Roll-N- Grow: the miracle garden? Hillary Rivera

The Gimmick

Seem like overselling? Dirt in the face Planting seeds one- by-one?! Preparing the soil? OH NO?!

Claims  “…all the necessary nutrients are built into the Roll n Grow garden roll.”  “suppresses weeds”  “retains water”

Claims  Produces  Baby's Breath  Scarlet Flax  Crimson Clover  Calendula  Cornflower  Larkspur  Poppies

Mixed Reviews  “If you do buy the Roll N Grow, be prepared to work a little harder and to pay a higher water bill.”  “Roll n Grow is just one big frustration. You spend all your time watering and using up all your valuable growing space.”

Mixed Reviews  “At first I thought I had wasted money, but in about 5 weeks I could not believe it. I was actually impressed with this product and would recommend it.”  “My family rents the same little house each summer, and I get Roll N Grow to pretty the yard up. People stop their cars to tell me how adorable it looks.”

Instructions  Rake and loosen topsoil in a sunny location. Roll out garden over the raked area.  Fully soak mat thoroughly after rolling out on soil. **It is impossible to over water this garden**  Repeat watering daily. Germination should occur in days.

The Experiment  Three treatments  Control dish  Below soil dish  Fertilizer dish  Watered twice daily  710ml of water or fertilizer  Soil temperature maintained at or above 18°C

The Results  Week 1: no noticeable growth  Week 2: very small sprouts on all three dishes  Week 3: no noticeable change from week 2

Results  Week 4: sprouts in the dishes are becoming larger and more noticeable  Fertilizer dish shows what looks like mold  Week 5: more sprouts appear in the soil and control dish  Fertilizer dish is discolored

The Results  Week 6: no noticeable change since week 5  Week 7: no noticeable change since week 6  Most of the sprouts in the fertilizer dish are dead

Results Below soil dish showed a total of 36 sprouts after 7 weeks.

Results Fertilizer dish showed a total of 3 sprouts after of seven weeks.

Results Control dish showed a total of 23 sprouts after seven weeks.

Conclusions Not very water retentive Considerably longer germination time Even under decent conditions no flowers could be seen

Evidence?  Product review by Lauren Stanton of ABC news  “sprouted what looked like weeds”  “even under ideal conditions”  “not many of the varieties promised”  “weeds came up as well”  “blooms were sparse and took 3-4 months to appear”

Is it set up for success?  Remember what it promised?  Baby’s breath  Good in borders  8-12 weeks germination time  Best when planter in groups

Is it set up for success?  Scarlet Flax  Adaptable in a variety of soils, but prefers loose sandy soils  Crimson Clover  Do not plant with other wildflowers  Very competitive

Is it set up for success?  Calendula  Requires darkness to germinate, prefers well-drained soil  Cornflower  Easy to grow, prefers average soil moisture

Is it a scam?  Yes  Product design  Instructions  Claims

Sources         annual-emgypsophila-muralisem.html annual-emgypsophila-muralisem.html annual-emgypsophila-muralisem.html      