Radio Interview
Harold Elzinga, Vice-President of International Plant Booster Ltd. was a guest on the Brian Minter gardening program on Vancouver 650AM radio on December 5, 2009. Minter is an internationally renowned horticulturalist and the developer of Minter Gardens, one of British Columbia's major tourist attractions. He also broadcasts regularly on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Maple Ridge News

Home and Gardening
Do you have a love-hate relationship with your hanging baskets?

Forget to water just one day and that cascade of colour becomes a crispy brown eyesore....

NEWS FROM:

International Plant Booster Ltd.

(TORONTO, ON - October 20, 2009)
A new patented watering device for hanging baskets and planters was made public here today at the opening of Garden Expo 2009.

The Basket/Planter Booster assures optimal plant moisture at all times, without timers or regular monitoring. It connects to any lawn faucet or water source (such as a bottle or container elevated higher than the Booster), it is very easy to install and requires little maintenance. It never over waters or under waters, conservation that is a vital consideration in many regions. Despite the perfect consistency of moisture in the planter or basket, this new invention requires 70 percent less water typically utilized in hand watering. All parts are rust and corrosion resistant. The system is almost invisible when installed and it can be left in place all year round. Water for the Basket/Planter Booster is gravity or pressure fed through a valve that releases drips based upon the weight of the basket or planter. There are no pressure regulators, filters or electronic components.

"We have been told many times by those who helped us during experimental and development phases that this device is reminiscent of other simple ideas that have impacted all of society: the paper clip, Scotch tape, Velcro and others," said Harold Elzinga, the Vice President of International Plant Booster Ltd. "The concept is ingeniously basic, its inexpensive and simple to use, a tribute to my partner, the inventor, Al Muxlow of Abbotsford, B.C.”

Among those who participated in the Beta testing of the Plant/Basket Booster during 2008 was prominent B.C. gardening industry executive (Art Knapps and other pursuits) Bill Vander Zalm, a former Premier of British Columbia. He said: "I used the Plant Booster at my home and -  without me having to lift a watering can - this remarkable new device did the job. The hanging baskets looked the best they ever did and were overflowing with blooms. And there was more good news: instead of  worn and stressed-looking baskets coming down in September, they lasted until November."

One Great Invention

Mike Lascelle
Maple Ridge News, Aug 28, 2009

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with our hanging baskets.

On the one hand we adore the cascade of portable colour that we hang off our porches, decks or fences, and yet that colour comes at a price of constant watering. Forget to dispense the H2O just one day and that cascade of colour becomes a crispy brown eyesore.

Enter inventor Al Muxlow and business partner/salesman extraordinaire Harold Elzinger, both of whom are bringing the Basket Booster Self-Watering System to anxious hanging basket owners everywhere.

What is the Basket Booster Self-Watering System you ask? Simply put, it is an automatic watering valve fed by 1/8” poly tubing fitted to a reducer cap that can be threaded onto any standard hose fitting. The basket hangs on the watering valve that regulates flow depending on weight - a dry or light basket will receive more water, while a heavy basket might receive none.

There is no gimmick here; you don’t need batteries, a filter, a pressure regulator or a wad of cash. This is simply a low-tech watering system that won’t cost you a fortune or take hours to assemble.

I have had a demonstration model set-up at work in a very hot exposed site, and in three weeks, that basket has been perfectly watered with not a drop of moisture on the ground below. When I went to meet Al at Harold’s Maple Ridge home, I was able to see baskets and planters (the valve can also be used for planters) that had been on the system all summer and they were in pristine form.

This system operates with very little pressure, so it can even work on well water or with solar-powered pumps (Harold had one set up) for cottage applications.

Urban homeowners can simply attach the reducer cap to a two-way valve and using the supplied T-connections, can have up to 50 baskets or planters operating on a single line. You don’t even need to blow it out or bring it in for the winter, as the system is freeze-proof.

To find out where the Basket Booster Self-Watering System will be available, contact Harold at info@plantbooster.net