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."