Page 25 - HW September 2020

lawn & garden
Yates Thrive reformulated and
repackaged
Yates’ Thrive Granular range has had a complete makeover. A mainstay to many Kiwi gardeners, the formulations have been developed with dual-action feeding, offering both immediate food for hungry plants and a controlled released feed for up
to three months. In recognition of the way Kiwi gardens are evolving, the whole range is also suitable for use in both pots and garden beds. The new packaging format utilises a resealable, stand-up bag for improved shelf presence and user convenience. Each formulation has also been re-worked to deliver the right balance of nutrients to optimally feed various plant types.
www.yates.co.nz
Kärcher garden transfer
pumps
Kärcher has a pair of convenient, budget-friendly solutions
for supplying water to gardens from external water sources
such as water tanks and water bladders. The two new garden transfer pumps are lightweight and easily portable thanks to ergonomic handles while a large foot switch allows the pump to be easily switched on and off without bending. Robust, low-noise induction motors with ceramic technology deliver long-life motor protection, supported by a ve-year warranty. O ring pipe ttings are included for hand tight connections. There is also the option to automate the use of the garden transfer pump with a digital plug-in timer (to be purchased separately).
www.karcher.co.nz
“It is our business practice to only use organic materials in the majority of our gardening products. In fact, I would say we are about 99% organic with the 1% being last-resort scenarios. Along with organic products, waste is another area where consumers are consciously asking questions.”
David Mortimer at Yates is also seeing an increase in demand for organically certi ed products, ones that don’t compromise on their e cacy.
“For instance the recently purchased Organic Crop Protectants brand utilises leading-edge technology to bring commercially used products to the home gardener. An example would be OCP eco-seaweed, a product that is so concentrated that only one teaspoon of powder makes up a whole nine-litre watering can of liquid seaweed ready for your garden.”
NOT JUST SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS
Sustainability remains another keyword in and around the lawn & garden category. “Sustainable business practices are a long- standing focus throughout Husqvarna Group,” insists Nick Bright. “We continue to work towards using less packaging where possible, and more sustainable resources within our product design as well.
Quality, durable products designed and manufactured for longer life spans mean less land ll. End consumers are understanding this and valuing products that last.”
Describing Tui’s recycled and recyclable packaging, Gemma Hignett says the company has begun by transitioning its growing media bags to be made from 50% recycled plastic, with the aim of reaching 100%.
Tui is also a paid member of the Packaging Forum/Soft
Plastics Recycling Scheme to support soft plastic recycling in New Zealand and its fertiliser, lawn seed and bird seed bags are eligible to be recycled into fence posts and ducting through this scheme.
And Tui will be introducing more packaging using recycled content, while working on reducing plastic use where possible. “We are only at the beginning of our sustainability journey and we are committed to continuing to improve,” says Gemma.
David Mortimer is another to highlight innovation in Yates’ new packaging, with the relaunched rive Liquid Plant Food range bottles now fully recyclable and using less plastic than original bottles.
Even the labels have been redesigned utilising the latest UV-stable label technology to enable these products to be merchandised not only in the dry garden aisles inside but also alongside relevant plants or greenlife.
City Botanics’ Martin Steel Brown acknowledges that there is still too much waste, especially plastic waste, in the horticultural industry: “Plastic plant pots and plastic bags from potting mix and mulch are big contributors to the overall waste problem.
“We work hard to ensure we minimise our waste as much as possible by sending all of our green waste off to be mulched or composted, our plastic plant pots are returned to all of
our suppliers for re-using and we are now working with a company that provides our potting mixes, compost and mulch in re-usable bags that we return after every installation that we do.
“Such small steps are necessary if we truly want to aim for an ‘organic’ or, more correctly, a sustainable approach to living.”
MORE AT www.facebook.com/nzhardwarejournal
SEPTEMBER 2020 | NZHJ 23