US 4,023,305 AGranted

Device to remove excess water from plant containers

OwnerJonas C. Harschelinventor

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Abstract

Prior to planting, a disc or plate is installed in the bottom of a container. The disc is porous or has a series of slits in various patterns to permit the disc to be trimmed to proper size to fit various sizes and shapes of containers, preferably with an upward curl near the sides. Shallow grooves in the top surface facilitate bending the curl. The slits also permit drainage of water without permitting dirt to enter the space below the disc. Slits in the bottom supplement the top slits and facilitate trimming and drainage. The bottom of the disc has legs which space the disc above the bottom of the container. At different spacings from the center are shallow cups having detachable bottoms. When the disc is in place, a tube is pushed through the outermost cup, pushing out the bottom so that the bottom end of the tube extends into the space below the disc. The top of the tube is cut off slightly above the surface of the soil in the container. In use, the plant in the container is watered until some water collects in the bottom space. Drainage is permitted for a sufficient time period. Excess water is removed by means of a squeeze bulb inserted in the top of the tube.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A device for removing excess water from a plant container of the type having a bottom and a side wall above said bottom, said device comprising a substantially horizontal plate shaped to fit into said container, said plate being formed to permit water to drain through the plate but to retain soil from passing through the plate, a plurality of legs of approximately equal length depending below the bottom of said plate to engage said container to provide a space between said plate and the bottom of said container, a tube disposed inside said container for drawing water by suction from said space in said container below said plate, said tube extending inside said container through said plate from a bottom position below said plate to an upper position near the top of said container, a transparent syringe connected to the top of said tube and having a squeeze bulb for sucking water through said tube, said plate being formed with a cup having an inside diameter about equal to the outside diameter of said tube, said cup comprising a downward depression formed in said plate, said cup being formed with a detachable water-pervious bottom through which said tube extends, said plate being formed with a plurality of perforations arranged in a plurality of predetermined patterns throughout the plate, said plate being trimmed along selected ones of said perforations to provide one of said predetermined patterns to permit said plate to fit one of a plurality of sizes or shapes of containers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.