Our Mission

Originally intended to simplify and improve the way to grow food at home, our vision has evolved to change the way the world thinks about growing food.  We educate people about their food and then help them grow it.  The AquaTree was created with a purpose to change hearts and minds about the importance of food in pursuit of a better life. Grow Local’s mission is to change the world, one mind and one plant at a time.  

Our Story

Grow Local was founded with a curious spirit and an ambitious objective; to make growing your own food at home more accessible at a revolutionary price, while paving the path to grow local businesses.

 

Every good idea, starts with a problem. Ours was easy – gardening is not available to everyone and even when it is, you can’t grow food year round unless you have a green house plus fruits and vegetables are expensive! It was five years ago when our founder, Kevin Higgins, was talking to his friend, Will, about his frustration with trying to grow a garden in his Charlotte backyard. The soil was never quite right, it rained too much/not enough and he and his growing family ultimately ended up spending lots of money on grocery store trips rather than eating from their garden. The rest of us had slightly different experiences with similar outcomes: lack of space in apartment living, squirrels and deer eating our harvest, and of course, our produce facing the ever present fact that a harmful bacteria could be lurking in what we were purchasing and eating. When we each looked at the alternative of indoor gardening, we were amazed at how hard it was to find a great gardening alternative that was simple, intuitive and that produced.

 

It turns out there was a simple explanation. Creating an environment that consistently delivers the correct nutrients, lighting and water for each plant in every growth cycle is a complex problem! Which is why Kevin spent the last five years making the complex concept of indoor gardening, simple. So simple, all you have to do is pop in one our MauMats™, sprinkle on the seeds and in a few days time, you’ll start to see your veggies growing! Oh and after you harvest that goodness, pop that tray in the dishwasher and start all over again. We created the Aquatree ™ to simplify and improve the ability to grow food at home. By seeking out local companies¹ to source materials and labor, circumventing traditional agri-tech channels, designing every piece of the Aquatree ™ in-house, and partnering with local businesses we are able to provide a higher-quality, more efficient indoor gardening system at a fraction of the market price. We believe that getting your food should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy, full, with money in your pocket and a good feeling in your heart knowing that you are helping someone else put food on their table. We also believe that everyone has the right to control their own food source. Almost 2 billion people worldwide lack access to healthy food, which means that 25% of the world’s population cannot effectively provide for their families. To help address this ever present issue, Grow Local™ partners with local companies to ensure that for every seed packet sold, another seed packet is provided to someone in need. Additionally, Grow Local’s mission is to help grow other local companies by providing a place for companies that align with our values to market and sell their products. After all, there is nothing complex about this problem. Good food, good future. Come help Feed the Future ™ with us!

Nutrition

The AquaTree can grow all kinds of healthy herbs and vegitables! Plus, you know exactly where the food is coming from. That way you know it is as fresh as it gets! The AquaTree can be your key to a healthier diet! Just some examples of some greens you can grow that are extremely healthy for you include: Broccoli Sprouts, Kale, Mung Beans, and many more!

Broccoli Sprouts

Broccoli Sprouts are becoming one of the most popular healthy foods to eat these days. They are loaded with glucoraphanin which your body converts into sulforaphane, which protects your cells against inflammation and a wide variety of diseases.

 

Mung Beans

Mung Beans are considered an excellent source for B vitimins. These kinds of vitimins are used to maintain the health of various parts of the body including your brain! They are also an incredible source for folate. Folate or vitimin B-9 is extremely beneficial to the body. It helps your body create DNA and red blood cells. Folate is also extremely beneficial for pregnancies.

Sustainability

The AquaTree’s purpose is to be a sustainable food source using hydroponic technology to allow you to grow more food, faster. Using the AquaTree is so easy that it could help grow food for people all over the world! Our hydroponic system can change the world and how we can grow sustainably into the future.

Hydroponics uses

less water than traditional garden/farming methods

Commercial hydroponics tend to consume only

of the land needed for the same amount of plants being cultivated on farmland.