“The best thing to happen to gardening since dirt.”[1]
The Wallo'Water (WoW) plant protector (Patent US4267665A) was co-invented by Carl and Volney Wallace while they were employed as civilians at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Volney and Carl lived in a small community (Terra) outside Dugway and car-pooled to work together. One spring they were lamenting the lack of a device to really get a head start on the growing season. They resolved to put their heads together and come up with something. As scientists, they were well aware of the latent heat and specific heat of water and knew the solution would include these properties. About a year and many false starts later, they had the idea for the simple, self-standing, WoW.
This device can protect cold-sensitive plants down to 10 degrees F in the tepee configuration and to 16 degrees in the open configuration. With it, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc. can be safely started in your garden a month and a half or more ahead of normal. More information on its use is available at the pages listed below.
They took out three patents on its forerunners, it, and its manufacture. Together with Corky Corkins, they founded TerraCopia, which operated (mostly under Corky's leadership) as a relatively small manufacturing company until the patent ran out and shortly thereafter, Corky's untimely death.
The Wallo'Water lives on as similar devices featured in just about every gardening catalog manufactured by a number of companies that were eager to jump into the void created by the demise of the patent and TerraCopia.
By the way, having read this, do you now see the connection that led to the naming of this website as "mentiscopia"? Also did you note the intentional double entendre in "TerraCopia" after the name of the town we lived in and the idea of an abundant earth?
[1] This description was used by an exuberant fan at a garden show.
Instruction Book (Under Construction-videos of some steps and better internal linking to follow)
The green links below take you to pages where the topics beneath them can be found.
WHAT IS THE Wallo’Water PLANT PROTECTOR?
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
WHY ARE THEY GREEN?
TESTIMONIALS
WARMING THE SOIL
HOW MANY PLANTS GO IN ONE WoW?
CROPS THAT WORK BEST IN THE WoW
SHOULD I START SEEDS OR TRANSPLANTS IN THE WoW?
DO I NEED TO HARDEN THE PLANT?
START THE SEASON, END THE SEASON, OR OVERWINTER?
Chart 1. Wallo’Water USE CHART
FALL USE
WINTER USE
OVERWINTERING ROSES AND OTHER EXPENSIVE PLANTS
HOW DOES THE WoW WORK SO WELL?
DOESN'T THE WATER FREEZE?
IMPORTANT PROPERTIES OF WATER
SHOULD I COVER THE WoW IF FROST THREATENS?
PERFORMANCE OF THE WoW OVER SEVERAL DAYS
CAN YOU BEAT THIS?
FOUR STEPS TO SET UP THE TEPEE WoW
FILLING AID
TRANSPLANTING INTO THE TEPEE WoW
OPENING THE TEPEE WoW
HOW MANY TIMES WILL I HAVE TO FILL THE WoW?
WATERING
HOW DO YOU FERTILIZE IN THE WoW?
REMOVAL
EMPTYING AND CLEANING
STORAGE
REPAIR KIT
HOW LONG CAN I EXPECT MY WoW TO LAST?
HOW DOES MY WoW SHOW AGING?
AT ABOUT $4, ISN'T THE WoW EXPENSIVE?
BUT I GROW DOZENS OF TOMATO PLANTS. HOW CAN I AFFORD THAT MANY WoWs?
MY GARDEN IS TOO SMALL TO USE WoWs.
WHAT IF I'VE NEVER STARTED SEEDS INSIDE?
WHY LEAVE THE OPEN WoW AROUND THE PLANT IN FROST-FREE WEATHER?
WHAT HAPPENS IF I GET A FREAK LATE FROST?
WON'T HOT DAYS DURING THE MONTH AFTER THE ALF DATE COOK THE PLANT?
HOW DOES A WoW DIFFER FROM A HOTCAP?
COULD YOU USE SALT OR ANTIFREEZE TO MAKE THE WoW WORK BETTER?
WOULD A WoW MADE OF BLACK PLASTIC ON THE NORTH SIDE WORK BETTER?
DOES USING BLACK PLASTIC BENEATH THE WoW HELP?
DO TIRES AS RAISED BEDS WORK WITH THE WoW?
CAN YOU USE WoWs ON PATIO PLANTS?
CAN YOU GROW CROPS BETWEEN WoWS?
HOW DO WoWs STAND UP TO WIND AND HAIL?
DOES THE WoW DETER PEST MAMMALS?
WHAT DO I DO ABOUT INSECTS THAT GET TRAPPED IN THE POCKETS AND INSECT PESTS?
CAN MOSQUITOES BREED IN THE WoW?
HOW CAN BLOSSOMS INSIDE THE WOW BE POLLINATED?
CAN ALGAE GROWTH BECOME A PROBLEM?
ARE WEEDS A PROBLEM?
WHEN DO I STAKE PLANTS GROWN IN THE WoW?
SHOULD I USE TOMATO CAGES?
WHAT DO WIND AND HAIL DO TO THE WoW?
WHAT KIND OF QUALITY CONTROL IS USED?
ARE THERE ANY DEFECTS THAT WILL BE REPLACED?
CAN AN OLD Wallo'Water BE RECYCLED?
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