INTRODUCTION the Manual Mater Maker & Co.

Greetings fellow bloggers, family and friends!  It is my pleasure to introduce the Manual Mater Maker! 

But before I introduce our not-so-revolutionary design, I’d like to give props to the competition; the design driven, gadget gurus who have created out of their own calculating minds the most amazing engineering mater-masterpieces imaginable!  It’s people like these guys who make airplanes fly, rockets soar and computers… well, do what computers are supposed to do… confuse and frustrate the rest of us.  So to Mike and Dad, I tip my gardening hat and with heartfelt sincerity say, “Well done!  That apple certainly didn’t fall to me!”   Now, enough of the nice stuff… let’s get to business and the inevitable smack down that you both signed up for…

Vision:
We at the Manual Mater Maker have a much different vision than our competitors.  We like to keep it simple.  You know, like Mother Nature herself.  (After all, she’s a biologist, not an engineer.)  Light, water, dirt, and a little love... it’s all you need.  Because at the Manual Mater Maker, “We aren’t building rockets… we’re just Making Maters.”

Our Design Concept: 
Keep it simple, keep it cheap.  Our investor at the Manual Mater Maker (a.k.a. my hubby) has dollar-clenched fists and a strong focus on the bottom line.  For this reason, design materials were kept to a minimum and the objective clear, “Why pay for something you can do yourself?”  You will notice that our water, lighting and heat systems are not automated with fancy gadgetry.  Instead, we at the Manual Mater Maker take the time to turn on the grow light, check the temperature and yes, believe it or not, manually water our mater babies when they are thirsty.  Because growing maters is about nurture, not calculation.  Besides who can put a timer on love?  Our mater babies at the Manual Mater Maker are nurtured several times a day by a real person.  You might ask… how does that person feel about nurturing the mater babies so often?  Well, I can tell you she doesn't like it one bit.  But it’s not about her.  It’s about the Mater… and the beer.

Materials/Financial Profile:
Table, thermometer, floor heater and spray bottle – found in the investor’s garage – $0.00
Four foot shop light with opposing spectrum fluorescent bulbs – $65.00 (The investor has yet to be able to let that purchase go.)
Grow tray - $7.00
Roof insulation sheeting (X4) - $8.00
Aluminum foil to bounce all that good "light" stuff around – $0.10
The look on your faces when I crush you with this thrown together heap... PRICELESS!!!

How it works:
1.  Turn on the grow light and the heater to warm up the box.
2.  Put the mater babies under the light all day.
3.  Periodically check on the mater babies and spray as needed.
4.  Bring them in at night for a warm, dark slumber.

In Closing: 

I’d like to quote a wise prophet.  (Don’t ask me his name, the name isn’t important and it’s not like I remember.)  It’s what he said that should make my competitors very nervous.  “Don’t mess with Mother Nature.”  We at the Manual Mater Maker have a respect for the natural process of growing ripe, red juicy maters.  No tubes, no wires, no timers, just good ol’ fashioned know how!  

So Mike and Dad you’d better check your gadgets and check them twice, because if I get the first mater with this lackluster, thrown together, heap of mess, you both will NEVER EVER live it down!!!

Uh oh.. looky what the Manual Mater Maker had hiding inside??  Why... it's a flat full of happy mater babies.  (And the photo has more than one!)