Agritecture & Blue Planet Consulting Announce New Product
We are delighted to announce the launch of the +Farm, a DIY open-source hydroponic vertical farming unit. The new version of the +farm website will be released on Friday, June 30th.
We invite you to join a special live-launch webinar at 4PM EST on the 30th. During the webinar, we will introduce the new website’s educational and shopping experience + we will have a live Q&A in front of a +Farm. You may RSVP for the webinar by sending an email to: [email protected].
The Vision
We wish to empower a new generation of +Farmers to be the local farmers of the future. Whether you are a teacher, maker, grower, or entrepreneur, +Farm can accelerate your hydroponic vertical farming experience and give you fresh vegetables to enjoy every day.
The Story
+Farm dates all the way back to 2014 when Blue Planet Consulting’s first client, Phillips programs in Maryland, wanted a system that was affordable, educational, modular, and easy to use. Since then, it has evolved into a wider open-source project that we want to share with anyone interested in vertical farming. In fact, over 20 +Farms have been built since 2014! Our goal remains the same since that very first installation: democratize the basics of hydroponic vertical farming so that everyone can grow local food.
The Website
On June 30th, you will gain access to the +Farm website, and all of the information needed to build and maintain +Farm will be available to you.
Learn important principles of hydroponics and vertical farming in a fun & easy way
Select what type of +Farm is right for you (we are releasing 3 versions to start)
Shop for all the materials you need to build a +Farm of your choosing
Get FREE instructions on how to build it
Give us feedback on how you want +Farm to evolve in the future
Book an appointment with an expert +Farmer to help you choose the right option for you
Spread The Love
The +Farm will rely heavily on community engagement and activism to achieve its potential. While our webpage is designed to help you learn, build, and grow with your +farm, you will have questions and you will have moments of confusion. Truly mastering hydroponics is a journey with many teachable moments along the way. We hope you all will post your questions, photos, videos and victories.
Feel welcome to post about your experience to social media! You can find us at:
Recently something unfortunate happened to one of Agritecture’s friends. Los Angeles-based Community Healing Gardens had their garden ransacked, their greenhouse vandalized, and their students demoralized.
Who is Community Healing Gardens, why you should care, and what can you do to help?
WHO:
Community Healing Gardens (CHG) is a non-profit with a handful of impactful gardening based projects in LA. Perhaps most important of their projects is the school garden at Edwin Markham Middle School in Watts CA - AKA - South Central Los Angeles. This was the garden that was senselessly attacked.
WHY:
Why do we care? Well, we first met CHG through the AgTech Cluster meetings at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI). There we met CHG’s wonderful team and we watched this short video which covers some of their accomplishments and the lives they have touched.
Soon it was clear to us that CHG’s impact is the real deal, so we offered to help. Two months later, we had Community Healing Gardens speak at our LA Agritecture Workshop, and we donated them this +farm unit for the middle school.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
At this point, the easy thing to do would be to shrug off this recent vandalism with a ‘Not my problem attitude.’ However, we’ve recently been reading Stephen Ritz’s The Power of a Plant. The book is a wild journey about how just one person who cares can make a world of difference.
So our Community Manager Andrew Blume will be out in the garden this Saturday Morning, May 20th, to donate people power. If you’re available to donate your time as well, the details of the day are posted below.
Not able to donate time? Please consider donating money to Community Healing Gardens.
Thanks for reading and we hope to see our Los Angeles-based friends this Saturday at the garden:
Time: 9am - 12pm noon
Location: Edwin Markham Middle School
1650 E 104th St Los Angeles CA 90002
When arriving at the garden go around to the back side of the school. The garden is located on Grandee Ave between 104th and 108th St.
It is on the west side of the street and make sure to park in front of the garden when you arrive.
Attire (make sure to dress comfortable)
-closed toed shoes
-long plants
-sun hat or ball cap
Bring sunscreen, a water bottle and wear a hat as well because it can get hot in the garden.
-Meet in the garden in the morning around 9am and then go over the plan of attack.
-Depending on the size of the group we will either break into groups or stay together, we will begin with a clean and organize of a pile of usable materials in the loading bay area, as well as weeding the area around the Mesa room.
-Several fruit trees will be planted on the back side of the Mesa room and next to the row crop area.
-Compost from the loading dock area will be moved to the row crop area as well as topped on all fruit trees.
-Tree wells will be dug around all trees that need it.
-Compost material from the perimeter piles will be moved to the large compost pile, turned and watered.
-If time allows we will shape and frame out new growing areas under specific fruit tree zones.
