Since the mid 2000’s, growing plants from seeds has been a passion of mine. I get much more enjoyment from growing marigolds and zinnias, for example, from seeds than purchasing live plants from a nursery.  I also get great satisfaction from passing on what I’ve learned to others.

In 2011 a friend of mine introduced me to the Tower Garden and I became hooked.  We live in northern Indiana and to be able to grow veggies from seeds indoors, all year around, was amazing.

As I learned more about how to grow on a Tower Garden, I began to see how they were being used in school classrooms to help students learn healthy eating habits and the fun of gardening. In 2015 I met with the superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools, Dr. David Hoffert. I shared with him how I thought Tower Gardens could be useful to students in the classroom.  Dr. Hoffert jumped on the idea and, through a generous grant from K-21 Health Foundation, 15 Tower Gardens were purchased for the schools in the Warsaw, Indiana, school system.  It was then that I became a distributor for Tower Gardens and formed TGardener, LLC.  In 2018 Warsaw Schools added 15 more Tower Gardens spreading them throughout the local schools. Since then I’ve been able to help several teachers and school systems incorporate Tower Gardens into their classrooms.

In the same way I believe God provides the resources in a seed to produce a plant, He’s also providing the resources for me to combine the gardening I enjoy with the teaching I love.

Steve Koontz
TGardener, LLC