JP3826232B2 - Plant growth substrate - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate such as a soil for growing plants.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when growing plants, soil is generally used. The soil stretches the roots of the plants to support the above-ground part, and retains moisture and nutrients to promote the growth of the plants.
In recent years, greening of buildings has been recommended as a countermeasure against global warming and urban heat islands. However, because the roof is windy and the soil is easily scattered, and the weight is heavy, we give up on greening due to the structure of the building. There are many things that must be done.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention seeks to obtain an economical one that is lightweight and easy to use on a rooftop or the like instead of conventional soil.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention uses glass collected as waste material and the like, and foams it in a melted state to form open cells, which can be cultivated by making it into a disk shape or a granule to grow plants To make a base material.
[0005]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Various kinds of glass materials can be used, but glass bottles collected as waste products that are not suitable for normal use can also be used effectively.
This glass material is once melted and foamed. This foaming may be performed by adding a known foaming agent to a molten glass material, and closed cells may be mixed, but plant roots can enter or moisture and nutrients can be retained. Try to form open cells. This foaming is usually about 2 to 10 times, preferably about 4 to 8 times.
[0006]
Such a foam is formed to be a disk-like body. For example, it can be of a moderate size according to the use from a small one such as a square shape or a rectangular shape of about (5-200) cm × (5-200) cm to a large one.
Such a disc-like body 1 may be used alone, but usually is often used by laying down, so in addition to the above-mentioned square shape and rectangular shape, polygons and other types that can be laid down Various shapes can be used, but in some cases, a circular shape, an elliptical shape, or the like that forms a gap when laid down may be used.
[0007]
The thickness of the disk-shaped body should be set so as not to be easily cracked. A small shape can be formed relatively thin, but a large shape is relatively thick so as not to crack. In most cases, the thickness is usually about 2 to 20 cm. FIG. 1 shows a rectangular shape of 45 × 90 cm and a thickness of 5 cm.
[0008]
When using this, if the substrate 3 for growing the plate-like body 1 is placed on the rooftop of the building, plant seeds are sown and water is sprayed, the water enters the open cells 2 of the plate-like body 1. The roots that are retained, germinate and extend enter into the open cell 2 using this retained water, so that the leaves 4 grow thick, the flowers 4 bloom, and the plant 4 grows (FIG. 2).
When placing the plate-like body 1 on the roof of a building, it is often preferable from the viewpoint of waterproofness to lay a weather-resistant waterproof sheet and dispose the plate-like body thereon.
[0009]
Plants that grow on such a plate-like body are generally not preferred to have a large root, so it is recommended to grow grass, lawn, flowers, low shrubs, and other relatively low-priced plants.
2 shows a state in which one plate-like body is used. If an appropriate number of the plate-like bodies are spread, greening in a desired area can be performed.
[0010]
The one shown in FIG. 3 is formed by shortening the length of one side of the plate-like body 1, for example, a small cube of about 10 × 10 × 10 cm, and if this is spread, the periphery of the zone to be greened It is possible to design more freely by making the shape not only linear but also close to a curve.
[0011]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which the plate-like bodies 1 are stacked in a plurality of stages, and it may be applied to a case where it is desired to thicken the cultivation land or a case where the plate-like bodies are made thin. Although the disk-like bodies 1 are alternately stacked in the illustrated example, they can be stacked by an appropriate method. In addition, it may be preferable to arrange a material having a large expansion ratio and a large open cell in the upper plate-shaped body, and a small expansion factor and a small open cell in the lower part, which makes it possible to more smoothly extend the roots. . Also, different sizes may be combined in a plurality of stages.
[0012]
In the thing of FIG. 5, the board-like body 1 was raised in the shape of a wall by an appropriate method, and a plant can be planted on the wall surface and greened. You can do it. In the illustrated example, the space 6 is formed by omitting a part of the disk-shaped body, and such a space can be appropriately formed as needed to make a wall surface rich in change.
[0013]
This foam can also be used in the form of granules. The granule can be appropriately sized, but it may have a diameter of about 2 to 40 mm, preferably about 5 to 20 mm. Can be used.
In what is shown in FIG. 6, the granular material 8 is packed in the place where the stepped portion 7 is formed so that a plant can be cultivated.
Plant roots planted in these places go into the gaps between the granules and absorb the moisture held by the granules, but each granule can move as the root grows Plants such as trees with thick roots can be grown, which may be easy to use.
The granular material can be formed into an appropriate shape other than a spherical shape, and granular materials having different sizes can be used in combination at an appropriate ratio.
[0014]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention uses a glass material that becomes a waste product, and foams it into a disk-like body or a granular body, so that it can be made light and rich in water-retaining power. It can be easily planted in other desired locations. Moreover, if this board-like body is set in a standing state and a plant is grown using the wall surface, greening of the wall surface can be easily performed. And in the case of granular material, it can be handled almost like soil, and it can create a state similar to the aggregate structure that is desirable in plant cultivation, so that plants can be sufficiently grown it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a plant has grown on the growth base material of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partially omitted perspective view of another embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of still another embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partially omitted perspective view of another example.
FIG. 6 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view of still another example.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Board-like body 2 Open cell 3 Growth base material 4 Plant 6 Space 8 Granule

Claims (2)

  A plant growth base material in which waste glass recovered as a waste product is melted and foamed with a foaming agent to form open cells, which are formed into a regular plate-like body.   The plant base material according to claim 1, wherein the disc-like body has a shape that can be spread in a plane without a gap.

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