Pubdate: Tue, 27 May 2003
Source: Business In Vancouver (CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 BIV Publications Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.biv.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2458
Author: Phil Melnychuk

HOME HYDROPONICS DRIVES EXPANDING EMPIRE

Jim Jesson has latched on to gardening trend with Maximum Yield magazine 
and convention business

A Nanaimo publisher and entrepreneur is cultivating a fruitful niche in the 
hydroponics business.

Jim Jesson has watched his free-distribution magazine Maximum Yield grow 
from about 5,000 copies in 1998 to an 80,000-circulation publication in 
three languages, with distribution in Canada, the U.S., Australia, England 
and Spain.

And he continues to expand his convention business. A recent trade show at 
the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre drew 68 exhibitors and 
between 4,000 and 5,000 people.

Maximum Yield comes out every two months and serves the hydroponics 
industry. Its current online issue features topics with titles such as 
Plant Physiology and the Growth Process.

Still, not all plant sectors are covered.

"There is nothing to do with drugs in Maximum Yield, nor will there ever 
be," said Jesson.

But that doesn't mean people in the marijuana business don't read it.

"Don't get me wrong, anybody can read the magazine," he noted.

Confusion surrounding marijuana growing and legitimate hydroponics comes up 
so regularly, Jesson has become used to it.

The magazine is available at greenhouse and garden supply stores around the 
Lower Mainland, one of which is Solar Greenhouse and Garden Supply in Burnaby.

"It's a really good book. It puts out a lot of information," said store 
manager Scott Hammond.

Hammond said recreational gardeners buy hydroponic equipment to grow 
orchids and for their back yard greenhouses. He added 10 per cent of 
Solar's customers are hydroponic growers, and noted table top or sundeck 
systems used for growing a herb garden are particularly popular.

Garden columnist Roy Jonsson said there is a growing trend among 
recreational gardeners towards hydroponics.

"With the increasing incidence of tomato blight, it's almost impossible now 
to grow tomatoes in a garden. That means hydroponic growing makes more 
sense," he said.

"I think there's a trend towards this. People are becoming more aware of it."

Though Jesson wouldn't reveal numbers, ad revenue for the four-employee 
company comes from international and national manufacturers of hydroponic 
equipment, fertilizer companies and lighting companies.

Jesson has formerly published Bluegrass Canada, Acoustic Musician and 
Dealer's Best, a car publication in the B.C. Interior. He's recently 
launched the first issue of Canadian Curling Rocks! in Western Canada. 
Jesson said when he's starting a publication, he looks for areas that are 
not being served or are underserved by publications. He's found 
free-distribution publications work best for him.

In the meantime, another company co-owned by Jesson called Indoor Gardening 
and Hydroponics Expo recently held its trade show at the Vancouver 
Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It's one of three Indoor Gardening and Hydroponics shows this year with 
others planned in Toronto and San Francisco. In 2004, Jesson plans to add 
two more -- one in the U.K. and another in Australia -- for a total of five 
shows.

Those shows also help generate magazine advertising through the networking 
that takes place.

Jesson said the advent of desktop publishing and digital technology has 
been a boon for the publishing industry because of the savings in 
production costs. "It's just amazing," he said. "The biggest saving ever in 
terms of time and money."

For Vancouver police vice drug section commander Insp. Kash Heed, the link 
between hydroponics stores and the growing marijuana trade is more than 
co-incidental.

Heed said that in 1991 there were four hydroponic stores in the Greater 
Vancouver area.

In 2003, that number had risen to about 34.

In the meantime, the number of marijuana grow-ops busted in Vancouver city 
climbed from 23 in 1991 to 609 a decade later.

"If you look at the increase in the [number] of people growing tomatoes, it 
would not support this industry."

But Heed noted the hydroponics stores aren't illegal. And he added 
operators of such stores can not all be labelled as suppliers of the 
marijuana industry. "It's very difficult for the proprietor to actually 
determine if the purchaser is using this equipment for legitimate or 
illegitimate purposes," he said. "Whether the owners are operating in a 
responsible manner is another question."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart