Now anyone can farm, anywhere
Two local inventors made it to the Inventions Summit finals in Cape Town for their pop-up-and-grow hydroponic gardens.
Have you heard of growing a garden without soil?
The ancient, and somewhat mythical hanging gardens of Babylon are an example of this genius agricultural method called hydroponics.
‘Hydro’ means water and ‘ponic’ means labour. These soil-less gardens are the urban solution to wanting to grow your own vegetables in smaller spaces. Two local inventors, Kobus Venter and Marius Steyn have designed their own hydroponic gardens.
“Well, the concept of hydroponic gardens is very old. But we found a way to make it easy to start growing your own veggies instantly,” Kobus explained.
Where normal gardens use water, soil and sun, hydroponic gardens only need water and nutrients. It is an easy way to grow gardens in places where it normally would not be possible, such as in apartments and townhouses. Hydroponic plants grow twice as fast and enables you to use only what you need by plucking a lettuce leaf, instead of buying an entire lettuce head.
“A lot of people live in the city, but still want to grow their own fresh fruits and vegetables. This is the ultimate solution.”
Kobus, who grew up on a farm, never knew what it was like to have limited soil to your disposal. By the end of last year Kobus, a web designer and Marius, a qualified plumber, put their heads together and came up with a solution. They even made it to the annual Innovation Summit in Cape Town’s semi-finals where they exhibited their invention, among 19 others, to potential investors at the Green Point Stadium.
“Hydroponic gardens are a closed system where you can control the temperature to get the results you want.”
Kobus said you need not be a professional farmer to maintain your own hydroponic garden, because he and Marius were able to come up with the idea from home.
“You only add water and soluble food once a week.”
Kobus and Marius, who also have been friends for 20 years, started their own company called Vertical Farming where they aim to change the world – one water-based garden at a time.
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