Backyard Farming and Under Armour?

by Uncle Dale

Kevin Plank was a University of Maryland football player who got tired of his teammates complaining about sweaty, chaffing t-shirts so he developed t-shirts that wicked away moisture and were comfortable. As a result he started Under Armour, which made him a Billionaire and a major competitor to Nike, Adidas, and Reebok.

Phil Weiner was a University of Maryland student in my AREC 306 course on farm management and sustainable agriculture. As a result of the course, he became interested in sustainable agriculture and started a company (Earth Starter) to develop an innovative gardening product called “Nourishmat” which he is now marketing.

So what do these two have in common? Kevin Plank started an entrepreneurship competition that awards people who develop new and innovative ideas and products. Kevin chose Phil as one of five finalists for this year’s competition.  Phil will present Nourishmat to Kevin and the competition committee on April 5.

To see more about Nourishmat go to the following websites:

http://www.nourishmat.com

http://agnr.umd.edu/news/good-growing-idea

If you have never gardened and would like to start, for under a $100 and no experience, you can buy a Nourishmat and have a beautiful little nutritious garden with hardly any work.

Nourishmat inventors Phil Weiner and John Gorby show their product to Dale