“Reuse and recycle” is the slogan of most urban home gardeners. As a result, most people cultivate their plants in waste drums, refrigerators, and other household goods. These, on the other hand, might add extra weight to a building’s structure or take up a lot of room.
Jinay Gada, a 17-year-old Mumbai native, has created lightweight grow bags using non-woven cloth as an environmentally friendly option. He created ‘Planteria’ in July 2021 and began selling these grow bags across India.
“Non-woven fabric was removed from plastic bottles and covers to make the grow bags. They’re durable, help with water drainage, and encourage air pruning. “So far, I’ve sold 200 purses on social media,” Jinay adds.
A sustainable alternative
Jinay, a student at K J Somaiya College of Science and Commerce, began gardening at home after the first lockdown was announced in March 2020.
He experimented with cultivating different floral plants, such as roses, as well as certain plants from cuttings, such as money plants, and even fruits and vegetables. When he went to buy lightweight planters for his balcony, however, he found that they were either all-plastic or too pricey.
“So I decided to take matters into my own hands and construct my own grow bags. “I wanted them to be light and follow the urban gardener’s credo of reuse and recycling,” Jinay adds.
After some inquiry, he discovered that cloth was also used to make grow bags. Soon after, he bought a few to try out.
“However, the first few pieces I bought were either too flimsy or had other faults like insufficient water drainage or did not stimulate root growth,” Jinay adds, adding that he opted to buy cloth and sew his own grow bag.
He acquired non-woven fabric manufactured from recycled plastic gathered in landfills from vendors in Surat, Gujarat, in April 2021.
Rapid root development
“Because there were so many individuals providing this material, I had to test how much weight it could support, how porous it was, and how durable it was before deciding on a source. All of the grow bags were sewn by local tailors near my house for the trial,” Jinay explains.
He bought the material in quantity after he was happy with one of the vendors.
“I decided to create extras so that close friends and family members who enjoy gardening may benefit as well. The final grow bags were light and let water escape from the sides and bottom. Because of its porous nature, air circulates from all sides, promoting rapid root development,” Jinay explains.
He had them created in four different sizes and set the price between Rs 50 and Rs 120 for the lowest and largest. Jinay received 200 orders from all around the country within two months of introducing the items on his social media account.
Through a Whatsapp group for farmers, Hari Prasad, the proprietor of a nursery in Tirupati, learned about Planteria’s grow bags.
“It’s better than the gunny-bag kind of grow bags because it’s sturdier and has more ventilation room,” he explains. It’s also simple to hold because of the grips on the sides. I only had a few things in my store, and they were all sold out.”