Creating value from trial and error

Hydro Tea LLC. better known as “Riverponics” became a success after many years of trial and error. Traditional gardening methods such as tilling a plot of land, requires back breaking work and your time to maintain. In today’s society, it’s difficult to find the time and care required to establish a thriving garden.

Weather plays an important roll in determining the outcome of your garden crops as well.  Mother nature can be a blessing or a curse when it comes to the outdoor environment.  A drought can wipe out all the hard work put forth and the devastation irreversible.Vast amounts of water would be needed in this case to keep the soil hydrated; This is NOT a good practice as water conservation has become a topic of public attention. The other end of the pendulum is Torrential rains. Torrential rain can have the same devastating results as a drought. To much rain can drown your dreams of once having a beautiful garden to having a mud pit of wishful thinking.

Scientist say our weather patterns are changing due to the polar vortex. They claim,  “A mini ice age is upon us that could last many years”. If That statement is true, it’s pertinent to take action and start growing your own food. Not to mention, the countless other weather related scenarios that could wreck havoc.

Food security is a must; This also applies to protecting yourself and family from food price inflation. The more people you have involved, the better the odds for having an adequate amount  of resources to sustain a healthy diet. It’s better to be a day early rather than a day late when it comes to preparation, and combining your resources with the community will only enhance your odds for success. Geographically, growing crops outdoors allows a seasonal time of 6-7 months in most hemispheres.  Seasons become an issue and it’s essential to accommodate for the remaining months to provide fresh food for the dinner table. The ultimate goal is to establish a means to grow food year round.

So what’s the best choice when choosing the most practical growing system ?

In general, growing methods such as hydroponics can limit the variety of plants grown using just water. Although, good for water management, these restrictions alter your ability to have a well rounded balance of nutrients for optimum health. Hydroponics fails to encompass this balance and falls short in producing soil dependent plants that are packed full of essential minerals and nutrients. (Riverponics has overcome these issues by combining soil gardening with hydroponics)

Grow boxes filled with soil is another alternative. But, the realization is that this method depletes the minerals and nutrients in the soil from over use. This becomes problematic and the only procurement is to replace the depleted soil with a fresh load of good quality dirt. Yet, this incurs another issue called (weed seeds). Weed seeds migrate from the heaps of soil that are mined and stock piled for future use. Once the soil finds a happy home, the weed

seeds start to germinate and can very quickly overcome your ability to control the weed infestation. This transpires into an endless battle of weed control that consumes your quality time and hinders your ability to do other activities. This method is a casualty to water management as well.

An Aqua Culture System is defined as the rearing of fish in a controlled environment and the cultivation of plants for food. The fish have two purposes; One being a primary source of food, and the other, for harnessing the fish residuals as plant food. This sounds exciting from first impulse. But, the fact of the matter is, it’s a lot easier said than done. It would be practical to build your fish farm indoors. A growing system can be relocated from indoors to outdoors during the summer, or separate growing systems for it’s multiple use case. Start-up cost can vary by the size of the system you choose to acquire. Regardless, these cost add up quick from the equipment needed in order to have a fluent operation. Fish, fish food, fish tank, Bio-filter, water heater, aeration pumps, reservoir, growing system, electrical, and plumbing, are a few items to mention as an example of start-up cost. This operation can be tedious and requires constant monitoring to have a balanced eco-system. The challenge begins with the water. The ammonia from the fish residuals at high levels can kill your fish and plants if not properly maintained. This requires your bio-filter to do it’s job by breaking down the concentrated ammonia for conversion of the ammonia to nitrates and nitrites. The plants also play an important roll in this conversion for the nitrogen uptake. If you are a home body then this task won’t be so challenging. Daily monitoring increases the odds of sustaining the balance needed to be successful. Our Riverponics growing system would be a good use case for implementation with this type of operation. In short, if you have the time to manage this type of eco-system, then raising fish combined with growing food establishes a good staple for a well balanced diet.

Going back to our roots (no point intended) we believe mimicking nature should and has become our number one priority. The advancement of new technologies has provided us the means to duplicate what mother nature has to offer in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, new technologies come with a cost when in the wrong hands. This brings us to another topic called Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) which have become a common practice with big AG companies. Altering the genetics of our food is problematic and raises many health concerns that stand attention. The ramifications have come full circle and the countless health issue as a nation are inherently disgraceful. For this reason alone, growing your own food becomes so important. You can have everything in the world. But, without your health you have nothing !!

For the USA, 75 percent of our produce comes from California, by our just in time delivery system. What we don’t know, are the practices used to grow and preserve those foods. What types of insecticide and or pesticide were sprayed on the plants, what combination of fertilizers were used, how pure is the water source, and has the soil been depleted from the minerals and nutrients our bodies need to maintain good health ? These are all very important questions. But, the fact of the matter is, the only procurement is to grow your own food. It’s time to take that control back so those questions above won’t need to be asked. Collecting rain water, establishing a seed bank, and the conditioning of your own soil are all major steps in the right direction to take that control back from the foods you consume.

Composting is a perfect solution for harnessing natures gifts and having the optimum mineral and nutrient intake our bodies require to function properly. The decomposition of kitchen scraps, coffee grinds, egg shells, yard clippings, leaves, twigs, manure, are just a few examples of the numerous resources available from your homestead. These ingredients will eventually decompose into a heaping mound of nutrient rich conditioned soil, filled with microbial life that can be used to produce healthy plants as well as for making a liquid organic fertilizer called compost tea.

• Our Patented Closed Loop Compost Tea Brewer, dispenses and recycles nutrient rich compost tea through the Riverponics Growing System. The Patented design filters, dispenses, and recycles the compost tea for increased volume in each setting. The compost tea brewer can feed multiple grow systems or be valued independently for specific needs
• Integrated techniques for structuring water as a closed loop growing system
• Save money by harnessing viable resources from your homestead. Implement these resources into the Compost Tea Brewer. Also, for soil conditioning
• Compost Tea Brewer enhances your ability to be creative with nutrient chemistry
• Limits the work and quality of time needed to have a successful outcome
• Recirculating, auto-watering system for drought conditions and water preservation
• Indoor / outdoor growing system for year round use
• Elevated off the ground to prevent over saturation from torrential rain
• Elevated off the ground for easy access and a deterrent for animals
• User friendly, mobile, and scalable
• Adjustable powder coated steel frame
• Easy to replenish spent soil with newly fresh soil by the use of our self-watering  growing containers
• Virtually eliminates weed control
• Compatible with other growing methods such as Aqua Culture, as mentioned
• Low cost to operate and manage
• The use of soil, saves money on the cost of fertilizers during the early stages of plant growth
• Ability to control the water level in each growing channel, giving you a window of time to prevent loss of crops from power outages or unforeseen circumstances
• Versatile to incorporate other growing techniques from our uniquely designed growing channels
• Growing channels have removable lids for versatile growing methods, cleaning purposes, and easy access to monitor root zone
• The pump that circulates the water and nutrients through the Riverponics Growing System can be placed on a timer to save energy. Cycling will replenish the water and nutrients as required. Note: This only applies to our larger scale growing systems. Our smaller scale growing systems are gravity feed and flow continuously without additional pumps
• Take back control to eliminate any concerns of product misuse and establish a personal relationship with the food you consume
• We custom design to meet your needs
• Handicap accessible
• Hydro Tea LLC. Better known as ‘Riverponics” has created a worry free growing system. Independent in it’s own right from constant monitoring, and resistant from power outages and unforeseen circumstances. Claim your confidence today to enjoy the peace of mind Riverponics has to offer. “Closing The Loop For All Your Growing Needs”  Thank you…