The present invention relates to a device inten¬ ded for planting, and especially relates to a device intended to hold or contain a plant or a vegetable in planting and, in planting on so called foil mulches or soil covers, anchor said mulches or covers. Such mulches conventionally consist of plastic filn or paper, the purpose of which being to partly prevent or retard the development of veeds, partly prevent too a great eva¬ poration. There is a great need for a device vhich m kes a rational and a mechanized.planting of plants and vege¬ tables possible. There is also a great need for such a device, vith the aid of vhich an anchoring can be achie-

^• ved i -planting cn foil mulches. According to the in- vention these and other needs are met and the device has the features vhich appear frca the claims attached here¬ to.

The invention will be further explained belov vith reference to the accompanying draving, vhich shovs pre- ferred exemplary embodiments of the device according to the invention, and on vhich fig. 1 shovs a planting sleeve pertaining to the device, fig. 2 shovs an anchor¬ ing device vhich is intended to surround the planting sleeve shown in fig. 1 in planting on a mulch, and fig. 3 shovs a squeeze means vhich can be applied on the up¬ per edge part of the sleeve.

Referring now to fig. 1 there is shown a planting ^' sleeve 1 forming part of the device according to the invention, vhich is provided vith broken-through vail parts 2, vhich extend in the longitudinal direction of the sleeve and start at the upper edge 3 of the sleeve at a distance therefrom and end at the lever edge of

the sleeve at a distance therefroa. The lower edge k of the sleeve is formed as a tip to make its penetration into the soil easier. The sleeve 1 is adapted to hold a plant or a vegetable , especially its roots and root

5 medium, vhich for example can consist of mineral vool , such as rock .vool , peat and similar materials. This root medium surrounds and protects the roots from drying and has among others the ability to easily ab¬ sorb vater. ^" When the plant has been planted, i . e . vhen

10 the sleeve containing the plant and its root medium has been pressed down into the soil, the plant begins to grow and the roots have the possibility to estab¬ lish a proper contact vith the surrounding soil via ^' the broken-through wall parts and thus secure a

15 reliable growth. After a certain growth period the - roots exert such a pressure on the solid wall parts of the sleeve that this gradually breaks. To facilitate this break of the sleeve it comprises , according to a preferred embodiment , at least two complementary parts

20 extending in the vertical plane , i . e. at least two lengthwise sections which in pressing down the sleeve into the soil lie close to each other by a s ueeze means 5 applied around the upper edge 3 of the sleeve. The sleeve 1 shown in fig. 1 has a circular cross

25 section and in this case the s ueeze means 5 comprises a ring ^" 5« The sleeve can also have a square or a rectangular cross section and the squeeze means 5 can have a corresponding form.

To facilitate that the sleeve bursts after a

30 certain growth period the sleeve can in accordance with another preferred embodiment show indications of fracture cr kerfs 6 (cf which one is shown in fig. l)

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which extend from the upper part of the wall parts 2 to a location at a distance from the upper edge 3 of the sleeve 1. The sleeve 1 can aditionally or instead show kerfs which are provided in the lower part -- of 5 the sleeve.

As mentioned above the lower edge of the sleeve can be formed as a tip to make the pressing down of the sleeve into the soil easier. To this effect ^' the lower edge of the sleeve can have two tips , which have been 10 provided by two substantially V-formed notches , or three tips , such as in accordance with the embodiment defined in fig. 1 , whi ch have been provided by three substantially V-formed notches in the lower part of the sleeve. 15 According to a third embodiment the sleeve com¬ prises at least two sections , which are combined by way of a band or a lip , which at least partly extends around the upper edge part 3 of the sleeve .

In planting on soil covers , i . e . plastic foil or 20 paper , the device according to the invention comprises an anchoring device 7 provided at the upper edge 3 of the sleeve and surrounding the sleeve 1. Its main purpose is to anchor the plastic foil or the paper at the soil , but when it surrounds all the sleeve 1 it 25 also prior to planting protects the root lump from drying and prevents the root from growing freely out through the broken-through sleeve. The anchoring device T comprises an upper edge part 8 and a lower edge part 9 , which are united vith each other by strips 10 , 30 which extend in the length direction at a distance from each other. These strips 10 show kerfs 11 situated in a lateral plane , preferably a central plane to make a

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folding of the anchoring device possible. The sleeve and the anchoring device can be made in plastics or sleeve paper or a combination therof. In planting on soil cover the lower edge part 9 of the anchoring

5 ^" device 7 is pressed upwards vhen the sleeve 1 is pressed dovnvards and the lover edge part 9 and the strips 10 are brought close to the soil cover and retain or anchor this.

In preparing the device for planting on soil

10 cover a plant together vith its root medium is brought into the sleeve, and this is then inserted into the anchoring device in such a vay that this surrounds the sleeve. Then the squeeze means shown in fig. 3 is applied on the upper part of the sleeve in such a way

15 that the. upper edge part 8 of the anchoring device is completely taken up by the depending part 12 of the squeeze means 5 and is firmly squeezed by this.

According to a preferred embodiment of the in¬ vention the squeeze means is provided vith a circu -

20 ferential groove 13, vhich makes it possible to move the plant from a magazine present in a planting machine to its plan-ting mechanism. By applying a pressure to the squeeze means 5 the device according to the invention containing a plant is pressed down

25 into the soil. 3y this the plant is thus planted simultaneously as the soil cover is anchored.

According to another preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention the length of the sleeve 1 is somewhat less than the length of the an-

30 choring device 7« The main reason therefor is the following. In planting on soil cover it is important that the anchoring device with its lover edge part 9 first nenetrates the soil cover and that thereafter

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the lover pointed part penetrates the soil cover and is brought down into the soil. Otherwise there is a risk that only the tips penetrate the soil cover, which substantially makes the planting more difficult. 5 Because of the fact that the anchoring device is some¬ what longer than the sleeve fractual impressions are certainly obtained in the soil cover along the whole cross section perphery of the device. In manufacturing the anchoring device the kerfs 11 are provided on the 10 outside therof for the sake of simplicity and by letting the lower part of the anchoring device protrude somewhat past the lower part of the sleeve an initial folding of the anchoring device prior to the penetra¬ tion of the soil cover is certainly obtained. 15 According to a further embodiment the anchoring device 7 can consist of at least two longitudinal sections vhich at their edge parts 8,9 engage each other partly by the squeeze means 5 provided at the upper edge 3 of the sleeve 1 partly by a second sσueeze 20 means (not shown) which is provided around the lower parts of the sleeve and the anchoring device and which increases the contact surface of the device with the ■ soil cover.

The device according to the invention has the 25 following advantages.

1. Preparation, marking and packing can be made, during the winter months and be used as a season levelling work in nurseries.

2. Complete systems car. be developed from growing in 30 nurseries to planting on the plant locality comprising inter alia special holding racks', delivery racks, etc.

3. The device is adaυted for mechanized nlantine.

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h. In planting on soil covers a planting of the plant is achieved simultaneously with an anchoring of the cover.

5.Only one planting machine has to be developed which 5 can be used for planting vegetables as well as nursery plants. ^*

6. The device can be modified and be used within many various branches.

7. The device makes a simple construction of a planting 10 machine possible which can be made in combination with a conventional machine for laying plastics foils.

Modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus, the planting sleeve.itself, i.e. without the anchoring device, can have a means corre- 15 sponding to the squeeze means shown in fig. 3, applied on its upper part, said means having no squeezing effect when the sleeve is not divided into sections but serves as a carrier for the groove 13 to facilitate the use of the sleeve in a planting machine. Further, the 20 sleeve can hold or contain a prestage of a plant, such as a cutting or simply a seed vith a growing medium.

Other modifications are obvious to one skilled in the art.

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