Garden Innovators Cultivate New Niches

Garden innovators cultivate new niches - San Francisco Chronicle
7/21/13 4:04 PM
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Garden innovators cultivate new niches
http://www.sfchronicle.com/homeandgarden/article/Garden-innovators-cultivate-new-niches-4675721.php
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Brant Ward, The Chronicle
The Nourishmat gardening kit: Unroll, drop in the seed balls, water it and watch produce grow. Sophia Markoulakis
July 21, 2013
The new wave of millennial gardeners may be short on time and space, but certainly not on innovation. With startup incubators such as Kickstarter and an infusion of technology and interest in an equitable distribution of healthy food, they're on a mission to alter the way people think about and grow their own food. Phil Weiner and John Gorby are the co-founders of Earth Starter, creator of the Nourishmat Garden System, an all-in-one gardening kit that can be rolled out over a sunny patch of earth.
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The Nourishmat comes with an optional imbedded drip irrigation line that can be connected to a hose, 19 varieties of seasonal seed balls, 82 in all, that correspond with colorcoded graphics and garden stakes. Gardeners unroll the mat over prepared soil or in a raised bed and secure it with the stakes. Every component is American made, including the white polypropylene fabric that was specifically designed for the product. Anyone with a 4-by-6-foot patch of dirt can unroll the fabric, punch out the perforated planting holes with an enriched soil-encased batch of seeds, hook up a hose at the end of the irrigation line, and water and watch the garden grow. Last month, the company's innovation was acknowledged with a Dwell on Design Award for design materials at the 2013 event. Daniel Homsey, manager of San Francisco City Hall's Neighborhood Empowerment Network, recently met with Weiner and Gorby, liked their product, and connected them with some of the city's neighborhood leaders. "Urban agriculture plays a key role in building strong, more connected communities here in San Francisco," says Homsey. The network, in conjunction with Mayor Ed Lee's Office of Civic Innovation, helped facilitate Nourishmat's recent installation at the Please Touch Community Garden across the street from City Hall at 165 Grove St. It is the first of five demonstration gardens around San Francisco, according to Weiner. "Earth Starter is also working with the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp., with the hope that we can continue to build relationships with schools, community centers and government agencies that are focused on food justice," says Weiner.
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The mat can be placed over any 4-by-6-foot patch of ground or a raised bed.
Weiner, 26, grew up in a food desert in Washington, D.C., where his grandparents had tended a garden since World War II. "I was enslaved by my grandmother in the garden for years up until I was too busy running Earth Starter," he says. Such lessons on urban gardening within an inequitable urban landscape continue to fuel the endeavor. At the University of Maryland, where he was studying economics, he met John Gorby, 25, who was studying environmental science and technology, and quickly learned they shared a desire to "build things that mattered," Weiner says. In 2011, they formed Earth Starter and began working on their Nourishmat Garden System. The inspiration for the product came from Gorby's initial vision and Weiner's experience in the university's Farm Management and Sustainable Food Production course.
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Their target customer is the novice gardener with limited access to fresh produce. One of the company's aims is to teach new gardeners about agriculture, nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, according to Weiner. Weiner and Gorby have been working with San Francisco's Tumml, an urban ventures accelerator. They launched a Kickstarter campaign that runs through July 31, hoping to raise funds to cover the production costs to sell the product in Whole Foods. For now, secure a mat, starting at $55, through their Kickstarter campaign. Learn more at http://nourishmat.com.
Phil Weiner talks about Nourishmat with students from Las Americas after-school program in San Francisco.
Surf and turf

Coming off of their popular grow-at-home mushroom kit, Oakland's Back to the Roots cohttp://www.sfchronicle.com/homeandgarden/article/Garden-innovators-cultivate-new-niches-4675721.php Page 5 of 7
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founders Nikhil Arora, 26, and Alejandro Velez, 24, are tackling space and awareness issues with their new aquaponics kit. Aquaponics (a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics) uses up to 90 percent less water and approximately 70 percent less energy than traditional farming methods. Their self-contained ecosystem, named AquaFarm, is a combined self-cleaning 3-gallon fish tank and self-watering and self-fertilizing planting compartment with five individual plant pockets. In a nutshell, the fish's waste fertilizes the plants above, and in turn, the plants clean the water for the fish. Slightly bigger than a bread box, it's sized for a kitchen counter or classroom, making it entertaining and educational for homes and schools. According to Arora, a huge portion of their Kickstarter backers were classroom teachers. Both Arora and Velez visit classrooms to demonstrate the educational merits of the product, such as what it means to upcycle waste. "The AquaFarm goes great with lesson plans on the environment, gardening and symbiotic relationships with nature. We've been blown away at how fast kids get what's going on in the system," says Arora. They've partnered with Whole Foods, Nordstrom and Petco, where the $59.99 kit will be available this fall. Included with the tank, which is manufactured in California, is a Petco coupon redeemable for a free betta fish and organic wheatgrass, basil and lettuce seeds from Seeds of Change. The only critical task is to feed the fish and keep it alive. www.backtotheroots.com/index.php
Rolling greenhouse
Bio-intensive farming from the back of an 18-foot box truck? What better way to spread the word about sustainable gardening than with a mobile greenhouse, fueled with recycled vegetable oil, which traverses the country making appearances at elementary schools, high schools and universities. Started in 2011 by two childhood friends from Iowa, Nick Runkle, 28, and Justin Cutter, 29, the
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Compass Green Project targets not only urban dwellers, but also rural residents whose primary exposure to agriculture is on a commercial scale. Even schools that are lucky enough to have edible schoolyards need support and guidance to sustain them, Cutter notes. Inside the truck are two deep garden beds that are watered via a water tank and rainwater capture system. Cutter, who comes from an education background, conducts lessons inside the truck as well as in the classroom. The truck has already circled the country once, bringing the message about growing your own food to thousands of students nationwide. Home base is San Francisco where, Cutter says, he's working to partner with a couple of nonprofits to expand. "We want to create a fleet of vehicles so we can have a regional presence for a longer-term impact," says Cutter. http://compassgreenproject.org Sophia Markoulakis is a freelance writer. E-mail: home@sfchronicle.com
2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
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