Emporia ? Eight miles north of here, in a greenhouse at TJ Farms, six different kinds of lettuce are growing without being planted.

Growing lettuce hydroponically, which means without soil, is not a new science, but it is new to Kansas.

In December, Tony and Janell May decided to take a chance to learn the ways of growing hydroponic lettuce.

“I had just retired from the aviation business, and we bought this farm,” Tony said. “But we only had 45 acres, so we started thinking of how we could make a living off just 45 acres.”

After they discovered hydroponics while searching on the Internet, Tony May decided to take a market survey. He had some hydroponic lettuce shipped to him overnight and took the sample to local grocers to see whether they were interested in the product. After a positive response, the Mays decided to give it a try.

“We decided that if we were going to do it we needed to educate ourselves, so we went to Seville, Ohio, and went through a three-day training seminar,” Tony May said. “We got to learn the whole process and then we spent one day in a greenhouse, actually working in the environment, so we got to see if it was something we actually wanted to do for a living.”

After the seminar, put on by Crop King, the Mays returned home and put their idea into motion. They purchased a 146-by-30-foot greenhouse and began groundwork in December.

“Well, the good Lord gave us the ability, and Lyon County State Bank gave us the loan,” Tony said.

They hope to be up to maximum production, which is 6,200 plants by the end of this month.

Tony and Janell May harvest lettuce at their ranch, TJ Farms, north of Emporia. The couple recently started their hydroponic lettuce business to add to their cattle income.

“I did 95 percent of the work by myself. I had some help pouring the concrete and putting up the siding, but it’s taken me about six months to get it built and going,” Tony said.

But how does hydroponics work? The Mays use the nutrient film technique, which was developed in the late 1960s. With this system, a thin film of nutrient solution flows through plastic channels, which contain the plant roots. Above the channels are the heads of lettuce. The roots of the lettuce then develop both in and above the shallow stream of nutrient solution allowing the lettuce to grow without actually being planted.

Pesticide-free

“I get self-satisfaction out of knowing that we’re supplying people with good, clean, healthy food that hasn’t been affected by bugs or pesticides,” Tony said. “And it’s something that you couldn’t get around here before.”

The Mays say it’s the nutrients that make the lettuce taste so good, and since the lettuce is still alive when it’s picked, as opposed to regular lettuce, which is cut from the root before it’s sold, customers are able to get more out of the hydroponic lettuce. But that’s also what makes the process complicated.

Tech-savvy farming

The finished produce of hydroponic lettuce grown at TJ Farms is kept in its own miniature

To properly grow hydroponic lettuce you must take into account the amount and type of nutrients needed, the temperature needed for the lettuce to grow and the pH levels in the water, but thanks to technology the Mays don’t have to worry about that.

“The computer runs everything. There are six levels of heating and cooling in the greenhouse and four levels of humidity control,” Tony May said. “But the computer just knows what to turn on and what to turn off. It just does everything all on its own.”

And because of the accelerated growth of hydroponic lettuce, the Mays say, if everything goes smoothly, they could be picking lettuce every day.

“We’ve had some problems with humidity control because of all the rain, but that really hasn’t hurt the lettuce,” Tony May said. “Our biggest problem is that the days are too short. We don’t have enough adequate help to keep up a picking schedule.”

Blossoming business

That problem will soon be remedied by hiring a work-study student from Emporia State University.

Although they think they are understaffed, things look good for the Mays, who are already supplying their lettuce all over Kansas.

“I had to buy a refrigerated truck so that I could take some up to Kansas City once a week,” Tony said. “I’m not sure where it all goes, but I know it’s in all the Countrymarts, some Food-4-Less stores and Johnny’s Applemart.”

The Mays hope to expand, but for now they will work on perfecting their new crop.

“The work environment is just great,” Tony May said. “It beats traveling around the world, repairing planes. I kind of feel like I jumped out of the fast lane into the dead slow lane, but I enjoy every bit of it.”