We had a great meeting today!
We gathered in the Growing Solutions office to launch a project with two student groups from the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business.
The student teams are performing essential due diligence for GSI, regarding the technical specifications, sourcing and distribution pipelines for a new product line we will introduce later in the year. A product that will appeal to home gardeners and rural farmers alike.
Stay tuned for more news…
Growing Solutions has a new page on Facebook!
If you are a Facebook member already, you can sign in and then enter Growing Solutions in the search box. You can become a “fan” or simply browse the pictures of our Compost Tea Systems and information. We will be adding more content soon.
If you aren’t a Facebook member yet, you may click here to be taken to the page.
The GSI European Team.
On behalf of Growing Solutions, Michael Alms and the GSI European Distributors gathered in The Netherlands recently for the 10th annual Horti Fair held in the Amsterdam RAI Center. The Growing Solutions company philosophy and product line integrated well with the Horti Fair 2009 Exhibition theme: “For a Sustainable Future.” The event, covering six hectares (15 acres) of floor space was home to over 700 exhibitors, attracting attendees from over 100 countries.
The subject of Compost Tea was a hot topic during the fair. The Growing Solutions Team engaged in a multitude of discussions regarding the use of Tea across a broad range of crops as a beneficial and cost effective alternative to conventional methods of plant production.
In addition to supporting the existing Growing Solutions distributor base in Holland, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland the event attracted business opportunities from over 20 new countries including the regions of Africa, Eastern Europe, South East Asia and The Americas.
“Horti Fair 2009 was clearly a strategic event for our Distributors to attend. The event platform afforded our Team the ability to showcase their Compost Tea products and services, offering solution driven alternatives to the inevitable shift in conventional growing techniques,” according to Michael Alms.
Marc Verhofstede and Urs Hildebrandt, providing in depth detail to attendees from France.
Michael Alms, Urs Hildebrandt and Jitze Peenstra at the 2009 Horti Fair.
Martin Lishman stand at Four Oaks, an exhibition area of 13,000 square metres under glass.
Attendees of the 39th annual Four Oaks commercial horticulture trade show, a 23 acre site in Cheshire, were enthusiastic about the use of compost tea and related products displayed by Martin Lishman, Ltd., distributor in the UK and Ireland for Growing Solutions. Dr. Gavin Lishman and I met with many growers who were familiar with our Systems. “Seeing the quality and simplicity of the Growing Solutions range, as well as hearing of specific benefits such as reduced fungicide and fertiliser use were the key factors that caught hold of people’s imagination,” Dr. Lishman added.
Dr. Gavin Lishman and Michael Alms at Four Oaks 2009.
Specialised compost tea sprayers were also part of the Martin Lishman display, including the Micron Electrafan, able to spray compost tea in difficult situations such as dense canopies and narrow rows. “When demonstrating to our first Electrafan customer on her stand of Clematis plants, the leaf movement (and total compost tea spray coverage) from 2 metres away, met with an instant order!” Dr. Lishman explained. “That’s the kind of response that makes a show worthwhile.”
The GSI System10 holds a seat of honor near Graze's Buddha on the rooftop.
The roof of Glide Memorial Church, located in one of San Francisco’s harshest urban environments, is “growing.” This rooftop edible, community-produced vegetable garden, dubbed Graze the Roof, is maintained primarily by youth from the local area and raises food for the homeless population. A progressive church and nonprofit organization, Glide has provided resources for the underserved for more than 45 years.
Graze features soil-less gardening vegetable growers; self-watering containers; lightweight garden beds made from milk crates; a worm composting system, vermicompost tea, and an educational mural that ties the whole project together. Glide youth and volunteers from throughout the Bay Area maintain the garden and host monthly tours and workshops.
Seed to Belly is Glide’s experiential workshop for children that teaches the essentials of the food cycle. The Growing Solutions System10 residing on the roof is highlighted in this educational program in conjunction with composting and methods for creating healthy soils to boost plant growth. The System10’s vermicompost tea is used with the hydroponic system, currently growing tomatoes, and to amend the vegetable beds.
(left) Children learn where their food comes from at Graze's Seed to Belly program. (right) Graze the Roof at Glide Memorial Church.
Break It Down Composting and Growing Solutions at AgQuip 2009.
Growing Solutions Australian distributor Break It Down Composting enjoyed a stellar debut at the 2009 Commonwealth Bank AgQuip, the largest agricultural show in the southern hemisphere. The three field days attracted more than 100,000 visitors to Gunnedah, many making their way to Luke and Melissa Bowman’s display of the entire Growing Solutions Compost Tea System family.
The Growing Solutions Compost Tea System family, including the clear tank System10 providing a birdseye view of fine bubble diffusion.
“After extensive research, we saw Growing Solutions as a leader in the manufacture of quality compost tea systems,” Luke explained. ”AqQuip was very successful with compost tea machine sales, keeping Michael and myself extremely busy with inquiries the entire three days.”
With their country boasting more certified organic acreage than any other in the world, Australians were open and receptive to compost tea as a safe and cost effective alternative to conventional chemical methods.
Luke also emphasized that many Australian agricultural professionals, from large cattle operations to specialty crop producers, are shifting their focus to greater land stewardship, seeing compost tea as an ideal component in this new approach to land management. Well done mates!
Scott LaFleur (at right) talks to Garden Shop customers about compost tea and the Growing Solutions System25.
Organically speaking, the proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the Garden in the Woods, owned and operated by the New England Wild Flower Society (founded in 1900). Here, the Society’s Garden Shop brews its own compost tea and uses it throughout the 45-acre public botanic garden in Framingham, MA.
Scott LaFleur, Botanic Garden Director, says, “We’ve switched to using compost tea as our sole method of feeding plants and the soil at Garden in the Woods. We use it throughout the botanical garden and have seen a huge difference in the growth and strength of our plants.”
The Society’s System25 has been busy this season. Scott continues, “We have to credit our use of compost tea in the beauty of the Garden this year. The weather has been crazy. If we had not built up the nutrients in our soil, our large collection of native plants, including rare and endangered species, could have been in trouble.”
Recently Scott demonstrated how to make compost tea at Garden in the Woods with Dave Epstein of GrowingWisdom.com, using a System10. Take a look at the video clip to find out why Scott says compost tea is “fantastic for the plants.”
This June, a “compost tea party” hosted by the Dominican Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry gave area farmers a hands-on experience of compost tea and the Growing Solutions Compost Tea System100.
Held at the newly renovated Hillsborough Horticultural Centre, the site visit provided ornamental flower and vegetable producers with a detailed overview of the uses and benefits of compost tea.
The use of brewing machines, while a relatively new technology to the Commonwealth of Dominica’s agricultural sector, brings enormous potential. The Giraudel farmers—from Dominica’s “Flower Capital”—and the Bellevue Chopin organic farmers expressed deep appreciation to the extension personnel for exposing them to such new and innovative technology. They were more than convinced that within the community of Giraudel, the production of cut and ornamental flowers would see a significant boost with the use of compost tea. And, they agreed it was necessary to embrace organic production to further enhance Giraudel’s ecological integrity.
Mr. Keian Stephenson, Agricultural Officer, explains that the biology of compost tea and its effect in the plant phyllosphere are complex.
The Bellevue Chopin Organic Farmers will use their grant-funded Compost Tea System25 to develop biological crop protection solutions and botanical sprays for on-farm adaptive research trials.
Chris Donahue, Down to Earth General Manager, and Michael Alms, Growing Solutions, on a SOLD OUT Saturday!
That’s correct, SOLD OUT! Every Saturday in Eugene, Oregon, Down To Earth’s garden center sells compost tea to die-hard patrons who line up with their recycled plastic jugs for this alive soil and plant elixir. When the gate opens, it’s first come, first serve. “Get here by noon or you’re outta’ luck,” says Chris Donahue, Down to Earth’s general manager.
The garden center staff prepares the Growing Solutions 100 gallon Compost Tea System for brewing Friday mornings so when the gate opens Saturday mornings, they’re ready to go. Last Saturday I was on site, dispensing tea and answering questions of new and returning customers, all very excited about compost tea. Included in the lineup of regular compost tea afficionados were four Down to Earth employees who came in on their day off to fetch jugs of tea for themselves!
With mom's guidance, a young gardener learns the benefits of compost tea right from the spigot.