NGADI
Tech-Integrated, Sustainable & Efficient Urban Farming Solutions
Join the food revolution.
By allowing beneficial bacteria and fungi to flourish in your soil or grow medium, your plants will experience rapid growth and massive yields with minimal intervention on your part.
Click the icons to learn how to cultivate these potent organic fertilizers!
A potent liquid solution for the transfer of microbial biomass, fine particulate organic matter, and soluble chemical components.
Lactic acid bacteria serum improves air ventilation and mineral absortion. It is especially effective with fruit trees and leafy vegetables.
These microorganisms are useful in the soil for decomposition, immune defense, mineral uptake, and water retention.
It's easy to throw your seeds in the ground and wait for the magic to happen. But why not take the time to create strong support systems for your plants? We've put together guides for 3 smart growing systems fit for your home - each will support healthy plants and promote rapid growth, without requiring daily management.
Click the icons to learn how to build these innovative grow systems yourself!
This vertical tower can fit ~25 plants in a single 1m² of space. The hydroponic system enables rapid plant growth, higher yields and reduced water usage due to its closed-loop system.
This rotating, cylindrical system ensures plants receive optimum exposure to their light source. The Omega is self-watering and soiless, and is catered to those with a larger budget.
The wicking bed is ideal for those with smaller budgets and a larger gardening area. A reservoir below the soil feeds the plants via capillary action, allowing them to go unwatered for weeks at a time.
Worm tea is the liquid concentrate of worm compost/castings. Minerals and microbial elements are extracted and cultivated from the solid compost by aerating the mixture over a period of 24-48 hourse, which provides the organisms with oxygen resulting in rapid colonisation of beneficial microbes.
| Component | Description | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bucket/drum | >15l | R50 |
| Air Pump | 12V. | R250 |
| Tubing/pipes | Plastic/PVC. | R80 |
| Worm castings/compost | Make this yourself using a worm bin and organic waste. | Free |
| 'Tea' bag | Some permeable material that will hold the worm compost/castings | R~ |
- Create a pipe/tubing configuration as described in the image below
- Connect to the pump to the end of the aerator.
- Put a stopper on the opposite end of aerator (right side of the PVC pipe in the image above).
- Place the 'tea bag' inside the drum and fit the one end of the pipe inside the bag (as in the image above).
- Leave the pump running for a period of 24 - 48 hours.
Use the tea on your grow system/soil within 48 hours of brewing. Ensure that you dilute the tea with at least half dechlorinated water.
Lactic acid decomposes or chelates minerals stuck to soil particles which are not easily dissolved. This increases the mineral uptake in plants.
In addition, by absorbing the bacteria into the plant's bodily fluids, they become more disease resistant and can more easily withstand heavy rain.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Quartz Jars | 1l |
| Rice/Carbohydrate source | Handfull. |
| Milk | Fresh. |
| Molasses | Or natural sugar source |
- Sterilize the jars as best you can.
- Boil some rice
- Drain the rice and fill the jars 1/4 full with the remaining carb-filled liquid.
- Cover the jars with a cloth/permeable film to prevent bugs crawling in.
- Leave outside in a shady spot in the garden for several days untill you notice a white film on the surface of the rice water (it might be at the bottom, or mixed up in the water - this doesn't matter).
- Fill up the rest of the jar with milk.
- Leave out in the same place untill the milk has coalesced into one floating mass.
Drain the liquid from the jars (this is full of the the lactic acid bacteria).
- Add 1/2:1/2 blackstrap mollases to your serum
- Store it in the cupboard.
- Dillute 1:1000 | LABs:Water
- Water your plants with this solution.
- You can also feed it to your pets/livestock to aid digestion.
- Have a shot of the serum after heavy meals (especially meat) and notice the postive effects.
- This should last you all year.
Bokashi composting relies on a diverse group of anaerobic (non-oxygen breathing) organisms to ferment the materials in a sealed, oxygen-free environment.
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Bucket/drum | >with lid. |
| Bran mix | Any carbon-rich growth medium |
| Microbial inoculant | E.g. See LABs guide. |
| Sugar source | Molasses/cane sugar/etc. |
| Spring water |
- If you haven't already done so, you will first need to make the microbial inoculant (see our LABs guide!)
- 1 part carbon-rich growth medium (bran: wheat, rice, barley, rye, etc). In fact, the following will work as well: newspaper, coffee grounds, wood chips, straw, peat moss, etc
- 1/3 sugar source (molasses is the best)
- 1/20 microbial inoculant (like LABs)
- Water (until you reach approx. 60% saturation)
- Seal the bokashi bran in an anaerobic (no oxygen) container. Remove as much air as possible.
- Leave in the shade outside for at least 30 days.
- Mix your bran with any organic waste (including bones, kitchen scraps, litterally anything organic)
- It's a good idea to make layers as indicated in the image below.
1. Bury the bran in your garden at least 20 cm deep
2. Add to your compost tea (see our guide!)
3. Add to your traditional compost to propogate beneficial microbes
This hydroponic tower will grow around 25 plants in a single square metre, making it the perfect growing system for highrise apartments and small patios/gardens.
| Component | Description | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|
| Tower body | PVC pipe (+-200mm diameter) | R100 |
| Reservior | Any water-tight container that will act as a sturdy base for the tower. | R150 |
| Shower head | The bottom of a plastic bottle can be used here. | R~ |
| Water/air pump | ~5W submersible water pump | R200 |
| Pipe | This pipe connects from your pump to the top of your tower. | R25 |
a) Create pockets by cutting slits in the tower body.
b) Heat the area around the slits and insert the mould to open up a cavity. This is where your plants will sit, so the cavity should be sized so that your netted pots fit snugly inside.
Hint: The distance between the cavities should maximise no. of plants while leaving sufficient space for them to grow to fruition.
Once the water has been pumped to the top of the tower, the aim is to disperse the water so that it 'rains' down over the plants' roots equally.
- Cut or drill a hole in the centre of your fountain head for where the end of the pipe will sit. You can use anything as the fountain head, such as the bottom of a 2l bottle.
- Add smaller holes or slits all over the fountain head. Remember that we want consistent and equal dispersion of water, so go ahead and experiment with what works best.
Hint: Add fountain heads at various levels inside the tower chamber to increase aeration and dispersion.
- Connect the pipe/tubing to the water pump.
- Attach the end of the pipe to the fountain head at the top of your tower and place the pump inside the reservior.
- Fit the tower chamber to the reservior (the reservior acts as the tower's base).
Hint: Add fountain heads at various levels inside the tower chamber to increase aeration and dispersion.
Grow food all year round with this hydroponic, cylindrical garden. This innovative system ensures optmimum light dispersion while also promoting rapid plant growth through hydropnics and Geotropic effects.
| Component | Description | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|
| Reservoir/basin | ABS food grade plastic | R1000 |
| Water pump | E.g. 12V fish tank pump. | R350 |
| DC Motor | RPM can be low. | R600 |
| Motor Belt | Rubber/chain. | R150 |
| Timers | Manual or digital timers for the pump and lights | R200 / R1200 |
| Light frame | Steel. | R280 |
| 4 x Runners/rollers | R400 | |
| Cyllindrical Drum | Plastic/steel. | R2000 |
| Root medium | E.g. Rockwool. | ~R2 each |
| Light | LEDs, Flourescent, HID, etc. | ~ R6000 / R600 / R1200 |
- Find a suitable container for the basin/reseroir. It should be wide enough so that the cylindrical drum can rotate inside the basin (this is where the nutrient solution will leach into the grow medium). ABS food grade plastic is a recommended.
- Attach legs to the reservoir to give height to the system so that the plants may be easily accessed.
- Attach rollers to the sides of the reservoir. This is where the cylindrical drum will rest, and will provide smooth rotation.
- Attach a motor and belt that will drive the roller to provide the rotational force.
Tip: The drum should be in constant rotation to ensure plants grow straight. A full rotation should take approxamately 30 - 45min.
- Attach the light frame (or 2) to either side of the reservoir. Precice measurments should be taken to ensure that the lamp will sit in the centre of the rotating drum.
Install a water pump that will fill the reservoir to the desired level (see tip below). Regulate the pump output with the valve and set the return drain hose into position at the required solution depth.
Use a timer to control the pump. Plants should be fed 1-2 times a day.
- Use this stage to do all your wiring. This may include wiring for the motor, pump, lights, timers and a backup battery if neccessary.
Tip: The rooting medium should pass through the nutrient/water solution at a maximum depth 1.3cm (1/2″).
- Find a suitable cylindircal drum that is sized appropriately. Find out what distance your plants should be from the light source.
- Cut holes in your drum for the root medium blocks. These should be sqaure/rectangular blocks of root medium like Rockwool. Distance between blocks will depend on the kind of plant you plan on growing.
- Fit the tower chamber to the reservior (the reservior acts as the tower's base).
- Set the pump timer to 5min on, 5min off - or according to your own preference.
Hint: The radius of your drum will depend on the type of lamp (LED, Flourescent, HID, etc) and the number of Watts. Keep the heat factor in mind when deciding on your light source.
This is a relatively complex build, so if you have the financial resources you can purchase the Omega Garden here.
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Estimated prices for a 3 x 1m bed.
| Component | Description | Approx. Price |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | Bed frame | R300 |
| Reservoir lining | Pond liner/builders plastic. | R150 |
| Drainage pipe | 3 x (3m) | R180 |
| PVC Pipe | Water inlet | R20 |
| Stone/scoria | Min size = 19mm gravel. | R200 |
| Fabric | Any fabric to prevetn soil falling into reservoir. | R40 |
| Soil | Don't skimp on the quality of soil! | ~R300 |
- Line the structure with builders plastic or pond lining. Make sure it covers all sides of the bed.
- Cut and lay the drainage pipes along the bottom of the bed. We want to maximise coverage here, so the more pipes the better. Note that they do not have to be connected to one another as the water will permeate the reservior via the slits in the pipes.
- Connect an inlet pipe to one of the drainage pipes. This is what we'll use to top up the reservior with water.
Hint: Use construction fabric to line the bed before laying the plastic/pond liner to prevent punctures.
- Fill the bed with scoria/gravel/stone (or any substrate that will wick easily, while leaving sufficient space for water), burying the pipes in the process. The distance from the base of the bed to the top of the scoria should be under 50cm to ensure effective wicking
- Add a layer of cloth over the scoria to prevent the soil from falling to into the reservior.
- Add your soil + compost mix to the remainder of the bed. In total, this layer should be approximately 30cm (+-10cm) in height
Tip: Use a high-carbon soil mix for optimum wicking.
- Fill up the reservior with water through the inlet pipe. The design of the wicking bed encourages beneficial microbial activity, as well as preventing salt build-up due to decreased water evaporation.
- Depending on the depth of your bed, it could take up to a week before the water has moved up and saturated the top soil. Water your seedlings from the top until the bed has started to wick effectively.
- Your plants can now go for up to 3 weeks without being watered.
Hint: Add worms and probiotics to your soil to encourage a healthy ecosystem! You can even top up the reservoir with LABs along with their food source, such as Molasses.
“Conventional” agriculture requires ever-increasing inputs and energy into the system to maintain production. This approach is inherently unsustainable, working against nature to the detriment of people and the planet.
Permaculture is about harmonizing with nature so that the system mainatins itself in a energizing feedback loop. In agriculture, this approach results in enormous yields with minimal energy input.
Can't build one? Buy one instead.
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Cape Town,
South Africa.
Ross Eyre: +27 79 397 9101
Lolo Ndlovu: +27 79 737 7248
Email: rosseyre@gmail.com