Abstract:
A culture tray for the rooting of young plants in parallel rows including an open-top housing having a base wall and a peripherally extending edge. The housing-base wall defines a plurality of transversely extending channels which accommodate a multiplicity of generally cup-shaped pots having bottom walls with a drainage hole. The tray-base wall is arranged at a lower position in relation to the surrounding edge and the transversely directed channels are provided in the tray base wall at a certain distance apart.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to a culture tray for the rooting of young plants which has parallel arranged rows that accommodate downwardly depending or oriented pots which have holes in their base wall and which has a surrounding edge or wall enclosing the tray.  
           [0002]    A well-known culture tray has pot-like hollows or pots which are located in rows arranged in parallel with one other, and which are open at the top and have an opening with a smaller diameter in their base. The smaller opening in the base serves to allow one to remove the young plant and its associated root impregnated ball of soil out of the pot-like hollow from the bottom and to allow surplus water to drain away. This culture tray has a rectangular shape and a surrounding edge or wall.  
           [0003]    Another culture tray well-known from EP 0 657 096 A1 has two supports in the first row instead of the two outermost pots and, in the last row instead of the two second-outermost pots, two supports which are hollow, open at the bottom and oriented upwards. In this case, the two second-outermost pots in the last row are each provided with one supporting ring on the base and one centering attachment is provided at the top end of each support. The supports exhibit an opening in their walls pointing towards the culture tray. The supporting rings on the base of the two outermost pots and of the two second-outermost pots exhibit lateral recesses.  
           [0004]    A great deal of water is required in order to water the plants in these well-known culture trays. For a variety of reasons, it is desirable to minimize the consumption of water specifically:  
           [0005]    1. A high consumption of water has a negative influence on the greenhouse climate. Diseases (above all, fungal diseases) are promoted by this.  
           [0006]    2. Water is not always available in a sufficient quantity, e.g., on Tenerife.  
           [0007]    3. Excessive irrigation will harm the plants, especially the leaves.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is an object of the present invention to create a culture tray for which, in comparison to the prior art, a minimum of water is necessary for the watering of the plants.  
           [0009]    The present invention is a culture tray for young plants to take roots, in which a multiplicity of pots, consisting of rows of individual pots, are hooked into transversely directed channels. The lateral top edges of the individual pots are shaped in such a way that they close the channels completely after the individual pots have been placed. The channels can be arranged in similar or dissimilar distances, where, for an enhanced irrigation between two adjacent channels or to the tray edge of the culture tray, areas of the tray base, which are part of the culture tray, are raised. The aforementioned areas are, in comparison with the channels or the placed multiplicity of pots, raised sloping to both sides. Thus, in case of artificial irrigation of the culture tray, this measure ensures that the water is evenly supplied directly to the individual pots at both sides of the raised areas. What is particularly advantageous, is that no water can remain on the raised areas and hence only the least amount of water required is used for irrigation, which is, subsequently, specifically favorable for a sensitive ecological system such as a greenhouse for young plants in the rooting process. The walls may reach up to or below the panel sections and turn into a surrounding edge.  
           [0010]    In a further embodiment of the invention, the multiplicity of pots may be provided with at least one hole for the drainage and removal of the surplus water which hole is preferably located above the base wall of the channel. It is advantageous that the housing base wall has wall sections defining a bottom wall for each of said channels and said pots are provided with a bottom wall with at least one hole for the drainage of surplus water which pot bottom wall is spaced above the bottom wall of said channels and that the plant pots have top edges defining open top ends and wherein said culture tray has ledges on which said top edges of said pots are supported.  
           [0011]    In a further embodiment of the invention, the opposite base sidewalls defining the channels may extend conically downwardly and the sidewalls of the multiplicity of pots may also extend conically downwardly.  
           [0012]    In order to fit the culture tray to different kinds of plants with luxuriant foliage, the invention provides that the roof strips cover one or even several channels. Not only does this measure reduce the number of young plants or the individual pots placed but in spite also ensures an optimum irrigation by the water draining off over the roof strips. The areas between two channels and/or the surrounding edge of the culture tray are individually elevated in form of relatively flat round or pointed loops, which do not impair the irrigation or the plant growth, in order to support the roof strips. The roof strips are supported by said elevations at their lower edge and are thus safely positioned parallel to the channels. If exceptionally large plants are grown the roof strips can, in particular, be used to cover one or several channels. The shape of the areas between the channels of the culture tray or the roof strips should be selected so that it is located elevated opposite the channels and/or the multiplicity of pots sloping to both sides. Particularly suitable are either convexed, rounded, acute, triangular, trapezoid stepped or diamond shaped roofs. The various cross sections can also be combined with each other so that the aforementioned prerequisites are met to ensure, to a sufficient degree, the draining off of the water towards the individual pots.  
           [0013]    Moreover, it is desirable that the pots each have two flanges at their tops which stick out on both sides and are supported on the stepped ledges. It is particularly advantageous that several culture trays can be hooked together in order to form one longer row of culture trays.  
           [0014]    Furthermore, the invention relates to an assembly of culture trays arranged in a row consisting of several culture trays for the rooting of young plants with rows arranged in parallel with each other to accommodate pots oriented downwards with holes in the base of the pots and with a surrounding edge enclosing the culture tray whereby the culture trays are hooked to each other. Most desirably, the row of culture trays consists of one starting tray, at least one center tray and one end tray.  
           [0015]    In a further embodiment of the invention, the starting tray is trimmed at its end oriented towards the row of culture trays, the end tray is also trimmed at its end directed towards the row of culture trays and that the center tray is trimmed on both sides in such a way that the starting tray and the end tray can be hooked into the adjacent center tray on one side and the center tray can be hooked on both sides into the adjacent starting tray or into the adjacent end tray or into another adjacent center tray. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    The invention is explained in greater detail below on the basis of the appending drawings, wherein similar reference numerals denote similar elements throughout the various views:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a row of culture trays consisting of individual culture trays hooked into each other;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the row of culture plates according to FIG. 1 with individual culture plates unhooked and arranged at a mutual distance apart; and  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the row of culture trays taken along line III-III of FIG. 1, additionally showing one plant pot held in the center tray and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of various round and triangular shaped roof strips to cover the channels in the culture tray and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 shows further stepped, trapezoid roof strips to cover the channels. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]    The culture tray shown in the drawings is used for the rooting of young plants.  
         [0023]    The row of culture trays or plates shown in FIG. 1 consists of a starting tray  1 , a center tray  2  and an end tray  3 .  
         [0024]    The base of the row of culture trays is composed of roof shaped panel sections  4 - 11 , between which channels  12 - 18  are arranged. Moreover, the culture trays provide a surrounding edge  19 - 26 , which is hoisted in comparison with the panel sections  4 - 11  and channels  12 - 18 . As an example, five multiple pots  27  are placed in channel  13  and three individual pots  28  are placed in channel  18 . It is, however, possible to place a larger number of multiple pots, ie up to twenty-six individual pots in each channel. The multiple pots  27 ,  28  each have two flanges  29 - 32  at their sides, which are supported by the stepped ledges  33 ,  34  at the upper end of the walls forming channel  18 . The conically shaped walls  18  support the also conical individual pots, which do not touch the channel base  12 - 18  with their base area. The panel sections  4 - 11  are, in comparison with the channels  12 - 18  or the multiplicity of pots  27 ,  28 , elevated sloping to both sides. The example shows a preferred implementation with an inverted-V shaped roof. FIGS. 4 and 5 show further possible roofs, which can be used alternatively. It should merely be provided that the water to be irrigated can drain off of the panel sections  4 - 11  and is then either supplied to the multiplicity of pots  27 ,  28  containing the young plants or again to the irrigation system through the channels  12 - 18 . Loop shaped one-piece elevations  49  are tip-stretched on the panel sections  4 - 11  in wide distances, which are intended to support a roof strip  50 , as shown in FIGS.  4  or  5 . The loops  49  are positioned in such a way that the draining-off water can easily run into the multiplicity of pots  27 ,  28 .  
         [0025]    The example according to FIG. 1 shows the starting tray  1 , the center tray  2  and the end tray  3  hooked together in order to form a closed culture tray.  
         [0026]    To allow the surplus water, which emerges from the base opening of the individual pots or multiplicity of pots  27 ,  28 , to drain off of the culture tray at least one drilling  50  into the base walls of the channels  12 - 18  should be provided. It is of course possible to provide several drillings at least towards the edges of channels  12 - 18 .  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 shows a row of culture trays according to FIG. 1 with individual unhooked culture plates in the starting tray  1 , center tray  2  and end tray  3 . The same reference numbers as in FIG. 1 are used. The starting tray  1  is trimmed at its end oriented towards the center tray  2 . The center tray  2  is also trimmed at its end directed towards the starting tray  1  and the ends are trimmed in such a way that the starting tray&#39;s  1  outer wall  38  of the channel is higher than the outermost wall  37  of the center tray&#39;s  2  channel whereby both trays  1  and  2  are hooked together. The end tray  3  is trimmed at its end  37  directed towards the center tray  2 . The center tray  2  is also trimmed at its end  38  directed towards the end tray  3  in such a way that the walls  41  of the center tray  2  are higher than the wall  42  of the end tray  3  whereby both trays  2  and  3  are hooked together. There are no deviations inasmuch as the examples in FIG. 1 are concerned.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the center tray  2  with two adjacent trays, which can be the starting  1  or end tray  3 . It is, however, possible that additional center trays are hooked together in the same way before the starting  1  or end trays  3  are hooked. The wall  38  of the starting tray  1  is higher than the wall  37  of the center tray  2 , whereby these walls form a part of channel  14 . A multiplicity of pots  27  can be located in channel  15  formed by the two walls  43  and  44 . An intermediate space  47  is left between the base walls  45  of the pots  27  and the base wall  26  of the channel  15  so that the water exiting through base opening  48  of the pots  27  can drain or flow away in the lower area of channel  15 .  
         [0029]    Furthermore, the longitudinal sectional view clearly shows the elevation in form of loops  49  on the single panel sections  4 - 11 . The loops  49  are slightly higher than the panel section  4 - 11  so that one roof strip  51  can be put on to cover a single channel or that a roof strip  52  to cover at least three channels. The example in FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a triangular roof strip  51 ,  52 , it is, however, possible to use various cross sections, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It should merely be provided that the lower ends of the roof strips  51 ,  52  are adjacent to the loops  49 . The water is advantageously supplied through the roof strips to the open channels to ensure an optimum water supply of individual pots with distanced plants. This is also a possibility to minimize water, so that the ecological system of a greenhouse is not affected by excessive water consumption.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 4 shows several examples of roof strips  52 - 61  which can be placed on the channels. The upper row shows roof strips  52 - 55 , whereas the center row shows two triangle shapes and a further trapezoid shape. The lower row shows slightly convexed to rounded roof strips  59 - 61 .  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 5 shows further roof strips  62 - 70 , which are diamond shaped with a rebound in the upper row, whereas the two lower rows show stepped roof strips with various slopes. The stepped shaped strips show vertical and diagonal sections.