NL2012442B1 - Plant growing set having a seeded pellet of dry compressed substrate material packaged inside a stand-up pouch. - Google Patents

Description

Title: Plant growing set having a seeded pellet of dry compressed substrate material packaged inside a stand-up pouch.

The invention relates to a plant growing set in which a number of plant seeds and an amount of substrate material are packaged together such that a user can easily start to cultivate plants, in particular edible plants like herbs and vegetables.

Such plant growing sets are known in different embodiments. Most of them are destined to be sold to consumers wanting to grow some fresh herbs on for example their kitchen window-sill.

For example a growing set is known which comprises a rigid stoneware or plastic plant pot inside which a bag filled with an amount of wet compost and a small bag filled with seeds are placed. The compost and the seeds are packaged separately in watertight bags, because otherwise the seeds would already start to prematurely germinate in the compost. The assembly of plant pot and bags of compost and seeds are held together by for example a carton or plastic wrapping. When a consumer wants to use the set, he has to remove the wrapping, remove the two bags from out of the pot, open the bag of compost and fill the plant pot up to a certain level with an amount of the compost. Subsequently, he has to open the bag of seeds and divide the seeds over the compost in the plant pot. Then he has to cover the seeds with a thin layer of the remaining compost and slightly press the thus seeded compost together. If deemed necessary, the consumer can then pour a small amount of water onto the seeded compost. After all this the seeds shall start to germinate and grow into plants ready for consumption. A disadvantage with this is that the wrapped up assemblies of plant pot and bags of compost and seed, take up a lot of space during transport and storage. Also they are relative heavy, and it is possible that for example the bag of compost and/or seeds get lost because they may fall out of the pot. Furthermore it is disadvantageous for the environment that a plurality of bags and wrappings are needed to keep the parts together and separated from each other. Finally it is not easy for consumers to use the set in such a manner that he does not soil the environment with compost material.

In another example an amount of wet compost is packaged inside a stand-up pouch together with a small bag of seeds. With this the seeds are packaged separately in a watertight bag, because, like in the above example, otherwise the seeds would already start to prematurely germinate in the compost. The stand-up pouch comprises at least a layer which is made out of a water-impermeable material. Thus water out of the compost cannot evaporate or soak the environment. Furthermore, this water-impermeable layer makes it able for the stand-up pouch to be directly used as a plant pot. When a consumer wants to use this set he has to cut open the stand-up pouch at an upper side thereof. Then he needs to take out the bag of seeds. At the same time he needs to take out some of the compost material. Then he can open the bag of seeds and divide the seeds over the remaining compost inside the stand-up pouch. Then he has to cover the seeds with the compost material which he took out of the stand-up pouch earlier. Subsequently he can slightly press the thus seeded compost together, and, if deemed necessary, pour a small amount of water onto the seeded compost. After that the seeds shall start to germinate and grow into plants ready for consumption. A disadvantage with this is that the assemblies of stand-up pouches filled up with the amounts of wet compost and the bags of seeds, are still relative heavy and take up relative much space during transport and storage. Finally it is still somewhat cumbersome for consumers to make the set ready for growing without soiling the environment.

The present invention aims to overcome one or more of the above disadvantages and/or to provide a usable alternative. In particular the invention aims to provide a user-friendly plant growing set which can be transported and stored in a compact and light-weight state and which can be used without having to soil the environment.

This aim is achieved by a plant growing set according to claim 1. The set comprises plant seeds, a substrate medium and a sealed stand-up pouch. The stand-up pouch delimits a volume inside which the seeds and the substrate medium are packaged. The stand-up pouch comprises at least a layer which is made out of a water-impermeable material, such that the stand-up pouch is able to stand upright and form a watertight plant pot. According to the inventive thought the substrate medium is formed by a pellet of dry compressed substrate material having the seeds directly connected thereto. The pellet of dry compressed substrate material with the seeds directly connected thereto is referred to as a seeded pellet. The seeded pellet has been packaged directly inside the stand-up pouch.

The seeds are only able to start to germinate after the stand-up pouch has been opened and after the pellet has then been given the opportunity to expand inside the stand-up pouch by being brought into contact with water which has been poured into the stand-up pouch.

Despite the fact that the seeds are directly connected to the substrate material, the seeds are unable to start to germinate prematurely as long as the stand-up pouch remains sealed. This is because of the dryness of the pellet and the watertightness of the sealed stand-up pouch. The pellet of dry compressed substrate material advantageously does not trigger a premature germination of the seeds. For this it is necessary to first open up the package and poor some water into it. The pellet of dried substrate material with the seeds already connected thereto has the advantage that it is now much easier to make the growing set ready for germination and growing. A consumer for example only has to open the stand-up pouch, take the seeded pellet out, pour some water into the stand-up pouch, and place the seeded pellet back into the stand-up pouch. With this the seeded pellet may first freely float on top of the water inside the stand-up pouch. After some time the substrate material then shall have absorbed the water and because of that have expanded in such a way that it fills up a lower part of the volume inside the stand-up pouch.

The use of the seeded pellet has the advantage that, as long as no water is poured into the stand-up pouch, it does not soil the hands of a user or the environment, not even when the pellet is taken out of the stand-up pouch and temporarily placed on a working surface or the like. Another important advantage is that the floating of the pellet on top of the water and subsequent expansion of the pellet inside the stand-up pouch, automatically helps to properly position the seeds. It is not necessary to open a bag of seeds and sow the seeds from out of this bag over substrate material. The assembly of the seeded pellet and the stand-up pouch makes the entire growing set light-weight and compact during transport and storage. The seeds and the substrate material can now be truly commonly packaged inside the stand-up pouch. This helps to save out packaging material, which is good for the environment.

Advantageously the seeded pellet has been dimensioned and designed in such a manner that it is able to expand inside the stand-up pouch when brought into contact with water therein to such a degree that it gets to fill up at least half the volume inside the stand-up pouch with relative loose and relative wet substrate material with the seeds automatically positioned at or near an upper level thereof. The seeded tablet thus can be easily and automatically changed into an amount of wetted expanded substrate material with the seeds already being present therein and with the seeds automatically positioned at or near an upper level of the expanded substrate material. This also has the advantage that it gets easier for a user to keep the seeds undamaged and/or free from diseases and bacteria. A user simply can pick up the pellet itself at its circumferential edges and drop it onto an amount of water inside the stand-up pouch. During this the seeds do not need to be directly touched by the user. The seeds then can immediately start to germinate and start growing into plants from out of the stand-up pouch. In the alternative it is also possible for a user to slightly press the seeds to a desired depth into the substrate material as soon as this substrate material has sufficiently expanded inside the stand-up pouch when brought into contact with water therein. After that the seeds can also start to germinate and grow into plants from out of the stand-up pouch.

The seeds may be partially or wholly embedded inside the dry compressed substrate material. In an embodiment one or more small holes or openings may be provided inside the pellet into which one or more seeds have been placed. Each seed can then be connected to the pellet in such a way that it does not fall out of the hole or opening. For example the one or more seeds can be inserted into the one or more holes or openings together with small amounts of a suitable glue. With this the depth of the holes or openings can be such that the seeds automatically come to lie at aimed sewing depths when the pellet gets to expand. Those depths differ depending on the type of seeds used. As a general rule it can be said that the holes or openings preferably have depths which are about twice the size of the seeds to be inserted therein.

In another advantageous embodiment the pellet has the seeds adhered to an upper surface of the pellet. This makes it possible during production to first compress and dry substrate material into suitable pellets. The seeds then can be adhered to the pellet in a distinctive subsequent manufacturing step. For the adhering of the seeds to the pellet all kinds of glues can be used, like a bio-degradable glue which is substantially free of water.

It is noted that dry slabs of soil with seeds adhered to an upper surface thereof are already known as give-away promotions with butter tubs. Here the slabs however where packaged in a thin plastic foil and then connected to an outer side of the tubs by means of carton wrappings. It however appeared that sometimes confusion could be caused, since the packaged slabs with the seeds adhered thereto could be mistaken for biscuits, particularly when they no longer had the carton wrapped around them as soon as someone started to use the butter tub. Furthermore it was not possible to use the slabs without first having gathered some kind of suitable plant pot with an inner volume which needed to correspond to the slab in its expanded state.

As indicated above the pellet according to the invention is made out of dry compressed substrate material. With this the term “dry” is defined as the pellet comprising at least 85 percentage by weight of dry matter and comprising at most 15 percentage by weight of water. Up till such a moisture content of maximum 15 %, the pellet still has a dry feel and is dry enough to prevent the seeds to start germinating prematurely. At the same time up till such a moisture content of maximum 15 %, the pellet still comprises small amounts of water which suffice to keep the substrate material together in its compressed pellet shape. The pellet preferably is such dry and compressed that it takes up less than 25 % of the volume inside the stand-up pouch, while being able to expand at least 4 times inside the stand-up pouch when brought in contact with water therein to thus fill up at least 75 % of the volume of the stand-up pouch in the expanded state.

The pellet can have all kinds of shapes and dimensions. However, in a preferred embodiment the pellet is disc-shaped and has a cross-sectional dimension which is smaller than 2 times a width of an upper side of the stand-up pouch. This makes it possible for a user to freely floatingly place the pellet on top of an amount of water poured into the stand-up pouch. Furthermore, the disc-shape helps the pellet to keep on floating on top of the water in an aimed position, for example with the seeds remaining at an upper side of the pellet, without toppling over. Also the disc-shape together with the smaller cross-sectional dimensions helps to have the substrate material properly fill up the stand-up pouch both in the vertical as well as in the horizontal direction during expansion.

In a further embodiment a filling level indicator has been provided on the stand-up pouch up to indicate with which amount of water a user is to fill the stand-up pouch for having the pellet expand therein. This indicator can be provided on an outer or inner side of the stand-up pouch.

In a variant the growing set further may comprise an information tag which is designed to be pinned into the substrate material after expansion. The tag can be easily packaged together with the seeded pellet inside the stand-up pouch without running the risk of the tag or the information printed thereon to get damaged or dirty. This even makes it possible to make such a tag out of a more environmental-friendly material.

The stand-up pouch can be made out of a single or multiple layers. Preferably it comprises at its inner side a plastic foil, like PET, PP or PE or the like for forming the layer of water-impermeable material. Besides such a water-impermeable layer, the pouch may comprise one or more other layers of flexible foils laminated together. For example the outer side may be a layer which can easily be printed with all kinds of information, for example about how to use the growing set.

The stand-up pouch of the invention can have all kinds of shapes and dimensions in dependence of the type and amount of plants to be grown therein. At least it is designed to stand upright in a stable position.

In a manner known per se, see for example US3,380,646, such a stand-up pouch may comprise a pair of opposite flat side walls of bendable yet relatively stiff material. A flexible gusset panel may be made along a lower margin of the stand-up pouch. This gusset panel can be interposed and normally folded inwardly between the side walls. The side walls can be sealed along the other margins in face-to-face relationship. When not filled, a thus made stand-up pouch can be generally flat. This makes it well possible to get it printed after manufacturing.

The gusset panel preferably is integral with the side walls. It may also be a folded strip which has been inserted between the side walls and which has been sealed thereto.

The gusset panel and the side walls are preferably sealed to each other such that non-rectangular transitions are obtained at the lower margins. Preferably substantially elliptical seal lines are obtained at those lower margins along which the gusset panel is able to expand.

Further preferred embodiments are stated in the dependent subclaims.

The invention also relates to a method for growing plants according to claim 11.

The invention shall now be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a sealed growing set according to the invention; - Fig. 2 shows the set of fig. 1 with the stand-up pouch opened at an upper side and its contents put aside; - Fig. 3 shows the opened stand-up pouch filled with an amount of water with the seeded tablet about to be dropped into it; - Fig. 4 shows the stand-up pouch of fig. 3 after the pellet has expanded therein and plants have started growing out of the seeds; - Fig. 5a-f show a possible use of the set of fig. 1-4; - Fig. 6 shows a front and cross-sectional side view of fig. 1; - Fig. 7 shows a lower side of the stand-up pouch of fig. 2 when water is poured into it and its gusset panel starting to unfold; and - Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the stand-up pouch of fig. 2 with the entirely folded-out gusset panel indicated with dashed lines therein.

In fig. 1-6 the entire growing set has been given the reference numeral 1. The set 1 comprises a stand-up pouch 2, a seeded pellet 3 and an information tag 4. In fig. 1 the stand-up pouch is sealed and has the seeded pellet 3 and the tag 4 packaged inside it.

The seeded pellet 3 comprises a substantially dry cylindrical tablet made out of an amount of compressed substrate material 5. On an upper surface of the pellet 3 a plurality of seeds 6 are adhered. With this the seeds are adhered to the upper surface in little heaps.

The stand-up pouch 2 at its upper side is provided with weakened sections, here formed by two notches 8, for helping a user to easily cut or tear open the stand-up pouch 2 when it is desired to prepare the set 1 for growing.

After the stand-up pouch 2 has been opened, the seeded pellet 3 and the tag 4 can be taken out. As a next step a certain amount of water can be poured into the opened stand-up pouch 2. The pouring in of the water results in a bottom of the stand-up pouch 2 getting forced downwards such that it can be stably placed in an upright orientation on top of a supporting surface. Subsequently the seeded pellet 3 can be dropped with the seeds 6 still at its upper side into the opened stand-up pouch 2. See fig. 3. The seeded pellet 3 then gets to float on the water and shall slowly absorb the water and with that expand in such a way that it gets to fill up a substantial part of a volume 10 inside the stand-up pouch 2 with expanded loosened wetted substrate material 5. The seeds 6 then still lie at an upper side of the expanded loosened wetted substrate material 5. For some seeds 6 it can be advantageous for the germination process to spread out the seeds 6 over the substrate material 5 and/or gently push the seeds 6 somewhat into the substrate material 5. For other seeds it is already sufficient for the germination process if they maintain to lie on top of the expanded substrate material. The tag 4 then also can be pushed with its pointed part into the substrate material 5 such that a user can read or see what is going to grow there. The seeds 6 then shall start to germinate and grow into plants 12.

This sequence of method steps for growing plants 12 with the set 1 is also schematically shown in fig. 5a-f. In particular it can be seen there that the pellet 3 in fig. 5d first starts to float on water 14 poured into the stand-up pouch 2, when the pellet 2 is dropped onto this water 14. Also it can be seen there in fig. 5e that the expanded loosened wetted substrate material 5 fills up more than three quarters of the volume 10 inside the stand-up pouch 2, with the seeds 6 still lying on top.

In fig. 6-8 it is more clearly shown how the stand-up pouch 2 is constructed. It comprises opposite flat side walls 20, 21 which are integrally connected with an inwardly folded gusset panel 22. The side walls 20, 21 are heat-sealed along their upper margin 24 and along their side margins 25 in face-to-face relationship. At the location of the gusset panel 22, the side walls 20, 21 are heat-sealed thereto in such a manner that a substantially elliptical seal line 26 is obtained at a lower margin 27. The gusset panel 22 is able to expand along the elliptical seal line 26 when the stand-up pouch 2 is filled with water 14, after it has been opened along a line 28 which lies just underneath the sealed upper margin 24. This is shown in fig. 7 and 8.

Besides the embodiment shown numerous variants are possible. For example the stand-up pouch and the seeded tablet can be given different shapes and/or dimensions.

The pellet can be made out of all kinds of substrate material, like for example coconut fibers, compost, peat, soil or mixtures thereof. The seeds can be for all kinds of plants, like herbs and vegetables. The stand-up pouch can be made out of one or more single-layer panels, but also can be made out of one or more multi-layered panels. It is possible to provide the stand-up pouch with a window or the like and/or make the stand-up pouch partly or wholly out of transparent materials such that a user can see the seeded pellet lying inside and/or see the pellet expand when brought in contact with water and/or see roots of the plants growing therein.

Thus the invention provides a plant growing set which is ideal for growing edible herbs and vegetables on for example a window-sill such that they can be directly used during cooking. It is a truly user-friendly growing set since the only thing that really needs to be done is to open the stand-up pouch and pour some water into it. Then, depending on the type of plant, one only has to wait a couple of weeks and enjoy it to see them germinate and grow from out of the original stand-up pouch package itself in which it was bought. Before starting to use the set, it has a low weight ratio, and has a limited volume. Nevertheless, the stand-up pouch is well able to keep the seeded pellets protected during transport and storage preceding its end use as a growing set.

Claims (11)

A plant growth set comprising: - plant seeds; - a substrate medium; and - a sealed standing bag bounding a volume in which the seeds and the substrate medium are packed, the standing bag comprising at least one layer made of a water-impermeable material such that the standing bag can stand upright and form a watertight plant pot in which the seeds can germinate and grow into plants, characterized in that the substrate medium is a tablet of dry compressed substrate material to which the seeds are connected, such that the seeds are able to start germination after the tablet has been expanded inside the standing bag by have been brought into contact with water poured into the standing bag. The plant growth set according to claim 1, wherein the seeds are connected to an upper surface of the tablet. A plant growth set according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tablet occupies less than 25% of the volume of the standing bag, such that it is able to expand at least 4 times in the standing bag when it is brought into contact with water. A plant growth set according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tablet is disc-shaped and has a cross-sectional dimension that is smaller than 2 times a width of an upper side of the standing bag. A plant growth set according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a fill level indicator is provided on the standing bag to indicate with which amount of water a user should fill the standing bag for expanding the tablet therein. A plant growth set according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein it further comprises an information label that is packaged together with the tablet in the standing bag. Plant growth set according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the standing bag comprises a plastic film on its inside. Plant growth set according to one of the preceding claims, in which the standing bag comprises several layers of flexible films that are laminated together. Plant growth set according to one of the preceding claims, in which the seeds are herb seeds or vegetable seeds. 10. Plant growth set according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a weakened opening aid is provided, in particular a notch, on an upper side of the standing bag. A method for growing plants comprising the steps of: - providing a plant growth set according to any one of the preceding claims; - opening the standing bag at the top thereof; - removing the tablet from the stand-up pouch; - filling the standing bag with an amount of water; - placing the tablet on top of the water; causing the tablet to expand by absorbing the water; and - germinating the seeds and growing them into plants using the stand-up pouch as a plant pot.