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We believe all members of a community should have equal access to nutritious organic produce. Through the use of modern, clean technology for indoor farming, Urban-LED-Growth subtracts the high energy cost associated with traditional food transport and production.

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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

about us

Urban-LED-Growth was created to increase the availablilty of affordable organic produce via urban indoor farming. The demand for organic, fresh produce is growing on a global scale. However, we are in a state of dimished agricultural resources and inconsistant weather patterns. The solution is to create urban indoor farms. Without companies like Urban-LED-Growth, leading the way in sustainable food production, our basic world needs for nutrious food won't be met.Urban-LED-Growth will have it's first urban indoor farm, located in the city of Boise, ID. Our headquarters are located in the Alaska building at 1020 West Main St. Please come visit our show room and meet the Urban-LED-Growth team. Coming soon....On the first Thursday of every month, for the Boise Art Walk, we will showcase our monthly Live Art series. The Urban-LED-Growth Live Art series will be a monthly creation of vertical wall garden art.Our organic produce will be grown using a series of Omega Volksgarden units. Omega's Volksgarden is a hydroponic system, created to meet the demands of the world today. The Volksgarden is a revolutionary system designed with convenience, simplicity, and maximum yield in mind.
urban farming
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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

urban indoor farming

Advantages of Urban Indoor FarmingIndoor crops provide afforable food grown organically All water and nutrients are recycled, using 80% less water than traditional outdoor cropsDistance traveled from farm to plate is reduced, ensuring that products are at their peak of freshnessDistance traveled from farm to plate is reduced, lowering fossil fuel and energy useUtilizes unused space in urban areas as indoor farms Job creationElimination of weather-related crop failureIncrease in food safety and security

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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

grow systems

the volksgarden®
stackable volksgarden®
Farmdominium
the lights

the volksgarden®

Indoor Garden

The Volksgarden® brings simple, clean, and amazingly effective hydroponics gardening to the comforts of your own home. Grow what you want, when you want! The Volksgarden® unit allows you to grow up to 80 plants at once. Herbs, Vegetables, Fruits, and Grains can be harvested easily and continuously by even beginner gardeners.Like all units featuring Omega Garden Technology, the Volksgarden® utilizes a rotating cylinder housing the plants arranged around the light at the center. The result is highly effective use of lumens, water, and nutrients. Ultimately, you'll have a garden that grows fast, strong, and healthy through each season of the year. The Volksgarden® is truly a garden for the people! Features•1 piece ABS food-grade plastic cylinder•cylinder drive motor•Borosilicate glass lamp housing•easy to follow assembly instructions•ABS food-grade plastic feed tray•1 - 400 gallon per hour Mag Drive pump(North America only)•1 - 100 watt power converter (outside North America only)•powder coated steel stand•individual plastic medium holders•pre-wired and Safety Certified.•easy to assemble and operate.•plugs into a standard 110V outlet.•48" diameter x 76" tall by 30" wide•full five-year warranty (excluding glass)ConstructionThe Volksgarden® is made of precision molded plastic, with the remaining structural components made of powder-coated steel. It is designed to hold 3" root medium and accommodates space for up to 80 plants.The cylinder is chain driven and rotates a constant 24 hours a day, taking approximately 45 min. to complete one full rotation.What You Needseeds or seedlingslamps and air cooling (One 400W; 600W; 1000W or compact fluorescent available at hydroponics supply stores)rock wool cubes or other root mediumnutrient solutionwater reservoir - guidelines included with instructionstimers - one for watering, one for lighting (optional but required to automate)meter to measure pH, TDS, and tempVolksgarden® Assembly StepsClick here for assembly instructions and videosFor More InformationThe Omega Garden™ WebsiteEmail

stackable volksgarden®

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Farmdominium

Farmdominium TM Vertical Farming Design

Omega Garden's Farmdominium TM Vertical Farming Design

the lights

Hydro Grow LED

The future of vertical gardening is here! Hydro Grow is the world's leading manufacturer when it comes to LED Grow Light development. We are the first and ONLY company in the world to develop a stand-alone, Vertical LED Grow Light System, dubbed the 504W Penetrator! The 504W features the same spectral complexity as our other Penetrator LED Grow Lights, with wider 90 degree lenses to achieve equal, 360 degree light coverage. The 504W is best suited for supplemental purposes in larger grow light systems, placed between multiple adult plants to stimulate top to bottom flowering. It is also perfect for vegetative use in any commercial vertical gardening system with a width of 60" or less, such as the OmegaGarden, Spinner, etc... , however modifications or custom brackets may be necessary. Get your 504W LED Grow Light today, and experience vertical gardening like you've never known it before, with Zero Stress, Zero Heat, and Zero Bulb Replacments!504W Penetrator LED Grow Light Features•Replaces 600W HID while using 40% less power •Suitable for all stages of growth•Zero maintenance costs - No bulbs to replace•Environmetally friendly - CONTAINS NO MERCURY - Green Product•Convenient On/Off Switch and Hanger assembly included •Ultra low heat signatureTechnical Specifications•Full Spectrum: 440nm, 470nm, 525nm, 640nm, 660nm, 740nm •Spectra Ratios: 75% Red, 10% Blue, 15% Green; •Uses (504) 1W High Power LED's (actual power consumption ~ 420W) •Widened 90 Degree Viewing Angle Standard (60 Degree Optional) •6 foot long Standard 110v Outlet Power Cable (220V and International plugs available) •1 High Quality, High CFM Cooling Fan •Measures approximately 21" tall, 10.5" wide•Weight: 35lbsLED Grow Light Usage Information•Recommended Vertical Emitting Area: 36"•Recommended Horizontal Emitting Area: 24" from glass •LED Grow Light Grower's Guide6 Week Volksgarden Test VideoLink to VideoFor More InformationHydro Grow LED Website
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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

reasons to eat + grow sustainably

Affordable Organic Food The United Nations is predicting that the world population will swell to over 11 billion by the year 2050. To feed our growing population affordable organic food, we must integrate technology with agriculture and create indoor urban farms. Dramatic Decrease in Water Usage Volksgarden hydroponic units use 99% less water than traditional land farming methoods.Shorter Distance from Farm to Table The return of locally sourced produce is making a comeback partially due to the rise in energy cost. By decreasing the distance from farm to table, we can lessen the impact of Further, indoor urban farms don't rely heavily on petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides. Utilization of Unused Urban Space Lets put unused urban commercial space to work, housing local indoor farms that provide communities with safe, affordable, organic produce.Job Creation Every dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy and will provide jobs that are agriculturally based.Elimination of Weather Related Crop Failure Crops can now be grown in fully conditioned ares, close to the consumer, with precise predictable harvest times.Increase in Food Safety & Crop Security Where does your food come from and is it safe? How far has it traveled? What are the growing practices?' Food traceability and security is a big issue. Indoor urban farms give us the ability to trace the source or our food with more certainty and gives us more control over the security of our food supply. Economic Viability of LED Grow Lights - Energy Savings (from 40% to 75% decrease in energy use over HPS or MH grow lights)- Emit very little heat (eliminates the chance of burning plants and reduces water consumption, since less water evaporates)- Amazing Life Span (LED grow lights last a minimum of 50,000 hours)- 90% of light produced falls within the spectra of Photosyntetically Active Radiation (PAR)
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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

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Eating food produced in Idaho means more than just eating fresh, local, quality products, it also means you are supporting local farmers, ranchers and food processors. Idaho Preferred® is a program of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture dedicated to identifying and promoting Idaho food and agriculture products. Fresh fruits, vegetables and meats; fine wines and specialty foods; nursery plants, trees and hay cubes all of these products make up the wide variety of products represented by the Idaho Preferred® program. To find local products just look for the blue and gold label at your local grocery store, farmers market, restaurant, or retail nursery and enjoy the finest products around those grown or processed right here in Idaho.
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green of the day

Basil is a tender low-growing plant that grows in warm, tropical climates. Its leaves looks a little like peppermint, since they belong to the same plant family. Basil is native to Iran, India and other tropical region in Asia. The plant grows to between 30-130cm tall, it has a light green silky leaves and a white flower. Basil is very sensitive to cold and is best grown in hot, dry conditions.Basil highly fragrant leaves it is best used when fresh as a seasoning, when used in cooked dishes it is generally added when the food is almost cook because as the heat can easily destroy its flavor.Health Benefits of Basil:Studies have established that basil essential oil contain a substance that have a strong antioxidant that can prevent premature aging, age related problems and even cancer.Essential oil of basil has anti-bacterial properties. Studies have shown the effectiveness of basil in restricting growth of numerous bacteria (like staphylococcus, enterococcus and pseudomonas) that has become resistant to commonly used antibiotic drugs.Basil contain flavonoids (orientin and vicenin are the two important water-soluble flavonoids), the flavonoids in basil protect cell structures as well as chromosomes from radiation and oxygen-based damaged.Basil has anti-inflammatory effects, making it an ideal food for those people suffering from arthritis. The basil oil contains substance called eugenol which blocks the activity of an enzyme in the body called cyclooxygenase. This enzyme would normally cause swelling.Basil is a rich source of Beta-carotene, this help protect epithelial cells (lining of numerous body structures including the blood vessels) from free radical damage. Free radical damage is a contributing factor in the development of conditions like arthritis and cancer.Basil is also a good source of magnesium, a mineral that makes the muscles and blood vessels to relax, therefore improving blood flow and lessening the risk of irregular heart rhythm of the heart muscle or a blood vessel.Basil is a very good source of iron, calcium, potassium and vitamin C and K. It is also a good source of dietary fibers.Basil essential oil when used as skin and hair moisturizer, it enhances the luster of dull looking skin and hair.Basil essential oil is effective in treating skin problems like acne and psoriasis.Basil tea is used to treat constipation, stomach cramps, indigestion and flatulence. It can also provides immediate relief from the gas in your stomach and intestines.Basil essential oil is effective in providing relief from cold, influenza, whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, and sinus infections.Basil essential oil can be used as an anti vomiting agent in motion sickness and many other vomiting cases.Basil essential oil when used in aromatherapy can provide a calming effect; it is therefore effective in stress related problems like migraines and depression. If use regularly can give mental strength and clarity.
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GreenWorks Idaho is proud to announce the 5th Annual Idaho Green Expo will be at the Expo Idaho Fairgrounds June 23rd and 24th of 2012. With the increased outdoor area at the Fairgrounds, we are planning to create a fun and festive outdoor environment while preserving the essence of the event; green businesses exhibiting indoors in a comfortable setting. More outdoor space will also allow for better demonstration of large energy displays, such as wind, solar and geothermal. We are excited about a move in venue that will give us more space to work with and provide easier access for residents from across the Treasure Valley. We will now have the space to make the Green Expo a true celebration of sustainable living and we are excited about enhancing the event by the addition of an outdoor Green Festival. Plans for the park-like atmosphere outside of the main Exhibit Hall will include the return of the very popular Eco-Brew Festival, along with a Local and Organic Food Court, and a music stage for a Concert that will go into the night. Other outdoor plans include areas and tents for Eco-Kids, the many popular Workshops and the Green Within exhibits. The 5th Annual Idaho Green Expo will continue to be the premier green event in Idaho, showcasing products and services that help us all to live more sustainable lives. And this year, it will be a celebration as well!
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Can you tell us about how you originally got into the hydroponic grow systems and how that evolved?Yes. I inherited a 1000 Watt lamp from a friend of mine along with his plants. At the time, I was living in a trailer with very little external sunlight coming in so I was quite intrigued by the idea of having this additional artificial indoor grow lighting. I was originally from southern Ontario where there was lots of sun light year round and now I am living on the west coast of Canada in the northern rain forest where you do not have a lot of sun light, especially throughout the winter season. I was happy to inherit the lamp as I was experiencing what's known as "SAD" or "Seasonal Affected Disorder", and the lamp had a pretty amazing effect on my mood. As you can imagine, a 1000 watt lamp is very bright, and very hot, so I was dismayed that the plants would grow right into what I call 'the land of scorch', the area less then 1 foot from the lamp, and burn themselves. To avoid this burn, I would end up raising the lamps higher and higher, however, there is a perfect zone around the bulb where it is not too cold, or too hot. The Goldilocks or 'habitable zone' for the space enthusiasts. This zone is in the 1-2 foot range, and when you raise the lamp the zone goes with it, and everything that is left behind gets stretchy and confused, so I was not terribly happy with this arrangement. I thought I had found the solution, in a water-cooled lighting fixture new on the market. If you can image, it was a sort of glass dome that you were able to fix your bulb into. The 1000 Watt metal halide bulb was a globe about 1 foot across. and as mentioned before, put out a lot of heat. The concept was great, but this fixture was cumbersome, over complicated and problematic, so I ended up creating a water cooled fixture of my own, for smaller 400 Watt to 600 Watt lamps. I was living on an island off the West Coast of Canada, traveling back and forth to the mainland on the ferry and I noticed marine lighting fixtures with glass globes that were on the ferry decks, protecting the bulbs from any waves that could crash onto the deck, breaking the hot bulbs. These marine fixtures had a threaded neck like a mason jar, so I had a rubber stopper/fixture molded, with a barbed fitting to hook water lines to, there was an opening for the neck of the much smaller 400 watt or 600 watt bulb and this was now clamped onto the threaded glass and voila, my own much more reasonable water cooled lighting fixture for about $20.00, versus the $400.00 I had paid for the problematic cumbersome one. With this new cool bulb technology, the plants are able to grow right to the lamps without scorching, however, this created a new problem. I would get a plant that was about a foot tall that was trying to produce a thousand fruit/flower sites. A foot tall tomato plant, trying to produce a thousand tomatoes does not produce any tomatoes very well, so it now became all about spatial coordination. Prior to this I started practicing Tai Chi, or Tai Chi Ch'uan, for it's therapeutic effects due to a spine injury from working construction, and this practice greatly influenced my thinking process. Practicing Tai Chi, led me to 'The Book of Changes', or 'I Ching' and a martial art study called Bagua Zhang, or 'Eight Direction Palm' and circle walking. I would alternate between reading the 'I Ching' and following the practices, and working with the lights and plant growing. I describe it as Taoism (sounds like Dowism) meets hydroponics. I decided to base my garden on this 8-direction symbol pattern (the Bagua), with 8 vertical PVC pipes surrounding the water-cooled lamps hanging in the center. The pipes were held in place with T's and elbows at the base, inside a small kids pool that served as a reservoir, with a plant at one foot intervals on each vertical pipe. I was trying to grow plants on their sides thinking that the light would penetrate nicely, however I soon realized that gravity came into play, as the plants would turn away from it's pull quite rapidly, and every time I returned to my garden, all of the plants would be upright. I ended up spending some time each day turning them around 180 degrees. After some trial and error I thought, maybe I should solidify the design by connecting the tops of the vertical PVC pipes as well, creating a cylinder and now all of the plants could be turned over once a day like a sand clock. My thoughts now turned to the maintenance and cleaning of the system, because without the ability to easily clean the system, it would not be successful. This changed everything. A horizontal rotating cylinder made cleaning easy as I needed only to clean the part right in front of me, and instead of many feet (80'+) of plumbing, with drip emitters for each individual plant site, the plants would now contact the watering solution at the bottom of the rotation eliminating all but about 3 foot of plumbing, and a small motor would do all of the rotation work. I was so inspired by this vision that I set out to build this first prototype version out of wood in the garage. The first creation creaked and popped and took only 8 minutes to make a full revolution. It looked amazing with the plants rotating around the water-cooled bulbs. I took a video of the prototype, this was before the Internet was popular and I sent a few VHS tapes to some friends. Soon I received an order to make ten units to be sent to Switzerland. The money was deposited into my bank account, and with this funding we went into business. Since that time, the business has all been customer driven, solving problems, and refining the design from that very first system. Do you feel like you have perfected the Volksgarden model? Absolutely. I built the first model 14 years ago. It was 12 foot long, made from sixteen 4 inch diameter 10 foot long PVC pipes, connected to 4 foot diameter discs at either end, surrounding 5 water cooled bulbs in the center. The system took several hours to assemble, and cost $12,000.00. The Volksgarden TM is the sixth rotary system design for Omega Garden Int. It is a 'one piece' molded cylinder, with the air-cooled light in the center and the plants radially growing in towards the middle. A night to day comparison from where we started. The Volksgarden TM is sort of a one-size-fits all. It is a 'stand alone' unit that you can use at home, or it's a base module you can enter the vertical farming concept with by stacking units in pallet racking, or fully automated containerized carousels with auto-storage and retrieval capacity, for industrial scale applications. I think there is always things that can be improved upon, so it's maybe not "perfected". but certainly close. How has the Kardashev Scale influenced the design of the Volksgarden? Kardashev scale is not really something that influenced the creation of this system, but more a confirmation of the design. I had been looking for the mathematical model that quantified the difference from an external lighting application, to a central lighting application, and the Kardashev scale does this and more. It was first proposed in 1964 by the Soviet Russian astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. The scale has three designated categories called Type I, II, and III. These are based on the amount of usable energy a civilization has at its disposal, and the degree of space colonization. His scale is about who we are searching for with regards to extra terrestrial intelligence. A Type I uses all of the energy and resources available on a planet wide basis (external lighting application). Type II uses all of the energy on a solar basis, so it surrounds the light source (internal lighting application). This is usually thought of as a sphere (Dyson Sphere) because the solar output was spherical, but our lighting output is cylindrical, so a cylindrical receptacle is appropriate. A Type III is galactic in scale with it's civilisations having mastery over a whole galaxy, which is a cluster of Type IIs (solar systems). So, from a plant growing perspective, a Type 1 can be equated to a top down lighting application, like the supplemental lighting seen in modern commercial greenhouse operations. A Type 11 can be equated to a rotary cylindrical garden, with a central light source, and a Type 111 would then be a large number of rotary cylinder gardens housed together. I would argue that is what you see in our Farmdominium TM model, which is essentially a large cluster of rotary cylindrical gardens ganged together on carousels, with the ability to reach each individual module, all housed together in a large climate controlled silo.According to Kardashev, going from a Type I to a Type II, is a 10 billion times efficiency leap, and going from a Type 11 to a Type III was an additional 10 billion times efficiency leap. So going from a Type I to a Type III is a 10 billion squared efficiency leap. How far are you away from creating the Farmdominium?We are very close. If the funds where there, we could build it and introduce it rapidly. The silo that will be housing the stack of shipping containers can be erected in just a few days. The process for making this type of silo is to start with a big inflatable model of it, spray concrete on it, fiberglass it and spray concrete on it once more. You remove the inflatable and you are then left with a silo. Once we are in production, we could be making several a week. An interim step is to use just an inflatable building. When building the Farmdominium TM silos, do you take into account sustainability? This whole model has been about producing something that endures. When I first heard the idea of sustainable business practices, I mistakenly thought that they meant that the purchaser would be sustainable, but soon realized that what they meant was for all the connected aspects of production, and everyone in the process to be sustainable. For 6 years we have had the Volksgarden TM on the market and there are no wear points to date, so we are very confident that they are going to be a truly sustainable option. We are now perusing electrode-less induction lamps to make that part of the process sustainable as well. They have a life expectancy of about 20 years (100,000 hours) of operation. Where do you see the future of Omega Gardens to be? The short answer is 'to unite all lands in peace'. We hope that at some point we will not be fighting each other for resources that other individuals or countries have. We hope to close the gaps, and allow everyone to have their resource needs met, first, and foremost in regards to healthy, nutritious foods.

Ted Marchildon

Inventor of the

Omega Garden

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Urban-LED-Growth 365 days of sustainable harvest

Contact us

1020 West Main StreetBoise, ID 837021.970.462.1910 (Christine Comatos)1.208.484.0607 (Jessica Shoemaker)urbanledgrowth_gmail.comwww.urbanledgrowth.com

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Hydroponic produce will be grown via twenty Omega Garden™Volksgarden urban agriculture units. Each unit will be housed on a racking system, two to three levels high. The Volksgarden® utilizes a rotating cylinder housing the plants arranged around the light at the center. The result is highly effective use of LED's, water, and nutrients to produce a garden that grows fast, strong, and healthy through each season of the year. Hydroponic Volkswagon design was chosen due to the following factors: Efficient use of light Efficient use of energy Efficient use of water Efficient use of land Efficient use of labor Hydroponic Volksgarden produce is:High qualityGrown in fully controllable environmentTraceableSafeGuaranteed Supply
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