics offers.

Hydroponics uses fewer pesticides than conventional farming. Like organic farming, hydroponics appeals to the "sustainable environment" crowd that advocates using techniques that are less damaging than traditional planting.

For example, the hanging plants found in some of the greenhouses are not for decor; they attract bugs that would threaten Wilhite's crops. He also can sell the flowers, which are edible, for 10 cents apiece.

Predator wasps, which he buys and releases, lay eggs that, when hatched, eat the larvae of tiny insects that would damage the plant roots if left unopposed.

Some hydroponic products, such as tomatoes and lettuce, may someday compete with mainstream prices, said Ken Hollander, chief financial officer of Village Farms. The New Jersey-based company is one of the nation's largest hydroponic producers.

Hydroponic tomatoes already comprise 15 percent of the nation's market, he said. Village Farms also imports hydroponic peppers and seedless cucumbers from Canada, Europe and Israel.

Better technology will bring prices down, he said.

"I think the U.S. (hydroponic) products will become more competitive," he said.

For now, Wilhite is banking on the upscale market, where profit margins are as thick as a bed of greenhouse oregano.

Business is so good he recently allowed himself his first vacation in three years. Soon he'll be rolling out new products, including green-and-red popcorn shoots and white lettuce.

"There's no end in sight," he said.

-- Josh Zimmer covers Keystone/Odessa, Citrus Park and the environment. He can be reached at 269-5314 or zimmer@sptimes.com .

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