How To Grow Healthy Food Vertically In A Small Space

An innovative vertical growing system makes it possible to grow fresh, healthy produce without owning a plot. James Dick, the inventor of the HiGro Tower Garden System, spoke to Jeandré van der Walt about his vertical-growing method.

- Jeandre van der Walt

For years, James Dick, a horticulturalist from Vermont in the Western Cape, researched better ways of growing food on a micro scale. “I came away from university with the idea, but it took a lot of brainstorming and prototypes before I got the concept,” he recalls.

In 2010, the idea of the HiGro Tower Garden System finally crystallised in his mind.

“It’s a system designed for high-density living environments in poorer communities, especially for the busy person with limited time for shopping. The idea is to have a full, healthy meal at your back door, free of high maintenance costs,” he explains.

HOW IT WORKS

The HiGro system is a vertically segmented column for growing flowers, leafy greens, peas, beans, herbs and strawberries, amongst other plants.

“Four to eight modules interlock to form the column. Each module is filled with 4,5â„“ of sphagnum peat moss and green fibre pre-enriched with a little fertiliser to get the plants started,” Dick explains. This growing medium has high water-retention and can last for as long as two years.

The system is designed to grow plenty of food with very little water and does not rely on electricity. Instead, it is irrigated by a hand-pumped 5â„“ compression sprayer that drives a water and fertiliser solution through the drippers and into the modules.

“The irrigation water is pre-enriched with fertiliser, which is added to the compression sprayer. Each module is irrigated and drained independently; there’s no percolation from the upper modules to the lower ones.”

He advises that the tower be irrigated once a day in summer and every third day in winter.