Costa Farms Does Its Job to Go Green with SoilWrap

Getting the green industry to be truly “green” has been a goal of the industry for, well, a few years now. We talked in our Garden Media Group Trends report at least four years ago that the lawn and garden industry needed to “go green” before our government added a 4th R to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle –Regulation.

But like a giant oak, things take time to take root and grow.

And that is one of the reasons Costa Farms, under the leadership of Maria Costa Smith, is taking the initiative to be more sustainable in all aspects of its operation – from water saving to IPM.

One of the coolest programs is a new package for live plants they are testing. In collaboration with Ball Horticulture, Costa Farms is rolling out in its Florida market, a new pot called SoilWrap that is totally plantable and decomposes in the soil in one growing season. Even better, all the growing information is printed right on the pot so there is no need for a plant tag. But, if you are like me and want to keep your tag, you can rip off a perforated strip and make a traditional plant tag.

The pot is bottomless – no it doesn’t wear pants! allowing the roots to be air pruned – and the customer to examine them without taking the plant out of the pot. Once home, the pot and plant go right in the ground. This saves the plant from transplant shock and breakage during transplanting and saves the gardener up to 30% of the time to plant it since yoiu don't have to remove the plant from the pot.

According to Bill Doeckel, general manager of Ball Innovations. “SoilWrap offers environmentally friendly solutions to the home gardener. The plantable, printable design addresses the massive landfill waste associated with horticultural plastic - and there are no pots to clean up after planting.

SoilWrap received the highest evaluation overall from a survey by Shelf Impact, outranking new product packaging from companies such as Clorox, Panasonic, Bausch & Lomb and Minute Maid, and wond the 2010 Greener Package Award. So I ask you: How much more for a 4” pot would you pay? 20 cents? 30-40 cents? More than 50 cents?

Suzi, Garden Media Group