VERTICAL GARDENS
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Vertical gardens, also known as "green" or "living" walls are panels of plants grown vertically generally using hydroponic systems. Vertical gardens are comprised of plants that are inserted into a growing medium and then places on the wall of buildings and properties to provide greenery and the benefits of plants. Vertical gardens contain a high density of plants in a relatively small space since plants are grown on often empty wall space, providing the maximum benefit of having a lush green landscape without sacrificing valuable floor space.
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Vertical gardens are constructed much the same way actual walls are. They are built with a skeletal structure that is hung in sections containing the plants and flowers that will make up the Green Wall. The other important component for green walls is the irrigation system which will provide water and liquid fertilizer for the plants.
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As for how the benefits of Green Walls impact your business, that comes from the living plants themselves. Besides the aesthetic value of having a stunning, artistic installation of nature on your wall, the plants that make up the vertical garden will naturally take in carbon dioxide and other pollutants and then expel fresh, clean oxygen - purifying the air that you breath.
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Vertical Garden Systems
At EcoBalance, we provide two types of vertical garden systems:
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(1) Pot-based Hydroponic System
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The EcoBalance Pot Hydroponic System uses PE pots designed with drainage fitting that allows water to neatly flow into the planting substrate of the pot directly below it. Pots are anchored onto a thick PE panel which serves as the skeleton frame as well as providing a waterproofing barrier.
One of the best benefits of using this system is that we use a soil-less media from Japan, called Pafcal. Pafcal is a porous polyurethane that absorbs, retains, and distributes water for long periods of time allowing significant savings in water and fertilizer consumption. It is also very lightweight, making our vertical garden systems one of the lightest in the market. Pafcal is significantly much cleaner to work with compared with soil, making it an ideal candidate for indoor vertical gardens, and for places where cleanliness and sanitation is of utmost importance like hospitals, schools, and shopping malls.
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(2) Geotextile (Felt)-based Hydroponic System
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These systems were the first to be used routinely for vertical garden systems, made famous by the godfather of Green Walls - Patrick Blanc. Here plants are put into soil housed in a felt pocket. These pockets are then transferred into another pocket that is cut out of the frame. From many trials conducted, EcoBalance ensures that the geotextile fabric used in their systems have excellent water absorption, retention and distribution properties.
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Irrigation is automated, but rather that supply water directly to the roots, water is released from the top and absorbed by the three layers of geotextile fabric encompassing the system. Roots will then draw water and nutrients up using capillary action.
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The best advantage for these systems is that it is more cost-effective compared to the pot system, however, since soil is being used to house the pockets, they have a higher structural load on the wall. This makes these systems better suited for outdoor application.
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EcoBalance Pot Vertical Garden System - Newly installed frame.
Pafcal Soil-less Media (Suntory Group, Japan) used for the EcoBalance Pot Vertical Garden.
EcoBalance Geotextile Vertical Garden System.
