GB2120068A

GB2120068A - Improved method of growing plants and an improved mulch for employment therein

Info

Publication number: GB2120068A
Application number: GB08311008A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Sandor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-05-11
Filing date: 1983-04-22
Publication date: 1983-11-30
Also published as: GB8311008D0; GB2120068B

Abstract

The growing environment of a plant (11) is improved with a mulch pad (1) of foamed plastics material which overlies the roots and exhibits a highly reflective upper surface (e.g. a metallised plastics film) to reflect light onto the underside of the leaves of the plant. Pads can be shaped for flower pots, seed trays, or plant rows. Slits (5,7) can facilitate positioning around a plant stem (10) and allow for stem growth. Holes (8) permit ventilation and/or watering. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved method of growing plants and an improved muichforemploymenttherein Seedlings, with a few exceptions, best thrive under moist conditions, and for these it is especially importantto maintain moist conditions around the roots. The same generally applies also to many larger garden or house plants.

Mulches of plastics material have been developed for the purpose of achieving these conditions and typically they consist of a thin plastics film, such as polythene. As a useful adjunct two keeping the area they cover moist, these plastic mulches also keep down unwanted weeds around the plants.

U.K. Patent Specifications 1284768 and 1381679 disclose the use of discs (e.g. of plastics material) inter aliato protect the roots of growing shrubs from lawn mower damage.

Pads of plastics foam material have also been used forthis purpose since, additionally, they possess useful thermal insulating properties, thus providing a certain degree of protection under extreme weather conditions.

I have found that many seedlings and plants benefit; from a greater concentration of light and that the light intensity in the vicinity of a growing plant can be enhanced with significant effect on growth performance by the provision of a light-reflective mulch placed around the stem of a growing plant.

According to one aspect ofthe invention a method of improving the growing environmentfor a growing plant comprises covering the growing medium in which the plant roots are located with a resilient foam pad having an upwardly facing light-reflecting surface.

Suitably the pad is a resilient plastics foam material faced on its upper surface with an aluminised transpa- rent plastics film. Preferably the pad is slit to facilitate its location around the stem of the plant and desirably perforated (at least adjacent to the stem) to allow moisture to pass th rough the pad.

According to a further aspect ofthe invention a mulch pad comprises a sheet of resilient foamed material with a light-reflective surface at least partially overlying the foamed material on one face thereof.

Preferably the pad is slit from a peripheral region thereof to an inner region destined to accommodate a plant stem, this facilitating the location of the pad around the plant stem. Suitably said inner region is providedwith cuts extending through the pad which converge towards astem-receiving aperture.

Conveniently the inner region includes ventilation andlorwatering holes which pass through the pad.

Mulch pads in accordance with the invention can be made with peripheral shapes adapted to commercially available flower pots or seed trays. Thus circular pads (e.g. of or200 mm diameter) and rectangular pads are particularly preferred. For use in elongate seedling beds, the mulch pad may be in the form of a strip (e.g. 30 to 60 cms wide and say 1 to 6 metres long) cut or perforated at intervals therealong to provide real or potential stem-receiving apertures in one or more parallel rows.

Oval pads may be useful for application to seedlings in adjacent pots and it will be appreciated that other shapes may be required for special applications.

The foamed material is preferably of uniform thickness (between 1 and 10 mm) a preferred thickness being between 1.5 and 3.5 mm. Suitably the foamed material has a closed cell structure and is an expanded PVC or expanded polyethylene.

The light-reflective surface is suitably an aluminised plastics film (e.g. a polyester or polyethylene film) which can be as thin as 12 microns and suitably is bonded to the foamed material so that the metallised layer is next to thefoamed material. This provides good corrosion resistance to the light-reflective surface.

As an alternative, the reflective surface can be provided by an exterior metallised layer on the foamed material which is provided with a transparent surface-protecting lacquer.

Conveniently the bonding of a metallised plastics film to a foamed elastomer layer is effected in such wisethatthe resultant pad has a natural convex reflective surface. This can be advantageous in bright sunlight since it reduces the localised glare on the underside of plant leaves (avoiding leaf-scorch) and in heavy rain, diverting excess moisture away from the stem.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure lisa plan view of one embodiment of mulch pad in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a greatly enlarged section taken on the line ll-ll of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a side elevation ofthe pad of Figure 1, Figure 4 shows the pad of Figure 1 in use in the method of the invention with a single plant in a pot, and Figure 5 illustrates the method of the invention applied to a row of plants.

The pad shown i n Fig u res 1 to 4 com prises a disc 1 of closed cell low density foamed polyethylene material 2 (e.g. 25 kglm3) covered with a reflective layer of aluminised polyesterfilm 3. The disc 1 has a central aperture 4 and a radial slit 5 extending from the periphery to the aperture 4. A plurality of short cuts 7 radiate from the aperture 4 and holes 8 are provided between the cuts 7.

To use the pad (see Figure 4) it is located on the top of a flower pot (shown in chain line at 9) to surround the stem 10 of a plant 11. The reflective surface being uppermost, concentrates light (e.g. sunlight) on the underside of the leaves ofthe plant to encourage more rapid growth. The thermal insulating properties of the foamed material 2 protect the roots from extremes of temperature. The disc 1 protects the growth medium in the pot 9 from invasion by weed seeds or pests and being naturally water-impermeable, keeps moisture in the pot. Stem development is encouraged by the air circulation possible near the stem due to the cuts 7 and the holes 8. Stem growth is accommodated by the cuts 7 and the slit 5 facilitates placement of the disc I aroundthestem 10.

Figure 2 shows how the metallised layer 3a on the film3 isadjacenttothefoamed material 2 leaving a polyester layer uppermost to protecttheverythin metallised layer.

Figure 3 shows the cylindrical curvature imparted to the pad during manufacture which causes reflected lightto diverge, thus reducing the risk of leaf-scorch in brightsunlightand to some extent obviating the light-concentrating effect of some of the concave surface irregularities (not shown inthe drawing) formed in the film 3 during the manufacturing process ofthe pad.

Figure 5 shows one form of elongate mulch pad in accordance with the invention, the plant locations therein being formed by spaced-apart clusters of cuts 7a and holes 8a, only some of which are used to accommodate plants 11 a. One ofthe cuts 7a forming each cluster can extend to an edge of the pad (as shown dotted at 7a') to facilitate location of the pad around an already growing stem. The holes 8 (8a) typically have a diameter in the range 1 to 3.5 mm.

The bonding of transparent metallised film to the foamed material may be effected in any convenient way, e.g. by adhesive bonding orthermal bonding. To facilitate thermal bonding, it may be desirable to include, between the film and the foamed material, a heat sealable material.

Claims

1. A method of improving the growing environmentfor a growing plantwhich comprises covering the growing medium in which the plant roots are located with a resilientfoam pad having an upwardly facing light-reflecting surface.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the pad is a resilient plastics foam material faced on its upper surface with an aluminised transparent plastics film.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the pad surrounds a stem of the plant and is slit to facilitate its location around the stem of the plant.

4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the pad is perforated adjacent to a stem ofthe plant to allow moisture to pass th rough the pad.

5. A method of improving the growing environmentfor a growing plant substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 or 5 ofthe accompanying drawing.

6. A mulch pad comprising a sheet of resilient foamed material with a light-reflective surface at least partially overlying the foamed material on one face thereof.

7. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 6, in which the pad is slit from a peripheral region thereof to an inner region destined to accommodate a plant stem.

8. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 7, in which the inner region is provided with cuts extending through the pad which converge towards a stem-receiving aperture.

9. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 7 orclaim 8, in which the inner region includes ventilation and/or watering holes which passthroughthe pad.

10. Amulch pad as claimed in any of claims 6 to 9, in which the foamed material has uniform thickness and a closed cell structure.

11. A mulch pad as claimed in any of claims 6 to 10, in which the foamed material has a thickness of between 1.5 and 3.5 mm.

12. A mulch pad as claimed in any of claims stro 11, in which the foamed material is an expanded PVC or expanded polyethylene.

13. A mulch pad as claimed in anyofclaims 6to 12, in which the light-reflective surface is provided by a metallised layer.

14. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 13, in which the metallised layer is of aluminium.

15. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 13, in which the reflective surface is provided by an exterior metallised layer on the foamed material which metallised layer is provided with atransparentsurfaceprotecting lacquer.

16. Amulch padasclaimedinclaim 14,inwhich the light-reflective surface is an aluminised transparent plastics film bonded by a heat sealable material to the foamed material.

17. A mulch pad as claimed in claim 16, in which the plastics film is bonded to the foamed material so thatthe metallised layer is next to the foamed material.

18. Amulch pad as claimed in any of claims 6to 17, in which the bonding of a metallised plastics film to a foamed elastomer layer is effected in such wise that the resultant pad has a natural convex reflective surface.

19. Amulch pad as claimed in claim 18, in which the convex reflective surface is of part-cylindrical form.

20. Amulch pad substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as iliustrated in, the accompanying drawing.

21. A combination of a flower pot containing the roots and stem of a growing plant and a mulch pad surrounding the stem, overlying the roots and covering the open top ofthe pot, the mulch pad being a disc of closed cell foamed plastics material of a thickness or less than 10 mm, the uppersurface of the pad having a metallised appearance.

22. The combination of claim 21, in which the foamed material is closed cell expanded PVC or expanded polyethylene.

23. The combination of claim 21 or 22, in which the disc has a diameter of no more than 200 mm.