“It’s not just a product. It’s a promise. To your garden. To the planet. To a healthier future.”
— Charles J. Malki, Author, Biologist, Inventor and Avid Gardener
Think of him as the Elon Musk of organic gardening. And like the Tesla pioneer, Charles Malki is on a mission to improve the
human condition and save the planet. But unlike Musk, instead of having his head in the clouds, Charles has his hands in the dirt.
His company is called IV Organic, and although many people believe the “IV” stands for the number four or “intravenous.”
It doesn’t. The “I” and the “V” represent the first names of his young daughters, Isabelle and Victoria. Those initials are a constant
reminder to him that the choices we make today directly affect the health and wellbeing of generations to come. Those initials
aren’t just part of his name, they’re his legacy.
Charles didn’t start out with the goal of becoming one of the leading voices in organic gardening. It happened…organically,
in medical school, of all places. His dream of becoming a heart surgeon never materialized, but the medical training he received
led him to discover that he did indeed have the power to save lives. The lives of plants.
His journey to enlightenment started with a simple observation: Plants can get sunburned, just like humans, especially in the
hot, arid climate of his native Southern California. It was common practice for orchard workers to “whitewash” the trunks of their
fruit trees to keep them from being damaged by the sun or pests like beetles. But they used latex paint. Or tar. Both of which
contaminated the soil.
Charles knew there had to be a better way. So he did his homework, experimented in his home garden, and picked the
brains of the leading experts in the field of organic horticulture. The result was a revolutionary product called “Three-In-One
Plant Guard,” a whitewash that protected trees and plants against sunburn, insects and rodents. But instead of using destructive
chemicals, his product contained natural pest repellants like castor oil, cinnamon oil, garlic oil, peppermint oil, rosemary oil and
diatomaceous earth in a long-lasting and effective patented formula.
Quite simply, there had never been a product like this before. And it wasn’t long before IV Organic was attracting legions of
likeminded followers—people who didn’t think of gardening as a hobby, but as a calling.
In further research Charles realized that the “tried and true” methods of gardening may have been “tried,” but weren’t
necessarily “true.” For decades so-called plant experts kept telling us that plants needed three macro-nutrients to stay healthy:
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. But what most gardeners don’t know, and what Charles discovered, is that plants actually
need SIX macronutrients. That’s why his all-purpose fertilizers are the only organic products on the market to feature all six—
including magnesium, sulfur, and calcium.
Over the years IV Organic has become more than a company. It’s a community. And with global sales, hundreds of
thousands of subscribers to their informative YouTube channel, and outreach to nurseries and horticultural societies around the
world, this community is growing…in more ways than one.
In the past, families grew the food they consumed. And research tells us that people who live around trees and plants live
longer, healthier lives. But today, climate change and pollution represent an existential threat to the health of the planet. Which
is why IV Organic is on a mission to heal it…
One garden at a time.