# US 2014/0360238 A1 · Engineered soilless plant culitvation medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0360238 A1 - Document ID: US20140360238A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/913,843 - Filed: 2013-06-10 - Published: 2014-12-11 - Earliest claimed: 2013-06-10 - Assignees: Nano Growth Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Nano Growth Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Timothy Ward - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140360238A1 ## CPC - C05G 1/00: Mixtures of fertilisers belonging individually to different subclasses of C05 - A01G 24/15: Calcined rock, e.g. perlite, vermiculite or clay aggregates - A01G 24/25: Dry fruit hulls or husks, e.g. chaff or coir - A01G 24/28: containing peat, moss or sphagnum - C05D 9/02: containing trace elements - C05G: MIXTURES OF FERTILISERS COVERED INDIVIDUALLY BY DIFFERENT SUBCLASSES OF CLASS C05; MIXTURES OF ONE OR MORE FERTILISERS WITH MATERIALS NOT HAVING A SPECIFIC FERTILISING ACTIVITY, e.g. PESTICIDES, SOIL-CONDITIONERS, WETTING AGENTS (organic fertilisers containing added bacterial cultures, mycelia, or the like C05F11/08; organic fertilisers containing plant vitamins or hormones C05F11/10); FERTILISERS CHARACTERISED BY THEIR FORM - A01G: HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING (picking of fruits, vegetables, hops or the like A01D46/00; propagating unicellular algae C12N1/12) - C05D: INORGANIC FERTILISERS NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C05B, C05C; FERTILISERS PRODUCING CARBON DIOXIDE ## Abstract An engineered soilless plant cultivation medium for potting applications includes specific balanced amounts of nutrient additives. Major nutrient cations (Ca, Mg, K, Na, H) are balanced according to optimal base saturation percentage ranges. Nutrient levels, namely, the amount of major nutrient cations, major nutrient anions and minor nutrients satisfy desired ranges for both standard Mehlich III soil extraction tests and saturated paste tests. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium having specific balanced amounts of the major nutrient cations calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, the medium comprising: a soilless substrate mixture; and nutrient additives comprising: 1) major nutrient cations including calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium 2) major nutrient anions including phosphorous and sulfur; 3) minor nutrient elements including boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc and aluminum; wherein according to Mehlich III soil extractions tests said engineered cultivation medium has a cation exchange capacity in the range of 10-15 mEq/100 g, and a base saturation percentage of the calcium is within the range of about 60% to 70% of the cation exchange capacity, a base saturation percentage of the magnesium is within the range of about 10% to 20% of the cation exchange capacity, a base saturation percentage of the potassium is within the range of about 3% to 8% of the cation exchange capacity, the base saturation percentage of the sodium less than about 3% of the cation exchange capacity and the base saturation percentage of exchangeable hydrogen is within the range of about 7% to 15% of the cation exchange capacity, the combination of the calcium and magnesium base saturation percentages does not exceed 80% of the cation exchange capacity and further wherein saturated paste tests on the engineered cultivation medium result in: calcium in the range of about 30-45 ppm, magnesium in the range of about 7-8 ppm, potassium in the range of about 15-20 ppm, and sodium less than about 3 ppm. ### Claim 2 (canceled) ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the cation exchange capacity of the soilless substrate mixture is with the range of about 11.5 mEq/100 g and 12.5 mEq/100 g. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed engineering cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the soilless substrate mixture comprises at least surfactant treated peat moss, vermiculite and sharp sand. ### Claim 5 (canceled) ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineering cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the pH of the engineered cultivation medium is within a range of about 6.1 to 6.8. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineering cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the soilless substrate includes at least 5% by volume organic material in the form of humus. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The premixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the soilless substrate mixture and the mineral additives are pre-mixed according to a predetermined recipe and is placed into a growing container. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the soilless substrate mixture and the mineral additives are pre-mixed according to a predetermined recipe and the medium is bagged for individual potting applications. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein the volume of the cultivation medium contains 15% to 30% water pore space. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein: phosphorus in the engineered cultivation medium is in the range of about 150-300 ppm, and saturated paste test of phosphorus is in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 ppm; sulfur in the engineered cultivation medium is in the range of about 30-60 ppm, and saturated paste test of sulfur is in the range of about 30 to 50 ppm. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 wherein: boron is present in the range of about 0.8-1.5 ppm, and a saturated paste test of boron is in the range of about 0.8-1.5 ppm iron is present in the range of about 100-300 ppm, and a saturated paste test of iron is in the range of about 80-120 ppm; manganese is present in the range of about 30-60 ppm, and a saturated paste test of manganese is in the range of about 0.07-1.5 ppm; copper is present in the range of about 5-10 ppm, and a saturated paste test of copper is in the range of about 0.05-1.2 ppm; zinc is present in the range of about 3% ppm of phosphorus, and a saturated paste test of zinc is in the range of about 3% ppm of phosphorus; and aluminum is less than about 500 ppm, and a saturated paste test of aluminum is less than about 2.0 ppm. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium as recited in claim 1 further comprising the following trace elements; chromium, cobalt, iodine, molybdenum, selenium, tin, vanadium, nickel, fluorine and silicon. ### Claim 14 A method of making a pie-mixed, engineered cultivation medium comprising a soilless substrate and nutrient additives and having specific balanced amounts of the major nutrient cations calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, the method comprising the following steps: determining relative amounts of constituents for the soilless substrate and the nutrient additives for the pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium by adjusting the relative amounts of the constituents for the soilless substrate and the nutrient additives until the resulting mixture has the following characteristics: (i) a cation exchange capacity (CEC) measured according to Mehlich III analysis; and (ii) the presence of major nutrient anions including phosphorus and sulfur and (iii) the presences of the major nutrient cations of calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and hydrogen, in the following amounts according to Mehlich III tests; the base saturation percentage of calcium is within the range of about 60-70% of the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture, the base saturation percentage of magnesium is within the range of about 10-20% of the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture, the base saturation percentage of the potassium is within the range of about 3-8% of the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture, and the base saturation of percentage of sodium is less than about 3% of the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture and the base saturation percent of exchangeable hydrogen is within the rage of about 7%-15% of the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture; the combination of the base saturation percentages for calcium and magnesium does not exceed 80% of the total cation exchange capiacity of the resulting mixture; combining the determined relative amounts of the constituents of the soilless substrate and the nutrient additives and mixing to make the pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium for end use ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said resulting mixture further has the presence of the major nutrient cations calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium in the following amounts measured by saturated paste tests: calcium in the range of about 30-45 ppm, magnesium in the range of about 7-8 ppm, potassium in the range of about 15-20 ppm, and sodium less than about 3 ppm. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) A method as recited in claim 14 wherein the measured cation exchange capacity of the resulting mixture is in the range including and between about 10 mEq/100 g and about 15 mEq/100 g. ### Claim 17 (canceled) ### Claim 18 (canceled) ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14 wherein said major nutrient anions are present in the bowing amounts: Mehlich III test of the engineered cultivation medium results in phosphorus in the range of about 150-300 ppm, and saturated paste test of phosphorus is in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 ppm; Mehlich III test of the engineered cultivation medium results in sulfur in the range of about 30-60 ppm, and saturated paste test of sulfur is in the range of about 30 to 50 ppm. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14 wherein the determined relative amounts of constituents of the soilless substrate and the nutrient additives further result in the presence of minor nutrient elements including boron, iron, manganese, copper, zinc and aluminum in the pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method as recited in claim 20 wherein said minor nutrient elements are present in the pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium in the following amounts: boron according to Mehlich III tests is present in the range of about 0.8-1.5 ppm, and according to saturated paste tests is in the range of about 0.8-1.5 ppm; iron according to Mehlich III tests is present in the range of about 100-300 ppm, and according to saturated paste tests is in the range of about 80-120 ppm; manganese according to Mehlich III tests is present in the range of about 30-60 ppm, and a saturated paste tests of manganese is in the range of about 0.07-1.5 ppm; copper according to Mehlich III tests is present in the range of about 5-10 ppm, and according to saturated paste tests is in the range of about 0.05-1.2 ppm; zinc according to Mehlich III tests is present in the range of about 3% ppm of phosphorus, and according to saturated paste tests is in the range of about 3% ppm of phosphorus; and aluminum according to Mehlich III tests is less than about 500 ppm, and according to saturated paste tests is less than about 2.0 ppm. ### Claim 22 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising the step of bagging measured amounts of the pre-mixed, engineered cultivation medium. ### Claim 23 (canceled) ### Claim 24 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14 wherein the pH of the engineered cultivation medium is within the range of about 6.1-6.8.