Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Apr 08/02) - No matter what the weather outside, inside Greg Nissen's upstairs storage room it's a subtropical hydroponic heaven.

Talk about hydroponics and most people think marijuana. Nissen has heard all the jokes before. "Everybody asks me -- they say, 'What kind of pot are you growing?'" He doesn't mind. A person doesn't need weed to chill out here.

In the plant room, nutrient solution trickles like a bubbling brook, a fan hooked to an outside wall supplies the gentle breeze, and plant lights radiate electric sunshine from the ceiling. On the computer stereo, there's classical music playing.

"It's so relaxing to come in here after work," says Nissen. "It takes your mind off everything. I like puttering around with it."

And there's plenty to putter with -- pH to monitor, temperatures to measure and special solutions to mix for leaf growth, flowering or fruiting. It's more complicated than growing your average potted plant, but the results are so much more edible.

"You can't really depend on the weather up here to stay how you want it, but if you've got control of the room, you've got control of the weather," Nissen explains.

A carpenter by day, Nissen got into hydroponics when he was looking for better lights for his potted plants. "I always wanted to get more light, more light and finally I said, 'I'll just get a hydroponic lamp to help my plants out.' And then I saw the hydroponic system they had with it, so I thought I'll get a hydroponic system!"

To start up, Nissen paid about $2,500 for lights, chemicals and two potting systems at a store in Whitehorse. He estimates he spends about $48 a month for electricity to run the lamps, pumps and fan -- not bad if you consider the price of quality fresh produce in town.

Nissen's bumper crop of sweet basil last fall was large enough to supply his family as well as most

of his friends.

The bell peppers proved to be more of a challenge to grow. After a year of producing big leaves, the plants just weren't fruiting. Nissen consulted other hobbyists on the Internet and he finally started getting peppers about two weeks ago. He figures he's probably picked about 80 peppers so far.

The next project? Strawberries. If all goes well, Nissen expects to be berry picking at the end of April, just as spring begins in the Delta.