What is a Tower Garden?

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BACKGROUND

Have you seen or heard people talk about a “Tower Garden” and wondered what it is? Is a “tower garden” a general term, or something specific? The answer is that the Tower Garden refers to a specific trademarked aeroponic, vertical garden. Although it was NASA that first developed the science of aeroponic gardening in the 1990s, it was a man by the name of Tim Blank who pioneered the aeroponic tower technology while at EPCOT, which became home to the first aeroponic garden center open to the public. In 2011, Tim sold the rights to the Tower Garden residential model to the Juice Plus company, and in 2016 Juice Plus also bought the commercial division of Tower Garden. An enormous amount of research and development have gone into Tower Gardens – both the original, as well as newer models.

The Tower Garden only takes up a few square feet, uses as little as 2% of the water of conventional gardening, grows plants up to 3x faster, and increases yield by an average of 30%. Sounds great, right?

Takes up only a few square feet, uses as little as 2% of the water of conventional gardening, grows plants 3x faster, and increases yield by an average of 30%.

Check out this one minute video

Basically, the Tower Garden allows you to grow beautifully healthy plants without:

Prior experience
A large space
Digging in the dirt
Worrying about soil contamination or ground pests
Dedicating large amounts of time
Piecing together supplies

VERSITILITY

Tower Gardens (“TG”) are used in kitchens, living rooms, garages, patios, yards, as well as in entire “gardens” of many towers in places like airports, apartments, skyscraper roofs, restaurants, churches, and even ballfields. They are also popular in schools, either with a single tower in a classroom, or an many towers for the entire school. TG has even developed a curriculum for teaching students about gardening, which is pretty cool. Learn more about that here.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH TOWER GARDEN

I wrote briefly about my decision to buy a Tower Garden in my post on Easy Gardening Ideas. There, I mentioned that I researched vertical gardening, decided on Tower Garden, and then sat on my plan to buy one for two years – yes, TWO – which I don’t recommend. I wish I would have gotten mine sooner. I had already decided that this was the vertical growing system for me, based on looking into the development, design, ease of use, and generally just because I was having a difficult time making learning conventional gardening fit into my busy mom life at the time. I needed something that was tried and true and would work. I needed the guesswork taken out of the equation.

It was for these reasons I bought my TG. But what has made me actually love my Tower Garden has been the joy I have gotten from growing and harvesting real, nutritious food for my family with very little energy spent. I have reaped so much more than I had to sow. In other words, the time and monetary investment I have made has paled in comparison to what our family has been given as a result of my decision to walk into an expo hall and purchase my TG.

Our Tower Garden has been a true source of joy for our family. Seriously. My children have been excited to plant the seeds, to help me place them in the tower, fill the reservoir with water and minerals, and watch the plants grow. They have been delighted to harvest the lettuces for our salads, burgers, and more. We have had deliciously fresh herbs for our sauces, toppings, soups, and seasonings. Our TG has been an inspiration for green smoothies, which my kids love to take part in making. And truth be told, I am at least as delighted as the kids are – and probably more.

I get it. There are a lot of choices out there (something else I write about in the post I mention above). It can be confusing and intimidating to try to decide the “next step” in your journey toward learning to garden, growing your own food, or whatever ultimate goal brought you here. I believe there is value in hearing from real people, considering the pros and cons, and ultimately deciding what makes sense for you in moving toward that goal – or at least toward taking the next step.

After a while, and some urging from Valerie (who I also mention in the above-mentioned article… haha), I became a rep for Tower Gardens. Why? Because I believe in the product (I had experienced it for myself), I see the great value it brings to people, and because I knew I would be blabbing about how much I loved mine anyway! I didn’t intend to do much with it, just share with friends and family as it came up. I had no idea that many years later I would be sharing my gardening journey with you by starting this blog. Yet, here I am. I share this because I want to be perfectly up front and transparent with my guests – no secrets or hiden agendas. If you don’t think this garden idea is for you, move on to the next idea! (I am not a rep for any others). But if after reading this you are curious and just want a little more info, check out my Tower Garden page here. You will find great product information, growing tips, options, as well as complete curriculum ideas for school teachers and homeschools. [More on that here.] As always, please comment or ask questions on this page!

SOME INTERESTING PLACES YOU WILL FIND TOWER GARDENS

Yankee Stadium

Believe it or not, Yankee Stadium is the proud home to a group of Tower Gardens, which attract students and visitors. A short news video may be found here.

Chicago O’Hare

If you have ever found yourself in Chicago on a layover during your travels, perhaps you have actually seen this indoor garden! It is called the O’Hare Airport Urban Garden, and it is pretty cool. Restaurants at the airport actually serve fresh produce from this garden! How awesome is that?