New launches reflect trend for homegrown produce at Spoga Gafa

(Greenyhouse Gmbh)

According to the organizers behind garden accessories fair Spoga Gafa, the trend for urbanites to grow at least some of their own produce is continuing to grow due to the current 'sustainability boom' gripping the garden accessories market. As a result of this trend several exhibitors have released new products for the home gardener.

The Spoga Gafa garden fair, held in Cologne September 4-6, is one of the largest events of its kind, attracting over 50,000 visitors from around the world each year.

One of the trends at this year's event is a continuation of the trend for urban gardening and home vegetables. While this trend really took root in 2010 it has continued to grow in popularity due to the current 'sustainability boom' the organizers behind Spoga Gafa claim the garden market is experiencing.

New products at this year's show that reflect this trend include an inflatable greenhouse for the larger scale producer, herb gardens for the kitchen and hydrolabs which allow the user to experiment with growing seeds.

While inflatable greenhouses have been around for several years, German company Greenyhouse announced the launch of the inflatable Greenyhouse on September 2 ahead of Spoga Gafa. The product, measuring just 2m X 2m X 2.50m, is designed so that gardeners can keep plants sensitive to frost safe in the winter without having to erect a permanent space-consuming structure.

Other new launches at Spoga Gafa reflecting the growing trend for homegrown produce include the Aromatic herb garden by Romberg and the Hydro-lab by Medu-Scientific. The Aromatic herb garden consists of a seed tray with a transparent cover creating optimum growing conditions and is less than 30cm in length, while the Hydro-lab is a miniature hydroponics growing system for up to four different seeds, meant to make the process quick without using soil as a means of testing seed quality.

The trend for those living in urban environments to grow at least a small portion of their own food at home has been developing since late 2010 when consumer focus group Mintel identified it as one of the major consumer trends for 2011.

For more information about Spoga Gafa see:  http://www.spogagafa.com