Patent ID: 7823328

Claim:
An aeroponic plant growing system, comprising: (a) a water reservoir for holding water; (b) a plurality of growing chambers, wherein each growing chamber includes a plurality of plant apertures formed therein for supporting plants growing in the growing chamber; (c) a pump for pumping water from the water reservoir; (d) a water distribution manifold coupled to the pump to receive the water pumped from the water reservoir by the pump and to distribute the water received from the pump to a plurality of water line apertures formed therein, wherein the water distribution manifold is formed as a closed loop such that there are at least two paths through the water distribution manifold from a point where water from the pump is received by the water distribution manifold to each of the water line apertures; (e) a plurality of water lines coupled to the water line apertures on the water distribution manifold and extending into the plurality of growing chambers; (f) sprayers coupled to the water lines in the growing chambers and positioned to spray water received on the water lines at roots of plants supported in the plant apertures, wherein the water lines extending from the growing chambers are formed in a closed loop such that there are at least two paths through the water lines to the sprayers; (g) drain lines coupled between the growing chambers and the water reservoir to return excess water from the growing chambers to the water reservoir; and (h) a filter positioned with respect to the drain lines and the water reservoir such that water in the drain lines passes through the filter before being combined with the water held in the water reservoir, wherein the filter includes a plurality of different types of filter media, including at least one type of filter medium adapted to support the growth of organisms beneficial to plant growth.