The present invention relates to a cultivation system for cultivating plants, comprising a set of form-retaining containers, each with a chamber enclosed by one or more liquid- tight walls and a liquid-tight bottom and accessible on a side remote from the bottom via an opening, which opening is surrounded by an edge and is closable by a formretaining insert part, which insert part is received fittingly inside the opening and connects substantially sea I i ng ly to the edge of the opening, wherein the insert part comprises a cup formed thereon which extends in the chamber and encloses a cavity in which a root system of a plant is receivable, wherein the cup comprises in a wall thereof a passage which allows an exchange of liquid between the cavity and the chamber.

The invention relates here particularly to a container in such a cultivation system, which can serve as final packaging for keeping a whole plant, i.e. with both a leaf system and a root system, fresh. Plants are usually potted in generally thin-walled plastic containers in which the root system is received together with a quantity of growth substrate. The whole, and particularly the leaf system, can here be enclosed by a plastic film which connects to the container all around. Fresh herbs are for instance supplied to supermarkets and garden centres in this way, with a view to a longer shelf life of the product for the customer.

A characteristic of many herbs is that they need a relatively large amount of water in order to sustain the leaf system and to enable growth. The shelf life of the product is therefore directly related to the amount of moisture available to the plant. In order to enhance this shelf life, use is therefore preferably made of moist soil as growth substrate which is included in the packaging and from which the plant can initially draw. The water absorption capacity of the soil is however limited. The crop is therefore ultimately dependent on irrigation by the trader and/or the consumer.

It is particularly in the case of the latter that discipline for watering the plant in a timely manner is lacking, causing the crop to die prematurely. The plant's need for water however also requires care and maintenance on the part of the trader.

The present invention has for its object, among others, to provide a cultivation system for plants which results in a packaging for keeping a plant fresh, this providing an extended initial shelf life. A further aspect of the invention has for its object, among others, to provide such a cultivation system which makes re-potting of the plant to the final packaging possible in particularly efficient manner and using as little manual labour as possible.

In order to achieve the stated object a cultivation system of the type described in the preamble has the feature according to the invention that the cultivation system comprises a first cultivation device with a system of individual cup-shaped first cells which are each at least substantially of the same shape internally from a bottom thereof as a corresponding part of the cavity in the insert part of the containers, and that the cultivation system comprises a further cultivation device with a system of individual further cells, at the position of which an insert part of each of the containers is in each case removably received, or at least receivable, in liquid-exchanging contact between the cavity thereof and a surrounding area.

The insert part forms together with the surrounding part of the container as it were a pot-in-pot assembly of parts which fit in each other in mutually leak-tight manner. The root system of the plant, particularly including therewith a suitable growth substrate such as soil, glass wool or rock wool, can be received in the cup of the insert part, while the outer part therearound and/or thereunder provides space for carrying a large amount of moisture. This supply of moisture can be reached by the root system directly, for instance by contact, or indirectly, for instance after evaporation, via the at least one passage in the wall of the cup, so that the plant can draw therefrom for a longer period of time. In a particular embodiment the cultivation system according to the invention has the feature here that the cup comprises the passage in a cup bottom thereof.

The space between the wall of the cup of the insert part and the wall of the container provides an at least substantially leak-tight reservoir in which a quantity of water, optionally with nutrients dissolved therein, can be contained, which is accessible to the root system of the plant via the passage in the wall of the cup. The container can thus particularly serve as final packaging in which a quantity of moisture can also be packaged. Comparatively, the plant can thus be distributed with a relatively great deal of moisture while the container volume remains the same, whereby the plant does not depend on, or at least does so to significantly lesser extent, the care and aftercare by the trader and/or consumer.

It has been shown in practice that, on the basis of an equal packaging volume, the freshness of for instance fresh basil in a container according to the invention can be extended, this under the same conditions and without additional irrigation, compared to a conventional packaging, up to as much as double the amount of days or more. It will be apparent that considerable logistical advantages are thereby achieved, and the enjoyment for the consumer/final user is also increased.

In order to have the cultivation of the plant from seed/seedling to the final product to be supplied take place in highly efficient manner, the cultivation system according to the invention provides a first cultivation device and a further cultivation device which are adapted to each other and to the container. The first cultivation device comprises for this purpose cells which are to great extent of the same shape as the cavity in the insert part. A cultivation substrate, such as a ball or plug of optionally bonded soil, glass wool or rock wool, in which the crop was sown or was planted as seedling, is received fittingly in a cell of the first cultivation device and can be grown further and brought to development therein. The growth substrate is therefore preferably dimensioned sufficiently largely so that the plant can remain therein from seed, seedling or plant material to harvest-ready product.

After the first development, the plant can be transferred together with the growth substrate into the surrounding cavity of the insert part without losses and in particularly practical manner, and be placed with interposing thereof in the further cultivation device and brought to further development therein. When it is fully grown, the plant located in the insert part can be transferred to the container which, as described above, is thereby closed liquid-tightly and can serve as final packaging. If desired, all steps can be performed almost wholly automatically, i.e. mechanically, wherein no or hardly any manpower is required.

The container and the insert part are preferably manufactured at a low cost price in order to keep the packaging costs low. A particular embodiment of the cultivation system according to the invention has for this purpose the feature that the container and/or the insert part is formed integrally from a plastic, particularly by thermoforming, more particularly by vacuum forming or injection moulding. Such production techniques and materials provide the advantage of low marginal production costs and a small amount of labour. Besides using new raw materials, it is also possible to make use of recycled plastics therefor in order also to protect the environment.

In a further preferred embodiment the cultivation system according to the invention is characterized in that individual growth substrates are receivable inside the cup-shaped cells of the first cultivation device and that each of the growth substrates is received fittingly in the cavity of the cup formed on the insert part of the container. The relevant growth substrates comprise for instance a ball or plug of compressed and optionally bonded soil, or a body of glass wool or rock wool. Seeds or seedlings of the plant can be received therein and the crop can be brought to initial development therein, wherein a root system can nestle in the substrate.

Owing to the form fit between a cup in the first cultivation device and that of each of the containers, the plant material brought to initial development can be transferred together with the substrate to one of the insert parts of the final containers and develop further therein. In order to facilitate an intact injection or removal of the growth substrate from the first cultivation device a further preferred embodiment of the cultivation system has the feature according to the invention that each of the cupshaped cells in the first cultivation device comprises a bottom and that a passage is in each case provided therein. This passage can be utilized during the first cultivation for an adequate moisture control in the growth substrate by liquid exchange with a surrounding area. It is also possible for a pin of a mechanized or manual ejecting device, whereby the growth substrate can be lifted together with the crop developing therein out of the cup-shaped cell, to be received therethrough.

The crop is for instance already placed into the insert part as seed or plant material and goes through its entire further development to a harvest-ready stage therein. A significant benefit of applying the same insert part in a container to form consumer packaging is that the product can thereby be placed in the packaging without requiring potting or re-potting.

With a view thereto, in the cultivation system according to the invention a number of insert parts are received together in the further cultivation device with the system of individual further cells. An insert part of one of the containers can in each case be removably received at the position of each further cell in the further cultivation device. The passage in the cup of the insert part provides for a liquid-exchanging contact between the cavity with the growth substrate and the crop therein on one side and a surrounding area on the other. A (large) number of insert parts, in each case with a crop plant therein, can thus be handled and manipulated collectively, which facilitates handling both before, during and after cultivation considerably. Using the insert part, the plants can thus be transferred, if desired, in relatively simple manner from a first further container to one or more subsequent similar further cultivation devices wherein the insert parts, and thereby the plants, are placed at a wider pitch. When harvestready, the insert part can simply be removed and then be combined one by one individually or in groups with a container to form a final packaging.

With a view to inter alia hydroculture a further particular embodiment of the cultivation system has the feature according to the invention that the further cells in the further cultivation device comprise a system of openings, each inside an edge on which the insert part is receivable, wherein the insert part with the cup formed thereon protrudes through the opening and protrudes below a bottom of the further cultivation device. In a first embodiment the further cultivation device can be applied floating, and in a second embodiment raised above a water bed with a controllable liquid level. In both cases moisture can be supplied from the bottom, whereby nutrients and/or other growth-enhancing means can optionally also be supplied. A first particular preferred embodiment of the cultivation system according to the invention has the feature that the further cultivation device comprises a floating body which imparts buoyancy for floating cultivation in a hydroculture, wherein the floating body more particularly comprises a monolithic foam body, particularly of a polymer foam with a closed cell structure. The floating body here imparts buoyancy to the cultivation device so that this device can be received in a water basin without further support. A closed cell structure in a polymer foam here counteracts ingrowth of algae and other (micro)organisms. Suitable polymers are for instance polystyrene (PS), polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR).

A second particular preferred embodiment of the cultivation system according to the invention has the feature that the further cultivation device is receivable in a reservoir at a temporary or permanent level of an irrigation bath, wherein the further cultivation device allows a liquid exchange between the irrigation bath and each of the cavities inside the cups of the insert parts of the containers, wherein the further cultivation device is more particularly formed by a monolithic body of a thermoplastic plastic which was created by thermoforming, such as injection moulding or vacuum forming. In this respect suitable plastics are for instance high-density polyethylene and polypropylene. The further cultivation device can thus particularly be applied in an ebb and flow system. The invention also relates to a container and/or cultivation device in the above described cultivation system and will be further elucidated hereinbelow with reference to an exemplary embodiment and an accompanying drawing. In the drawing: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a container of an exemplary embodiment of a packaging from an example of a cultivation system according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of the container of figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of the container of figure 1;

Figure 4 is a side view of an insert part for application with the container of figure

1;

Figure 5 is an isometric view of the insert part of figure 4;

Figure 6 is a top view of the insert part of figure 4;

Figure 7 is a cross-section of an assembly of the insert part of figure 4 with the container of figure 1;

Figure 8 is a top view of the assembly of figure 7;

Figure 9 is an isometric view of the assembly of figure 7;

Figure 10 is an exemplary embodiment of a first cultivation device of the cultivation system according to the invention in cross-section;

Figure 11 is a top view of the first cultivation device of figure 10;

Figures 12A-D are successive steps of a re-potting from a first cultivation device to a further cultivation device in a cultivation system according to the invention; Figure 13 is an exemplary embodiment of a further cultivation device of the cultivation system according to the invention with a number of insert parts as shown in figure 12C in cross-section; and

Figure 14 is a top view of the cultivation device of figure 13.

It is otherwise noted here that the figures are purely schematic and not always drawn to (the same) scale. Some dimensions in particular may be exaggerated to greater or lesser extent for the sake of clarity. Corresponding parts are designated in the figures with the same reference numeral.

A packaging as applied in the cultivation system according to the invention comprises a container with a chamber bounded by one or more liquid-tight walls and a bottom. An exemplary embodiment of such a container is shown in isometric view in figure 1 and in top view in figure 2, while figure 3 shows a side view.

The shown container 10 comprises a set of liquid-tight upright walls 11 -14 which extend from a likewise liquid-tight bottom 15. The walls and the bottom thus bound a chamber 16 which lies inside them and which is accessible on an upper side via an opening 17 which is wholly surrounded by an edge 18. The container 10 is formed integrally from a suitable plastic by thermoforming. For this purpose use is made in this example of vacuum-forming from a thick polyethylene film with a thickness of about

0.5 millimetres. A different plastic such as polypropylene, ABS or polystyrene can also be opted for instead. And instead of deep-drawing, it is also possible to opt for injection moulding to manufacture the container integrally in one single process step. Use is here particularly advantageously made wholly or partially of a recycled, reclaimed or renewable plastic.

The insert part 20 shown in figures 4-6 is also manufactured in similar manner. This insert part 20 comprises centrally a cup 21 formed thereon and enclosing a cavity 26. This cup 21 forms container means in which a root system of a plant for packaging is receivable together with a quantity of substrate such as soil or rock wool. The cavity 26 inside the insert part 20 is surrounded by an edge 28 which connects substantially seamlessly, and thereby fittingly, to the edge 18 of the container, as shown more clearly in figures 7 and 9. The insert part 20 is here received wholly inside the edge 18 of the container but, if desired, can also take a form such that it reaches outside thereof.

Because the cup 21 formed on insert part 20 takes a shallower form than the chamber 16 inside container 10, a certain space 19 remains free thereunder in the container. This space provides a reservoir in which a quantity of moisture (water) can be carried. In order to allow exchange of this moisture with the root system of the plant inside cup 21 a passage 25 is provided in a bottom 29 of the cup. The liquid in the space 19 under cup 21 can thus flow freely to the root system or reach the root system through evaporation.

Not only is the assembly of such an insert part in a liquid-tight container, thus enclosing a reservoir in which a quantity of moisture can be contained, very advantageous in respect of the shelf life and freshness of a plant held therein; use can advantageously also already be made thereof during cultivation. The invention provides for this purpose a cultivation system adapted thereto.

The cultivation system firstly comprises a first cultivation device. An exemplary embodiment thereof is shown in cross-section in figure 10 and in top view in figure 11 . The shown first cultivation device 200 comprises a system of individual cup-shaped first cells 205 which are each substantially of the same shape internally from a bottom thereof as a corresponding part of the cavity 26 in the cup 21 of the insert part 20 of containers 10. The first cultivation device 200 comprises here a solid injection-moulded body of a suitable thermoplastic, such as polypropylene or polyethylene. Figure 11 shows a top view of this cultivation device which measures about 600 by 400 millimetres and wherein a system of 9x6=54 of such cup-shaped cells 200 is received.

Each of the cells 205 can be filled or is pre-filled with a suitable growth substrate, such as in this case a ball or plug 30 of compressed soil which may or may not be provided with a binding agent. Alternatively, it is also possible to opt for a plug or ball of rock wool or glass wool. Situated in a bottom of each of the cells 205 is an opening 210. Exchange of liquid between the contents of a cell and the surrounding area is possible therethrough. Cultivation device 200 is therefore advantageously applied on or above a bottom of a reservoir in which is contained a liquid which keeps the soil sufficiently moist and provides it with nutrients. A crop for cultivating is advantageously planted in cells 205 as seeds and brought to germination and first development therein. After this initial development, the by now partially grown plant is re-potted to a more spacious further cultivation device 300, an example of which is shown in figures 13 and 14. This further cultivation device 300 comprises a system of individual further cells, at the position of which an insert part 20 of each of the containers is in each case removably receivable. In the shown example each cell 305 simply comprises a continuous opening which is adapted to the dimensions of a cup 21 of an insert part 20 to be received therein. The insert part ultimately supports with its peripheral edge on that of the relevant cell 305.

Owing to the cup-shaped cells 205 in the first cultivation device 200 and the cupshaped protrusion 21 on the insert part 20 being of the same shape, the crop can be re-planted in relatively simple manner, as shown schematically in figures 12A-12D. The by now partially grown plant 40 is removed from the cells 205 of the first cultivation device together with the growth substrate 30, see figure 12A. For this purpose the plug or ball 30 with the crop 40 can in wholly mechanical manner be gripped out of the first cultivation device from above and/or, as in this case, be forced therefrom from the bottom. For this purpose each of the bottoms of the cup-shaped cells comprises a central opening 210 through which a pin or other member of an ejecting device can act on growth substrate 30.

The plant with growth substrate which by now has been freed from the first cultivation device 200 is then transferred to an empty insert part 20, see figures 12B and 12C, and is then received together therewith in one of the openings of the further cultivation device, see figure 12D. What is significant is that the plant did not need to be separated from the growth substrate here, nor did soil need to be added. After having thus been rid of the seeds or seedlings, the first cultivation device 200 is suitable for reuse after having been cleaned and disinfected.

The second cultivation device 300 comprises a substantially plate-like plastic body. Use can for instance be made therefor of a polymer foam which is suitable for a floating hydroculture. A polyurethane foam or a polystyrene foam with a closed cell structure is in that case advantageously applied. The foam can be introduced into a mould in liquid form and cure therein. The further cultivation device 300 thus for instance forms a float which is received in a hydroculture, wherein a supply of moisture and nutrients is possible from below via the opening 25 in the bottom of the insert part. The closed cell structure of the foam prevents ingrowth of microorganisms, which enhances the cleaning.

It is however also possible, as in this case, to make use of a solid plastic body of a thermoplastic plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene which was obtained by injection moulding or vacuum-forming from a heated, liquid state. The further cultivation device here measures 1200 by 400 millimetres and provides herein 12x4=48 cells, see figure 14. The crop in the further cultivation device 300 thereby has a considerably lower packing density, and therefore more space for the further development of the crop than in the first cultivation device 200. Furthermore, cells can optionally be left empty in order to give the crop even more space, if desired.

An insert part 20 with an opening 25 in the bottom thereof protrudes through each of the openings 305 in the further cultivation device 300. Exchange of liquid between the contents of a cup 21 in the insert part and the surrounding area is possible therethrough. The further cultivation device 300 is therefore also advantageously applied on or above a bottom of a reservoir in which is contained a liquid which keeps the soil 30 sufficiently moist and provides it with nutrients. A crop 40 for cultivating is now brought to further development in the further cultivation device 300.

The crop 40 for cultivating can thus be received in the cultivation system as seed, seedling or plant material together with a suitable growth substrate and then be grown further therein into a harvest-ready product. For a further processing it suffices for the insert part 20 to be removed together with the crop 40 from the second cultivation device 300 and to be placed into the container 10 intended therefor. This can also be performed wholly mechanically without re-potting being required here. This latter also applies during the whole cultivation cycle, wherein the crop remains in the same substrate 30 from the outset. After the crop has thus been harvested, the further cultivation device 300 is suitable for reuse after having been cleaned and disinfected.

Although the invention has been further elucidated above with reference to only a single exemplary embodiment, it will be apparent that the invention is by no means limited thereto. On the contrary, many variations and embodiments are still possible within the scope of the invention for a person with ordinary skill in the art. In respect of the cultivation device use is in the example made of a foamed body which has an intrinsic buoyancy owing to its low density, although it is instead also possible to opt for a solid body, optionally of plastic. By supporting the container in a water bed such that the insert parts float with their bottom just above the water but the roots pass therethrough and feed on the water and drink it in, any growth substrate in the insert part remains sufficiently moist, but does not become too wet. A possibly higher cost price of such a plate body will pay for itself by being able to withstand a greater number of cycles of use.

The container and the insert part of the packaging according to the invention can optionally be added to with a covering for instance a plastic film which further protects the crop and inhibits evaporation. Additionally, and although they have proven themselves in practice, the shown insert part and the container falling therearound are only one example of how the two can be embodied. Within the scope of the invention the two can be freely varied in respect of design and dimensions, as long as they remain adapted to each other such that the insert part can be received inside the container in at least substantially leak-tight manner while enclosing a space which can contain moisture for continuously moistening the root system of the plant.