admin – Grow Organic 365

Combating Food Waste: Saving the World Through Sustainable Growing

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 21:47:08 +0000

The famous phrase “Waste not, want not” is an idiom that has been traced all the way back to the 1500s. It loosely means the less we waste, the less we’ll need in the future. While the saying is centuries old, it’s more relevant today than ever before.

When it comes to food, research shows that we, as humans, are a lot more wasteful than you might think. As the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) puts it, “The fact that substantial amounts of food are produced but not eaten by humans has substantial negative impacts: environmentally, socially and economically.”

While it may not seem like much, reducing food waste at the individual household level will benefit the planet and the people who surround us.

Tower Garden wants to share a little insight from our recent research about how gardening can help ensure that you have access to healthy, high-quality food without the grocery store price tag.

In our survey of 2,000 Americans* about their buying habits and self-sufficiency behavior over the past year, we discovered that more people are turning to gardening as a way to save money and bring stability into their lives.

Food Waste & Our Environment

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that tackling global issues requires teamwork, unity, and togetherness. By all accounts, food waste is a global issue. In fact, the Washington Post recently reported that globally, wasted food accounts for about 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.

While we may think this comes down to farms and factories, research shows that 37% of food waste happens at home. In other words, it’s not that food is being produced and no one is buying it, but rather food is being bought and not eaten. In fact, in a recent poll of our Tower Garden Instagram followers, a staggering 94% of people indicated that they often find themselves throwing out grocery store food that’s gone bad.

We’re likely all guilty of losing food to the back of the fridge or improperly storing perishable items. But according to 94% of our Instagram followers, produce grown at home tends to last longer. Not only that–growing your own food is one step you can take towards being more conscious of your food buying habits and decreasing your impact on the environment.

Practicing Sustainability

It’s easy to think that sustainability is just another buzzword companies use to appeal to a specific audience. However, McGill University defines sustainability as the process of “meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Sustainability is key to the way we address some of the most pressing issues facing our planet–one of which is food waste. This involves taking accountability for our actions and ensuring that our personal food waste solutions have both short- and long-term benefits.

On an individual level, this may change the way we source, eat, and discard our food. According to our Instagram followers (88%), people want to know if their food is sustainably sourced. So, growing at home doesn’t just mean fewer trips to the grocery store, it also helps reduce carbon emissions. And that’s not the only benefit of home-grown produce. Did you know that 86% of our Instagram followers also say they use more plastic by purchasing store-bought products? It’s clear that growing your own food avoids plastic waste and results in fresher, more nutritious, more conscientious produce!

Reducing waste–food waste, plastic waste, and water waste–is a Tower Garden benefit we love to boast about. Only one third of the world’s water is readily available for agriculture and city use. So, any action we can take to save water helps! With its 20-gallon (FLEX) and 13-gallon (HOME) reservoirs, our growing systems are designed to recycle nutrients and water consistently. In fact, aeroponic gardens like Tower Garden use roughly 98% less water than traditional, soil-based growing methods.

How You Can Get Started

Gardening is a proven and popular way to reduce food waste and make your household more sustainable. Don’t just take it from us, though. Earlier this year, we polled over 2,000 Americans about their food buying habits. About one in three respondents said they would consider gardening to cut down on food waste.

While traditional growing methods require space, tools, and some planting knowledge, Tower Garden requires no tools, no green thumb, and just 3 square feet of space. One growing system can produce 3x greater yields than a traditional garden in a third of the time. Simply plug in your unit, plant your favorite crops, and get growing!

Want to take the first step in reducing waste with the help of Tower Garden? Click here for more information on our versatile indoor and outdoor gardening systems.

by Tower Garden Team

Take Control of Your Food Supply: How Growing Your Own Produce Can Help Cut Food Costs

admin — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 21:57:36 +0000

The past year has led us to change how we behave and feel about many areas of life – work/life balance, health and wellness, and the quality (and quantity) of food found in grocery stores. Given this, it’s no wonder that more people than ever have taken up gardening in an effort to take control of their food supply.

Tower Garden wants to share a little insight from our recent research about how gardening can help ensure that you have access to healthy, high-quality food without the grocery store price tag.

The Average American Spends $45.25 Per Person on Fruits and Veggies Each Month

We’re all looking to cut costs here and there and use that money for something else – like going on a dream vacation or finally remodeling the kitchen. One way you can make a positive impact on your finances is by growing your own produce.

You may not even realize that the fruits and vegetables you’re consuming every week are really adding up – around $45.25 per person each month on average. That’s around $543 dollars spent on produce each year that could be used in other ways.

When asked about their motivations behind growing their own food, 4 in 10 of our survey respondents (39%) said saving money was a primary goal. And 7 in 10 (56%) felt that growing their own food restored a sense of control over their food supply.

ROI for Growing Your Produce

You may be wondering: “How much am I really saving by growing my own food?” Well, we recently compared the cost of a Tower Garden Unit and its yield after six months – growing items like arugula, celery, lettuce, and kale – with the average cost of these same veggies at the grocery store. Based on our quick study, we found that by growing food at home with Tower Garden, you nearly double the return on your investment. It helps that Tower Garden plants grow nearly three times faster than crops in a traditional garden, and some of these plants are ready to harvest almost three weeks after planting.

Growing your own food at home also gives you complete control over what and how much food ends up in your fridge or pantry each month, i.e., less produce that has to be thrown away! So, rather than searching the grocery store aisles in hopes of finding what you’re looking for, try growing only the produce you want or need at home.

We Asked Our Audience About Their Food Buying Habits

In a recent poll to our Instagram audience, we found resounding sentiments that grocery store produce just isn’t cutting it anymore. One-hundred percent of our respondents felt that the quality of their grocery store produce could be better, while 74% noted that grocery stores don’t typically have enough fruit and vegetable options to begin with.

Clearly, our followers agree that the cost of grocery store produce isn’t consistent with the quality of the products available. By growing your own produce at home, you are able to customize your food to your family’s needs and grow things that might not be available at your local grocery store. Homegrown food is clean and pesticide-free, and you can harvest your plants at peak freshness. You’ll have better tasting fruits, vegetables, and herbs that last longer!

It’s Time to Start Your Own Garden

Seventy-five percent of our Instagram followers believe that growing food at home will help them save money in the long term. And saving money is a pretty good reason to get your garden started!

When you make the decision to grow vertically with Tower Garden, you’re able to maximize the efficiency of your kitchen – growing what you want, where you have space (you only need 3 square feet), indoors or outdoors, all year round. Moreover, vertical gardening promotes sustainability by using 98% less water than traditional gardening. Tower Garden makes it super easy to grow fresh, delicious produce quickly, all while saving you money and giving you control over what you eat.

Whether you are a seasoned gardening pro or have just picked it up over the past year, you can find many tools and resources through Tower Garden. Click here to learn more about our versatile indoor and outdoor gardening systems.

*72Point Research, poll of 2,000 respondents, United States, May 2021.

by Tower Garden Team

Gardening: Why It’s Booming

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 12:26:26 +0000

Gardening: Why It's Booming

8 in 10 Americans Have Grown Their Own Produce Over the Past Year.*

Since the beginning of last year, more Americans than ever are trying their hand gardening. Whether it’s a new hobby, a way to cut back on food costs or reduce food waste, or simply an incentive to live a healthier lifestyle, there’s been a huge increase in gardening at home.

In addition to all these positive benefits, gardening can help reduce stress and provide an opportunity to connect with nature, giving you a break from working from home or being indoors all day.

History of Gardening During Times of Uncertainty

As history shows, Americans turn to gardening in times of uncertainty. During World War I, a severe food crisis in Europe motivated the United States to form the National War Garden Commission, encouraging Americans to plant, harvest, and store their own fruits and vegetables. This allowed the export of more food to those in Europe as a way to support the war effort.

Similarly, in WWII, “victory gardens'' emerged as commercial crops were rerouted to troops overseas. These gardens served as a way to boost morale, show patriotism, and combat food shortages.

Gardening Today

In 2020, people worldwide not only wanted to find ways to pass the time and reduce stress, but they also found that gardening was a necessity given food shortages at the grocery store. So people began looking at vertical gardening as an easy way to grow healthy, nutritious food right at home.

Earlier this year, with the growing interest in gardening, we polled over 2,000 Americans about their food buying habits. Based on those results, we learned that 8 in 10 Americans started to grow their own produce over the past year, and another 76% noted that gardening was their new hobby. Our survey respondents reported that they most enjoyed growing tomatoes (71%), herbs (52%), flowers (49%), and cucumbers (47%).

We also wanted to hear from our Instagram followers about gardening, so we took another poll, discovering that 55% of respondents have taken up gardening within the past year, and 66% have shared their extra produce with neighbors and the community. Our followers like gardening so much, 76% of them want to expand the gardening footprint in their home!

And what were our followers' favorite parts of growing this year? We received a variety of responses from “having produce available during times where the supermarkets are low on stock” to “getting my kids involved” to “noticing the difference in quality when food is homegrown.”

How You Can Get Started

There are many things to consider when starting a garden; where it should go, when to plant, time required to maintain and grow produce, environmental and sustainability concerns. With Tower Garden, you can grow fresh, delicious produce indoors OR outdoors year-round. You don’t have to wait until spring or summer to get started, and all you need is 3 square feet of space. Vertical gardening also uses 98% less water than traditional gardening. The best part, though? Growing homegrown produce with Tower Garden is super easy–no green thumb required!

You may be new to gardening or just need a little motivation. Either way, you can find many tools and resources through Tower Garden.

Click here for more information on our versatile indoor and outdoor gardening systems.

*72Point Research, poll of 2,000 respondents, United States, May 2021.

by Tower Garden Team