SELF-WATERING VERTICAL SUPPORTING PLANTER

JARDINIERE VERTICALE AUTO-IRRIGANTE

English Abstract

This present invention provides a novel form of planter for growing vine type
plants or similar type
plants comprising: a growing medium trough forced by the combination of outer
and inner walls
fixed to a bottom. Said inner walls are fixed to a top arid bottom forming a
water reservoir with a
centrally located sleeve to accommodate a vertical telescopic support pole.
Said reservoir is fixed
to growing medium trough bottom. Said reservoir has a filler hole and wick
ports for self watering
the growing medium. Said telescopic support pole is vertically supported by
said reservoir. Said
support pole has a pole cap fixed ai its upper end. A plurality of strings are
attached to said pole
cap and said outer walls by means of hook-like elements axed to the outer
edges of said pole cap
and said outer walls. Said strings inclined with respect to the vertical form
individual supports for
plants such as beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. A fine mesh net supported by the
hook-like
elements on said pole cap and hook-like elements fixed to the outer walls of
said reservoir inclined
with respect to the vertical forms a support for vine type peas and other
plants.

Claims

I claim:
1. A self watering vertical supporting growing planter comprising:
a planter with outer walls and a reservoir forming inner walls; a bottom
having a plurality of
perforations for drainage and air circulation connecting the outer walls and
the reservoir to form a
growing cavity to hold a growing medium to support the growth of plants; a
plurality of rest
supports fixed to said bottom with means of accommodating removable casters; a
reservoir with its
top inclined from the outer top edge to a sleeve in the top centre extending
through to the bottom
centre providing means for holding a vertical support; a reservoir with a
filler hole and stopper
having a plurality of slow-releasing wicks to deliver the right amount of
fluid to the growing
medium.

Page 3
2. A self watering vertical supporting growing planter as claimed in claim 1,
wherein the vertical
support comprises: an adjustable telescopic pole with adjustment locking pin,
and locking pins at
the top and bottom to prevent the pole and its attachment from rotating; a
pole cap attached to the
tap of the vertical support providing a plurality of hook-like elements on the
outer edges to
accommodate a plurality of strings supported by a plurality of hook-like
elements on the outer
walls of the growing cavity,
3. A self watering vertical supporting growing planter as claimed in claim 1,
in which a small mesh
cylindrically shaped net is supported by a plurality of hook-like elements on
the outer walls of the
reservoir and the plurality of hook-like elements on the outer edges of the
pole cap.
4. A self watering vertical supporting growing planter as claimed in claim I,
in which a
cone-shaped plastic or fabric covering covers the plurality of strings
supported by the plurality of
hook-like elements on the outer walls of the growing cavity and the plurality
of hook-like elements
on the outer edges of the pole cap; a space between the top of the plastic or
fabric covering and
the pole cap releases any build up of heat.
5. A self watering vertical supporting growing planter as claimed in claim 1,
wherein a plurality of
wicks are inserted in the reservoir through a plurality of wick caps and wick
ports; the wick ends
inserted in the reservoir have a weight attached to keep the wicks resting on
the bottom of the
reservoir; the opposite ends of the wicks hang over the outer walls of the
reservoir extending part
way to the bottom of the growing cavity; the wick caps are attached to the top
outer edges of the
reservoir covering the wick ports to eliminate evaporation; a portion of the
wick caps extend
down the outer walls of the reservoir covering the top portion of the wicks
directing the fluid
released from the wicks to the lower portion of the growing medium near the
root zone.

Description

CA 02222187 1998-02-02
Self watering vertical supporting planter
This present invention provides a novel form of planter for growing vine type
plants or similar type
plants comprising: a growing medium trough fornied by the combination of outer
and imler walls
fixed to a bottom. Said inner walls are fixed to a top and bottom forming a
water reserv oir with a
centrally located sleeve to accommodate a vertical telescopic support pale.
Said reservoir is fixed
to growing medium trough bottom. Said reservoir has a filler hole and wick
ports for self watering
the growing medium. Said telescopic support pole is vertically supported by
said resel~.~oir. Said
support pole has a pole cap fixed at its upper end. A plurality of strings are
attached to said pole
cap and said outer walls by means of hook-like elements fixed to the outer
edges of said pole cap
and said outer walls. Said strings inclined with respect to the vertical form
individual supports for
plants such as beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. A fine mesh net supported by the
hook-like
elements on said pole cap and hook-like elements fixed to the outer walls of
said reservoir inclined
with respect to the vertical forms a support for vine type peas and other
plants.
These and other aspects of the invention will be described with reference to
the following drawings
in which:
Fig. l is a perspective view looking generally from the front of a preferred
embodiment of
a self watering vertical supporting planter the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the planter looking generally from the front
showing a small
mesh net for supporting plants such as peas;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the pole cap showing a detailed view of string
hook-like
elements and pole cap support;
Fig. 4 is a perspective enlarged view of the wick cap and the wick showing the
weight
attached to the end of the wick that goes into the. reservoir.
Reference is made firstly to Fig. 1 which illustrates a self watering vertical
supporting growing
planter having outer walls 2 attached to reservoir 4 by means of bottom 6.
Said bottom 6 has a
plurality of perforations 8 for drainage and air circulation. Said bottom 6
also has a plurality of
resting supports 10. Said resting supports 10 have means to accommodate
removable casters.
Vertical support pole 12 is coupled to said reservoir 4 by means of coupling
sleeve 14. Locking
pin 16 prevents said vertical support pole 12 from rotating in said coupling
sleeve i4. Pole cap 18
is coupled to vertical support pole 12 by means of pole cap support 20 as seen
in Fig. 3. Locking
pin 22 prevents said pole cap 18 from rotating in support pole I2. Said
vertical support pole 12 is
telescopic with adjusting holes 24 and adjustment locking pin not shown. Said
pole cap I8 and
said planter outer walls 2 are connected by a plurality of strings 26, said
strings 26 are in a
continuous length, looping around hook-like elements 28 on said outer walls 2
and hook-like
elements 30 on said pole cap 18 to form the said plurality of strings 26 for
supporting plants. A
growing medium is contained in a cavity formed between said outer walls 2,
said reservoir walls 4
and said bottom 6.

CA 02222187 1998-02-02
Page 2
The growing medium is watered by means of wick caps 32 and wicks 34 attached
to the walls of
said reservoir 4, said wicks 34 are inserted in said reservoir 4 by means of
wick ports in the top of
the reservoir. Said wicks 34 having a weight 36 attached to the end inserted
in the reservoir. Said
weights 36 on wicks 34 will keep said wicks on the bottom of said resewoir 4
for the maximum
absorption of the water contained in the reservoir. Said wick caps 32 are
attached to the top of
said resen~oir 4 and are easily removed for changing or adjusting the w-icks.
said wick caps 32 will
prevent th.e top portion of said wicks 34 from drying out due to evaporation.
'The vertical portion
of said wick caps 32 protruding in the top portion of the growing medium
directs the water to the
lower portion of the growing medium near the root zone where it is needed the
most. Said
reservoir 4 is filled with water and soluble fertilizer when necessary by
means of filler hole 36 and
filler hole stopper 38.
Anot_h_e_r en ,_hodimen t o_f the invention as shown in Fig. 2 is a small mush
net 40 vertically
supported by said hook-like elements 30 on said pole cap 18 and said hook-like
elements 44 on
reservoir 4. Said mesh net 40 is best suited for supporting peas or similar
type plants of the tall
variety. With the bottom of said mesh net 40 supported from said resen~oir 4
by means of said
hook-like elements 44 the peas can be planted in proximity to the wall of said
reservoir 4. This
procedure for planting peas leaves ample space in the growing medium to have
another crop of
smaller plants such as radishes and lettuce. This method will utilize all of
the growing medium.
Another embodiment of this invention not shown is a type of plastic or fabric,
covering the outer
portions of the plurality of said strings 26 shown in Fig. 1. this covering is
supported by said
hook-like elements 28 on said outer w calls 2 in Fig. 1 and said hook-like
elements 30 on said pole
cap 18 also shown in Fig 1. The covering will end below said pole cap 18 to
allow for ventilation.
This plastic or fabric covering when attached will give the planter a
greenhouse effect and will help
lengthen the growring season.
Another embodiment of this invention not showm is a plurality- of removable
casters supported by
said resting supports 10, said casters are used for easy movement of the
planter to or from
different locations.

Representative Drawing