Patent ID: 8209904

Claim:
A method of growing a fruit or vegetable crop comprising: positioning a plant in the form of a seed or a seedling or a cutting of the crop in a first coherent mineral wool growth substrate having a volume not more than 150 cm 3 ; allowing the plant to root and grow for at least 2 days and not more than 30 day; transferring the plant within the first coherent mineral wool growth substrate so that the first coherent mineral wool growth substrate is in contact with a second coherent mineral wool growth substrate having volume 60 to 1500 cm 3 ; and allowing the plant to grow for a further 2 to 5 weeks; transferring the plant within the second coherent mineral wool growth substrate so that the second coherent mineral wool growth substrate is in contact with a third coherent mineral wool growth substrate having volume of from 700 to 45 000 cm 3 ; and allowing the plant to grow for a further 1 to 7 weeks before any further transfer is effected.