By Katherine Davis

October 31, 2019

Maintaining a garden in Chicago is difficult. Not only is the region plagued with a short growing season and unpredictable weather, but figuring out how to provide fruits and vegetables with the perfect amount of water, sunlight and nutrients can be confusing.

After becoming frustrated with growing fruits and veggies outdoors, Hank Adams tried his hand at building his own in-home hydroponic system, a device that grows plants in a reservoir of moving water and organic materials.

“It was a really frustrating experience,” Adams said. “It actually took a fair amount of research to figure it out. And what I ended up with was a system that really belonged in my basement.”

The system was “ugly,” he said. “It was nothing I wanted to show off.”

But the experience led to Adams launching Rise Gardens, a Chicago startup creating an indoor, IoT-connected hydroponic system that is attractive enough to put in your living room and simple enough for anyone to grow a perfect head of lettuce.

Adams began making prototypes for Rise Gardens in 2017, working out of Chicago startup incubators 1871 and mHub, and began selling the final product in August. Adams is a board member of 1871 and also the former CEO of Sportsvision, a Chicago-based graphics company best known for inventing the yellow first-down marker in football broadcasts.

Rise Garden systems can be bought online or in the startup’s pop-up shop at 20 W. Kinzie St., which opened in early October.

The modular system is made out of hardwood and heavy-gauge, powder-coated steel. It has a built-in water pump, seed sockets and a programmed LED light system that automatically shifts on and off to give plants the perfect amount of light.

Once consumers purchase their hydroponic system, they are encouraged to subscribe to Rise Gardens’ subscription service, which sends them seed pods every month and gives them access to the company’s mobile app that reminds users when to add water or nutrients. The startup sells seeds for a range of vegetables and herbs, including kale, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, basil, and rosemary.

“We’ve made it simple,” Adams said. “If you follow the instructions, it grows really robustly.”

Adams said plants grow 20 percent faster in his system than they could in soil or outdoors, adding that users can expect to grow arugula in 14 days and a head of lettuce in 25 days.

Though small, counter-top hydroponic systems are common, Adams says Rise Gardens’ large size allows for users to actually grow a significant amount of fresh food.

Since launching, Adams said he has sold 70 systems and is now working with retailers to sell the device in more locations. The system starts at $549 for one level and goes up to nearly $950 for three.

In his own Rise Gardens system at home, Adams grows lettuce, carrots, beets, tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries. Often times, he says he uses his produce in homemade salads, pastas and pizzas.

“It’s really nutritious and it tastes great,” Adams said. “Compared to a lot stuff that we’re used to getting in grocery stores, you’re surprised by the taste.”

Hank Adams, founder of Rise Gardens, with his hydroponic system (Photo via Rise Gardens)

• TAGS Garden Innovation Gardening Hank Adams Hydroponics Rise Gardens Sportsvision