Design & Purpose
The Garden Angel™ watering device is a polymer unit (food-grade plastic) designed to capture, direct, and contain moisture in a plant’s root system. Units are designed for use in commercial and residential gardening purposes and can be installed in the ground, around existing plants/trees/shrubs, or in group or individual self-contained units. The units interlock along the top edges of other units or into a self-contained base. In May of 2014, 2 hand-crafted prototype units were created incorporating the single hole, 4 spike design.
Theory
My theory on the effectiveness of the Garden Angel™ watering device is: (1) The plants with the device will require less water, (2) The plants with the device would require less weeding, (3) The root system of the device would be more robust, and (4) The plants with the device would produce more fruits
Testing
I purchased (4) RUTGERS HEIRLOOM tomato plants from a local retailer. 2 of the tomato plants were planted in the Garden Angel™ hand-crafted units and other 2 were planted in the garden soil. Although I tried to purchase identical plants, there were moderate variations in the plant sizes with 2 slightly larger and 2 slightly smaller plants. I split the tomato plants into 2 groups, each containing one large and 1 small plant. The first set were planted using the Garden Angel™ hand-crafted units and the second set were planted directly in the soil. Three plants were set in a row with the fourth plant set in a separate area (to see if the different soil area would affect the growth of the plant. (NOTE: This separate plant did not have the Garden Angel™ device; Plants are in order 1-4 below)
Results
Watering began at planting on 6/9 and continued through final fruit harvest on 8/24. A Water Data Chart (figures 1a and 1b) show the dates and times of watering. 6 days after planting, a mole tunneled through the root system of Plant #4 and damaged the ability for the roots to absorb water. Plant #4 continued to be watered, but was significantly smaller than the other 3 test plants. (See watering charts to right, plant root stem and ball measurements below)
Garden Angel Plant Roots
Plant Roots with and without Garden Angel Units
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 1 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 1 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 1 Stem
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 1 Stem
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 2 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 2 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 2 Stem
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 2 Stem
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 3 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 3 Root
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 3 Stem
Garden Angel Case Study Plant 3 Stem
Garden Angel Plant 4 Stem
Garden Angel Plant 4 Stem
Analysis
Plants 1 & 2 had more robust root systems than Plant 3. Plants 1 & 2 had more robust stems than Plant 3. Plant 1 harvested 45 tomatoes from the plant, Plant 2 harvested 42 tomatoes, and plant 3 harvested 28 tomatoes. The root system from Plant #3 grew towards the root system of Plant #2, indicating Plant #3’s tendency to seek the moist soil under Plant #2. No weeding was required around Plant #’s 1 & 2, but the area around Plant #’s 3 & 4 required a minimum of 1/week weeding.
Conclusion
The Garden Angel™ watering device provided a better growing environment with less water and less weeding than with conventional planting. The plants using the Garden Angel™ watering device used 28% less water than the plants set directly in the ground. The plants using the Garden Angel™ watering device resulted in an average increase in fruit yield of over 50%.
Garden Angel Farm is an agriculture technology company that empowers growers of all types to conserve, save and produce. We build well-designed, tightly integrated hardware products that enable you to save water while eliminating weeding and increasing your yield.