A container assembly for irrigation of plants comprising: an outer container; an inner container receiving in the outer container, so that an inner container rim and an outer container rim are adjacent; a recess defined between the inner container and the outer container; an internal hose received in the recess, having a portion extending out of the outer container and attached to a subsurface irrigation system, supplying water between 30 psi and 50 psi, to the internal hose; and, a water control cap attached to the internal hose having an output control for controlling the amount of water delivered to an internal area of the inner container.

A method is provided for controlling the fluid level in an ebb and flow watering system control bucket that is in fluid communication with at least one fluid holding apparatus such as a plant container with connecting water lines, causing hydraulic delays in changes in the fluid level in the control bucket when fluid is pumped to or from the control bucket, typically from a fluid reservoir. The method involves pumping fluid to or from the control bucket to achieve a target fluid level in the control bucket; upon the fluid reaching the target fluid level, starting a timer for a short period of time to allow for the hydraulic delays, and continuing to pump fluid while the timer runs; restarting the timer and continuing to pump fluid if the fluid level in the control bucket recedes from the target fluid level; and discontinuing pumping if the timer runs for the full period of time.

A hydroponic irrigation system reduces the time spent actively circulating a nutrient solution through one or more growing beds to provide an ebb-and-flow irrigation cycle. Nutrient solution is pumped from a nutrient tank to each growing bed via a liquid transport unit, having a liquid tube connected to a pump located in the nutrient tank at one end, with the other end anchored in the growing medium in the growing bed. A controller coordinates the operation of the pumps, selectively operating each pump to supply nutrient solution until the growing bed is saturated to a specified depth, after which the pump returns the nutrient to the tank, either passively via gravity or by actively pumping, to drain the nutrient solution from the growing bed back into the nutrient tank. The pumps can be activated sequentially, with the sequence initiated at selected time intervals to suit the plants being grown.

A mushroom growing appliance includes a cabinet, a grow chamber defined within the cabinet, a water reservoir positioned within the grow chamber for receiving water, and a liquid droplet assembly fluidly coupled to the water reservoir for selectively generating a liquid mist from the water stored in the water reservoir.

Disclosed is an apparatus for growing plants that includes a conveyor and trays for containing seeds and/or plants. The trays with seeds and/or plants are conveyed by the conveyor through a growing environment. The conveyor is covered by a hood, which isolates the growing environment between the hood and the conveyor. The growing environment provides resources each plant needs to grow from seed to ready-to-harvest plant, without relying on the sun, rain, or ground. The conveyor includes a seed end and a harvest end. Each tray, filled with seeds at the seed end, moves from the seed end to the harvest end along the conveyor, through the growing environment. Along the way, seeds sprout and grow into mature plants ready for harvesting. When the tray reaches the harvest end, the plants are removed from the plant tray and are ready for consumption.

An indoor-outdoor garden unit including a basin having an overhead canopy, connected to a water source via a main water tube and holding a plurality of opaque growing trays with removable opaque lids for optimal sprout growth in the dark. The main water supply tube operationally communicates with an on-off timer controlling water cycles. Bottom holes in each growing tray allow water, infused into the basin by any of three selectable mechanisms, to flow upwardly to water the sprouts from underneath, and serve to drain water from the growing trays and to aerate the plants between watering cycles. Sprayers on the underside of each growing tray lid allow watering from the top side. Water can be infused into the basin by the direct basin fill inlet or by a water fountain from which water impacts a water catcher member undermounted on the canopy to shed droplets into the basin.

A grow system. The system includes growing plants in grow modules that are individually moveable. The plants grow in trays where roots never touch the water supply. The plumbing to the grow modules is a low flow, one way flow continual drip system that is hands free. A mobile robot can navigate around a growspace, bring any grow module from one location to another, and perform growspace operations. The growspace is a control space with data source zones and a control space manager. The control space manager can collect data and control different variables across different data source zones in order to determine optimal policies and conditions for data source growth and generation.

A pumping device for liquids is described which comprises a tank for liquids, from which a feeding pipe of a pump with a solar panel draws. The tank consists of a supporting frame with tubular uprights and upper and lower horizontal connection lengths, which supports and surrounds a flexible bag for containing liquids and has an upper connection crossbar of the upper horizontal lengths of the supporting frame, on which the pump with solar panel is mounted. The bag has a lower filling hole or mouth, in which the feeding pipe can be inserted and an overflow hole made in the upper of part of its side wall in position lower than said mouth.

A plant growth system and medium employs a manmade mineral fiber-based growth medium that includes from about 40% to about 99.5% man-made mineral fiber interspersed with from about 0.5% to about 60% by weight pieces of natural or synthetic open cell foam. The foam includes from about 5 to about 50 pores per square inch. Additives in the form of nutrients, fungi, and bacteria are included. Water is supplied to plants by flood and drain watering during plant growth in the medium. EC is maintained within a range of about 0.5 mS/cm to about 2.500 mS/cm and pH is maintained within a range of about 5.6 to about 5.8.

An automatic plant watering device includes a thermoelectric module with a cold face that can be energized to drop its temperature below 32 degrees F. A condensation member is thermally connected to the cold face and has a wall exposed to ambient air for water vapor to condense on and freeze when the module is energized. A water collection chamber positioned below the exposed wall is configured to hold collected melt water from the exposed wall until a collected melt water temperature has risen above 32 F. A moisture sensor is used to initiate a chilling cycle controlled by a controller to energize the thermoelectric module for a period of time in excess of an hour to cause a build-up of frost on the exposed wall and thereafter to deenergize the thermoelectric module to permit the temperature of the exposed wall to rise above 32 degrees F.