The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting for Keep It Watered on Wednesday, Sept. 11. It offers tower garden systems like the one in the photo whereby plants may grow indoors or out. From left are Chamber Member Relations Manager Scott Wiley; Chamber Ambassadors Kierstyn Jones, Kristi Hull, Stacey Leek and Lynn Brown; Keep It Watered Owner Steve Koontz; Chamber Ambassadors Melissa Paxton, James Kofalt and Debora Eichman; and Chamber President and CEO Rob Parker.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — If people want to have a garden in the winter in the Kosciusko County area, they may contact Steve Koontz.

He owns Keep It Watered, which the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting for on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Keep It Watered, which Koontz started in 2015, offers plants for lease to schools, businesses and more, with him then servicing the plants for the entities. It also offers tower garden systems whereby plants can grow inside or out on a device.

That device has a pump which sends water and a nutrient to the growing plants.

“There’s a timer that runs about four to five minutes every 45 minutes to feed the plants,” explained Koontz.

He said plants like lettuce and herbs grow well indoors on the systems, while tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon and squash do well outdoors.

“You’ve got no weeds, very few insects and a lot less maintenance than a typical garden, and you can bring it indoors in the winter to extend the growing season,” said Koontz of benefits.

He said he’s “had a lot of success with schools with tower gardens because they can put them in the corner of a classroom and just (have) the kids learning not only science, but … life skills as well.”

Koontz added he had a kindergarten teacher sell the lettuce grown in the classroom “to buy a gas card for a needy family.”

His aim is to provide people “good quality veggies that they know where they’re grown.”

To learn more, people may call (574) 366-0939, e-mail Koontz at [email protected], or visit www.keepitwatered.com.

Koontz, left, and Wiley pose with some of the lettuce grown from the tower garden system that was in the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce office. Ambassadors got to try it on Wednesday at Central Park in Warsaw at the Chamber’s ambassador picnic.