Jon Jackson and his team at Global Neighbor have been working really hard on a new technology to kill weeds. They are a research and Green industry company located right here in Centerville Ohio. According to Patrick who is the product manager for Global Neighbor they have already sold units in several states with good feedback.
Besides the fact that it’s nice to see a local company developing products and bring some money back to our community, their cause is really cool as well. The NatureZap product they have created is a completely green product designed by their team to kill weeds. Meaning it’s safe for kids,pets and water supplies for local wildlife.
Up until just a few years ago there were not very many options if you wanted to kill weeds in your flower beds. You could use Round Up (Glyphosate) , a propane weeder or just get down on your hands and knees hoping you managed to pull the roots. Over the past several years you can start to see a whole new style of product as demand for organic options has grown. The issue many people have experienced with these products tend to be lack of effectiveness or just inconsistent results.
The NatureZap DE that Global Neighbor chemical free to fill this need for alternatives. The device uses a recipe of 4 light types concentrated using a uniquely developed dome.
I asked Patrick how the NatureZap actually worked and he explained it to me.
Basically NatureZap utilizes what is known as blue, UV and IR light to kill weeds. The superstructure of the plant is killed off by the heat and IR light, while the shorter-wave blue and UV lights penetrate the ground to kill roots off by exposing the roots to light. It starts with injuring the leaves but because of the light it works its way through the soil to disrupt the root system causing it to break down. This essentially explodes the roots of the plants.
We asked Jon Jackson what inspired him to start a company like Global Neighbor and this is what he said.
“I remember reading an article, believe it was Time magazine, about notable inventions by market over the past 50 years and the author listed a leaf blower in the home gardening area. I couldn’t believe it. How could a simply product like that be something worthy among the others listed? Then I realized, in the home gardening market, what was new? The same mower has been around for all my life. Sure some improvements in safety, no adjustment carburetors, zero turn steering, etc. but basically the same product that I used as a kid in the early 70’s.Having lead many teams to bring new high tech products out, I wanted to tackle this area. My friends and I tried to define the killer product. And after doing, we realized that much of the technology already existed, but some key critical things were not, but we thought achievable.”
They actually started the company in an environmental technologies incubator at Central State. Jon also had a deep rolodex from many years in product development and which gave him many experts to draw on to create the product. Jon stated that Global Neighbor is and was always a multi-cultural, deeply resourced organization; it was just that everyone had day jobs. Now they have grown to the point they have their headquarters and production office right here in Centerville.
The NatureZap product line is a result of 10 years of R&D. They wanted to find a means to control weeds without using chemicals. GNI’s goal is to provide convenient environmentally safe alternative solutions. When they started, none met all of those requirements, so they had to complete a lot of R&D to figure out what would work.
You can by their newest style unit on Amazon.com or visit their website at G-neighbor.com.