Business Monday: Hydroponic Hut inspires growing produce at affordable costs

After Allyson Blackard graduated from the Hawaiʻi Community College agricultural program in May of 2023, she was ready to use her new skills to make a difference in the community.

Along with her husband Allen Blackard, she began the Hydroponic Hut next to their house in ʻĀinaloa.

The business, inspired by her professor, Lew Nakamura, is located at 16-2154 Rainbow Drive, where produce is grown under a tent with open air on the sides and three long tables.

“While I was in the agriculture program, we just saw prices going up and up, and now lettuce at the grocery store is double what it was three years ago,” Allyson Blackard said. “After I graduated, Lew asked me, ‘What are you going to do now? How are you going to tackle food insecurity?’ He’s been an early supporter of our mission with hydroponics and taught me everything I know.”

At the Hydroponic Hut, people can learn about, grow and access fresh produce affordably. And every Thursday, residents are invited to pick their own produce, roots and all, for low prices.

The Blackards grow leafy greens such as lettuce, bok choy, kale, mustard greens and watercress, however, they will experiment with other produce and sell vegetable starts when they can.

The Blackards decided to pursue hydroponics — a soil-free method of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution — as a way to safely and economically grow leafy greens.

“I think hydroponics works for this island because we don’t have much soil, and we have the threat of rat lungworm, which is hard to mitigate on leafy greens,” Allen Blackard said. “This is a great way to grow lettuce and other leafy produce safely, high off the ground. You also don’t need electricity. You can do it with a bucket and water.”

Since the Blackards opened the “you pick” farm at the Hyrdoponic Hut, which is a few tents with grow tables located at their home in ʻĀinaloa, they have never raised vegetable prices over $3. Any unsold produce is bagged and shared freely with the community.

Allyson Blackard has also used to offer workshops to aspiring growers on Kratky hydroponics, a simple, off-grid hydroponic method with no pumps, electricity or aerators.

The workshop covers fundamentals: the essentials of successfully bringing a seed to harvest, assembling hydroponic systems, pest and safety management, and understanding nutrient solutions and plant care.

More than 800 people have attend her workshop, with several students starting their own hydroponic huts in Puna, a goal of hers when starting the Hydroponic Hut, Allyson Blackard said.

The other huts are located on 8th and Makuʻu in Hawaiian Paradise Park, in Hawaiian Beaches, and near Kalani Oceanside Retreat Center.

“We are passionate about teaching our community how to grow their own food because we want to empower people to embrace this sustainable, urban method of farming and take control of their food future,” Allyson said. “We’ve been building this movement for nearly two years, and we’re ready to take it to the next level.”

The Blackards have now shifted their focus to building a food movement by offering memberships to growers for $20 a year.

According to their website, members will become a pivotal part of a community where they can connect, troubleshoot challenges, share successes, support one another, and “Grow Hawaiʻi Together.”

“We want to build a community of people who have a desire and share in the vision of a food-secure Hawaiʻi,” Allyson Blackard said. “And we need help to keep us going forward. Membership money will go toward the website, help us with equipment needs, and go into a fund that will be built up for a boomerang grant in the future.”

The boomerang grant will allow the Blackards to provide funding to a grower to build his or her own hydroponic hut, and once the grower sell enough produce to make the money back, it will be refunded to the Blackards to give to another grower.

Members also will have easy access to a central place where they can ask each other questions, participate in online education, sell produce, and learn about other opportunities.

“By focusing on our members, we will support them and equip them before extending our efforts further into the community,” Allyson Blackard said. “We want to uplift food producers in the community and create a good network of people who are dedicated to this food movement we believe in.”

On Saturday, the Blackards hosted a pau hana (time to relax after work) for the students who attended their free workshop funded by the Puna Rising Foundation. The grant funded equipment for attendees to get started on their own hydroponic gardens.

“We very much encourage our students and fellow growers to look for grants, like the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture grant, to help get them started and help them with their endeavors,” Allen said. “These grants are extremely helpful and a great way to make strides in the agricultural sector.”

The Blackards are planning to apply for the $500,000 Kīlauea Recovery Grant through the County of Hawai‘i Disaster Recovery Division to help get hydroponic huts started on properties as well as starting a program through some schools to teach kids how to grow food with hydroponics and how to create a business.

“By starting with the schools, we will enhance the health of our keiki and foster economic sufficiency by teaching them to grow their own nutritious food affordably,” Allyson said.

On Sept. 20, the Blackards will move their “you pick” farm and education area to a bigger space in ʻĀinaloa, which will become a central location for their food movement members.

“We live here because we love it. We serve our community because we believe in it,” Allyson Blackard said. “We are going to start by increasing food options in Puna, then across the island, then to the other islands. That is the goal.”

To learn more about the Hydroponic Hut, visit the website or follow the page on Instagram.