The Waterboxx invention can help plants grow without irrigation by collecting and storing water from the air. Popular Science named it one of the top 10 inventions of 2010. It has been tested successfully at Robert Mondavi Winery and other locations in California and around the world, with survival rates over 88%. The low-cost, self-watering device could help address problems of water shortage, hunger, and deforestation.

1. By LEN RICHARDSON
T
HE Groasis Waterboxx (with two
x’s) invention can make plants grow
without irrigation or hand-watering,
which will help solve water shortage,
hunger and deforestation. Yes it can.
On Oct. 14, 13 miles outside of Palm
Springs, Waterboxx inventor Pieter Hoff
and 600 seventh-grade students kicked
off a three-week planting project with the
Wildlands Conservancy, Bureau of Land
ManagementandthePalmSpringsUnified
School District, or PSUSD.
Mondavi test
In June, 500 Waterboxxes were planted
with chardonnay vines at Robert Mondavi
Winery,andearlynextyearareforestation
projectisplannedwiththecityofSonoma.
The remarkable feature of the
Waterboxx is that it can be planted in
rocks, deserts, mining residue, ash, and
eroded or drought-ruined land, with a sur-
vival rate of more than 88%.
The Groasis Waterboxx was named by
Popular Science magazine as one of 2010’s
top 10 inventions of the year in its June
2010 issue, and Margrit Mondavi of Robert
Mondavi Winery called it “the greatest in-
vention since electricity.” The Waterboxx
is the size of a tire and produces and cap-
tures water from air without using energy.
Mondavi Winery is part of a worldwide
Waterboxx test. Field research is also
being done in Spain, Kenya, France, Chile,
Ecuador and Morocco. Other California
test sites include Palm Springs and Joshua
Tree National Park.
Sitting on top of the soil, the device is
filledoncewithwater—andthat’sit.After
that, it collects condensation from the air
and rainwater.
The plastic Waterboxx is 20 inches in
diameter and 10 inches tall. Grapevines
poke through a hole in the center.
Water condenses on the uniquely de-
signed top and is stored to hydrate the
seed or sapling. A candle-like wick pro-
trudes from the bottom of the box and
gives the plant enough water to survive,
but not enough to make it happy. This
forces the primary root to grow deep to
thewatertable.Asaresult,therearefewer
weeds. Rodents can’t destroy the box the
same way they chew through a drip irriga-
tion line, Hoff says. After one year or less,
the box is removed and used again.
Water-saving
invention
Key Points
■ Waterboxx invention can make plants
grow without irrigation.
■ Popular Science named the Waterboxx
one of its “Top Ten Global Inventions.”
■ Margrit Mondavi said it’s “the greatest
invention since electricity.”
Contents Vol. 293 No. 12
■ California News Net 1
■ California Provocateur 10
■ Specialty/Field Crops 14
■ Natural Resources 24
■ Land Management 29
■ Dairy/Livestock 30
■ Marketplace/Classified 35
■ A Taste of California 40
■ Market Intelligence 41
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Matt Ashby, Mondavi director of vine-
yard operations, is convinced. On a dry-
farmed sauvignon blanc vineyard, Ashby
is using the Waterboxx where some vines
had to be replaced. The only alternative to
the Waterboxx is for a tractor and driver
to go through once a week with a tank to
give the newly planted vines a soaking. For
Ashby,thequestionishowitwillworkona
largescale.
Mondavi question
Mondavi is replanting a 9-acre vineyard.
Part of it will be dry-farmed, but the ma-
jority will be on drip irrigation. The winery
will compare the dry-farmed vines on
Waterboxxestonewvinesreceivingdrip.
Mondavi will also be using the
Waterboxx to restore riparian habitat
along the Napa River, Ashby says.
“This technology will transform the
way restoration is done in the future,”
adds Richard Dale, executive director of
the Sonoma Ecology Center.
The Waterboxxes are being imported
CEREMONIAL PLANTING: Napa Mayor Jill Techel (left) and Margrit Mondavi help
Waterboxx inventor Pieter Hoff (hidden center) plant a grapevine in a Waterboxx.
PHOTOSBYMORTONBEEBE©MORTONBEEBE/AQUAPRO
RECEPTION: During the Mondavi
reception for Pieter Hoff, the Dutch
farmer and Waterboxx inventor, Margrit
Mondavi visits with Hoff and guests.
WATERBOXX: The Groasis
Waterboxxes were used to plant 500
chardonnay winegrape vines at Robert
Mondavi Winery in Napa. Inventor Pieter
Hoff’s Waterboxx produces and captures
water from air without using energy.
from the Netherlands at a cost of 10 boxes
for $275. Hoff wants to produce the boxes
locally, and wants everyone to make and
useit,asitisnotpatented.Ifyouwanttore-
produceit,justcontacthim(findthee-mail
and postal mail addresses under the ques-
tionmarkattheGroasiswebsitebelow);he
needs a license fee to continue research.
Heestimatestheboxeswillsellfor$14.95.
The inventor
Pieter Hoff was the largest grower and ex-
porter of lilies in Holland. In his 30 years
of travels in 52 countries, he witnessed
the change in terrain as trees disappeared
and erosion set in, leaving empty hillsides,
hunger and increased pollution. Moved by
what he saw, he sold his company in 2004
andinvestedininventingtheWaterboxx.
PSUSD’s science specialist, Peter
A’Hearn, has developed an educational
program based on the principles of the
Waterboxxwhichwillbetaughtnotonlyin
PalmSpringsbutaroundtheworld,joining
projects in drought-ridden Kenya, in fire-
ravaged mountains of France, in strip-
mining residue and depleted agricultural
soils of Spain, in the sands of Morocco’s
SaharaDesertandinChina,Taiwan,Egypt,
Chile, Ecuador and Uganda.
More is at www.groasis.com and www.
youtube.com/user/groasiswaterboxx.
Iranian pistachio imports
banned by U.S.
An act signed by President Barack
Obama prohibits the importation
of Iranian-origin pistachios into the
United States. “It presents an oppor-
tunity to increase market share in the
U.S.,” says Richard Matoian, Western
Pistachio Associ-ation executive di-
rector. “California produces 98.5% of
American pistachios, representing
$540 million to the California economy.”
News Briefs
Fruit and veggie
consumption fall short
In the past decade, 10 states had
significantly lower fruit and vegetable
consumption, and no state overall was
able to meet 2010 goals, according
to a Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention report.The report found that
in 2009, 73.7% ate fewer
than three daily servings
of vegetables, reports
HealthDay News.
California Farmer www.FarmProgress.com – December 2010 7
California News Net