EP1893014A1

EP1893014A1 - Device for soilless cultivation of plants

Info

Publication number: EP1893014A1
Application number: EP06764759A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean-Yves Plat
Original assignee: Orga-Conseil
Current assignee: EURL LE JARDIN VERTICAL
Priority date: 2005-06-09
Filing date: 2006-06-09
Publication date: 2008-03-05
Also published as: WO2006131657A1; FR2886813A1; FR2886813B1

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for soilless cultivation of plants comprising: a tubular flexible envelope (1) having a peripheral wall open at least at one of its ends (6); means (4, 8) for suspending said envelope; and lumens (5) provided in the peripheral wall of the tubular flexible envelope (1).

Description

Device for growing above-ground plants

The present invention relates to a device for growing crops above ground. Such a device allows in particular to cultivate plants of any kind in places usually not provided for this purpose such for example: building facades, balustrades and railings, props and beams, etc ....

Traditional planting techniques for façades have been well known for a long time. Indeed, climbing plants are commonly used (ivy, Virginia creeper), which are fixed without human intervention to any type of facade. It is also known to help some plants to cover facades via a trellis, a pergola or the like.

However, these techniques have disadvantages. First of all, it is difficult to control the development of these plants. These also often cause damage to the surface they cover. In addition these plants need to be planted in the ground or at least in bins big enough to allow their development. Finally, the possibilities of decoration with such plants are limited. Façade revegetation is still used more and more today and has, as such, attracted much research and resulted in the creation of many products aimed at offsetting the weaknesses of the traditional processes outlined above.

For example, it is known to produce culture mattresses. It is then necessary to have in several superposed layers a number of materials and various devices intended to meet a set of technical constraints among which include sealing, irrigation, the production of a culture medium and the possibility of securing to a facade or other. By way of example, mention may be made of documents FR-2 850 527 or FR-2 842 070. Most of these products are intended for sodding and very incidentally for flowering. They are grown flat before being put in place. They are used for reverberation of inclined surfaces or roofs. The complexity of the techniques of implementation of these means reserves them almost exclusively for professional use. Other products are more specifically intended for facades, walls and palissades. It is for example rigid or flexible supports that are put in place before filling. The rigid supports of a first type integrate in an indissociable assembly the culture support and the associated devices (FR-2 634 971, EP-1 519 121, JP 52 27 843 for example). They are panels to fix or to pose which is integrated a substrate which can not be renewed without questioning the integrity of the device. Rigid media of a second type dissociate the container from the contents. The support is put in place before being filled with substrate and then planted. These are planters adapted to particular situations. There are also flexible supports either horizontal (DE-33 28 991 or GB-2 300 099 for example) or vertical (US-3,930,334 for example). Here too, the support is put in place before being filled with substrate and then planted.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide means for revegetation, in particular of façades, of simplified use compared with devices known from the prior art. Advantageously, the device according to the invention can be quickly put in place, will preferably be clean and particularly suitable for non-professional use, convenient to use. Advantageously, the device according to the invention will not require any particular sealing device or other protective devices. It will also preferably be cheap to allow vertical wall greening at a reasonable cost compared to the realization of conventional crops in planters. Finally, a device according to the invention may preferably allow a very flexible vegetation. It will allow for example to adapt to all types of facades but will also be able to easily change the appearance of a facade. Finally, preferably the device according to the invention will be a device having a long life and adapted to limit the maintenance of cultivated plants.

For this purpose, the invention proposes an off-soil culture device, characterized in that it comprises: a flexible envelope, having a peripheral wall open to at least one of its ends,

means for suspending said envelope, and

- Lights made in the peripheral wall of the tubular flexible envelope. Such a device makes it possible to have at one end a bag of substrate inside the flexible tubular envelope. For planting, it is then possible to access the substrate bag by the lights made in the peripheral wall of the tubular flexible envelope. This innovative concept makes it possible to manipulate either substrate or the like but directly substrate bags. The use of devices according to the invention is then much easier than that of devices of the prior art.

In a preferred embodiment, the tubular casing is a tubular casing made of a synthetic material such as polypropylene. This material has interesting mechanical properties, resists over time and makes it easy to make a flexible tubular envelope from a sheet.

The means for suspending the envelope are made for example along an edge of the tubular peripheral wall. These suspension means are advantageously in the form of a loop, arranged coaxially with the flexible envelope over substantially the entire length of the envelope and forming a single piece with said envelope. Such passer allows a great flexibility of use. It can receive for example a rigid rod, or a more flexible element, equipped with complementary suspension means.

The lights made in the peripheral wall are advantageously T-shaped slots. Providing on the one hand only slots, and on the other hand T-slots, considerably limits the risk of introduction of weeds. inside the flexible tubular envelope and the substrate bag that it is intended to contain. The fact of having a slot makes it possible to limit the open area around a plantation while the T shape makes it possible to ensure a good automatic closing of the slot around the plantation. In a preferred embodiment of such slots, the vertical bar of the T is, relative to the horizontal bar of the T, the opposite side to the means for the suspension of the envelope.

The lights made in the peripheral wall are advantageously made close to the means for suspending the envelope. In this way, the plants emerging through the lights cover at better the outer wall of the tubular flexible envelope.

To allow good access to the inside of the tubular flexible envelope and also to prevent the fall of a substrate bag in it, especially during handling, the two ends of the flexible tubular envelope are advantageously open and provided with closure means.

The present invention also relates to an aboveground cultivation device as described above, characterized in that it contains, inside the flexible tubular envelope a substrate bag. The substrate used advantageously comprises a mixture of ground hydrophilic polyurethane foam and polyester fibers. It may further include water retentive products and long-lasting fertilizers.

To facilitate its irrigation, a device according to the invention may also comprise a porous spray tube passing through the substrate bag and extending substantially over the entire length of the tubular flexible envelope. Details and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows, made with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. 1 schematically represents a preferred embodiment of an aboveground cultivation device according to the invention. FIG. 2 represents in perspective a set of three devices according to the invention assembled using straps.

FIG. 3 is a view from another angle of the set of three devices of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 represents an alternative embodiment of the device of FIG. 1, and

Figure 5 is another perspective view of an aboveground cultivation device according to the invention.

FIG. 1 represents an aboveground planting cultivation device comprising on the one hand a tubular flexible envelope 1 inside which a substrate bag 3 is located.

The tubular flexible envelope 1 has a peripheral wall and is open at both ends 6. It is assumed here and in the following description that the tubular envelope is oriented horizontally. Along an upper edge of this envelope is made a loop 8 extending over the entire length of the flexible tubular casing 1. This loop 8 is for example intended to receive a stiffening device 2, such as a rod.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, the loop 8 is equipped at each of its ends 6 with a hooking loop 4. These handles allow for example to suspend the culture device above ground hooks. As an alternative embodiment, the attachment loops 4 may be integral with the stiffening device 2 rather than the loop 8.

The tubular flexible envelope 1 is for example made from a sheet of synthetic material, for example polypropylene. It can be thus for example made from a canvas such as those known as culture cloths above ground. The material used is preferably strong enough to support the weight of a substrate bag, planting and also water for at least the duration of a growing cycle. The material used to make the tubular flexible envelope 1 can also be of natural origin (burlap, sisal, coconut fibers, or other). Such a material is preferably treated to slow down its degradation.

When the tubular flexible envelope 1 is made from a sheet, the latter, of rectangular shape, is folded in half and sewn so as to form a tubular envelope. This first seam is not shown in the drawings. It is made to be preferably hidden. To make the loop 8, a seam 9 parallel to the first seam can be made over the entire length of the flexible tubular envelope 1.

On the side of the ends 6 of the flexible tubular envelope 1, it is also possible to provide seams 9 '. These are made for example in the transverse direction to make hems 10 at the ends 6 of the flexible tubular casing 1. The ends 6 of the casing are then reinforced.

Other techniques can be used to obtain a flexible tubular envelope 1 as shown in Figure 1. Such an envelope can for example be obtained by knitting a cover to the required diameter. It is also possible to produce the tubular flexible envelope by welding and / or gluing a piece of fabric or synthetic material. For example, the material used for making bags of substrates can be used here. Another production method provides, for example, for gripping a piece of cloth between two rigid elements. These rigid elements then serve as a stiffening device 2. Other methods can of course also be used to produce a tubular flexible envelope and an aboveground culture device according to the invention. The ends 6 of the tubular flexible envelope 1 can remain open both. It is necessary to provide an opening for introduction into the tubular flexible envelope 1 of the substrate bag 3. The preferred solution is to have two open ends that can be closed by means of closure means. Many closure systems can be used: eyelet eyelets associated with lacing, buttons, snaps, loop fasteners and hooks, staples, etc. These closure means are not shown in detail in the drawings but are designated with the reference 7. When such closure means are provided, the presence of hems 10 is advantageous. The tubular flexible envelope 1 of FIG. 1 has predforforations 5 intended to facilitate subsequent plantings. This is, in a preferred embodiment, T-shaped slots. The horizontal bar of the T is disposed at the top relative to the downwardly extending vertical bar. It is recalled here that the flexible tubular envelope 1 is oriented substantially horizontally and so that the loop 8 is in the upper position.

The pre-perforations 5 are preferably arranged close to the loop 8. They may be made on one face of the tubular flexible envelope 1 or on its two faces (FIGS. 2 and 3). The shape of these pre-perforations is advantageous because it virtually prevents weeds from entering the flexible tubular casing 1. When plants grow through these openings, only one passage for the plant is open, preventing weeds from spreading. penetrate the tubular flexible envelope 1. The tubular flexible envelope 1 may be intended to receive a single bag of substrate 3 or more, preferably but not exclusively one behind the other.

A support may be provided to receive one or more flexible tubular envelopes 1. It may for example be a wooden frame provided with hooks and / or any other hooking device. Figures 2 and 3 show an example of suspension of three flexible tubular envelopes 1 to a railing (Figure 3) or a railing. These flexible tubular envelopes 1 are here fixed by means of two straps 13 each provided with a self-locking buckle 14.

In the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, which show the same set of flexible tubular shells 1 on one side and the opposite side, slots are provided for the passage of the straps 13. These slots can be provided from the origin in each of the flexible tubular envelopes 1 but it is also conceivable to make these slots on demand, when placing envelopes, for example using a soldering iron.

Other assemblies of flexible tubular envelopes 1 can be envisaged. For example, it is possible to suspend or fix a tubular flexible envelope 1 to another. In general, any support may be suitable if it allows the attachment of one (or more) flexible tubular envelope 1 and if it is capable of supporting the weight load.

The tubular flexible envelope 1 may also be dressed with a decorative coating or a superficial greening mattress.

The dimensions of the tubular flexible envelope 1 are determined according to the characteristics of the substrate bags available on the market as well as the technical possibilities of the baggers. They also take into account the constraints of manipulation by the users. Thus, by way of nonlimiting example, the diameter of an opening at the end of a flexible tubular envelope is between 10 to 50 cm and the length of such a flexible tubular envelope 1 is for example between 30 and 150 cm.

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment for the suspension of a tubular flexible envelope 1. The stiffening device 2 and the hooking loops 4 of FIG. 1 are here replaced by a tube 12 and a suspension cable 11. tube 12 has for example a certain flexibility. This embodiment can be used to suspend for example one or more flexible tubular shells 1 between two attachment points (not shown).

FIG. 5 illustrates a tubular flexible envelope 1 inside which there is a substrate bag 3 and whose ends 6 are closed by the closure means 7. By the pre-perforations 5 it is possible to access the substrate bag 3 for planting. This bag of substrate 3 is for example cut locally and plants are introduced therein, so as to pass through the pre-perforations 5.

The substrate used here is for example composed of a mixture of ground hydrophilic polyurethane foam and polyester fibers. The proportions of these two components in the substrate depend on the culture conditions. In this mixture, given by way of non-limiting example, it is possible to introduce also, in variable proportions, peat and / or coconut fibers and / or rockwool, etc. Water retenters and / or long-lasting fertilizers may also be added to the substrate. The substrate used can also be an aboveground growing substrate such as those used for the production of strawberries or vegetables in greenhouses.

In an advantageous embodiment, an irrigation device may be provided in the device according to the invention. It may be for example a microporous tube which passes through both the substrate bag 3 and the flexible tubular envelope 1 through its two ends 6. This tube (not shown) comprises for example a connection to each from its ends. This connection allows the connection with another microporous tube, if two flexible tubular envelopes 1 are placed next to each other, or allows the connection with a water supply, or allows the establishment of a plug.

An aboveground cultivation device as described has many advantages.

First of all, such a device can be quickly set up. It only takes a few seconds for the inside of the tubular flexible envelope 1 to have a bag of substrate. It is unnecessary to manipulate the substrate itself which is particularly advantageous compared to other devices of the prior art.

Thanks to the manipulation of substrate bags and not of substrate, the device according to the invention is a clean device. Indeed, there is no risk of staining due to the drop of substrate during handling thereof. It is also noted that the device according to the invention is convenient to use. It enables the substrate, or more precisely the substrate bag, to be placed in the tubular flexible envelope before or after it has been put in place. The use of a device according to the invention is also simple because the use of the tubular flexible envelope does not require any sealing device or any special protection to prevent substrate leakage.

The use of soil culture device according to the invention makes it possible to adapt to a multiplicity of situations and thus allows a great modularity. An assembly consisting of a tubular flexible envelope and a substrate bag can be considered as a unitary element that can then be arranged at will and in multiple ways to be combined with other unitary elements. The appearance of one of these unitary elements can also be adapted. We have seen that a stiffening element could be used for the suspension of a tubular flexible envelope. The suspended tubular flexible envelope then has a substantially straight shape whereas if a cable passing through a more or less flexible tube is used, a rounded shape of chain may be given. This flexibility also makes it possible to adapt the shape of the envelope to that of the support. It is thus possible to green a cylindrical surface or other. The culture device can adapt to almost all surfaces to be planted. The aboveground cultivation device according to the invention allows the establishment of perennial crops. It allows the use of a stable substrate that permanently retains its technical characteristics of porosity, water retention and aeration. It is then necessary to use for the manufacture of the tubular flexible envelope of low degradable and rot-proof materials. The aboveground cultivation device is intended to hold a substrate bag horizontally. This horizontal position facilitates the regulation of irrigation water. It is indeed known that the higher the height of the substrate, the higher the distribution from top to bottom is heterogeneous. As can be seen from the description above, it is noted that the irrigation can be performed manually but that automation of this irrigation is easily achievable.

An important advantage also of a device as described above is its low mass and flexibility. This then makes it possible to cultivate greenhouse plants in the above-ground culture device according to the invention. Once the plantations have been developed, the device comprising the tubular flexible envelope, the substrate bag and the plantations is transported to the place of sale or use. It is useless to transplant the plantations. Plantations can be prepared directly in the greenhouse and set up by considerably limiting the number of manipulations.

In addition, in a greenhouse, aboveground cultivation devices the invention can use spaces usually not used in a greenhouse. Indeed, these aboveground cultivation devices can be placed along the vertical walls of the greenhouse. The profitability of the greenhouse is thus increased.

The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above by way of non-limiting examples and the variants mentioned. It also relates to all the variants within the scope of those skilled in the art within the scope of the claims below.

Claims

1. Device for culturing outside, characterized in that it comprises:

a flexible envelope (1), having a peripheral wall open to at least one of its ends (6), means (4, 8) allowing the suspension of said envelope, and

- Lights (5) formed in the peripheral wall of the tubular flexible envelope (1).

2. Above ground culture device according to claim 1, characterized in that the casing (1) is a tubular casing made of a synthetic material such as polypropylene.

3. Above ground cultivation device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the means (4, 8) for suspending the casing (1) are formed along an edge of the peripheral wall. tubular.

4. Above ground cultivation device according to claim 3, characterized in that the suspension means are in the form of a loop (8) disposed coaxially with the flexible envelope (1) over substantially the entire length of the envelope and forming a single piece with said envelope.

5. Above ground culture device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the slots (5) formed in the peripheral wall are T-shaped slots.

6. Above ground cultivation device according to claim 5, characterized in that the vertical bar of the T is, relative to the horizontal bar of the T, the opposite side to the means for the suspension of the casing (1).

7. Above ground cultivation device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the openings (5) formed in the peripheral wall are formed near the means (4, 8) for the suspension of the envelope.

8. Above ground cultivation device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the two ends (6) of the tubular flexible envelope (1) are open and provided with closure means (7).

9. Above ground cultivation device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it contains, within the tubular flexible envelope (1) a substrate bag (3).

10. Above ground cultivation device according to claim 9, characterized in that the substrate comprises a mixture of hydrophilic polyurethane foam ground and polyester fibers.

11. Aboveground cultivation device according to claim 10, characterized in that the substrate further comprises water retentive products and long-term fertilizers.

12. Above ground cultivation device according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that it further comprises a porous watering tube passing through the substrate bag and extending substantially over the entire length of the envelope flexible tubular (1).