Geoponics Blog

Several months ago, a woman who lost her mother to cancer came upon a Geoponics booth at a “green” trade show in Florida. She was impressed with the idea of an organic fertilizer and the knowledge provided by the Geoponics team member she met.

Vicky thought it would be perfect for this organic garden at a hospital in North Naples, the Garden of Hope and Healing, which is managed for and by cancer patients and their families.
Since neither the hospital staff nor the patients are professional farmers or even well-practiced gardeners, they had some challenges maintaining a fully organic garden of produce.
They started using FertaFlow(TheOrganicPlantFood.com) and are reporting the best results ever in growing several vegetables that will feed their immune-compromised patients.

Here is their story:

What is the garden?
The Garden of Hope and Healing was started three years ago by our cancer support group “Survivors and Friends,” who were not satisfied with not having a hand in their own treatment. They wanted to take some control back in a situation where every doctor and nurse and agency was telling them what they could do and what their chances of survival were.

Why is it important to be fully organic?
These are people very determined to live and live well. They know that organic and alkalizing foods help to fight cancer.
Due to patients having compromised immune systems, they must be at six months out of treatment to work in the garden. However, they can come out and participate by recommending weeds get pulled in a certain area and in other ways. Organic matter can get them sick. The produce is harvested, bagged and available for the support group on Tuesdays, so that if anyone chooses to take some they can. We are conscientious about avoiding infections in our immune compromised members, so they actually never touch the produce.

How did the Garden of Hope and Healing go from an idea to a reality?
Where we meet for our group sessions has a window that looks out on to a courtyard at the North Naples Community Hospital. It was very weedy and overgrown but it had potential. We asked administration if we could start an organic garden and were given permission to do so.
Our volunteer auxiliary people even gave us a grant to get it started. It was cleared, gravel and insecticide riddled dirt were removed, garden beds developed and we’ve never looked back. Volunteers from various parts of southern Florida have helped us to continue the transformation. Businesses have donated plants, seeds, tools – or we’ve been given very good discounts – and the progress continues. We’re looking forward to a Boy Scout Eagle project to start some time this year to help with enlarging the beds and creating safe seating groups and a shelter so everyone can come out and enjoy the Garden.
Some patients come back and work here once they are six months out of treatment because they are so highly motivated. They made it through this and they want to help other people.

How common are these gardens?
These kinds of places just don’t exist. There are many people, experts and practitioners in the areas of infectious diseases, who don’t like these. They don’t like the risks. That’s why we are very careful about everything we use and everyone who comes here.

What are some other challenges?
The problem is that organic food is also very expensive. Anyone going though cancer treatment will tell you, your financial world is also turned upside down, along with all the emotional turmoil and personal implications. So, while this garden helps with that, getting it going has some challenges.
We are not farmers by profession and we learn as we go.
I get so nervous when a tree or plant that was dedicated to a lost family member or in honor of someone starts to go wrong.
What plant or tree works best where is coming together finally. Taking care of damaging bugs and critters is always a challenge.
Making sure every product we use is truly organic has made taking care of the garden a bit difficult.

How did you come across Geoponics and why did you try it?
The challenge of ensuring that all our products are truly organic is why we were all so excited about Geoponics.
One of our group members, Vicky, was at a “green” trade show and met the some of the people from Geoponics. She was very excited and came back to tell us – we’ve been very happy about that chance meeting!
Geoponics gave us two huge jugs of the concentrate FertaFlow and we’ve used it to good results.

What results did you observe with FertaFlow?
We’ve never had the tomato plants glow so fast that we couldn’t keep them supported fast enough! They’re a foot taller than they were at this time last year.
We have a couple test patches of cabbages – the plot with Fertaflow is much further along.
The onions treated with FertaFlow on the right side of the bed are taller and heartier than those on the left side of the garden bed that did not get the FertaFlow. It’s going to make a big difference come harvest time.
For me, the next big plus has been the smell – it really doesn’t stink. This is a hospital courtyard after all! And the fact that we have an organic garden in it is a national rarity! We want to be sure to comply with all the regulations the hospital must conform to, so we are very careful about who can work in the garden, the dirt issue and the smell. Our patients come here to get well and I can’t have them getting sick due to a strong fishy smell. This product is minty smelling and mild at that. I’m a bit messy, but if I get some on me I don’t stink when I have to walk by a patient.
Also, I thought I was losing one of the dedicated trees, but it is coming back with lots of new growth after being fertilized.
We are impressed with this product and its results.

Thanks!
~Bob Weiss and Therese Richmond, NCH North Campus, Compassionate Drug Program, Outpatient Infusion Services

Golf Course Superintendent Bob Vaughey finds Geoponics products help move water and salt (sodium) through soil, turf at California golf courses.

Can you tell me about the properties where you’ve seen results with Geoponics?
I used Geoponics products, including Penterra, Agriox and HydraHawk for about three years at TPC Valencia and just began using them at Rolling Hills Country Club. We won’t begin the Agriox at Rolling Hills for a couple months when it warms up.
At TPC we had overseeded Bermuda grass. We used Penterra on the greens wall-to-wall in the winter. We used HydraHawk on the greens in the summer, from about April to September.
At Rolling Hills we have Kikuyu on the fairway, a mix in the rough and poa on the greens. It’s a 1960’s course with pushup greens.

What are some of the challenges on these California courses?
The soil is highly saline because we use reclaimed water. That also means soil compaction.
In California, there is poa everywhere, so trying to keep the poa out of the unique Bentgrass greens was a challenge.

When did you learn about Geoponics products?
About two or three years ago a friend in Northern California was using it and recommended I try it. At that time, there wasn’t a Geoponics sales representative in California, so I was talking to a sales representative in Florida. I must have talked to the rep for an hour and a half before I decided to try Penterra. They shared some really good information and had a interesting way of looking at soil and water and how they work together.

You said you tried Penterra first. What did you see?
I’d recently thrown a few thousand dollars down the drain on a different wetting agent. So I just bought a 2 ½ gallon jug as a trial, which is next to nothing in price.
I used every wetting agent on the market and that’s no exaggeration. Most of the time, you don’t notice any difference.
At TPC I did side-by-side trials. At Rolling Hills we have a soil monitor measuring everything and sending the data to my phone. I can see the temperature, salinity, percentage of soil moisture.
The members are commenting that the greens are much firmer than they were.
We only sprayed two applications of Penterra, so far.
If members are noticing it, that’s what counts.

So, at TPC I had my spray tech apply the Penterra without telling me where so I could test if I could detect if the product made any difference.
It honestly moved the water through the soil. We use reclaimed water, so we get sodium build up and moving the water through the soil helps prevent that.
I was using ——–(Brand Name Surfactant) at the time, which is still a good, good product. But side-by-side… I used the soil probe on the greens. After two applications of Penterra trial, I took the soil probe and could only get it 2 to 3 inches down into the soil it was so compacted in one area. I went to the other side and the probe went down to my knuckles, which is like a foot.
I asked my spray tech, “Did you spray the right side of green 3 and left side of 7?”
Sure enough. I’ve been using it ever since. It not only kept water moving through the soil, it also kept the salt from building up.

How about the HydraHawk?
Well the Penterra did exactly what it’s supposed to do. In the summer, the Penterra worked too well on the greens. So we sprayed and flushed the greens when it was 110 degrees outside and the next day we handwatered. The Penterra did it’s job. It was bone dry. So we started using HydraHawk to help hold water.

As a superintendent, what are your thoughts on the natural or organic aspects of Geoponics products?

Don’t get me wrong, it helps, but I want the product that will do the job. Penterra and HydraHawk definitely work well.
If I was told these products weren’t natural, I would still use them.
I won’t use anything worse than something with a caution label.
I will say though, it’s really nice when it comes to the safety of the guys working.
Also, the HydraHawk does have a nice smell to it, but other than that…
I’ve recommended Geoponics to a few buddies and all have liked it, said it worked and continued to use it.
I say, try on an area of your course. If it works, keep it. If it doesn’t work, no harm no foul.

Jon Lobenstine of Potomac, MD, oversees nine golf courses in Montgomery County, including Falls Road Golf Course where he serves as the superintendent.

When did you first learn of Geoponics products and how?
Last Spring, I saw a post on the Geoponics Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/Geoponics) showing the results of the products increasing water movement on the greens at a golf course. I went to the Geoponics website and researched some more. The You Tube videos (www.Geoponics.TV) with the wetting test demonstrating Penterra really intrigued me. I spoke with a Geoponics representative and he was very knowledgable. I was very impressed.

What products did you try? Why do you use Geoponics?
Agriox, Penterra and HydraHawk. Growing grass or a nice lawn can be difficult. Growing grass on a golf course is even more difficult. The low height of an 1/8 inch isn’t natural. You’re constantly putting it under stress, add weather, disease, insects… You’re looking for anything to give a competitive advantage. These products are giving us that extra competitive edge. They make our job easier.

Can you tell me a little about the specific greens and soil conditions you’re working with and the challenges?
The biggest challenge we have are old push up greens on native soil, which is heavy clay, mixed with sandy soil in some areas. Water just didn’t move through the soil profile after heavy rains.

What results did you see with each of the Geoponics products you used?
Penterra (Penterra.net) is pushing the water through the soil. It worked better and more consistantly than anything I’ve ever tried. This season was the most noticeable by steadily keeping the surface firm.
A lot of wetting agents are tablets where you have to keep supplementing with hand watering. We didn’t have that. We didn’t have any localized dry spots, no hydrophobic areas for a full season. The greens were consistant and predictable like never before.
The Penterra worked so well at pushing the water through that we added HydraHawk (HydraHawk.com) on the sand-based greens to help hold more moisture in the top few inches.
Agriox (Agriox.com) is really great. One of the reasons we added it was that we had more rain than usual this spring. We had black layer in the pushup greens because the soil was very anaerobic. The increase in performance, the color, the vigor was almost instantaneous with Agriox. We decreased our use in fertilizer. We eliminated the black layer. There’s definitely something to it. Agriox is pretty neat because it has a long-term release. So we had the Penterra getting the water through the soil and the Agriox was as if we were spraying oxygen through the soil.

How about the cost and value of the products?
The cost is right where it needs to be. It’s an affordable choice for me. I’m not quite at that point where I can afford to use it on the fairways every two weeks, but the greens are the most important. That’s where it affects playability the most.

How about the service with an out-of-state Geoponics sales representative?
The service relationship is outstanding. I must have called the rep 15 times at least last year. He’s very quick to get to me and very knowledgeable.

Whether a consumer growing a garden or lawn, or a professional managing the growth of plants or turf, you may learn more about how Geoponics products create sustainable ecologies that harness the natural reactions that make life on this planet possible by visiting www.GeoponicsCorp.com and keeping up on the news at www.Facebook.com/Geoponics.

Chris Walden, superintendent of Misty Creek Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, said he was skeptical at first when one of a slew of sales representatives came into his office claiming to have a superior wetting agent. It didn’t take long for Chris to change his mind about Geoponics products, he said.

Can you tell me a little about Misty Creek, the turf and soil conditions there?

Misty Creek has Champion Bermuda greens and the rest is 419 Bermuda. We have USGA greens. The soil is a mix of sand and a clay-type material.

Chris didn’t highlight the fact that Misty Creek is also the only champion golf course in Southwest Florida that is set in a wildlife preserve with resident eagles and live oak forests bordering almost every fairway. It is recognized by Audubon International for its environmental excellence, designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

When and how did you first discover Geoponics products?
A Geoponics salesrep came in telling me all the positives about the products. At first, I was skeptical. Everybody talks about their wetting agents being the best. I get bombarded with 20 sales agents.
The thing that impressed me when I first agreed to try the Penterra was that I said to the Geoponics sales rep, “OK I’ll spray it, but you got to come out the first time and see how it works with me.”
He came out at 5:30 in the morning.
(laughs) He talked it so much. Actually I think it was him who said “If you want, I’ll come out with you.”
So, I called him on it and sure enough he shows up at 5:30.

What results did you see with the Penterra?
When it comes to the Penterra, what the sales rep said it does, sure enough, it does.
I saw results immediately with the health of the greens and water movement.
I started using it in September 2011. Sometimes, the greens will seal up and in two to three minutes of watering, it will puddle up in some places. The rep said “You put this out there, you won’t have that affect after irrigation.”
And it’s true. Other products weren’t pulling the water through the way I wanted them to.
There are a few products that cost less and there are products that cost more, but for the price per acre with the results we are getting, it’s a great deal. It’s well worth it.

Any other unexpected results, how about cold weather?
Oh, yes. We had a cold snap two days in a row. We knew it was coming, so we sprayed the Penterra the two nights before. We had a good frost too and the greens weren’t touched at all. The Penterra kept the frost off the greens. (www.TurfFrost.com) Not all wetting agents have that capability.

Learn more about Geoponics products with this one-page product guide to get started.

Matt DiMase Superintendent of Spanish Wells Country Club in Bonita Springs, Fla. shares how Geoponics products have helped the golf course he manages through several challenges and a recent upgrade to winter rye grass.

According to Matt and the local daily newspaper, The NewsPress, members are seeing the differences too and are very pleased.

Can you tell me about Spanish Wells, the golf club, as well as the soil and turf conditions here?

Spanish Wells was built in 1979 by Gordan Lewis. It’s 27 holes. The latest 9 holes were built in the mid ‘90’s, so we have a wide variety with a 30-year old course and a 15 to 16 year-old course.

Our greens are Tift Dwarf, our fairways are 419 Bermuda Grass and our tees are 419 Bermuda Grass and our roughs are common.

This year we decided to overseed our tees, rough, fairways and collars with a three-way blend of Winter Rye Grass. We did that in mid-to late November.

Have you had some recent challenges?

Yes. We’ve had some recent challenges to say the least. Our soil conditions are not the best. We have some areas that are extremely sandy and then we have some areas that are high organic, completely compacted. We have black layer in areas. There are 170 acres of turf, give or take, and there is a wide variety of all types of challenges.

When did you discover Geoponics products?

I discovered Geoponics when Escalante came in and bought the club in March (2011). There was some product sitting on the shelf that I’d never seen or heard of. I looked at the label and called the number. The sales rep came out and explained the product and how it worked. It was Penterra, the wetting agent.

What made you decide to continue with Geoponics, since it was already here?

Yeah. It was already here. I had never used Geoponics products before. I had always used the big dogs’ products, if you will. I had nothing on the shelf except that product, so I said “let’s see how it does and how good it is.” I was surprised by the results, to say the least.

We were able to keep more moisture and save water at a time where water is very valuable—in the summer months. So I stayed with it. It never did me wrong and I saw some great results. I figured why switch.

What stood out compared to the other products you used as a superintendent at other courses?

I would say the value, results and the longevity between the applications. There were some wetting agents where I was going out every 10, 12 or 14 days. With the Penterra I was going out with 2 quarts an acre every three to four weeks. So I was getting better longevity and value out of it.

What other products have you used?

I used the HydraHawk, which I was spraying on the fairways as well as on some slopes on the golf course. The HydraHawk became like a religion for us. We went out every three weeks in the summer months, depending on some areas, maybe every two weeks. We were going out wall-to-wall chasing hot spots. We had a lot of hydrophobic areas. A lot of areas that water did not want to penetrate. We tried the Hydrahawk and I was very pleased with the results.

We used the Agriox on the greens mixed with the Penterra. I figured I was seeing good results with the first two I tried, so why not try another one.

I also used the Humawet and HydroGro during our overseed this summer. I only sprayed that on our tees. We then started our irrigation program. We weren’t closed during our overseed like some of the higher end clubs get to do. We were open the very next day, or that afternoon. I saw germination as quickly as three days after spraying the tees, which helped us get that seed established. It was able to take a beating, if you will, from the golfers. Right now our tee boxes look pretty good.

We were still in the low 90s and our night temperatures were a little off for us. I wasn’t expected it to germinate so quickly, so when I saw it, I was pretty pleased.

Did you save any money? Save any water?

I would say every superintendent for the most part, and especially in Florida, South Florida too, battles water, water usage and water management. One sure way to manage water is with wetting agents, Penterra, HydraHawk. There were 97 degree days where I would spray Penterra or HydraHawk in the morning, run my watering, and know I’d be fine throughout the day and could miss a day or two days of irrigating. Over a course that’s 170 acres, that’s saving 700,000 gallons of water a night. So, I would highly recommend other superintendents, depending on your soil and what you’re battling, whether clay, sandy loam, definitely give these wetting agents a try.