Quote:
Originally Posted by ALToronto
...The desk is hardly a suitable place for a water-holding vessel. This isn't to say that one couldn't grow plants on a desktop, but it would mean a modification of the desk itself, and that would cost a lot more than $135.
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Thanks for the feedback ALToronto. Like you, most people have had an issue with the cost of what I'm releasing. I don't blame them, it's much higher than I want it to be which is why I've figured out a way to bring the cost down to
$40 retail per structure. When I started this project it took me too long to construct each one to justify bringing the price down to where I wanted it to be. Now I've redesigned the way I build them, as well as a slight modification to their size, and am able to provide them at a much more affordable price. With this shift in construction and design strategy I'll be canceling my Kickstarter within the next two days and releasing a video where I'll be announcing all kinds of updates to what I'm doing.
Before I respond to your other concerns, let me give you my background. I built my first aquarium, with the help of my dad, when I was four years old. I loved building and designing the aquariums to mimic a natural habitat. When I was 14 I got into keeping dart frogs and more terrestrial enclosures. Creating a natural habitat that allowed the frogs to breed like they would in the wild was a ton of fun and a very rewarding experience for me. I'm just about to turn 25 and have never stopped designing, building and working with all kinds of enclosures, plants, and animals. I wanted to create something new with all of the experience I had gained over 20 years of experience; miniature living walls seemed like a great idea. The smallest (retail) walls I could find were still 2-4 feet tall and fairly cumbersome. I designed these walls to let the average person keep plants on their desk in an easy, clean, visually appealing setup.
Things you seem to be concerned with:
- Stagnating water
- Cost
- The design being idiot-resistant
I've already addressed cost.
Stagnating water isn't an issue I've had in any of the test models that I've run for the past 4 or so months. The water evaporates at a fast enough rate that this won't be an issue. These walls aren't just designed for orchids; I point out several times that these walls fit all kinds of plants. I have one wall with carnivorous plants growing into and up the hygrolon, it looks awesome. Like Epiphyte78 said, it's just a variation on aquaponics.
I don't expect the majority of people using these walls to fertilize their plants. I've grown orchids for years without it and, given the right lighting, I've never had any issues without it.
It really seems like my design doesn't fit
your version of how this should be done. I welcome any thoughts you have to improve the design as well as any designs you might make yourself to counter mine.
-Everett
Linear Mode
