The invention relates to a method for the cultivation of a number of plants (9), comprising providing a carrier with apertures for said plants (3, 13) and providing a water supply (8), wherein said carrier can be provided on said water supply in a floating manner and wherein a growth medium containing the roots of said plant or the precursor thereof are placed in an air-containing intermediate space (10) in the apertures in said carrier at such a distance from said water supply that said roots of said plant or the precursor thereof are situated at a vertical distance (a) from said water supply, wherein at least two horizontally opposing sides of an upper part of the growth medium are sideways supported along a height (h) by corresponding sides of a removable side support structure (18), removably arranged on top of the carrier.

The invention relates to a modular container or irrigation module, as well as a modular irrigation system obtained by arranging at least two of said modules. The proposed modular irrigation system comprises at least two irrigation modules of the invention, and by stacking the modules vertically, the system can be used to form a continuous-flow irrigation system in which excess irrigation water is recirculated and evaporation losses can be minimized. Similarly, the module and the system of the invention can be used to form a sustainable construction system in which multiple irrigation systems are arranged to form various architectural elements, such as green walls, green columns, vertical gardens and the like.

There is provided a seedbed holding unit capable of reliably and firmly holding a seedbed with a simple structure, causing no damage to a plant. A seedbed holding unit 160 that holds a seedbed B used in plant cultivation includes a first holding member 170 and a second holding member 180 that are rotatable relative to each other about a predetermined rotation axis A, the first holding member 170 is provided with a first claw part 173 in a fixed state, the second holding member 180 is provided with a second claw part 183 in a fixed state, and the seedbed B is held between the first claw part 173 and the second claw part 183 by rotating the first holding member 170 and the second holding member 180 relative to each other.

There is provided a plant-transplanting device that, with a simple structure and at a low cost, realizes speedy and stable transplantation, prevents damage to a plant, and is easily automated. A plant-transplanting device 100 that transplants a seedbed B from a plant holder 110 to a cultivation pallet 120 includes a holder retaining mechanism 130, a pallet retaining mechanism 140 for retaining the cultivation pallet 120 below a holder retaining position of the holder retaining mechanism 130, and a lowering mechanism 150 for lowering the seedbed B retained by a holder seedbed retaining part 111 downward and inserting the seedbed B into a pallet seedbed retaining part 121.

An apparatus includes container having an open top, a lower end portion with a drain opening, and an interior growing space vertically between the open top and the lower end portion. A lid is received over the open top of the container. A plant retainer is supported on the lid, and retains a plant in a growing position in which the stem reaches vertically through the retainer and the roots reach downward from the stem. A plant feeder device is located beneath the retainer to emit water beside the plant. A root trellis reaches across the interior growing space beneath the feeder device. The root trellis has an inner portion aligned vertically with the retainer, an outer portion surrounding the inner portion, and a cross-sectional profile inclined vertically from the inner portion to the outer portion.

The apparatus provides a method for assembling a vertically oriented structure for plants and flowers. A planter assembly which accepts soil and plants is attached to a base assembly which supports the planter assembly. The attachment of the planter assembly to the base assembly is via a plurality of rigid panels inserted into slotted cavities on both the planter assembly and the base assembly wherein the panels are aligned and attached uniformly and directly adjacent to the outer surfaces of the planter assembly and the base assembly sides. When upright, the assembled structure descends in width from top to bottom.

A weed barrier includes a rigid body defining a plurality of basins. The basins have bottoms with holes therethrough for planting garden plants. In a particular embodiment the bottom surface of the weed barrier includes a plurality of hose channels configured be positioned over a hose. Several example configurations of rigid weed barriers are disclosed. Some example weed barriers include flanges that facilitate the adjustable arrange of the weed barriers with respect to one another.

A method of increasing interspace among plant containers. The method comprises: providing a set of plant containers, the set comprising first and second plant containers; arranging the first plant containers in a first structured grid formation along a horizontal plane; and arranging the second plant containers in a second structured grid formation along said horizontal plane, whereby when viewed from above the first and second plant containers are alternatingly arranged in a joint structured grid formation in a first area. The method comprises, for increasing the interspace among the plant containers, mutually simultaneously moving the second plant containers in their second grid formation away from the first plant containers in a vertical direction and subsequently placing the second plant containers in a second area.

The present disclosure is directed to improved vertical farming using autonomous systems and methods for growing edible plants, using improved stacking and shelving units configured to allow for gravity-based irrigation, gravity-based loading and unloading, along with a system for autonomous rotation, incorporating novel plant-growing pallets, while being photographed and recorded by camera systems incorporating three dimensional/multispectral cameras, with the images and data recorded automatically sent to a database for processing and for gauging plant health, pest and/or disease issues, and plant life cycle. The present disclosure is also directed to novel harvesting methods, novel modular lighting, novel light intensity management systems, real time vision analysis that allows for the dynamic adjustment and optimization of the plant growing environment, and a novel rack structure system that allows for simplified building and enlarging of vertical farming rack systems.

A horticulture tray including a plurality of growing cells each configured to accommodate a stabilized growth plug therein. A support peak of each cell is configured to protrude into a center of the stabilized growth plug and force soil of the stabilized growth plug outward and away from the support peak. A sidewall of each cell is angled to force soil of the stabilized growth plug inward and away from the sidewall. The support peak and the sidewall force soil of the stabilized growth plug together between the support peak and the sidewall to compact the soil to form a soil bridge that extends between the support peak and the sidewall, and prevents soil from passing through the growing cell.