Abstract:
Modular biodegradable garden environment control system and method including apparatus to limit soil exposure to light nearby one or more plants, including one or more layers of a biodegradable material.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates generally to gardening systems and methods, and more particularly, to garden environment maintenance or containment systems and methods. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    It may be desirable to control the light, bug exposure, moisture level, weed growth, and temperature near or about one or more plants in a soil bed. The present invention provides such a system and method. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference characters identify correspondingly throughout and wherein: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a simplified top view diagram of a biodegradable soil cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 1B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0008]      FIG. 1C  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including multiple stake openings; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2A  is a simplified top view diagram of another biodegradable soil cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a simplified side view diagram of a biodegradable ground stake in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover shown in  FIG. 1A  including perimeter weights; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 4A ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover shown in  FIG. 1A  including embedded seeds, fertilizer, or insect repellant; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 5A ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including multiple perforations; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6B  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including saddle stitching along the perimeter; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6C  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including several plant spacing graphics; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6D  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including several grid lines; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6E  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover as shown in  FIG. 1A  including several fold areas; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a simplified top diagram of a biodegradable soil cover architecture including three biodegradable soil covers shown in  FIG. 1A  in a configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    Throughout this description, embodiments and variations are described for the purpose of illustrating uses and implementations of the invention. The illustrative description should be understood as presenting examples of the invention, rather than as limiting the scope of the invention. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1A  is a simplified top view diagram of a biodegradable soil cover  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 1B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  10  as shown in  FIG. 1A . In an embodiment the soil cover  10  may be comprised of newspaper sheets  11  or other relatively flat biodegradable products (such as plant leaves). The soil cover  10  may include a plurality of layers  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  where the first layer  12  and third layer  16  may be comprised of biodegradable paper  11 . In an embodiment the soil cover  10  may include a single biodegradable material layer  12 . The bottom layer  12  may also be coated with a weed specific suppression agent such as copper. The second layer  14  may be a biodegradable paper binding agent including a milk based or other biodegradable glue product that is harmless to soil (e.g. Elmer&#39;s® Glue). The soil cover may also include a fourth layer  18 . The fourth layer  18  may also include a biodegradable binding agent. The fourth layer  18  may also biodegradable inks and fertilizer(s) that are applied to at least the third layer  16 . The biodegradable inks or dyes may include soy based or iron based ink. The inks and fertilizers may be used to color the soil cover  10  to a desired ground color including hues of green and brown. The fourth layer may also comprise an organic barrier that protects any dyes from moistures and limits adhesion of the soil cover to other objects including shoes. 
         [0024]    In operation a user may place the soil cover  10  over a patch of cultivated soil. One or more openings may be made in the soil cover  10  to enable the planting of seed(s), or seedlings, or plants. The remaining, unopened soil cover  10  may promote solar radiation below the first layer  12  and may limit water vapor passage from the first layer  12  to the upper layers  16 ,  18 . Accordingly the soil cover  10  may limit undesired growth in unopened areas and maintain or enable hydration and aerification. In an embodiment the paper  11  layers and glue layers  14  may be formed to a thickness that enables the soil cover  10  to be stable over a normal growing season cycle, i.e. for 3 to 4 months. Thereafter the soil cover  10  may erode or biodegrade and be absorbed into the underlying soil. Accordingly at the end of a plant growth season a user may not need to remove the soil cover  10  as the cover  10  naturally erodes to mulch. A user may also till the soil cover  10  into the underlying soil at the end of a planting season or cycle. 
         [0025]      FIG. 1C  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  20  as shown in  FIG. 1A  including multiple stake openings  22 . The soil cover  20  may include stake openings at one or more corners and midsections  22  to help keep the soil cover  20  adjacent to soil to be protected or covered.  FIG. 3  is a simplified side view diagram of a biodegradable ground stake  40  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The stake  40  may include a central shaft  42 , serrated tips  44 , and end cap  46 . In an embodiment the stake may be formed from one or more biodegradable materials including corn husks or stalks, biodegradable plastics, wood based materials, or other biodegradable plant products. The stake  40  may also include one or more organic nutrients that are released to adjacent soil as the stake biodegrades. As shown in  FIG. 7  and discussed below one or more stakes  40  may be employed in stake openings  22  that may be overlapped in multiple cover  20  architectures  130 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 2A  is a simplified top view diagram of another biodegradable soil cover  50  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 2B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  50  as shown in  FIG. 2A . In an embodiment the soil cover  50  may be comprised of a plurality of leaves  51 . The soil cover  50  may include a plurality of layers  52 ,  54 ,  56 , and  58  where the first layer  52  and third layer  56  may be comprised of a plurality of leaves  51 . The leaves  51  may include maple, tobacco leaves or other tree or plant based leaves or other substantially flat organic and biodegradable material. The second layer  54  may be a biodegradable leaf binding agent including a milk based glue product. The soil cover  50  may also include a fourth layer  58 . The fourth layer  58  may also include a biodegradable binding agent. The fourth layer  58  may also biodegradable inks that are applied to at least the third layer  56 . The biodegradable inks may include soy based or iron oxide based dyes. The inks may be used to color the soil cover  50  to a desired ground color including hues of green and brown. As described below one or more inks may be employed to add graphics, logo, grids, planting information, or other nomenclature. 
         [0027]      FIG. 4A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  60  shown in  FIG. 1A  including embedded perimeter weights  65  and  FIG. 4B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  60  as shown in  FIG. 4A . The soil cover  60  may include a first layer  62 , second layer  64 , weighted perimeter  65 , third layer  66 , and fourth layer  68  where layer  62 ,  64 ,  66 , and  68  may correspond to layers  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The weighted perimeter  65  may be comprised of biodegradable material including sand. The perimeter  65  may be located about the entire soil cover  60  periphery as show in  FIG. 4A  or at least the corners. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  70  shown in  FIG. 1A  including one of an embedded section  75 . The embedded section may include seeds, fertilizer, and insect repellant  75 .  FIG. 5B  is a simplified side view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  70  as shown in  FIG. 5A . The soil cover  70  may include a first layer  72 , second layer  74 , an embedded section  75 , a third layer  76 , and a fourth layer  78  where layer  72 ,  74 ,  76 , and  78  may correspond to layers  12 ,  14 ,  16 , and  18  as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B . The embedded section  75  may be located about the entire soil cover  60  as show in  FIG. 4A  or in discrete locations such as the row patches  105  shown in  FIG. 6C . Further the embedded section  75  may be located about the entire soil cover  60  other than discrete locations such as the row patches  105  shown in  FIG. 6C  or gridz  115  ( FIG. 6D ). In such a configuration the embedded section may include seeds, fertilizer, and insect repellant so another carpet type plant (low height grass) or aesthetically pleasing plant may form other than desired locations. The plant may biodegrade after a growing section to provide nutrients and fertilizer to adjacent soil. 
         [0029]    In an embodiment the embedded section  75  may include a combination of seeds, fertilizer, and insect repellant. The fertilizer may be a slow-release, UV-resistant, organic fertilizer. The insect repellant may an organic product including Caspian. The embedded section may also include water absorbing or hydration crystals that expand and hold water when subjected to hydration. The hydration crystals may help maintain a desired hydration level during dry spells and may also provide weight, which may further secure the soil cover to soil. 
         [0030]      FIG. 6A  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  80  as shown in  FIG. 1A  including multiple perforations  85 . The perforations  85  may be located about the entire soil cover  80  as show in  FIG. 6A , in discrete locations such as the row patches  105  shown in  FIG. 6C , or along grids  115  shown in  FIG. 6D . The perforations may be sized to enable hydration and aerification to the underlying soil while limiting or preventing non-desired plant growth by limiting light transmission to the underlying soil. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6B  is a simplified top view diagram of the biodegradable soil cover  90  as shown in  FIG. 1A  including saddle stitching  95 . The saddle stitching  95  may be located about the entire soil cover  90  periphery as show in  FIG. 6B  or at least the corners. The stitching  95  may prevent premature degradation of the cover edges. In an embodiment a soil cover may include one or more graphics such as shown in  FIG. 6C  and  FIG. 6D .  FIG. 6C  is a diagram of a top cover of a soil cover  100  including row patches  105 . The row patches  105  may also include printed nomenclature indicating planting information or recommendations. The nomenclature may employ different dyes or colors to indicate plant spacings and other information. The patches may also change color or include some other visible indication that is related to the amount of radiation and moisture (rain) that has contacted the patch(es)  105 . One or more of the patches may also be a waterproof or opaque radiation proof storage pouch. A user may leave extra seeds or other items that may be damaged by water or sunlight. Such pouches may be easily removed from the soil cover.  FIG. 6D  is a diagram of a top cover of a soil cover  110  including grid lines  115 . The graphics  105 ,  116  may be located about the entire soil cover  60  as show in  FIGS. 6C and 6D  or limited locations. In an embodiment the grid lines  115  may include repeated every three to six inches. 
         [0032]    In an embodiment the soil covers  10 ,  20 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70 ,  80 ,  90 ,  100 , and  110  may be rolled along their width or length to enable transportation of the cover to desired location(s). In an embodiment the soil covers  10 ,  20 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70 ,  80 ,  90 ,  100 , and  110  may include one or more fold areas  125  (such as for cover  120 ) as shown in  FIG. 6E . The fold areas  125  may be crimped, indented, perforated, or include other pliability increasing mechanism(s) to enable the soil cover  120  to more readily fold at such fold areas  125 . A soil cover  10 ,  20 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70 ,  80 ,  90 ,  100 , and  110  may be passed through a plurality of rollers to increase its pliability and reduce wrinkles or breakage. 
         [0033]    Soil covers may be formed in large rolls where sections may be cut accordingly to customer specifications. In such an embodiment a calculator may be provide near or attached to the large soil cover roll to enable a user to determine the linear feet of cover needed for their soil area to be covered. In an embodiment the width of the soil cover is an integer multiple of its length. Accordingly various soil cover architectures  130  may be configured for such a soil cover such as shown in  FIG. 7 . In  FIG. 7  the soil cover length is equal to two times its width so three soil covers may placed in a simple configuration to cover a rectangular soil area. The soil covers  10  may be overlapped so stake openings  22  may be shared as shown in  FIG. 7 . A stake  40  may be employed in one or more openings  22  to hold architecture  130  in place. The soil covers may also have organic, biodegradable adhesive strips, along it periphery so adjacent soil covers can be adhered to each other. 
         [0034]    While this invention has been described in terms of a best mode for achieving the objectives of the invention, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be accomplished in view of these teachings without deviating from the spirit or scope of the present invention. For example, a soil cover may be comprised of paper products and organic products including plant or tree leaves and corn husks. Further a soil cover may include any combination of the features of the soil covers  10 ,  20 ,  50 ,  60 ,  70 ,  80 ,  90 ,  100 ,  1   10 . For example a soil cover  10 ,  50  may include any combination of stake perforations  22  ( FIG. 1C ), perimeter weighting  65  ( FIG. 4A ), embedded seeds, fertilizer, and insect repellant  75  ( FIG. 5A ), perforations  85  ( FIG. 6A ), edge saddle stitching  95  ( FIG. 6B ), row patches  105  ( FIG. 6C ), grid lines  115  ( FIG. 6D ), and fold areas  125  ( FIG. 6E ). In addition, one or more biodegradable layers may be formed by heat bonding, cut bonding, or pressure bonding substantially flat biodegradable material(s).