Jerry samples the growing medium
that serves as soil; they do this daily,
and make necessary adjustments.

When is it not perlite to grow tomatoes in dirt? When you can grow them in perlite, of course! Country Crossroads Hydroponics, a greenhouse business operated by Bob and Rita Probst and Bob's brother, Jerry, cranks out some 30 tons of tomatoes a year in their greenhouse near Island Grove, east of Effingham.

Like many "nontraditional" farm ventures, the operation began as part of an effort to produce more income by coming up with a fairly high-value crop that could be worked in addition to the family's 550 acres of corn, beans and wheat, Bob says.

"We wanted something that would mix well with the grains," Bob notes, "and the tomatoes are okay, but there are some times when they conflict a little. For example, spring is the busy season for both grain and tomatoes, but we were looking for an alternative to hog production, which we were also involved in, and the tomatoes did provide that."

Before going out and building a couple of greenhouses, though, the Probsts did a little research, talking to three or four farmers who already had similar operations, and visiting with area grocers to see if they'd be willing to stock the produce.

"The farmers we talked to were satisfied with their operations," Rita notes, "but the grocers were noncommittal. They said they'd consider stocking our tomatoes if they were good, but they wouldn't commit to buying a certain amount of them."

They had been in contact with a greenhouse firm, which had offered some advice, rather than real marketing help. "We relied on them quite a bit." Bob says, "and they advised us about places to try to sell, and things like that. They were helpful in getting started."

•Bob Probst, right, shows dry perlite to Ernest Weber, manager of Norris Electric Cooperative, as Rita Probst looks on.

24 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING FEBRUARY 1996

	• Top: From left: Rita, Bob and Jerry Probst proudly display a box of the finished product. • Left: Rita demonstrates the length of a mature plant.

They decided to build two greenhouses, both 128 feet long. The biggest one had room for 16 rows, and the the other was set up for 10. The tomatoes are grown in long plastic bags, on a concrete floor. Each bag is 115 feet long and is home to some 87 plants. About a foot wide and half as deep, the bags are filled with perlite, a material that mostly gives the roots a place to grow in and allows the nutrients to flow.

"We start seedlings in about a cubic inch of material," Jerry says, "and then we move it to a little bigger piece of growing medium later on. Then we plant that in a hole in the plastic bag."

From then on, it's a matter of providing sunlight and nutrients to the plants and watching them grow—at least for a while. The nutrient solution they feed the plants is made up of water mixed with calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, monopotassium phosphate, and several other nutrients. All this is fed to the plants through a complex network of spaghetti-like tubing that wends its way in and out of the plastic bags.

"We test the mixture in the bags daily," Jerry says, "and we use sulfuric acid to keep the pH balance where we want it. We check pH and electrical conductivity. The conductivity tells us the amount of salts in the solution. In all, we use about 50,000 gallons of water a month, and more if it's particularly hot. We were glad when E J Water went into operation, because although we had a water supply of our own, it would have been so expensive to condition the water that it would have been prohibitive."

When the plants grow to the blossom stage, the Probsts rent boxes of bumblebees, which pollinate the plants. "We have a hand pollinator too," Rita says, "and if it weren't for the bees, we'd have to spend about an hour and a half a day at that chore. Needless to say, we're glad to have them."

As the tomatoes grow and ripen, they're monitored carefully and picking begins as soon as they're about half ripe. "If you wait any longer than that to pick them," Bob says, "it stresses the plants."

•Each vine is planted in a small hole cut into the long growing medium bags.

When the first crop came in, it was time to have a shot at marketing the tomatoes, and the Probsts went to the IGA store in Effingham and Fiever's Produce in Newton. Both were willing to give the tomatoes a try, and they moved well. "We tried a store in Mattoon, too," Bob says, "but they already had a supplier. When we went back the second year, they'd lost that source, and were glad to see us. We've found them to be a good market. We also have a wholesaler who comes over here from St. Louis."

The operation is set up with some 2,300 plants, all told, and each plant is expected to provide at least 25 pounds of tomatoes. "We hope to do better than that," Bob says, "and 27 to 30 pounds is more like what we're shooting for. If we do our job right, there'll be more than 25 pounds per plant.

"When the season's over and we close down our picking and packing operation," we should have shipped some 60,000 pounds of tomatoes," he adds.

With a ready market and good prices, growing and selling 30 tons of tomatoes is not a bad way to diversify a farming operation!

FEBRUARY 1996 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 25