DOCSLIB.ORG

About Grotech

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
About Grotech ABOUT GROTECH As a mechanical engineer frustrated with traditional gardening methods, Brian Graffius knew there had to be a better way to sustain a home garden and grow his own food. Graffius began to test various techniques from raised beds and square-foot gardening to aquaponics, and found that each method held inherent benefits and drawbacks. He then turned to container gardening as an “easy” option, but the southern heat turned an enjoyable pastime into a water-hauling drudgery and he set out to find a better way. Decades of engineering expertise led Graffius to the innovative GroBucket design, turning standard buckets into portable self-watering container gardens, which provides plants with a gallon water reservoir for wicking along with an air gap for healthy root growth and root-rot protection. The device aligns with the drain hole, so one can never overwater and the complementary level indicator and funnel ensures optimal moisture and guards against debris and mosquitoes. Graffius soon tailored the sub-irrigated planter design to incorporate a hanging planter and the GroFern was born, followed by the GroBuddy, allowing the self-watering feature to be added into outside decorative pots and inside house planters. The GroBag, which merges optimal root aeration with this innovative self-watering design is a game-changer for grow bag gardeners. Within three years, Graffius had solved everyday gardening issues by inventing an entire family of patented self-watering garden products: GroTech Garden Products. Brian’s gardening expertise, soil and technique knowledge, has dubbed him as the “GroTech Garden Guy.” To Graffius, the sky is the limit when it comes to providing solutions to gardening problems. If he can’t find an answer, he invents one. American Made and Food Safe Being a Clemson University alumni and U.S. Airforce Veteran, it was important to Graffius to support the America economy and workforce. While developing GroTech’s manufacturing pipeline, he intentionally set out to source supplies within the United States and dug deep to find cost-effective solutions while staying true to American-made, eliminating foreign partners. GroTech Garden Products are designed, sourced and manufactured within the United States and use only recyclable plastics and food-safe materials. WHY GroTech? GroTech Garden Products are for the experienced gardener, the beginner grower, and even those without a green thumb. Each GroTech product provides a solution for successful growing of any plant, fruit and vegetable with minimal effort and no hassle in even the smallest of spaces, like balconies, decks, and by sunny windows. LEARN MORE For more information, media inquiries or to book Brian for a speaking engagement or interview about gardening, engineering, and entrepreneurship, please contact Carrie Runnals, Business Manager, at [email protected] or 888-EZ2-GROW. You can purchase GroTech Garden Products on Amazon and www.GroTechGarden.com. @GroTechGarden GroTech Garden Products @grotechgarden .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Raised Bed Gardening Guide Advantages of Raised Bed Gardening
    RAISED BED GARDENING GUIDE ADVANTAGES OF RAISED BED GARDENING Raised Bed Gardening is an organic growing method which allows you to grow a larger, more plentiful harvest with less cost, in less space, using less water and seeds, and less work than traditional gardens. • Growing your own garden helps families improve their health through better nutrition. • With Raised Garden Beds, plant placement is done differently than in traditional row gardens, allowing you to grow five times as many crops as traditional gardens. • Raised Garden Beds use 20% of the space of single-row gardens. They can be located closer to the house where they will get more attention and care, resulting in a better, easy to manage garden and a more usable harvest. • Because your gardening space is more compact and productive, Raised Garden Beds reduce water usage significantly as you only water the productive area of your garden and not weeds or empty soil. • Raised Garden Beds use specially formulated soil which does not require tillers to break it up, added fertilizers, or weed killers. • The special soil used in Raised Garden Beds is not dug from your existing soil which means it does not contain weed seeds. The soil is not as compact which means if weeds seeds blow in, they are easily removed. SETTING UP YOUR GARDEN WHAT DO I NEED? 1. Lifetime Raised Garden Beds 2. Soil Mix 3. Weed Barrier 4. Seeds or Starts SOIL MIX: VERMICULITE Vermiculite is used to retain moisture in soil. The more coarse the vermiculite the better. PEAT MOSS Peat moss makes the soil lighter, more loose and helps with water retention.
    [Show full text]
  • How to Build a Square Foot Garden
    Fact Sheet Horticulture - 009 How to Build a Square Foot Garden Thralls, Edmund L., Extension Faculty, Urban Horticulture Tools: Drill (electric or cordless with charged battery) Assorted drill bits Screwdriver bit appropriate for the screws being used The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Materials: Pressure treated lumber vs. conventional lumber: Pressure treated lumber manufactured since 2004 no longer use a form of arsenic to protect the lumber from insects. It is significantly less expensive than most other lumber available at the “Big Box” stores. If you wish to stain or paint treated lumber, you may have to wait up to six months for it to dry enough to stain or paint. Use care when sawing pressure treated lumber; wear an appropriate respirator and throw away sawdust and left over scraps in the trash. Do not try to recycle pressure treated lumber in a compost bin. Conventional lumber has either natural resistance to pests and fungus (redwood, cedar and cypress) or no resistance to pests and fungus (pine, oak, and poplar). Staining and painting may be necessary for the wood to last more than a couple of years as a garden bed.
    [Show full text]
  • Home Vegetable Gardening in Washington
    Home Vegetable Gardening in Washington WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION • EM057E This manual is part of the WSU Extension Home Garden Series. Home Vegetable Gardening in Washington Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................1 Vegetable Garden Considerations ..................................................................................................1 Site-Specific Growing Conditions .............................................................................................1 Crop Selection .........................................................................................................................3 Tools and Equipment .....................................................................................................................6 Vegetable Planting .........................................................................................................................7 Seeds .......................................................................................................................................7 Transplants .............................................................................................................................10 Planting Arrangements ................................................................................................................14 Row Planting ..........................................................................................................................14
    [Show full text]
  • Spring 2019 Newsletter
    ONE SQUARE FOOT AT A TIME Newsletter of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation Spring 2019 LETTER FROM THE FOUNDATION SAVE THE DATE! Happy Spring! World Square It’s a Square Foot Gardener’s Foot Gardening favorite season! Time to get out there and grow, grow, grow! Day We’re planting salad greens and Sunday, other cool-weather vegetables while we look ahead to the ways we want to use our space this summer. (We know it seems like summer is far off, but July 21, before you know it, we’ll be swapping kale for eggplants and heating up 2019 the grill for stuffed peppers.) To that end, this newsletter is a mixture of Square Foot Gardening techniques, spring ideas, and summer planning. A 24-hour celebration of Square Foot Gardening In March we presented a webinar with PlantPure communities to help people • Photo contest get started with Square Foot Gardening. Click here to watch the webinar. • Square Foot Gardening tips • Awards, honors, and more! This winter we sent the first donation to the Semper Fi Fund with proceeds from sales of the Elevated Square Foot Gardening beds from our approved “Like” us on Facebook so vendor, Brian Fuder of Square Foot Gardening for the Red River Valley. If you don’t miss a thing. you’re looking for a great Mother’s or Father’s Day gift, there’s one for you! Our Certified Instructors around the world are busy giving classes, teaching workshops, and helping new Square Foot Gardeners get started. Make sure to visit our website for a list of upcoming events.
    [Show full text]
  • BEGINNER SQAURE FOOT Garden Plans 3 FREE PLANS to HELP YOU PLANT the PERFECT GARDEN Includes: 3 Different Sizes, Companion Planting & Helpful Tips
    BEGINNER SQAURE FOOT garden plans 3 FREE PLANS TO HELP YOU PLANT THE PERFECT GARDEN includes: 3 different sizes, companion planting & helpful tips Abbagail @ Sage & Shepherd Farm Welcome YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY TO A PRODUCTIVE GARDEN I think the hardest part of starting a vegetable garden is knowing what to plant and where to plant it. Certain vegetables grow better beside one another, which is also known as companion planting. For example some plants will just grow healthier, others will keep pests away, some will guard each other from the elements, and some help reduce weeds. Knowing these basics can help save you a lot of mishaps in your first year vegetable gardening. -abbagail WWW.SAGEANDSHEPHERD.COM Square Foot Garden Plans | 2 HOW TO USE THE PLANS Each of these plans is designed for a particular size space. The first is if you just have a small space like a balcony, the second, if you have a medium space like a suburban backyard, and the third if you have a large space, like a few acres. Each plan is based on the square foot gardening method. So for each 1’ x 1’ square space, you plant a different amount of that particular vegetable - it’s different for each veggie. You’ll see a number it the top left of each square. For example, if the number is 1, you plant the one plant in the centre, if the number is 2, you would plant 2 diagonal from each other. See below for the popular number of plants and spacing layout.
    [Show full text]
  • Food and Food Forests for Southwest Gardens a Residential and Small Farm Approach the Problem: Food Insecurity
    Food and Food Forests for Southwest Gardens A Residential and Small Farm Approach The Problem: Food Insecurity Modern and even organic farming practices destroy the soil 18 to 80 times faster than natural soil formation rate (Jeavons 2005). In fact, leading scientists suggest that only 40 to 80 years of top soil remain world wide (UN Report 2000). History told, the fall of every great civilization was often marked by their failure to take care of their soils (Berry 2002) Introduction Literature Review Analysis Design Conclusions The Problem: Food Insecurity Much of the problem is scale. • Groundwater withdrawal exceeds recharge in most cases. • 1.75 billion tons of soil are lost annually to erosion. Much of the problem is cultural-based • Farmers account for less than 1% of our population. • Factory farming and factory food (fast food) has created an obesogenic nation, 75 billion in medical expenditures to taxpayers. • 26% of the edible food wasted at consumer level 7.3 units of (primarily) fossil energy are consumed for every unit of food energy produced. Introduction Literature Review Analysis Design Conclusions Promise of Alternatives Small scale farming and sustainable farming can have the following benefits: • May use 10% of the water consumed in conventional agriculture. • Produce 4 to 8 times more food per area. • Improve soil formation rates 10 times more than in nature. • Mitigates or reverses soil erosion • Focuses on local and diverse economies and food distribution systems. • Reduces energy consumption and fossil fuel use. Introduction Literature Review Analysis Design Conclusions Promise of Alternatives • In 2006, 53% (by value) of Russia’s total agricultural output came from household plots accounting for 2.9% of agricultural land.
    [Show full text]
  • Orchids Under the Oaks • Watch the Valley Gardener for Great Gardening Tips with Host January 20Th & 21St 10 A.M
    JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2007 Serving You Since 1955 981 Alden Lane, Livermore, CA • www.aldenlane.com • (925) 447-0280 Announcements Orchids Under the Oaks • Watch the Valley Gardener for great gardening tips with host January 20th & 21st 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jacquie Williams-Courtright at 7:30 am every day, repeated on Saturday & Sunday at 11 am. Mark your calendars for a Very Special NEW • Livermore-Amador Valley Event happening here at Alden Lane Nursery! Garden Club meets on the first Tuesday of the month. The January 20-21 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 January meeting is on the 9th. p.m. we are hosting an Orchid Show and Ivy Langendorf will talk on a Sale in partnership with Diablo View “Simple Guide to Irrigation” at Orchid Society. Alisal Elementary School, 1454 Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton. We have planned a weekend full of Visitors welcome, please call Bev at orchid workshops, educational exhibits, and 485-7812 for more information. professional orchid vendors will provide a fantastic array of orchids for sale. We will • Mt. Diablo Rose Society meets also feature Brian Petraska (the “orchid the second Wednesday of the month, 7:30 p.m. at the Dublin guy” as seen on Henry’s Garden TV Library, 200 Civic Plaza, Dublin. program) as our “on call” orchid doctor to Call for details 829-4929. answer your orchid questions from 10 to 4, Saturday & Sunday. All events will be held indoors, including the vendor booths. • Save the Date! Bay-Friendly Garden Tour – Saturday, April The excitement continues, as Orchids Under the Oaks will showcase a 29, 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2018 Newsletter
    ONE SQUARE FOOT AT A TIME Newsletter of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation Fall 2018 LETTER FROM THE FOUNDATION COMING SOON! Happy Fall! ANSFG We hope you have had a fruitful harvest this year! There’s still time Third to grow some fall vegetables (or spring, depending on your Edition hemisphere of residence). This newsletter is packed with information about growing cool- weather vegetables. During the summer, our Certified Instructors have been hosting workshops, building Square Foot We’re excited to announce the Gardening beds, teaching kids publication of All New Square at summer camp programs, and Food Gardening, Third Edition, on bringing Square Foot Gardening to November 15. families around the world. For an exciting new initiative, the Square Foot Click here to pre-order Gardening Foundation has partnered with Certified Instructor Brian Fuder to With more than 150 new photos help empower our veterans. Turn to and illustrations, this edition makes page 9 for more details. it easier than ever to achieve nearly foolproof results in virtually This fall, we welcome a new book any situation: 100 percent of the to our shelves, the Third Edition produce; 20 percent of the water; of All New Square Foot Gardening. 5 percent of the work. We hope it inspires an entire new generation of Square Foot You’ll love the new info inside, Gardeners. You’ll find a preview on including: pages 7 and 8. • Creating trellises and archways It’s always fun to connect and see • Substituting with new materials what you’re growing. Please join us on • Adding automatic watering systems Facebook and tag us on Instagram.
    [Show full text]
  • The Homegrown Handbook
    The Homegrown Handbook This Handbook Belongs to: ________________________________________________ Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens One Schenley Park | Pittsburgh PA 15213 phipps.conservatory.org/homegrown Table of Contents 1. Raised Beds 2 Why Raised Beds 5. Dealing with Pests and 23 Raised Bed Construction Diseases Go Organic 2. Square Foot Gardening 5 Beneficial Insects Making a Grid Common Pests and diseases Spacing Guidelines Animal Pests Planning Your Garden 6. Composting 41 3. Planting 11 How and What to Compost Handling and Planting Seedlings Purchasing Compost Direct Sowing Seeds Using Compost Planting Calendar Tomato Maintenance 7. Harvesting and Storing 44 Fresh Produce 4. Garden Care 17 Tips for Harvesting Watering Storage Information Managing Weeds Harvest and Storage Chart Identifying weeds Mulching 8. Resources 47 Preparing for Winter Phipps Resources Garden Resources 9. Glossary 50 1 Raised Beds Why Raised Beds? Using raised beds is a great way to harden and has many advantages, perhaps the biggest being their ability to correct soil. Good soil is essential for a successful garden, especially in the city where soil compaction and contamination are often issues. Raised beds allow you to bring in clean soil so you know exactly what you’re growing in. The many benefits of raised beds include: Correct compacted soil Added compost and nutrients Easier weed control Good drainage Easy to manage and reach Neat and tidy appearance Warmer soil = longer growing season Lead in Urban Soil Unfortunately, soil in urban environments is often contaminated with pollutants that make it unsafe for growing food. Lead and other heavy metals could have made their way into the soil from chipped lead paint, air pollution from vehicles, or disposal of scrap materials like lead pipes, roof flashing and lead-acid batteries.
    [Show full text]
  • Gardening – a Learning Guide on Sustainable Food Production at Home
    Published 2014. Lead author Natalie Gardening – a learning guide on Hormann, based on material developed for previous editions by sustainable food production at home Holger Kahl and Rhys Taylor © Sustainable Living Education Trust This section of the Sustainable Living learning guides talks about ways to grow vegetables in your own backyard. Growing food is for many people the first step on the journey towards a more sustainable lifestyle and it is a very rewarding and exciting activity with many benefits. When working in a learning or study group, we suggest you choose beforehand which activities you would like to try, from the options here (each of the eight is highlighted in blue). Some require more preparation than others and it will be up to the group’s host or leader to decide how much work to put in beforehand, collecting materials. Those activities that you don’t want to try as a group can be read out or left Satisfying summer garden harvest. for use by individuals back at home. Please note the minimum times indicated next to the activities – as you won’t be able to do them all in 2 hours! Many groups look at the gardening topic over two sessions, perhaps including a garden visit, so we recommend that and have produced the notes in two parts. Why grow food? Before launching into any activity, it is important to become clear about why it Further reading web-links: may be a good idea to grow some food in your backyard. Activity 1- To grow or not to grow – 10 min Health benefits of gardening.
    [Show full text]
  • Living with River Birch 1. 2
    An E-mail Gardening Newsletter from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer, Albany and Schenectady Counties January February 2020 Volume 15, Number 1 Root Concerns Notes from the underground Living With River Birch A few years ago, I had the opportunity to buy river birch trees. The price was right. They were left- overs from a plant sale fund raiser. The four clumps I bought came home in the back of a short bed pickup. Today they are about 30 feet tall after 10 years growth. The trees are planted in clay soil along the edge of a wet- land and a small stream. The common name is river birch, but it also referred to as water birch as the tree thrives in stream side and swampy environments. River Birch (Betula nigra) is found from the Southeast north to New England and west to Minnesota and east Texas in USDA Hardiness Zones 4 through 9 (Photo 1). It is popular as a landscape tree. In addition to fast growth it is 1. noted for the exfoliating bark, graceful shape, shimmering leaves and disease resistance. Similar to maple trees, the river birch produces enough sap in early spring to be used to produce a sugary syrup. It was used for this purpose by Na- Cornell Cooperative Extension provides tive Americans. Because of this, river birch should be pruned in late sum- equal program and mer or fall rather than late winter or spring. employment opportu- nities. Please contact Cornell Cooperative River birch is fast growing. It has few Extension if you have special needs.
    [Show full text]
  • Square Foot Gardening for City of Carver Community Gardens
    Square Foot Gardening For City of Carver Community Gardens 1 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Agenda ▪ What is square foot gardening (SFG) ▪ Plan and layout your garden ▪ Plant Support Systems ▪ Maintaining your SFG ▪ Pest Mgmt strategies for SFG ▪ Harvesting and cleaning up your beds ▪ Q&A 2 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. What is square foot gardening? • 1’ x 1’ growing grid – plant in squares • Space efficient – plant densely, grow shallowly • Grow vertically • Mel’s mix not garden soil • No fertilization need • Limited seeds – rotate crops Photo credit: All New Square Foot Gardening 3 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Planning and Layout - grid Photo credit :Squarefootgardening.org; : projectgrows.org 4 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Planning & Layout - crops • Mapping your squares • Which vegetables in which square • How many vegetables in 1 square • All New Square Foot Gardening, 3rd edition by Mel Bartholomew Photo credit: vegetable-source-online.com 5 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Planning & Layout - crops Plants Per Square 1 cabbage 4 bok choy 8 beans 16 scallions 1 broccoli 4 lettuce 9 spinach 16 carrots 1 cauliflower 4 swiss chard 9 turnips 16 beets 1 brussels sprout 4 celery 16 radishes 1 melon/2 squares 1 pepper 4 corn 16 chives 1 squash/2 squares 4 parsnips 8 sugar snap peas 16 onions 1 tomato/4 squares 6 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. Plant Support Systems Photo credit: Epicgardening.com : dengarden.com 7 © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota.
    [Show full text]