Company

PRODUCTION

We design, manufacture and supply the highest-quality peat-free, ecological coconut substrates and renewable natural growing products which protect peatland ecosystems and replenish Earth’s natural renewable resources.

PRODUCTION. TRANSPORT. WASTE.

We reuse a food by-product which is sourced from a number of different coconut plantations in India, including the Tamil Nadu region of India, a salt-free area.

Across our supply chain we ensure nothing goes to waste.

Our products are ecological, peat-free and sustainable and transported by vessel (water); however, we continuously aim to reduce our company carbon footprint to offset our Co2 emissions we ensure our product range has been produced by reusing the water required to wash the coir and eventually the water once again is filtered for salts before becoming an irrigation for neighbouring plantations.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT. EMPLOYEE CONDITIONS. TECHNOLOGY. COMMUNICATIONS.

We work closely with a number of different coconut palm and Jute plant farmers. Our agriculture employees like working within the growing community because they enjoy what they do outside in nature within our supply chain. Since 2003, we have been working with the same group of agriculture farmers and growers, all of whom appreciate the natural beauty of coconut substrates and plant-based production, as much as they enjoy working with us.

For decades agricultural farmers have been extracting the milk and flesh from coconuts for food products and the remaining fibrous husk were either wasted or sold as basic raw materials to the horticultural market. Ashit Gwalani, the CEO (Founder) of Simply Organic S.L, wanted to change this, and found value in supplying a consistent high quality cocopeat to the professional & conscious grower.

PROTECTING PEATLANDS

OUR MISSION

 Our long-term vision is to continue designing and manufacturing the highest-quality peat-free, earth-friendly coconut substrates and renewable natural resources that protect peat ecosystems while replenishing Earth’s natural resources.

CULTURE AND HISTORY

 Peatlands maintain a priceless archive of our cultural past. Underneath the peat, also known as, bogs, moors and peat moss there are large tracts of prehistoric landscapes protected from modern-day disturbances such as peatland draining and deforestation.

Earth’s peatlands form part of our historic landscape and contain evidence of peat cutting, which date back to the Roman period and the Middle Ages. These iconic peatlands are formed by carbon rich, organic, dead and decaying plants underneath waterlogged conditions offering priceless air quality and breathing spaces for millions of people in neighbouring communities, thus, the earth’s atmosphere and climate change.

COMMUNITIES

 Peatlands provide local communities with a nurturing sense of semi-natural landscapes and provide inspirational connections with our natural environment. Wetland peats are centuries-old and they are essential to optimise the biological, cultural and economic value associated with healthy peatland habitats.

In India, peat occupies only 320-1.000 square kilometres of wetland, of which, the organic layer is rapidly depleting across Palani, Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu and parts of Jammu and Kashmir. By protecting the earth’s peatlands, we reduce harmful emissions of high levels of carbon dioxide which is equal to one-tenth of the global greenhouse gas emissions, loss of biodiversity and food resources which support livelihoods, thus, dramatically affecting the income for neighbouring communities.

Since 2003, we, Simply Organic S.L. continue to harness the extraordinary power of plants, in a way that replenishes Earth’s natural resources without harming wildlife or depleting iconic communities

NATURE TO NATURE

EARTH’S POWERFUL RENEWABLE RESOURCES

 When our Founder, Ashit Gwalani established Simply Organic S.L. back in 2003, he wanted to harness the extraordinary power of plants in a way that replenishes Earth’s natural resources, without harming wildlife or depleting iconic wetland peatlands so he designed an earth-friendly, peat-free, plant-based product range to replenish Earth’s natural, renewable resources.

We are proud to harness the natural attributes of Earth’s powerful renewable plant- based resources to make UGro  and CarbonKo. Ultimately, our product range restores the Earth’s precious natural resources by reusing surplus natural renewable resources.

THE TREE OF LIFE

 The Cocos Nucifera, more commonly known as the Coconut Tree is a member of the botanical flowering palm tree family. We believe it to be one of the most resourceful plants on planet earth, which is why we refer to it as the ‘tree of life’.

Across our coconut palm plantations, each coconut palm tree grows up to 30 metres (98 feet) tall, yielding up to 85-90 fruits per tree, per year, which makes our agricultural coconut farmers very happy.

COCONUT SUBSTRATE

 UGro COCO substrate is made of a by-product of the coconut fruit. We process the coconut husk only and the result is a similar texture as of peatmoss and other growing substrates, where the plant sits, roots and receives nutrients.

Peat compost is structurally different from coconut substrates. Peat is dense and being dense means it retains more moisture and has a tendency to compact the oxygenation of the plant root. If you squeeze a coconut substrate, such as UGro COCO in your hand, the coconut crumbles just perfectly, while peat generates big lumps.

With UGro COCO you can easily control feeding, manage root development and it has excellent water retention and absorption properties, so it intuitively lowers the risk of fungal diseases in the plant root system.

Simply Organic S.L. agricultural farmers extract the milk and flesh from the coconuts for food and Simply Organic S.L. reuse the remaining by-product, the fibrous coconut husk, including the coconut drupe which makes our manufacturing process 100% natural and ecological reducing your carbon footprint, reducing environmental waste and protecting precious wetland peats worldwide.

ABSORPTION. WATER RETENTION. NATURAL NUTRIENT.

 UGro COCO coconut substrate is aerated which allows the root of the plants to develop and oxygenate making it easier for the plant to develop in a healthy way. It has a high capillarity which allows the uniform distribution of the nutrient solution to disburse, thus, regulating the water allowance.

• Excellent water retention – Aeration properties to help the plant root systems and aid rapid plant
• Low EC Levels – Washed with unsalted water and made of raw materials from plantations located far from the coast, in a salt-free environment. This guarantees low EC levels.
• Buffered – Treated to reduce sodium and potassium levels to ensure the nutrients you use are directly available to
• Trichoderma Harzianum – Naturally enriched in a microorganism, that fights root rot and accelerates plant

QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY

 High-quality coconut substrates, such as UGro COCO carefully control the number of nutrients your plants receive by allowing the coconut fibre to optimise the final results. For example, with fruit plants, we can increase production and weight and with ornamental plants, UGro COCO improves the robustness and structure of the flowers.

ECO, PEAT-FREE & SUSTAINABLE

 UGro COCO is a by-product of coconuts used within the food industry. We renew and reuse the highest-quality, coconut substrate that is 100% peat-free to preserve wetland peats while renewing and reusing.

JUTE

 You may not have thought about it before, but Jute plant is used commonly inside many households and industrial products. Jute plant is native to India (mainly West Bengal) where 85% of planet Earth’s Jute cultivation is successfully farmed. It is also cultivated in China, but, due to China’s huge population it is not generally manufactured commercially. Jute plant is also farmed across Thailand, Burma and Pakistan, although, on a much smaller scale.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

 For centuries Jute fibre, the stem and the ribbon of the outer skin have been an integral part of Indian culture, mainly in the south-west of Bangladesh. In the 17th- century Jute plant was spun and manufactured into gunny cloth, burlap and hessian and heavily mass-produced for the military. More than a billion jute sandbags were exported from Bengal to the trenches during World War I and such sandbags were also exported to America to export cotton. Jute is widely used and appreciated in the construction, art, interiors and the arms industries today.

India has more recently advanced the cultivation of Jute to become the largest producer and cultivator of Jute plant in the world. Using improved manufacturing techniques Simply Organic S.L. collaborates directly with our office in Tuticorin in South-East India to manufacture and supply quality strength Jute.

CULTIVATION

 To design and manufacture UGro JUTE we use different hard district jute and soft district Jute. The Jute seeds are scattered by our farmers on cultivated soil. Once the Jute is 15-20 cm tall, our farmers thin it out to aid harvesting, which happens after the Jute starts to flower. Then the Jute stalks get cut off close to the ground to allow the Jute growing cycle to start naturally again. The Jute stalks are then soaked in freshwater for 20-25 days. This softens the tissues and breaks down the hard bond between the bast and Jute hurd (inner woody fibre stick), which permits the fibres to be separated. The Jute is then stripped, washed again and hung up to dry for a couple of days, until it is fully dehydrated in the natural sunlight, then the retting process begins by bundling the two types of retting: stem and ribbon separately, then is packed and transported to our Jute manufacturer to machine process into a wide selection Jute plant pots, UGro JUTE.

UGro JUTE is the best non-plastic, 100% biodegradable alternative to plastic plant pot waste.

FOUNDER

Our Founder, Ashit Gwalani is from Mumbai, although, he has been a resident in Barcelona, Spain for over thirty years. He studied Architecture for a short while, before changing direction of his professional life.

It was in 2003 when Ashit decided to leave the family business within the seafood industry and embark upon an environmental journey within ecological agriculture.

He wanted to enter the organic world, using Earth’s natural resources. This journey was initiated using an existing by-product (cocopeat, coir …) without harming wildlife or depleting iconic wetland peatlands, while harnessing the great attributes of plants and nature to nature while reducing the environmental impact.  He also enjoyed working with the laid-back people who work within agriculture as they really appeal to him and after several months of research, rigorous testing and countless success stories, Ashit discovered for himself the true wonders of sustainable peat-free farming with coir substrates, thus, Simply Organic S.L was born.

Established in 2003, Ashit and his environmental team of experts work closely, between the head-office in El Masnou (just outside Barcelona) and Tuticorin, in South-East India.

YOUR SUCCESS STORIES

Now you have heard our success story. We would like to hear your story.

Whether you are a farmer growing a large crop of flowering plants or an individual with green-fingers growing a UGro Slab of herbs in your garden. Maybe you are a new-comer to our UGro community with a small tomato crop? Where ever you are, and what ever you are growing we want to hear your success stories so please get in touch;

SHARE YOU STORY WITH US OR JOIN OUR COMMUNITY:

• Learn more about rooting, growing and flowering by subscribing to our blog here.
• Learn and develop and share your success stories by following us on Instagram, Twitter and like us on Facebook.

SHARE YOU STORY WITH US