Methods systems and apparatus for cultivating densely seeded crops

Abstract

A horticultural raft includes a raft body, at least one top cavity, and a group of mid cavities. The top cavity includes an upper face defining a first projected area and a lower face defining a second projected area substantially equal to or less than the first projected area. The upper face provides a seeding pattern having one or two degrees of freedom in a growing medium disposed in the top cavity. Each mid cavity has an upper face defining a third projected area that is entirely contained within the second projected area. The mid cavities are configured to contribute to buoyancy of the floating horticultural raft, allow germinants in the growing medium to communicate via capillary action with a nutrient solution when the raft is floating in the nutrient solution, and mitigate hyperhydration and asphyxiation at respective root-stem junctions of the germinants.

1 . A horticultural raft, comprising:
 a buoyant raft body having a top-facing non-seedbearing perimeter edge that defines a top face of the raft;   at least a first top cavity in the buoyant raft body at the top face of the raft and having:   a first top cavity upper face that includes at least a portion of the top face of the raft defined by the top-facing non-seedbearing perimeter edge, the first top cavity upper face having a first projected area;   a first top cavity lower face having a second projected area, wherein the second projected area is contained within or equal to the first projected area of the first top cavity upper face; and   a first depth, from the top-facing non-seedbearing perimeter edge to the first top cavity lower face, to contain at least one porous horticultural growing medium, wherein the first top cavity upper face provides a seeding pattern in the at least one porous horticultural growing medium, when present in the first top cavity, having two degrees of freedom along the portion of the top face of the raft such that the first top cavity provides a growing bed; and   a first plurality of mid cavities in the buoyant raft body and coupled to the first top cavity so as to also contain the at least one porous horticultural growing medium, wherein:   the first plurality of mid cavities is arranged as a two-dimensional pattern of individual compartments coupled to the first top cavity;   a mid cavity upper face of each mid cavity of the first plurality of mid cavities has a third projected area that is entirely contained within the second projected area of the first top cavity lower face of the first top cavity;   a mid cavity lower face of each mid cavity of the first plurality of mid cavities has a fourth projected area that is an opening entirely contained within the third projected area of the mid cavity upper face; and   at least a first mid cavity of the first plurality of mid cavities has a second depth from a first upper face of the first mid cavity to a first lower face of the first mid cavity such that the first lower face of the first mid cavity is a first opening that contacts a nutrient solution when the raft is floating in the nutrient solution to allow germinants in the at least one porous horticultural growing medium, when present in the raft, to communicate via capillary action with the nutrient solution, wherein the second depth of at least the first mid cavity provides a sufficient capillary distance between a safe seeding zone for the germinants in the at least one porous horticultural medium when present in the first top cavity of the raft and the nutrient solution when the raft is floating in the nutrient solution to sufficiently mitigate hyperhydration and asphyxiation at respective root-stem junctions of the germinants.