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US 9,414,547 B2Granted
Methods to grow, deliver, and plant young trees in a removable tubular container
AssigneeThomas L. Guggenheim
InventorsThomas Link Guggenheim, Roy Ray Odle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods to grow, provide and plant a young tree using a novel removable tubular container are disclosed. The container promotes the growth of a well formed protected root structure that minimizes transplant shock at the time the young tree is moved and permanently planted. The removable container and methods described provide for a fast growing inexpensive tree that is easily planted by a single person.
Claims13
A method of growing a tree ready to plant comprising:
- providing a removable tubular container having an open top end and an open bottom end wherein the tubular container has a height of 1.5 foot to 3 feet, a diameter of 3 inches to 9 inches and a wall thickness of 15 mils to 80 mils;
- standing the bottom of the tubular container on a porous media and partially filling the tubular container with soil;
- planting a tree seed, a germinated tree seed, or a bare root tree seedling in the soil within the tubular container;
- adding soil to the tubular container to cover the seed, the root flair of the germinated seed, or the root flair of the tree seedling, wherein the height of the soil in the tubular container is a quarter inch to 8 inches from the top of the tubular container;
- maintaining the tubular container under growth conditions until the length of the tree root system extends into at least half of the height of soil in the tubular container and to any depth in the porous media upon which the tubular container stands, to provide a rooted tree;
- separating the bottom of the tubular container from the porous media;
- and
- trimming or not trimming any roots that protrude from the bottom of the tubular container flush with the bottom of the tubular container, to provide a tree ready to plant, rooted in soil contained in a tubular removable container.
5 more elements
A method to grow and plant a tree comprising:
- piercing the opposed edges of the continuous flexible sheet made of an organic polymer to produce a first plurality of fastening holes at the first edge and a second plurality of fastening holes at the opposed edge;
- aligning the first plurality of fastening holes with the second plurality of fastening holes;
- threading a lace through the aligned first and second pluralities of fastening holes to provide a removable tubular container having an open top end and an open bottom end wherein the tubular container has a height of 1.5 foot to 2.5 feet, a diameter of 4 to 7 inches and a wall thickness of 20 to 50 mils;
- standing the bottom of the tubular container on a porous media and partially filling the tubular container with soil;
- planting a tree seed, a germinated tree seed, or a bare root tree seedling in the soil within the tubular container;
- adding soil to the tubular container to cover the seed, the root flair of the germinated seed, or the root flair of the tree seedling, wherein the height of the soil in the tubular container is a quarter inch to 8 inches from the top of the tubular container;
- maintaining the tubular container under growth conditions until the length of the tree root system extends into at least half of the height of soil in the tubular container and to any depth in the porous media upon which the tubular container stands, to provide a rooted tree;
- separating the bottom of the tubular container from the porous media;
- trimming or not trimming any roots that protrude from the bottom of the tube flush with the bottom of the tube, to provide a tree ready to plant, rooted in a soil contained in a removable container that weighs 10 kg to 25 kg;
- digging a hole at a planting site wherein the hole is at least about 1 inch wider than the diameter of the tubular container and as least as deep as the height of soil in the tubular container;
- inserting the separated tubular container into the hole;
- removing the lace from the plurality of holes;
- removing the flexible sheet from the hole;
- and
- filling in the annular space between the soil cylinder and the sides of the hole with material comprising soil.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.