Design student needs your input!!!

Oldtree

gave up on timed drip irrigation in the polytunnel as when I went away for a week, the battery went in the timer in the "on" setting and flooded the place. Now just use trays under pots to keep pots at field capacity and use a hose to do it manually.

redser7

I use a gravity feed system for the tunnel beds. 1000 lt IBC tank, water timer and soaker hoses. Didn't have to water the tunnel once during the summer (apart from with tom food once a week). I reckon I only need to run it mid-May to early september. I read about batteries running out and ruining the timers so I'll put fresh ones in every May whether they need changing or not. They'll easily last the 3 - 4 months of summer. The old ones will be fine for remotes and stuff

kevmcguigan

Ok guys, an update on the direction I am heading with this design. Please feel free to correct or critique wherever you feel its needed.

Initial findings:

90% of people that do not already grow their own are willing to start.
Reasons for this are health benefits, new hobby, feeling of accomplishment.
60% live in a house with garden or yard space
40% live in a flat or apartment with no available outdoor space
Factors stopping them from growing. No available space, Not enough knowledge about growing
Almost all surveyed did not consider giving up their time, to be a 'cost factor' (No money spent)


Initial conclusions:

At the outset I was trying to get people that do not already grow, to start growing their own by offering them a product or service that would make it simpler to begin. Where I have ended up is as follows:

What people want- Raised bed Tables and/or a "Flat-Packed" easy setup garden
For ease of use- Container systems win out
Indoor v Outdoor- 60-40 split in available growing space. So a system that can be adapted to both indoor and outdoor growing would be essential for new starters
For greatest yields- Hydroponics is best


What I have come up with:

A self assembly, modular, soil-less design; utilising passive 'wick' hydroponics system that can be stacked vertically and used indoors or outdoors. Each tray will have a built in reservoir, use 100% expanded perlite as a grow medium (lightest grow medium) with a rock wool mat to germinate seeds or to root cuttings. Each system would need to be supplied with some water soluble organic nutrients and a simple "how-to" guide.

The attached photo is a 3D concept model in a spiral configuration.
The modular system would allow for customised configurations to fit the required spaces.

yellowlabrador

It looks really nice but it looks costly.

kevmcguigan

Hopefully the modular design can help keep costs down. People can chose how many containers they want to start with and add to their collection at a later stage if they want.

Some other configurations:

Oldtree

thats a very clever and imaginative design.

it can be made of the usual pot plastic or a more expensive material depending on the customer or startup investment.

The legs would need to be able to be telescopic or a set size that you can combine 2 or more legs depending on the height of the window.

I take it the little square bit at the front is where the water and nutrients go, need a float of some description to easily tell the gardener how full/empty the reservior is.

What about some sort of vertical stacking? seems like it would be easy to add into design by leg insert circles continuing through module.

redser7

I think it's great what you are trying to achieve. But I think this is a bit too specialised. It's almost half gardening/half furniture. If you are trying to get people to start growing fruit/veg I think this design will turn them off. Also you dont seem to have factored in light for indoor growing. Indoors will need at least close-up flourescent lights. You wouldn't grow very much in those either I'm afraid. I don't think there is a need to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of kits and grow set-ups already on the market. Hydroponics is a very specialised area. They would have to go back to buy more nutrient. With hydropnics you really need some sort of water movement to introduce oxygen or the roots could suffocate and the water could stagnate and smell. I dont think it is an introductory type technology.
I would ditch the 'fancy' approach and focus on small cost and convenience. Some sort of all in one package. This of course has been done before. B&Q sell cheap kits for kids for example, with containers, compost and seeds all packed in bright colours with veg cartoon characters on teh packaging.
I think lack of knowledge and also the myth that you need green fingers to grow is a stumbling block. Tell them the only thing you need to know is that it is easy. If you could include a website and forum as part of the package that could really work. How To video clips, growing calendars, a resident 'expert' to contribute articles and a forum for advice. Introduce your 'product' as a 'movement' to capture the imagination and stress the ease of use. The fact that 90% of people are willing to give it a go is very encouraging. Adding social media as part of your project could give a unique edge to a well tried and tested industry.
Sorry, I don't mean to knock I just dont see people being inspired to try growing by these so you wont sell any

kevmcguigan

Hi guys, thanks for the comments.

Oldtree, the vertical stacking idea is where I started my initial research with this design and your idea for the legs continued through the modules is exactly what i came up with:)

Redser, I had looked into lighting for indoor use. I had two options for adding grow lights. One was a connection underneath each tray (to light tray below) for use in vertical stacking and the other was basically contained in a clear lid (terrarium style).

I really want to make this system as "passive" as possible. I know for indoor growing people will need to give their crops adequate light, so additional lighting is essential. But the wick system of watering has no need for aeration pumps. Just an overflow hole above the water line for use in outdoor situations. I suppose technically its not strictly hydroponics, but it does remove some of the responsibility of watering the crops from the user.

Also, I had looked into the social media side of things. A forum like this is a great idea. A place for people to share their experiences, tips and tricks, like you have been so kind to do. But it is becoming increasingly costly to maintain a website/smartphone application and generate traffic through it. As well as this, such a website would have to be offered for free to the customer (so many free sites to choose from). It could be feasible to have some sort of affiliation with an already existing gardening website in exchange for selling my product or me generating traffic through their site.

The "package" idea is where I want to go with this redser. A crude description: its a pre-filled tub with layers of large aggregate perlite=> mesh=> horticultural perlite=> rockwool mat. with the wicks pre-installed. The tub would come with a selection of seeds for starter growers and a small collection of water soluble nutirents (enough for first crop cycle) and a simple guide to illustrate how to grow the seeds provided with the tub.
For example we could have a kids set up as mentioned above, with some fruits and sugar snap peas and the like;
or a salad garden with herbs and leafy veg. The idea would be to have many different options available to the customer according to what they would like to grow.

The shape/form and aesthetics of the finished product could also be varied, square, rectangular, triangular; its not set in stone just yet. Or all of the above shapes could be offered in different size options.

Thanks again guys.

joseph brand

lucylu wrote: »

I grow veg really for the sense of achievement.
When you look at the dinner plate and can say that the meat is the only thing that was bought the rest came from outside is fresh and tastes great
I watched a program recently where a potato grower was spraying their potatoes every 7 days.. I grow blight resistant potatoes and only spray our spuds with water.

This year was the worst year I have had growing veg, from seeds not growing, that Super moon Frost on May 5th (killing all my apple blossoms) to the F-N Slugs..
I have been helping my parents since i was a kid growing fruit and veg

Maybe that's what happened to my apples last year. My wife was certain that the neighbours were stealing our apples, as if. Now if I can just keep the wasps away. The sight of 20 wasps crammed into the side of an apple gives me the shivers.

Oldtree

last year was a terrible year for apples, google it. Not good to think neighbours steal things with no proof.