The IGWorks Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $100,000 for the patent-pending iHarvest in only three days since its April 16th debut. The iHarvest is a beautiful hydroponic system that will reinvent vegetable gardening. “All the existing systems were either too small to grow real food with, or too unattractive to enjoy at home with friends and family,” explains founder and CEO Dave Stevens. The solution was an automated and fully self-contained system that simultaneously grows up to 30 fruits and vegetables, all within 2.5 sq. feet of floor space. iHarvest makes it easy for gardeners everywhere to grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and more, while saving up to $1,000 a year on groceries.
Smaller indoor and outdoor spaces, limited time, harsh seasons and unpredictable climates can make it increasingly challenging to grow healthy produce at home. “We knew that the answer lied in hydroponics; however, the existing systems were either unattractive, cumbersome, costly or challenging to use,” said Stevens. “I wanted an attractive, indoor garden that could easily fit into the smallest apartment, while also providing enough produce to help feed a family year-round.”
Realizing that there was nothing on the market that met his needs, Stevens enlisted a team of individuals, including engineers and business advisors, to bring iHarvest and IGWorks to life. The result was an eye-catching self-contained growing wall that enhances spaces with a burst of greenery and light.
According to IGWorks statement, the iHarvest is 50 percent faster than traditional outdoor vegetable growing techniques, while using 20 times less water. And you don’t need to mess around with nasty pesticides or herbicides either. iHarvest users will need to place the non-GMO seeds into a growing medium before loading up the pods into the self-contained vertical garden, adding water and then waiting for harvest time. There’s a trellis support system for growing hangers like squash and cucumber, the low maintenance unit draws just 70 W of power, operation is fully automated – though full spectrum LED lights give growers control over sunrise and sunset cycles – and the system is not dependent of favorable weather to produce a bumper crop.
Early Kickstarter supporters will receive the iHarvest for a substantially reduced price of $499 versus the projected retail price of $850, a 41% savings. “This innovative system will reinvent the way that consumers look at indoor gardening, making it easy and attractive to grow fresh produce in every home,” said Stevens. “By supporting iHarvest on Kickstarter, supporters can help bring the future of gardening to market.”