Holman GW1001 Installation Instructions Manual

Vertical Planting Kit

with Watering System Installed

Australian Patent No: 2014100545 - Patent Applied for ­608582 in New Zealand

Installation Instructions

HOLMAN GreenWall

Vertical Planting Kit w/ Installed
Watering System

Product Code: GW1001

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regarding this product
and to watch the video
of how it works please
scan the QR code with
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Table of Contents / Glossary

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary..................................................................................................1

Introduction............................................................................................ 2

Key Features...........................................................................................

GreenWall Installation..........................................................................3-6

Adding Extra Panels to the GreenWall......................................................7

Checking Your Watering System..............................................................7

Selection of Plants........................................

Potting Plants..........................................................................................9

Re-Potting Plants.....................................................................................9

Feeding Requirements........................................

Pest Control........................................

Drainage Options...................................................................................10

Warranty..................................................................................Back Cover

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..........................................8

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..................................10

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..................................................10

2

HOLMAN GreenWall GLOSSARY

Clip-on
Planter

12mm Two
Way Coupling

GreenWall
Panel

Adjustable
Dripper

Drip Tray (¾” BSP) Tap Nut

GreenWall Contents List:

1 x GreenWall Panel
8 x Clip-on Planters
8 x Adjustable Drippers
1 x Drip Tray

1

5 x 6mm x 25mm Screws

2 x 12mm Two Way Couplings
1 x Stainless Steel Hanging Bracket
2 x Stainless Steel Hooks
5 x Wall Plugs

1 x Pressure Reducer
1 x End Caps
1 x 13mm Tail x (¾” BSP) Nut
1 x (¾” BSP) Tap Nut

INTRODUCTION

Introduction / Key Features

GreenWalls or living walls have been known since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
before the birth of Christ. The gardens of today tend to have small footprints but lots
of walls. These offer many possibilities for home gardeners to bring living greenery
back into our lives. The Holman GreenWall is an engineered platform that is designed
to make hanging or vertical gardens easy to set up and maintain in an Australian yard.
Even if that is now an apartment balcony.

GreenWall will allow you to transform a wall into a lovely growing space. The system is
simple to set up and most importantly incorporates a pre installed irrigation system.
This vertical garden unit enables you to grow a herb or vegetable garden near your
kitchen, to beautify indoor spaces and patio areas make a colourful and welcoming
statement for your home.

Australia’s harsh summers mean that watering is the key to successfully growing vertical
gardens. Holman have designed the GreenWall garden panel that makes a stable plat­form from which you can hang pots but it also has an integrated professional watering
system that delivers controlled amounts of water into each individual pot.

KEY FEATURES OF THE “HOLMAN GreenWall” ARE :-

A convenient wall panel that allows pots to be hung and removed from the wall very easily.

•
The panel has pipe work pre installed so that water can be accurately delivered to

•
each pot.
The panels are easily hung to the wall on a stainless steel mounting bracket.

•
GreenWall panels can easily hang side by side and then be “clicked” together to connect

•
a continuous water supply pipeline that runs behind the wall panels. The pipe work
is all out of sight except for the very small tubes that deliver water to a pressure
compensating dripper positioned at each pot.
A water supply from a household garden tap is easily connected to the wall panel at

•
the most convenient point.
Each panel has four water connection points. This facilitates panels being connected

•
in a wide range of patterns. A “full” GreenWall can be created or a “hit and miss” pattern
or long runs of vertical or horizontal panels or indeed almost any pattern desired.
The GreenWall system includes a “gutter” than can be fitted below each row of pots

•
that will collect any excess water and allow this excess water to be piped to a garden
or a collection vessel.
The GreenWall system includes a generous amount of extra fittings that allows the

•
user to do most connections they may need to do!
All connections are “industry standard” and are available at your local hardware

•
store or garden centre.
The GreenWall panel has a clever marking template built into it. This allows easy marking

•
of the drill holes for the stainless steel hanging bracket. It is very easy to build up an
array of joining panels. Wall plugs and screws are included in the kit.

entry

2

HOLMAN GreenWall Installation

It is strongly recommended that the
GreenWall be watered automatically using
a Holman electronic tap timer.

The Holman “Misting System” tap timer
is particularly well suited to watering the
GreenWall because it can be programmed
down to minutes and even seconds.
allow you to work out the ideal maximum watering
time that minimises the amount of “waste”
water from the system. With a little patience
you will be able to program the precise amount
of time required to just moisten the mix in the
pots. Also it is possible to water at very regular
intervals. Say every 4 or 6 hours for a duration of
perhaps of 1 minute each time.

Regular watering
will prevent the soil from drying and will help to
maintain vigorous plant growth.

INSTALLATION

This will

Misting Timer

Product Code: CO3009

The installation of your GreenWall is easy to do.

1) “

Location” is as important in growing a GreenWall as it is in real estate. Growing
on a vertical surface means that the amount of full sunlight is going to be restricted.
North and west facing walls get the most light and heat. South and east facing walls
get less than half a days direct exposure. This has a big bearing on what will grow
successfully. Many homes have narrow alleys down the side where the eves may be less
than a metre away. This can turn even a north facing wall into a growing spot that gets as
little as 1 hour of direct sun. Also think about where your water source will be and how
easily you can run a hose from that tap.

2)

Determine how many panels you want to

install. What pattern do you want to create?

Remember that to interconnect the water
supply mainline you must join an edge to an
edge. Also the panel can only be oriented in
one direction with the “hooks” for the pots
facing up.

3 Panels connected horizontally with only 1 hose connection required for watering

3

(GreenWall Vertical Planting contains 1 panel per kit)

HOLMAN GreenWall Installation

3) Once you have determined where your first panel will be located you hold it against
the wall and get it level (use a spirit level). It is most important that you get it level if
you are going to add more panels because a small level error will magnify as the line
of panels grows longer. Also the drain tray will overflow if its not horizontal.

Next you need to mark the wall to position
the stainless steel holding bracket.

Look for the two guide holes identified
with small “flower petals” around the edge
which are located in a line in the centre of
the panel.

With the panel level use a sharp screwdriver or
a drill to mark the drill holes for the bracket.
can then remove the panel from the wall and
using the stainless steel bracket as a guide,
mark a third central hole to provide added
strength to the whole unit.

You

4) If attaching to a solid wall such as brick
or concrete, use a 6.5mm masonry bit to
drill all three holes.

Then insert the plastic wall plugs which
are supplied.

Fix the stainless steel bracket to the wall
using the stainless steel screws provided.

5) Hang the panel onto the steel brackets.

6)

Once your single panel or group of panels
are fitted to the wall and the watering path
is interconnected (if you have more than
one panel), connect the water to the panel
system. Check that the watering mainline
is properly connected (no leaks) and all
the drippers are working at a similar output
rate.

They should have a steady drip rate.

If some drippers are not working well, you can unscrew or slightly loosen the cap
of the dripper.

Remember to connect the pressure reducer and filter to the outlet of the tap. It is very
important to keep the water supplied to the drippers clean from dirt and grit.

4

HOLMAN GreenWall Installation

7) Plant the hanging pots before
attach these to the panel. One of the real
breakthroughs in the Holman GreenWall
system is that pots can be removed from
the frame. This means that you can do
your potting at a bench at a good working
height. You can even establish the plants
on the ground before positioning on the
frame.
something goes wrong, its easy to remove
a single pot and sort the problem and even
replant and then pop it back into its original
position.

(

See page 9 for more details on potting)

8) Hang the pots on the panel. Each pot
has a flat hook at the rear. This slides
into a slot on the panel. The slot is wider
than the hook and this allows you some
movement when positioning the pots.
Once the pot is in position the most critical
step is to position the dripper in the centre
of the pot.

Once growing on the module if

you

9) If you are going to grow a mixture of
plants in your GreenWall then its worth
noting that the top row is best for taller
growing plants as their natural vertical
habit of growth wont be inhibited.

For the rows beneath its better to choose
plants with a flat or even trailing growth
habit so these can get out from under the
top pots to get access to sunlight.

5

HOLMAN GreenWall Installation

10) Place the drip tray underneath the bot­tom row of pots if you want to catch any
excess water. The drip tray has a threaded
outlet onto which you can screw a fitting
to connect to poly pipe or garden hose to
take the water away.

If you intend to recirculate this water
through the system a filter is essential as
soil and other fine debris will quickly clog
up emitters and block water getting to your
plants.

11) Once the plants are in place connect a
hose from a tap and click it into any one of
the four entry point on the panel.

Turn on the water and check if the
water system is working well. If it is leaking
somewhere investigate and fix.

12) Water the plants as regularly as
required. As a general rule the surface
of the soil should dry out between drinks.

Watering requirements will vary as
determined by weather, plant and soil
type. It is strongly recommended that an
automatic electronic tap timer is used to
regulate how much water is applied to the
plants.

6

Adding Extra Panels / Checking Your System

ADDING EXTRA PANELS TO THE GREENWALL

It is a simple matter to add extra panels to the
GreenWall. Once you have your first panel
installed get the second and hold it in line and
adjacent to the first. It is very important that the
edges of the two panels line up and are level.
Mark the screw holes using the “flower petal”
holes and drill the holes. Fix the stainless steel
bracket. Hang the panel on the bracket.

Use a double ended click connector (supplied)
to join the water pipes of both panels. Click
the fitting into one panel and then slide the
adjoining panel to where you can click it in.

NOTE - The connection is made through a
click connector that has a water stop valve
inbuilt. Sometimes a small amount of debris
can get under the seat of the valve causing a
leak. If this happens push the valve up with a
screwdriver to flush the debris away and the
valve should seat properly without leaking.

CHECKING YOUR WATERING SYSTEM

It is critical to keep checking your

3 Panels connected vertically with only
1 hose connection required for watering

(GreenWall Vertical Planting contains 1 panel per kit)

watering system at regular intervals.

Because the GreenWall has small pots they can dry out very quickly and this can lead
to dead plants.

The drippers need to be checked to ensure that an equal amount of water is flowing
from each dripper. A filter is very important to ensure the water is clean and the drippers
do not block up. Keep a close eye to ensure the filter is not blocked because this will
restrict water flowing to all plants.

Once your GreenWall is planted check that all the pots in the GreenWall are getting
water.

It is worth investing in a electronic watering timer that can be set to water for small intervals.
A Holman Misting timer is ideal for this. It is worth taking a little time to experiment and
work out the optimum time to water your plants. This is likely to be no more than about
1 minute before water is flowing freely through the pot. It is best you stop watering
just before the water flows freely. Too much water flowing through will leach nutrients
and also waste water. If you use a Holman misting timer then you can programme the
“Run” time to within 1 second and the “Off” time to say about 4 or 6 hours. Then the
pots will be watered for a very small time on a regular basis.

The amount of water your plants require will vary with the type of plant, the weather
conditions and the type of potting mix you use. Use your finger to check the moisture
by scratching the potting mix to a depth of 1cm.

7

Selection of Plants

SELECTION OF PLANTS

Apart from your imagination and knowledge of plants the only other restriction
to what can be grown is the size of the pots. Trees by definition are not going to work.

So what’s possible? First up many gardeners look to growing food. Most herbs can
be cultivated, even some of the woody shrubs such as rosemary and lavender. Both
of these plants need long hours of direct sunlight to succeed so an exposed west or
north facing wall will be needed. Soft stemmed herbs such as parsley, mint, basil and
coriander are very happy in small pots as long as their water needs are supplied.

The idea of a wall of vegetables is very appealing. This dream can be easily achieved
with fast crops such as lettuce and the small Oriental cabbages such as Pak Choi and
Gai Lan. Not all lettuces produce heads such as the well known Iceberg. Non-hearting
lettuces can be harvested ‘leaf by leaf’ and there are plenty of varieties from which to
choose. Vegetables do best in high light situations.

Flowering annuals can make a dramatic and welcoming splash of colour. Many of
these are well suited to vertical gardens. Examples are petunia, portulaca, pansy,
viola, sweet alyssum and lobelia. For shaded east or south facing walls look at plants
like bedding begonia and impatiens.

For a more permanent show where regular watering might be a problem, look to succulents.
There are many families of succulent plants where form and foliage colour creates
long term features. This is not to say that these plants don’t flower, they do and in
many cases with great flair. ‘Flaming Katy’ or ‘florists kalanchoe’ is a terrific example
putting up a dazzling flower show for three or four months at a time.

Succulents are accustomed to getting by on little water and as a result have a tendency
to rot if their roots are constantly wet. Use a cactus potting mix to fill the pots. In full
sun you only need to water perhaps once every couple of weeks during summer so
the plants experience dry soil in between drinks. Most succulents demand hot sunny
locations to give their best show.

Some of the most spectacular vertical gardens are located indoors where there is
more control over the environment, particularly when it comes to watering. Choosing
a range of different foliage feature plants makes it possible to paint living pictures.

As a general rule soft stem plants are amongst the most successful, so trailing pothos,
philodendron and peperomia are good choices for vertical indoor gardens.

In a similar vein patios and outdoor living areas can be decorated with living plants using
the vertical format to create drama and effect.
(air plants) are two groups of shade loving plants that are well suited to life in the air.

it is possible to grow plants in both hydroponic and aquaponic systems using the
Holman GreenWall. Fill the pots with expanded clay as the soil-less medium.

Tree growing orchids and bromeliads

It is a good practice to drain the water into a reservoir or pond. With hydroponics you
would add nutrient to the pond.
through their excreta. In both systems use a small pond pump to lift the water up into
the GreenWall units for recirculation.

In the case of aquaponics, fish would supply the nutrient

8

Potting Plants / Re-Potting Plants

POTTING PLANTS

One of the real breakthroughs in the Holman
GreenWall system is that pots can be removed
from the frame. This means that you can do
your potting at a bench at a good working
height.

You can even establish the plants on the
ground before positioning on the frame.

Once growing on the module if something
goes wrong, its easy to remove a single pot
and sort the problem and even replant and
then pop it back into its original position.

Choose top quality potting mixes as these
will not only drain well but also have good
water holding characteristics.

Also these mixes wet easily and moisture
readily spreads through the whole of the
root zone.

Red tick Australian Standards compliant
potting mixes come with sufficient
nutrients to keep plants growing for
months after initial potting.

The black tick standard mixes are stable
but will require fertiliser at planting time
for continued growth.

RE-POTTING PLANTS

Most herbaceous or soft stemmed plants have a life span of one to two years and will
need to be replaced when they start to look crook. These can be removed pot by pot
from the panels.

Don’t attempt to save the potting mix as it will have been exhausted by the growth of
the previous plant. Empty the pot and use fresh potting mix.

When planting up the pots fill the potting mix to the top of the lip as settling will bring
it down as much as a centimetre once it is in the system.

Additional pots will be available to buy separately and having a few spares can be a
great idea.

You could for an example have a back up crop growing off the wall so that the changeover
is instantaneous with the display always looking good.

9

Feeding Requirements / Pest Control / Drainage Options

FEEDING REQUIREMENTS

By choosing the Red tick potting mixes you will ensure that anything that you plant will
have sufficient food to get them through a couple of months of growth.

Following on from this there are two ways to go. One is to use a controlled release
fertiliser and the main advantage is that most of the nutrients will be taken up by the
plants. Examples are Osmocote and Acticote.
fertiliser. These by their nature are highly soluble and are taken up quickly.

The trick is to apply a small amount so that you don’t find yourself staring at a stream
of waste water coming out of the bottom of your GreenWall which contains most of
the nutrients you applied at the top. Recommended liquid fertilisers include Power­feed and Yates Uplift Organic Plant Starter and Root Booster.

PEST CONTROL

Being suspended up off the ground your plants are out of reach of most pests. Snails
may be able to get to them.

The other alternative is to use a liquid

There are low toxic pellets available that can be sprinkled over the soil to combat
snails and their shell-less relative - slugs. Look for MultiGuard snail and slug pellets.

Caterpillars are reasonably well adapted to attack a GreenWall vegetable or flower
display as their eggs may have been deposited directly on the host plants by the flying
adult butterfly.

At the first sign of damage I would suggest spraying with Yates Success. This is a non
toxic control for these big eaters.

DRAINAGE OPTIONS

If you have combined a number of units to make a wall of flower or food you may end
up with a number of drainage points. By using the drip tray supplied, each vertical
line of modules will drain to the bottom unit.
of the drainage units to take the waste water away, make up a drain line using 13 mm
poly tube.

In the kit you will find a screw on connector for the drain tray. This has a barbed end
onto which you can push a short length of poly pipe. Buy poly “Tee’s” and “Elbow’s”
to allow you to connect the drip tray together so that one poly pipe can draw off all the
waste water from your wall.

Overwatering can easily occur if you have a vertical installation of a number of
modules. This can happen when water drips down through the layers, each of which
has its own supply. The top layer receives the least amount where the bottom run in a
series of 5 modules will receive as much as 10 times this amount.

Instead of having a hose attached to each

Two solutions to this potential problem are to water so sparingly that water does
not drain. The second solution is to attach the ‘clip drain’ to every unit in the vertical
arrangement so water can only drip down one layer of the module at a time before the
excess is drained away.

If the GreenWall is in a position where rain can do the watering for you it won’t be such
an issue as the top level will tend to get the most water and individual pots won’t be
getting a combination of drip and irrigated water at the same time.

10

Warranty

Vertical Planting Kit

with Watering System Installed

Should you have any questions about this product or its operation please telephone our customer
service helpline on 1300 716 188.

HOLMAN offer a 1 year replacement warranty from the original date of purchase.
HOLMAN offer no guarantee or compensation for subsequent damage or waste of water.
It is the responsibility of the user to check that the product is always operating satisfactorily.

To claim warranty the product MUST be returned with a copy of the original receipt.

We will honour all statutory guarantees that this product is of acceptable quality
(including that it is fit for purpose). Product images may change without notice.

HOLMAN INDUSTRIES

47 Walters Drive,

Osborne Park,

Western Australia 6017.

Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Web: www.holmanindustries.com.au