Patent ID: 6840008

Claim:
A vertical planting system comprising: a plurality of individual substantially identical growing containers each having a bottom wall, outwardly tapered side walls defining a hollow interior and an open top surface; said open top surface of each said container, being defined by the upper margins of said side walls, defining a plurality of discrete radially extending planting areas spaced arcuately apart about a common central upright axis of each of said containers; said top surface of each of said containers having a substantially greater surface area than that of said bottom wall, each said bottom wall of each said containers having a central support pole receiving aperture formed therethrough coaxial with said central upright axis and fluid drainage holes formed therethrough; said bottom wall of each said container also having a corner alignment cavity positioned and sized to receive an alignment pin formed within and upwardly extending from an alignment notch formed into each said upper margin of said container, said alignment notch substantially mating with a corner of said bottom wall of said container; said containers being vertically stackable and self-aligning one directly on top of the next to form a growing column supported by an elongated upright support pole driven into the ground and inserted through each said aperture of each of said containers in coaxially alignment with the upright axis; a nutrient and water diffuser box having a bottom wall and upwardly extending side walls and an open top surface defining a substantially open interior, said diffuser box vertically stackable and self aligning directly atop and supported on a top of one of said containers in the growing column, said bottom wall of said diffuser having a central support pole receiving aperture formed therethrough slidably engaged over an upper end of the support pole, said bottom of said diffuser box also including fluid drainage holes; a fluid collector having a bottom wall, outwardly tapered side walls and an open top surface structured to supportively receive and be self-aligned directly against a bottom one of said containers in the growing column, said bottom wall of said fluid collector having a central support pole receiving aperture formed therethrough and slidably engaged over a lower portion of the support pole.