Patent ID: 7334368

Claim:
A method of germinating seeds or other growth-suited plant parts comprising the steps of: enclosing the seeds or other growth-suited plant parts in germinating units, joining the germinating units by way of a tape, the germinating units employing a mixture of a carrier and additives including a water-absorbing substance, placing the tape in a zigzag fold in a germinating box that includes sidewalls and a gratelike support for the tape; reconfiguring the interior of the germinating box by inserting or removing one or more removable ribs in the germinating box, each rib extending from a side wall and stopping approximately ⅓ of the distance to an opposite wall; placing the germinating box in an irrigation room and establishing a first controlled environmental condition including a climate adapted for irrigation; irrigating the tape by saturating it with a spray of germinating fluid which is free of disease germs and provides the tape with a desired pH and nutrient content; interrupting the irrigation when the tape is saturated with germinating fluid and said germinating fluid drips from the bottom side of the germinating box through the gratelike support; moving the germinating box with the tape from the irrigation room to a separate germinating room and establishing a second controlled environmental condition different from said first controlled environmental condition; said second controlled environmental condition including a climate adapted for germinating; interrupting the germination by removing by the germinating box from the germinating room; and bedding out the tape from the germinating box.