John Osborne has been planning his new business for almost two years. On March 21, plans turned into reality when Global Organics and Hydroponics opened at 11 N. Broadway in Cortez.
For the most part, the business carries all organic products right down to natural insect control. Osborne said the business is one of the No. 1 growing industries in the United States.
Its a huge industry. A lot of people just dont realize how big this industry is, said Osborne, who has a background in horticulture.
Hydroponic gardening is basically growing plants in water instead of soil, using rocks or gravel for stability. The extra oxygen in hydroponic growing helps stimulate root growth and helps plants absorb nutrients faster. Hydroponic plants are also said to have fewer problems with bug infestations, funguses and disease.
Osborne said the industry uses cutting edge technology in nutrients that have the ability to clone plants. Instead of having to start from the seed beginning every time, growers can cut part of the plant off and stick it in an organic solution to grow another plant.
Lets say you have some tomatoes and they are just sweet and juicy, and good you just clone that and youll always have a tomato plant of what you want going all the time, Osborne said.
Along with the general public, Global Organics and Hydroponics caters to the commercial growing industry. Osborne said the store will stock commercial supplies of aggregates and soils from a small bag to dump-truck loads. The business also stakes its claim on being the only Fox Farm and Humboldt Nutrients wholesaler in Montezuma County. Both companies are hugely popular with organic growers, Osborne said.
With food prices up nearly 4 percent last month, the biggest leap in 36 years, according to the Associated Press, Osborne said growers can save money.
The prices keep rising at the grocery store, he said. We want to educate people that they can grow their own organic gardens. Thats one of the reasons I opened the store.
Osborne said they can assist people by custom building a system inside or out. If someone wants to set up an indoor grow space, Osborne said they can design it, construct it, install it and maintain it for them. The business can set up a growing table with a roller stand with a light rail to hang lamps for growing.
You can have it right in your kitchen or living room with a drain underneath and you can be picking your own parsley, lettuce or tomatoes, said Osborne. Every night you can go to your garden and pick that stuff instead of going to the grocery store.
Osborne said indoor gardens can be shut down for the summer and growers can continue outside. In the fall, they go back inside and have fresh produce year-round.
He also added that the store will produce its own vegetables and sell them at the farmers market this summer.
In addition to small indoor setups, Global Organics will build greenhouses from the ground up. Osborne said the business will do the excavation, bring in the soils and aggregates and then construct the greenhouse. They also offer maintenance of the greenhouse and will be available to commercial growers with a 24-hour, on-call service.
If something happens and they need something now, we will open the store and help out our commercial customers that sign up for a commercial account, he said.
According to Osborne, he not only sells the organic products and hydroponic systems; he and his family live it.
Were green people, so we have experience because were organic. Weve been doing this for a long time, he said.
Global Organics and Hydroponics is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Reach Paula Bostrom at paulab@cortezjournal.com.