BottleCrop - The lettuce on a bottle

Today, fresh lettuce and herbs are desired in many private kitchens because they are healthy and also delicious. Even better is the taste of produce which is grown at home. Lucky are those who can call a garden or balcony their own. For all the others, we designed BottleCrop!

In short, BottleCrop is lettuce grown in a bottle with a minimum of effort. Simply setup the system and let the plants put down roots before placing it on a sunny windowsill. The lettuce will be ready for harvesting within a few weeks. No additional watering or care is required! – Only marvel and enjoy!

BottleCrop is the simplest form of hydroponic gardening. There are only three easy steps necessary:

1. Give all the nutrients into the bottle and fill it up with fresh tap water.
2. Prepare the cultivation funnel and put the grain into the propagation cube.
3. Chose a sunny place at your window bench and wait

See the advantages of BottleCrop:

* No refilling of water untill the lettuce is ready
* Watch the root growing at any time
* Your lettuce saves at least 90 percent of water (compared to field cultivation)
* No contamination of your lettuce by soil or pests (e.g. snails)

IMPORTANNT NOTES AND FAQ:

Reuse BottleCrop again and again. We deliver it with enough seeds, nutrients and propagation soil to grow three lettuces. Afterwards you can buy refill-packs from us.

The lettuce is ready after six to eight weeks (depends on sun irradiation).

Don’t start the cultivation of BottleCrop before March. There won’t be enough sun before that time.

We hopefully are in the position to deliver BottleCrop in January 2014. We will do this at the latest before the beginning of March in any case to give you the chance to start the cultivation on time.

Any more questions? Just write it down on our wall!

Our goal:

It is our goal to develop a system, which allows anybody to grow their own lettuce or herbs, without the need for a great deal of care. In particular, the continuous watering of the plants will be unnecessary due to precise BottleCrop design. We have exactly identified how our system must be sized to meet the requirements of the plants.

All needed components (except the tap water) will be included in the package (bottle, growing funnel with propagation cubes, protective cardboard, plant seeds, nutrient salts, test strips for water quality and a short but detailed user manual). The basic package includes enough propagation cubes, seeds and nutrient salts for at least three crops. The entire system can be used again and again. After several years of trial and error with satisfying results, we are now ready to produce an initial series of 500 to 1000 units which we plan to distribute to our sponsors and schools for free. If the project is successful, then we will strive for the commercialization of BottleCrop including a further adaption of the system for other plant species.

The target group(s)

The first target group that we want to address is YOU!

You are a prime example of a modern-minded human, who probably lives in an urban area and wants to know where their food originates from. Soon you will be able to grow (on a window sill) and taste for yourself the most water efficient lettuce in the world.

The BottleCrop system also has an educational application. Students can use the system to experience the whole development life cycle of the plant (above AND below the surface). Additionally, the importance of nutrients and their function for plant growth and development can be examined. For this purpose, special “Kits for Kids” will be provided.

We are convinced that our idea for producing vegetables and herbs in simple hydroponic systems can achieve great popularity in modern society. First attempts of this are already available. In order to reduce potential prejudices and to avoid the technical complexity of other systems, we want to start with the system that allows the simplest entry into the hydroponics and ensures the success of plant cultivation.

BECAUSE:

Besides our primary responsibilities, we, as a young company, want to develop numerous horticultural innovations for the private use in the coming years. The BottleCrop project is a trial by fire with which we want to move forward in a social, business, and personal way.

For the production of BottleCrop, a large part of the available capital will be needed for the production of our specially developed cultivation funnel. It is the centerpiece of our product and ensures that the lettuce is raised in a proper and desired form. Additional, we will need to design and establish the printed protective cardboard. Even if it is a low-tech concept, it still should look nice on YOUR window sill. Bottles must be acquired, which is problematic since the whole unit should be made in Germany (we want to avoid “Made in China”!). Seeds (no GMO!), propagation cubes and nutrients must be ordered, individually packed and so on.

Even if we eventually want to create a profit from selling BottleCrop commercially in the future, the raised money only goes into the production of this first “limited” series.