General Questions

What is ZipGrow's response to COVID19?

ZipGrow’s online store is open and accepting orders. Our shipping times may be slightly longer than usual, as reported by UPS, our shipping partner. You can read more about how is UPS responding to the Coronavirus here.

Where are you located?

Our office is located at 425 Fourth Street West Unit F, Cornwall, Ontario. K6J 2S7.

We have two fulfillment centres in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada and Laramie, Wyoming, USA.

Can I visit your show room?

Yes, please call ahead so we can schedule time with our Growing Specialist. You can reach us at 855-947-4769, or email [email protected].

What is hydroponics?

Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants without soil. Instead, you add nutrients directly into the water supply. Liquid nutrients enable the plants to spend less time getting food from the soil and more time growing leavest.

Hydroponics is also an answer to two of the world’s growing concerns: diminishing soil quality, and water scarcity.

Also, food safety concerns attached to traditional agriculture, such as high pesticide use and metal contaminants in the soil, are significantly more manageable if not entirely erased in a hydroponics production system.

Product Related Questions

What are your policies about warranties, shipping, returns, and exchanges?

You can read all of our policies and terms of service here.

Do you send a maintenance crew to set up the product I purchased?

We do send our Farm Build team to set up your ZipFarm™ or your Greenhouse Bundles as well as give you the proper instruction on how to run your new ZipGrow System. We do not set up FarmWalls or Education Racks.

What can I grow in these ZipGrow™Towers?

Many types of crops are perfect matches for the ZipGrow™Towers. Herbs like basil, mint, and rosemary are perfect matches for growing vertically. We’ve also had great success with leafy greens such as lettuce, kale, and arugula. With a little extra planning and preparation, you can also successfully grow fruiting plants such as strawberries. You can read our Quick Crops Guide here.

– Please note: strawberries and other fruiting plants can take a lot of work and use different nutrient ratios than greens and herbs.

How many plants can I grow per tower?

In any size ZipGrow™ Towers you will space your plants 4-6″ crop dependent.

Larger statured crops will require 6″ spacing while smaller statured crops will require 4″ spacing.

For most of the crops we grow in our ZipGrow™ Towers – largely nutrient dense greens and herbs – we stick to about a 4-6 inch spacing. This inch spacing helps us grow 8-10 basil plants in a single 5′ ZipGrow Tower. Many of our farmers have reported they are able to grow:

10-12 lettuce-sized plants per 5 foot tower and 16-20 lettuce sized plants per 8 foot tower.

Other types of plants will require more specific measurements:

Mint, for example, grows like a weed and spreads throughout the entire Tower. This differs from most of your greens like lettuce and kale that tend to grow more centralized and gain the majority of their weight in one spot. Chives can also be planted closely together therefore allowing you to grow a lot more plants per tower.

Where can I put my FarmWall?

A ZipGrow™ Farm Wall can be mounted on any south facing wall or fence in the Northern hemisphere or a north facing wall or fence in the Southern hemisphere. You can also mount your FarmWall indoor with a light kit for year round production.

I am purchasing an Education Rack / FarmWall - What else do I need to purchase to have this function properly?

With the purchases of either of these two systems, we recommend purchasing the Beginner Bundle. You can get approximately 6 months of consumables with the beginner bundle. You will also need to source your own seeds.

What is Matrix Media™ ?

Matrix Media is a plastic media used inside ZipGrow™ Towers. It is a fiber matrix that offers 290 ft² of BSA (biological surface area) per cubic foot. It is unique from other hydroponic and aquaponic media as it serves as a biological filter and plant anchoring in one. Matrix Media comes as a long strip, which is folded and pulled through the Tower like a zipper. Plants are sandwiched between the two sides of the fold. Matrix Media is black to disallow high algae growth. It is made of PET-1 (a type of safe, stable polyester from made from recycled plastic water bottles) with a water-based latex binder to prevent degradation.

What plastics do you use for the make up of the ZipGrow™ Towers

Our ZipGrow™ Towers are manufactured in North America and made of virgin food grade PVC. Our Matrix Media™ is made from recycled BPA free water bottles that is coated with a proprietary material to prevent leeching.

What is included with the purchase of a FarmWall?

ZipGrow Towers™, two PVC gutters, a drip irrigation system, a submersible pump, a media pulling hook, a bottle of nutrient solution, wicking strips, Matrix Media™ and miscellaneous hardware.

Do you send maintenance people to maintain the product?

We do not send employees to maintain or run the ZipGrow™ products you have purchased.

Are ZipGrow™ systems able to be organic certified?

Yes!

How much can I grow in my ZipGrow™ Towers, and how much money can I make from it?

This Crop Yield and Revenue Calculator will assist commercial growers in getting answers to these questions.

Training Questions

Where can I learn to build and manage a farm?

We offer the following resources:

Shipping Questions

Do you ship Internationally?

We do ship internationally. Please send us an email to [email protected] or call and get a shipping quote from our shipping department: 1.855.947.4769

I am trying to check out, but it is saying my shipping address isn't supported - What do I do?

If you are unable to proceed past the shipment section please call our customer service line at: 1-855-ZIPGROW (1-855-947-4769) or email [email protected]

FAQs

Common questions we get asked a lot.