GB2269732A - Growing system for plants - Google Patents

Abstract

The growing system comprises a number of stackable plant carriers 1 and a housing 2 for substantially enclosing the plant carriers 1. The plant carriers and housing may be formed of a transparent material to allow light transmission. The growing system can be placed in a greenhouse or outside depending on the stage of growth of the plants contained in the carriers. The carriers 1 are shown as trays 4 with apertures 6 to receive legs 10 for stacking. Each tray 4 has a lipped edge 16 to accomodate a capillary mat and parallel troughs 18 for water. Figure 3 shows the housing 10 comprising panels 100, 102, 104, 106, 108 held together by a frame 110. Frame 110 has handles 112 and panel 108 has a ventilator 122. Clips 124 have eyeholes 126 for poles (128, Figure 5) to support the housing 2 on soil. Figure 4 shows an alternative housing. <IMAGE>

Description

"Growing System" This invention relates to a growing system.

In the field of plant propagation it is customary to start a plant's life in a greenhouse where the temperature can be monitored, to use propagators to encourage growth during the early stages of the growing season, and finally, to plant the plants in coldframes to harden off young plants prior to planting outdoors.

These separate independent systems for each stage of a plant's early life can prove costly and inconvenient to store during the closed growing season.

An object of the present invention is to provide a growing system for a plant's early life in which a number of different growing conditions are satisfied by a single growing system.

According to the present invention there is provided a growing system for plants comprising at least one stackable plant carrier and a housing substantially enclosing the plant carriers.

Preferably, the plant carriers and housing are formed of a transparent material.

Preferably, there are a plurality of stackable plant carriers in the form of trays which are removable from the housing.

The stackable plants carriers may have removable legs which allow the carriers to be spaceably stacked to allow the transmission of light between the carriers.

Each plants carrier may have at least one recess in its bases in which a capillary mat or other water retaining substance may be disposed.

The carrier bases may also have troughs in the recesses for storage of water.

Most preferably, the growing system is capable of disassembly for storage.

Preferably, the enclosed housing is cuboid and has a slidably openable front panel and a ventilation means in one of the panels.

Preferably, the slidably openable front panel has holding means to enable the front panel to be held in several predetermined open positions.

Preferably, the housing has location means projecting from the sides of the housing in which support members can be placed.

Preferably, the location means are in a staggered position on opposite sides of a housing.

The housing may be placed in a greenhouse to act as a propagator or outside to act as a coldframe depending on the stage of growth of the plants contained in the carriers.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig la is a front view of the components of a carrier of a growing system in accordance with the present invention; Fig lb is a side view of the carrier of Fig la; Fig lc is a plan of the carrier of Fig la; Fig 2 is a perspective view of the components of three carriers prior to stacking in accordance with the present invention; Fig 3 is a perspective view of the components of an enclosure of a growing system in accordance with the present invention; Fig 4 is a perspective view of the components of a further embodiment of an enclosure of a growing system in accordance with the present invention;; and Fig 5 is a rear elevation of a plurality of growing systems, in accordance with the present invention stacked together.

Referring to the drawings, a growing system for plants has at least one stackable plant carrier 1 and a housing 2 for the plant carriers 1.

Each plant carrier 1 is formed of a rectangular tray which has four apertures 5, one in each corner 8 of the tray 4. Each tray 4 has four legs 10 which are placed through the apertures 6. Each leg 10 has a foot 12 of wider cross-section than the leg 10 which foot does not pass through the apertures 6. The tray 4 therefore rests on the four feet 12 at each corner 8 of the tray 4. The feet 12 have hollow recesses 14 into which the tops of the legs 10 of a second carrier 1 placed below the first carrier 1 can be inserted.

The tray 4 has a lipped edge 16 in order to accommodate a capillary mat enabling the plants to be bottom fed and watered. The base of each tray 4 has a number of parallel troughs 18 running along the length of the tray 4 which allow several days' water supply to be contained in each tray 4.

A number of carriers 1 can be vertical together by mounting one carrier 1 over another as shown in Fig 2.

The carriers 1 are formed of a clear material and the carriers 1 are stacked with sufficient space 20 between each layer to allow the maximum transmission of light for the encouragement of growth of the plants in the carriers 1.

The stacked carriers 1 are enclosed within a housing 2, a first embodiment of which is shown in Fig 3. The housing 2 is formed of a clear plastics material and is fully dismantable and can be stored flat when not in use. The housing 2 has two side panels 100, a base panel 102, a top panel 104, a front panel 106, and a rear panel 108. The panels are held together by a frame 110. The frame 110 has handles 112 on each side and sliding grooves 114 on the frame 110 at each side of the front panel 106. The front panel 106 has a handle 115 for raising and lowering the front panel 106. Positioning pins 118 can be placed through holes 120 in the sliding grooves 114 and the front panel 106 in order to hold the front panel 106 in different positions.

The rear panel 108 has a horizontally operated ventilator 122. Clips 124 are also provided which can be attached to the rear panel 108 of each housing 2.

Each clip 124 has an eyehole 126 projecting from the housing frame 110. The position of the clips 124 are staggered such that when two housings 2 are placed side by side the eyeholes 126 of one housing 2 are positioned over the eyeholes 126 of the other housing 2. This allows poles 128, typically in the form of garden canes, to be inserted through the eyeholes 126.

If the housings 2 are placed on the soil, the canes can be driven into the ground offering additional support to the interconnected housings 2. Housings 2 are typically double stacked with poles 128 inserted through the eyeholes 126.

A second embodiment of a housing 2 is illustrated in Fig 4. In this embodiment the housing 2 is attached to the carriers 1. As with the first embodiment of a housing 2, the housing 2 has two side panels 200 each of which has a number of horizontal inner ribs 208 which are placed above each tray 4 of the carriers 1 thereby preventing the side panels 200 from sliding down. Each side also has a slotted section 210 which fits over the top carrier 1 in the stack. The side panels 200 also have apertures 212 in the base of each side panel 200 through which the carrier feet 12 are placeable. The housing 2 has a top, front and rear panel 204, 206, 202 similar to those of the first embodiment of the housing 2. The rear panel 202 has a ventilator 214 and is sliceably locatable at the rear of the housing 2.Sufficient room is allowed between the rear panel 202 and the rear of the carrier 1 and the front panel 206 and the front of the carrier 1 to allow for air circulation within the housing 2.

In use plants are grown in the carrier trays 4 and the plants can be bottom watered due to the capillary mat held in each tray 4 by the lipped edge 16 of each tray 4. Troughs 18 in the base of each tray 4 allows a water supply to be contained within the tray 4.

Several trays 4 are stacked together and placed within a housing 2. The housing 2 may completely enclose the carriers 1 as in the first embodiment of a housing 2 shown in Fig 3, or alternatively, the housing 2 may be attachable to the carriers 1 as shown in the second embodiment of a housing 2 illustrated in Fig 4.

The growing system can initially be placed in a greenhouse as a propagator for initial growth of the plants and the temperature and ventilation inside the housing 2 can be controlled by the ventilator 122, 214 and the openable front panel 106, 206 of the housing 2.

The growing system is easily portable due to handles 112, 216 on the side panels 100, 200 of the housing 2.

The growing system can be transported out of the greenhouse for use as a coldframe in the open air.

Several growing systems can be stacked and placed together as shown in Fig. 5 and garden canes can be placed through the eyeholes 126 of the clips 124 on the housings 2 to increase stability of the housings 2.

The garden canes can be pushed into the ground when the growing systems are placed outside.

When not in use the growing system is completely dismantable and can be stored flat during periods of non-use. A reduced time can also be spent in watering new plants due to the troughs 18 within each carrier 1.

The growing system is versatile and due to its easy transportation the housing 2 can be used by a market gardener to transport the contents to market. Due to the clear plastic material housing 2 and carriers 1 sufficient light is available for growth and visual inspection of the plants.

Modifications and improvements may be made to the growing system without departing from the scope of this invention.

Claims (14)

1 A growing system for plants comprising at least one stackable plant carrier and a housing substantially enclosing the plant carriers.

2 A growing system as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the plant carriers and housing are formed of a transparent material.

3 A growing system as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the growing system is portable.

4 A growing system as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein there are a plurality of stackable plants carriers in the form of trays which are removable from the housing.

5 A growing system as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the stackable plant carriers have removable legs which allow the carriers to be spaceable stacked to allow the transmission of light between the carriers.

6 A growing system as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the plant carriers have a recess in their bases in which a capillary mat or other water retaining substance is disposed.

7 A growing system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the carrier bases have troughs in the recesses for storage of water.

8 A growing system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the growing system is capable of disassembly for storage.

9 A growing system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing is cuboid and has a slidably openable front panel and a ventilation means in one of the panels.

10 A growing system as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the slidably openable front panel has holding means to enable the front panel to be held in several predetermined open positions.

11 A growing system as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the housing has location means projecting from the sides of the housing in which support members can be placed.

12 A growing system as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the location means are in a staggered position on opposite sides of a housing

13 A growing system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the housing may be placed in a greenhouse to act as a propagator or outside to act as a coldframe depending on the stage of growth of the plants contained in the carriers.

14 A growing system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.