Imagine if you could grow organic fruits and vegetables right inside your home, year-round?
That's what a startup called Grove wants to help you do with its Ecosystem, which they describe as "an intelligent, in-home garden."
Grove Labs, a startup based in Sommerville, Massachusetts, was founded by two MIT students who wanted to give people the ability to grow their own food, regardless of their location or season.
The startup raised $4 million in seed funding, according to the Boston Globe. And in just four days, the company has raised more than $230,000 in additional funding on Kickstarter.
But their product isn't cheap: Pricing starts at $2,700.
Here's how the ecosystem works:
The ecosystem contains an aquarium, where fish eat food and turn it into waste. Bacteria take that waste and turn it into nitrates, which is a a critical fertilizer for plants. A plumbing system pumps the nitrate-enriched water through the plant beds, creating a self-enclosed ecosystem.
This symbiosis between fish, plants, and bacteria is called aquaponics.
The ecoystems contain two gardening beds. Instead of soil, they contain expanding clay pebbles, which also act as a biological filter. The plants are nourished by LED lights, which can slide up and down to adjust to the height of the plants.
The ecosystem is controlled by an intelligent operating system. It even comes with a vacation mode, so you won't need to rely on a neighbor to water your plants.
Grove plans to launch its product nationally soon.
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