Grow for Money -- proof of concept for commercial hydroponic stevia production

UPDATE: The Silicon Solar water pump is failing. The stevia grew to green walls requiring a power hedge cutter to harvest.

And then the Silicon Solar water pump failed. Without adequate water, the heat of the Los Angeles summer scorched the stevia. Click on the link below to see the problem:

   • Update on Silicon Solar pump for Stev...  

UPDATE: Click on this link to see the quantity of stevia harvested ..

   • Harvesting Hydroponic Stevia  --   po...  

Stevia mass doubled in two months --- see the September update:

   • Urban Stevia Project  ---  September ...  

Stevia sells for $2 a dry ounce. Stevia concentrate starts at $10 per faction of an ounce. Fresh stevia -- delicious in salads and deserts -- is unavailable at any price.

This project shows how stevia could be grown in an urban location.

I assembled this from scrap pipe, a discarded plastic barrel, plumbing fittings, and a $75 solar pump ordered through Amazon.com.

Below the hydroponic project, I also grow plants in composted soil. Whenever nutrient solution drips from the hydroponic system, the dirt plants receive the fertilizer.

This system is not commerical. It is only a proof of concept. Three 8 foot tubes provide enough stevia to replace sugar in the drinks of a few diabetic patients, perhaps two or three families --- not enough to supply a health store or tea/coffee shop.

This diameter of pipe comes in 15 and 20 foot lengths. A commercial system would require a few hundred feet of tubes growing stevia.

However, once assembled, the system and production could be managed by one person.

Other products are also possible. I will soon try lemon grass, which sells for $3 an ounce.