Agricultural apparatus and method

Abstract

A vertical pole ( 2 ) holds plant growing containers ( 3, 50, 54 ), at multiple heights. Some containers may be mounted at a given height (H 1 -H 9 ) in a circular array around the pole. Each container may occupy a V-shaped region about the pole in a top view. The pole may be moveable by a conveyor system ( 4, 5 ). The pole may have a fluid reservoir ( 30 ), and a fluid distribution system ( 31 - 35 ) extending from the fluid reservoir to plant growing containers at different vertical locations on the pole. Each plant growing container may integrate a soil containment portion ( 51 ), a bottom drain portion ( 61 ) that collects fluid draining through the soil, and a bypass drain portion ( 64, 70, 72, 75, 79 ), that interconnects with higher and lower like containers on the pole and bypasses the soil in the containers for rinsing the soils individually.

1 . An agricultural apparatus comprising:
 a vertically extending support member supporting multiple plant growing containers, wherein the plant growing containers are vertically separated from each other along a vertical extent of the support member, and the plant growing containers at a particular vertical location along the support member are arranged horizontally to occupy adjacent generally V-shaped regions about the vertical location;   the support member configured to be moveable by a conveyor system;   a fluid reservoir supported from the support member; and   a fluid distribution system extending from the fluid reservoir to plant growing containers located at different vertical locations.   
     
     
         2 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein each plant growing container integrally comprises:
 a soil containment portion that holds a plant growing soil;   an attachment structure that attaches the plant growing container to the vertically extending support member; and   a drainage feature that collects water drained through the soil and channels it to a flush channel that extends vertically through an inner wall of the plant growing container.   
     
     
         3 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the drainage feature comprises a drain channel in a bottom wall of the soil containment portion of the plant growing container, wherein a mesh covers the drain channel and excludes the soil from the drain channel. 
     
     
         4 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the drain channel is sloped at least 2 degrees downward toward the inner wall of the plant growing container to a port in the inner wall that drains into the flush channel. 
     
     
         5 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 2  wherein some of the plant growing containers are arranged in a vertical sequence on the vertically extending support member, and comprise respective flush channels that are interconnected to each other, wherein the interconnected flush channels form a drain conduit that flushes water drained through the soil of each plant growing container. 
     
     
         6 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising a grow light beside the plant growing containers, wherein each plant growing container further comprises a reflective exterior bottom surface that reflects or diffuses light from the grow light at least partly downward toward a lower plant growing container on the vertically extending support member. 
     
     
         7 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the vertically extending support member comprises a vertical pole, wherein N of the plant growing containers are mountable in a horizontal circular array around the vertical pole at the particular vertical location, and each plant growing container occupies N/360 degrees of the circular array. 
     
     
         8 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein each plant growing container is pie shaped or wedge shaped, comprising first and second side walls aligned with respective first and second co-centered radii extending from a centerline of the pole. 
     
     
         9 . The agricultural apparatus of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a mounting element in the vertically extending support member;   a vertically oriented T-rail that is mountable in the mounting element;   a vertically oriented T-slot in the inner wall of the plant growing container that slides over the vertically oriented T-rail; and   a stop at a top end of the vertically oriented T-slot in the inner wall of the plant growing container that stops on a top end of the T-rail.   
     
     
         10 . A method of use of the agricultural apparatus of  claim 5 , comprising the steps of:
 installing the plant growing soil in each of said some of the plant growing containers, and growing a plant therein;   providing irrigation to said some of the plant growing containers at a given irrigation rate;   periodically rinsing the soil in each of said some of the plant growing containers with rinse water at a rinsing rate higher than the irrigation rate; and   collecting or discharging the rinse water at a bottom end of the drain conduit.   
     
     
         11 - 18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . An agricultural apparatus comprising:
 a soil containment portion that holds a planting soil;   a bottom drain portion disposed proximate a bottom of the soil containment portion that collects a fluid draining through the planting soil held in the soil containment portion; and   a bypass drain portion comprising a flush channel with an inlet and an outlet and a drain port between the bottom drain portion and the flush channel, the bypass drain portion configured to convey fluid received into the inlet to the outlet without the fluid making contact with the soil held in the soil containment portion, and to convey fluid received from the bottom drain portion to the outlet via the drain port;   wherein the soil containment portion, the bottom drain portion, and the bypass drain portion are integrally formed into a plant growing container, whereby the plant growing container provides an integral soil drainage feature;   wherein the plant growing container is an upper plant growing container in a set of like plant growing containers attached in a vertical sequence to a vertically extending support member, and the outlet of the upper plant growing container is connected to a respective inlet of a lower one of the plant growing containers, creating a drain conduit that flushes water drained from the respective soils of the upper and lower plant growing containers without passing the drained water through the soil of either plant growing container;   further comprising:   a mounting element in the vertically extending support member;   a vertically oriented T-rail that is mountable in the mounting element;   a vertically oriented T-slot in a wall of the plant growing container that slides over the vertically oriented T-rail; and   a stop at a top end of the vertically oriented T-slot in the wall of the plant growing container that stops on a top end of the T-rail.   
     
     
         20 . (canceled)