The Story of KrishnaPonics

Hi! My name’s Ashkuff, and I’m a business anthropologist. What’s that mean, you ask? Pretty much, I explore all sorts of communities, research their wants and needs, then develop new businesses to serve them.

Back in 2011, I conducted some research among Gainesville’s Krishna Conscious, for a cultural showcase called "Krishna Cooking Show. "In the process, I noted that Krishna Consciousness sometimes calls itself the "kitchen religion," and it regards farming as a very noble occupation. They ached to operate their own farm, so they could produce fresher, eco-friendlier, locally-grown veggies for their popular "Krishna Lunch." I couldn’t ignore an opportunity this cool, so I started drafting a business proposal.

During the summer of 2012, Krishna House’s spiritual leaders agreed to finance research and development for a new project: "KrishnaPonics." Over the following months, KrishnaPonics R&D used NFT hydroponics to grow cratefulls of cold weather vegetables, during Florida’s sweltering summertime, all the while conserving 90% more fresh water (a quickly disappearing natural resource) than traditional farms!

Most recently, Krishna House generously agreed to finance the commercial-scale development of KrishnaPonics. We’ve also made friends with two other communities: Vibrant Community Development, and Citizen’s Co-Op. Together, we’re turning otherwise lifeless rooftops into productive and eco-friendly farmlands — right in downtown Gainesville!

What do you think about rooftop farming and hydroponics? Good ideas, or bad? How important do you think it is to conserve fresh water and other natural resources? Are you an aspiring anthropologist, gardener, or business person? Have any questions? Of course, any other comments are welcome, too. We put a lot of thought into this project, and we sure do love it when people leave comments. Even short, stupid ones. So be awesome, and click here to say something. No registration nor email required. Yay, free speech!

ONLY 19 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AWESOME ENOUGH TO COMMENT. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!

Damodar says:

Hey Ashkuff,
I’m not sure if you remember me, but we got the chance to speak a lot while you were doing your film project at the Krishna house. I also received your first harvest of veggies from the Krishnaponics project on behalf of Kalakantha. What happened with the project? Is it going on, or did you find another client?

Ashkuff says:

Hey, Damodar! KrishnaPonics is still on and coming along, albeit a little slower than hoped. I’ve had to do a lot of “hurry up and waiting” lately.

Damodar says:

Hey Ashkuff! I’m glad to hear that. I think this is a goldmine idea. And although at present people may not recognize it, in time it will become apparent that home grown-food is a more valuable asset than digital 0s and 1s, paper, plastic or even metal. It just tastes better and makes life simpler.
I would like to learn more about this project, are you still around Gainesville?

Piesmiter says:

I don’t want to answer for our esteemed leader, but I can confirm that he is in fact still in Gainesville. I’ll get in touch with him in RL and see if he can send you the info on the project.

Ashkuff says:

This is, in fact, correct. Sorry for the delayed response. Hacker took down m’blog, and I’ve been tied up with damage control.

Moowa says:

I think your idea is great, not only because of the trend towards eco-farming in the West but its ideas like these that could help with farming in countries in Zambia (Southern Africa) where I am from. With climate change, subsistence farmers are at the mercy of unpredictable weather patterns and these farming methodologies could come in handy in getting people to farm more productively and move from subsistence farming to more commercially based farming.
Great blog and great discussion

Ashkuff says:

Thanks, Moowa! Glad to hear from an African on this, because expanding into Africa’s one of our long-term goals!

Genko (Ken) Erickson says:

Seems the local Krishna folks are quite ecumenical, as well as interested in low-impact farming. Up at our Zen center, at 5,600 feet, its so bloody cold, and so many critters that want to burrow their way in, under, around or through any barriers to their growing lunch, that we’ve almost given up on gardening. We long for the solitude of a varmint-free rooftop. Aside from a concrete-lined greenhouse, do your Krishna friends have any anti-bunny/groundsquirrel/bird suggestions for garden growing? -Genko

Ashkuff says:

One of the things I love about hosting a blog, is the fact that people write me from mountaintop Zen temples. We conducted KrishnaPonics R&D on traditional farmland, rather than a rooftop, so we learned a little about the critter problem. We solved it by building a nylon-screen tent over our veggies, but that was for a fairly small system. Not sure how you could scale that up.

Question, though: at freezing altitudes like 5,600′, are Sasquatch a problem? (smirks)

Nevada says:

We’re very interested in learning more about hydroponics. And, yes I’m very conscious of the need to conserve FL’s freshwater. My #1 pet peeve is sod and the water it requires to have a lush green lawn. I personally think all lawns in FL should be xeriscaped. Especially since fertilizers are so very detrimental to FL’s natural springs. But, that’s another topic.

I don’t mind the water my veggie garden requires (recently not much due to the return of normal rains). I’m interested in whether ground level hydroponics experiences more, same, or less pests. That’s what causes our garden most damage, even with some pesticide use. Also, we have had success growing lettuce (in ground not hydroponics) even in summer, but it did need partial shade especially hottest part of day. We live in the interior central part of FL.

Ashkuff says:

OM MAN DON’T GET ME STARTED ABOUT SOD. It pains me to think that our nations #1 most popular cultigen is NUTRITIONALLY WORTHLESS. (Laughs Out Loud) If we replaced all our sod with something edible, we could give world hunger a serious black eye.

Oh, wow! You soil cultured lettuce during Florida’s summer time? You must have a pretty green thumb, Nevada. Thanks for sharing!

Piesmiter says:

I like how you’re doing Blue Steel next to the plants in the photo. Very Zoolander.

I think that at first it seems like an odd and not-very-good idea, but once you go through everything and realize what it actually entails it’s amazing. It’s not that much more technically difficult than farming or managing a patch of vegetables – if you’re putting enough effort into a working garden. If you just stick shit in dirt and leave it – yeah, this is way more difficult. But if you do it like the actual professional farmers do it then it’s really comparable.

And the water conservation possibilities are astonishing. I don’t know who thinks we’re not in a water shortage, but I’ve been learning water conservation for about 18 years and I can tell you we’re fucked if we don’t do something pretty goddamn amazing.

Also, I’ve seen some eco-friendly projects to get toxins of out industrial smoke by passing the smoke through some kind of bacteria – with the bacteria mounted in frames set over the smokestacks. It’s such a cool possibility I don’t know why nobody’s done it before.

Ashkuff says:

[Looks offended.] That is NOT Blue Steel! It’s Le Tigre! Lol.

[Nods affirmatively.] Yeah, I agree that it’s not an obviously stellar idea, from a mainstream perspective. Of course, that’s something anthropologists excel at, exploring other perspectives.

Hey, that bacteria project sounds interesting! Links?

Kathy says:

Hi, Ashkuff! I work at the co-op. We’re all pretty excited about this project. Can you tell us anything about the growing medium and nutrient you use? and how in the world do you grow lettuce in Florida in the summer time?

Ashkuff says:

Glad to hear you guys are excited!

We’ll be germinating the seed in cotton, which offers better sprout ratios than dirt itself, but remains organic as it gets. After they mature a little, the plants’ roots will spend most of their time in a gentle stream of nutrient-rich water, much like the exposed roots you see in some river ecosystems.

Currently, we’re using lab-distilled nutrients, but we have plans to experiment with all-organic fertilizers.

As for keeping the lettuce alive in Florida’s heat? Data from KrishnaPonics R&D suggests that the trick is keeping the roots cool and using a strong NFT current. More like a stream, than a film. Yet, more research is required.

Ashley says:

Im so impressed and proud!! It’s all falling into place!

Ashkuff says:

[beams proudly]

.oats says:

So… you’re a farmer with nice hair?

Ashkuff says:

(Laughs Out Loud) Not quite. Although we’ll be growing plants, I won’t be doing enough farming to call myself a “farmer.” I plan to let subcontractors do most of the farming. As a business anthropologist, I’ve merely identified the need, developed a business around it, and plan to move on. In this case, the community needed a farm. Next case, who knows?

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