Modular vertical horticulture system and apparatus

Abstract

A modular vertical horticulture system configured to be mounted onto a vertical structure comprises: a vertical support unit comprising a housing defining an interior cavity, the housing having a holder receptacle and a corresponding access aperture; a plant holder comprising a mounting member for mounting the plant holder to the vertical support unit, an angled support shelf for receiving a plant pot and a fluid drain; an irrigation system comprising a plurality of irrigation lines corresponding to a plurality of plant holders, a pump and a reservoir. The plurality of irrigation lines are routed through the interior cavity of each vertical support unit to irrigate the plant pot held in each plant holder. The fluid drain of each plant holder is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the corresponding vertical support unit for draining excess irrigation fluid into the interior cavity.

Description

[0001] MODULAR VERTICAL HORTICULTURE SYSTEM AND APPARATUS

[0002] Cross-Reference to Related

[0003] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 553,861 filed on February 15, 2024 and entitled “Modular Vertical Horticulture System and Apparatus”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] Field

[0005] The present disclosure relates to systems and apparatuses for the cultivation of plants on a vertical support.

[0006] Growing plants indoors is commonly practiced by businesses and homeowners alike for a variety of reasons. Growing plants indoors provides an element of natural beauty to an indoor space, including residential and commercial buildings. As well, people desire to grow a variety of different types of plants indoors, including ornamental plants that are grown for their aesthetic qualities, and edible plants including vegetables, fruits and herbs that may be grown for consumption as well as for their aesthetic qualities.

[0007] So-called “living walls” are structures that may be incorporated into indoor spaces, providing a vertical structure for supporting living plants. Living walls may provide an attractive and interesting feature that enhances an indoor space, allowing for the growth and display of a variety of plants without taking up a large footprint, because the structure of the living wall is typically mounted onto, or adjacent to, a wall.

[0008] An example of living wall structures, manufactured and sold by GSky Plant Systems, Inc. and as described in Canadian patent no. 2,766,610, provides a number of horizontal plant shelves that are mounted in a vertical stack to a cabinet enclosure. Each horizontal plant shelf is configured as a tray comprising a plurality of troughs, each trough for supporting a potted plant at an angle. Each horizontal shelf further comprises a drainage hole positioned above a floor of the tray, the drainage hole leading to a spout that is directed towards another horizontal tray directly beneath. Water is pumped from a water reservoir into the uppermost horizontal tray; as the horizontal tray fills with water, each potted plant is exposed to the water in the horizontal tray for watering each plant. Once the level of water in the horizontal tray reaches the drainage hole, the excess water drains out of the horizontal tray and through the spout into the next horizontal tray positioned directly underneath. The bottommost tray empties into the water reservoir. An issue with this system is that if the horizontal trays are not perfectly level, or if they become warped over time, there may be too much water provided to some plants and not enough water provided to other plants in the tray. Additionally, only the water that is higher than the drainage hole drains out of the horizontal tray, leaving a volume of water in the horizontal tray that may become stagnant over time. If it becomes necessary to completely drain the water from the horizontal tray from time to time, it may be difficult to do so.

[0009] Another example of a living wall structure is the modular vertical garden manufactured by the South African company Vicinity (vicinity.za.com). This modular vertical garden comprises a plurality of vertical rails, and a plurality of hexagon-shaped holders that hook onto the vertical rails. A plant and its soil is placed in a cloth bag, which is then placed inside the hexagon-shaped holder. Water is pumped from a reservoir to an irrigation line running horizontally above the rails, and water is then directed through a hole at the top of each holder in the uppermost row of holders. The water saturates the cloth bag, providing water to the plant. Excess water is collected on the floor of the holder and then flows through an outlet, which feeds into the inlet of a holder positioned directly beneath. This irrigation process continues until the water flows out of the holders in the bottommost row of holders and is gathered into a water reservoir for re-circulation. In this example of a living wall structure, the watering of each plant may be inconsistent as the water may flow through each holder at different rates, depending on a variety of factors. An additional issue with the passive irrigation systems of both the GSky Plant Systems, Inc. apparatus and the Vicinity apparatus is that, as the water passes between each horizontal level of plants, minerals, nutrients and contaminants may be dissolved into or carried by the water into the successive plants below, which may result in either contaminating many plants with plant diseases, or providing excessive nutrients to the plants located at the lower levels of the system.

[0010] Other prior art examples include Canadian patent application no. 2,878,926 to Arizpe, which describes an assembly for arranging plants vertically with a trickle-down watering system comprising a water reservoir that is supported above the plant pots, the water reservoir including a trickier for slowly releasing water from the reservoir into the adjacent plant pot below. The plant pots are arranged in a vertical stack within a frame, supported at an angle from the vertical. Each pot includes an inverted relief and a cavity for capturing and directing the water falling from the reservoir or pot located immediately above, and as the water flows through the cavity and through the plant pot, the water subsequently exits the pot through a drain and falls into the inverted relief of the next adjacent pot immediately beneath.

[0011] In a different example of a system for commercial agriculture, Canadian patent application no. 3,075,410 to Johnson describes a system comprising a vertical pole that holds plant growing containers arranged around the pole at multiple heights. The pole may include a fluid reservoir and a fluid distribution system extending from the fluid reservoir to the plant growing containers at different vertical locations on the pole. Each growing container may include a bottom drain that collects fluid draining from the soil and a bypass drain portion that interconnects with higher and lower containers on the pole and bypasses the soil in the containers, for rinsing the soils individually.

[0012] One issue with each of the prior art systems described above is that these systems are often difficult and expensive to install and maintain. In some cases, the systems may be designed to be mounted directly to an existing wall, whereas in other cases the systems may be mounted into a cabinet. The cabinet itself may increase the overall cost of the system. Furthermore, the systems are typically designed for commercial use and may be too difficult or expensive to install in a home. For a person wishing to install a living wall inside their residence, they may not wish to mount a system directly to the wall but rather to a movable cabinet or frame, so that the living wall may be easily moved to a different location and to avoid damaging the wall.

[0013] Summary

[0014] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the Applicant provides a relatively simple and flexible modular living wall system that may be inexpensive and simple to maintain. In another aspect, the system provides a modular vertical support and a plurality of plant holders for mounting potted plants to the vertical support, with the vertical support providing a compact structure for the irrigation system. The irrigation system is configured to water each plant individually, supplying an irrigation fluid, such as water, to each plant. The irrigation fluid source, in some embodiments, may be a reservoir; in other embodiments, the irrigation fluid source may be a water line that is tied into the existing plumbing system of the building or other structure where the modular living wall system is installed.

[0015] Each plant holder’ s fluid drain, in some embodiments, will drain directly into a reservoir or a waste basin, via an interior cavity of the modular vertical support units, thereby by-passing the other plants in the system to avoid the issues of water stagnation and contamination that may occur in some prior art systems. In yet another aspect, the modular nature of the system allows the system to be configured to cover any vertical surface, rather than being limited to modular units of a particular size, such as modular units consisting of an array of 3 x 8 plants or 6 x 8 plants, as is known in some of the prior art systems. Advantageously, the flexible, modular features of the system disclosed herein may allow a residential user to construct a living wall using an existing cabinet or bookshelf that is re-purposed into a frame for the living wall unit, with the modular units of the present disclosure being configured to fill an existing cabinet or bookshelf of any size. Similarly, the systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may be configured to cover a vertical wall of any size.

[0016] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a modular vertical horticulture system configured to be mounted onto a vertical structure is provided. The system comprises: at least one vertical support unit, the at least one vertical support unit comprising a housing defining an interior cavity, the housing including a front surface having at least one holder receptacle and a corresponding access aperture; at least one plant holder comprising a mounting member for mounting the at least one plant holder to the at least one vertical support unit and an angled support shelf for receiving a plant pot, the angled support shelf including a fluid drain; an irrigation system comprising a plurality of irrigation lines corresponding to a plurality of plant holders of the at least one plant holder, a pump and a reservoir, wherein the plurality of irrigation lines are routed through the interior cavity of each vertical support unit of the at least one vertical support unit to irrigate the plant pot held in each plant holder of the at least one plant holder. The pump is configured to pump an irrigation fluid from the reservoir and through the plurality of irrigation lines to each plant holder of the at least one plant holder, and the fluid drain of each plant holder is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the corresponding vertical support unit when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support unit for draining excess irrigation fluid into the interior cavity. Each plant holder of the at least one plant holder is mountable to the at least one vertical support unit via the mounting member and the corresponding holder receptacle.

[0017] In some embodiments, the front surface of each vertical support unit further comprises an irrigation line aperture for each corresponding at least one holder receptacle and access aperture for routing each irrigation line of the plurality of irrigation lines from the interior cavity to the plant holder. In some embodiments, each irrigation line of the plurality of irrigation lines comprises a valve, each valve accessible through the corresponding access aperture for controlling the flow of irrigation fluid through each irrigation line to the corresponding plant holder. In some embodiments, the irrigation system comprises at least two irrigation sub-systems, each irrigation sub-system of the at least two irrigation sub-systems having a corresponding reservoir and a corresponding pump so as to isolate each irrigation sub-system from the other irrigation subsystems.

[0018] In some embodiments, each vertical support unit has an outlet at a bottommost end of the vertical support unit, and wherein at least one fluid deflector is positioned adjacent to the outlet of the at least one vertical support unit so as to deflect irrigation fluid flowing from the outlet into the reservoir.

[0019] In some embodiments, the angled support shelf of each plant holder comprises a curved surface, the curved surface having a radius of curvature for cradling a portion of an outer surface of the plant pot when the plant pot is supported on the angled support shelf. In some embodiments, the curved surface of the angled support shelf is selected from a group comprising: a shelf lip, a shelf floor. In some embodiments, the radius of curvature is sized to cradle the portion of the outer surface of the plant pot wherein the plant pot has an outer diameter in the range of four inches to ten inches.

[0020] In some embodiments, a floor of the angled support shelf is at an angle in the range of 30° to 60° from the front surface of the corresponding vertical support unit. In some embodiments, the fluid drain of each plant holder comprises a spout, the spout configured to extend through the access aperture of the vertical support unit when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support unit so as to drain excess irrigation fluid into the interior cavity of the vertical support unit. In some embodiments, each plant holder comprises a rear surface and the spout extends outwardly from the rear surface, and wherein the rear surface of each plant holder rests flush against the front surface of the vertical support member when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support member. In some embodiments, mounting member of the plant holder is a hook and the holder receptacle is a hook aperture for receiving the hook of the plant holder.

[0021] In some embodiments, the housing of the vertical support unit comprises a front wall, two side walls and a rear mounting flange, and wherein the interior cavity of the vertical support unit is formed between the housing and a surface of the vertical structure when the vertical support unit is mounted to the vertical structure. In some embodiments, each vertical support unit further comprises a coupling member for coupling two or more vertical support units together to create a vertical support having a length that exceeds a length of each vertical support unit.

[0022] Brief Description of the Figures

[0023] FIG. 1 A is a front plan view of an example of a living wall system mounted in a bookshelf cabinet, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. IB is a perspective view of the system shown in FIG. 1 A.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a close-up view of a portion of the system shown in FIG. 1 A.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a close-up view of a portion of the system shown in FIG. 1 A.

[0027] FIG. 4A is a front plan view of a second example of a living wall system mounted to a vertical post, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 4B is a side plan view of the system shown in FIG. 4A.

[0029] FIG. 5A is a rear perspective view of a plant holder in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 5B is a front perspective view of the plant holder shown in FIG. 5A.

[0031] FIG. 5C is a side plan view of the plant holder shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 6A is a front plan view of a vertical support unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 6B is a rear plan view of the vertical support unit shown in FIG. 6A.

[0033] FIG. 6C is a rear perspective view of the vertical support unit shown in FIG. 6A.

[0034] FIG. 6D is a front perspective view of the vertical support unit shown in FIG. 6A.

[0035] FIG. 7 is a close-up view of a portion of the system shown in FIG. 1 A.

[0036] FIG. 8A is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of a plant holder in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 8B is a front perspective view of the plant holder shown in FIG. 8A.

[0038] Detailed Description

[0039] The modular vertical horticulture system and apparatus of the present disclosure will be described with reference to examples of different embodiments and configurations of a modular vertical horticulture system, otherwise referred to herein as a “living wall”. However, it will be appreciated that the examples provided herein are illustrative examples, and are not intended to be limiting.

[0040] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, a living wall system 10 comprises one or more vertical supports 30 and a plurality of plant holders 20, each plant holder releasably mountable to a vertical support. The system also includes an irrigation system 40, the irrigation system comprising a main irrigation line 42 and a plurality of plant irrigation lines 44, each plant irrigation line 44 supplying water from the main irrigation line 42 to the plant pot P held in the plant holder 20. The main irrigation line 42 may be supplied with water from a water reservoir 46 and a pump (not shown). An example of a pump that may be suitable for an example embodiment of the present disclosure, not intended to be limiting, includes a brushless DC pump having a 7 meter head and a flow rate of up to 620 L / hr. Larger or smaller pump sizes, and either a single pump or more than one pump, may be required, depending on the particular system configuration. In some embodiments, the irrigation system may be divided into sub-systems, with each sub-system having a separate main irrigation line 42 supplied by a separate pump, and the sub-systems may be supplied with water from a single reservoir 46 or more than one reservoir 46. Having an irrigation system 40 divided into two or more sub-systems may be advantageous for large plant wall systems 10 and / or for plant wall systems that incorporate multiple different types of plants having different watering and / or nutrient requirements. For example, one irrigation sub-system may be configured to pump more water to one set of plants, and one irrigation sub-system may be configured to pump less water to a second set of plants. In some embodiments, each sub-system may have its own water reservoir, for supplying a customized set of nutrients to the type of plants being supplied by that irrigation subsystem. In some embodiments, rather than supplying water from a water reservoir to the irrigation system 40, the water for irrigation may be supplied directly from a water line that is tied into the existing water plumbing system of a building or other structure.

[0041] Referring to FIGS. 5 A to 6D, an embodiment of the modular vertical support unit 30 includes a housing 32 having a front wall 34 and two side walls 31, 31. The rear of the vertical support may be substantially open, allowing easy access to the interior cavity 30a formed by the front wall 34 and two side walls 31, 31. The rear of the vertical support 30, as best viewed in FIGS. 6B and 6C, may include mounting flanges 33, 33 for mounting the vertical support 30 to a vertical wall or another vertical structure 12, such as the rear wall of a bookcase or cabinet. In other embodiments, the rear of the vertical support 30 may include a rear wall (not shown). The vertical support 30 may further include corresponding upper and lower connecting flanges 50, 52, whereby the upper connecting flange 50 of one vertical support unit 30 is configured to connect to, such as by friction fitting into, the lower connecting flange 52 of another vertical support unit 30. Thus, a plurality of vertical support units 30 may be connected to one another to form a longer vertical support having a desired length for fitting a particular area on a vertical structure 12.

[0042] An embodiment of the plant holders 20 may include a mounting member for releasably mounting the plant holder 20 to the vertical support 30. An example of a mounting member may be a rear hook 22, the rear hook 22 configured to hook onto a holder receptacle which in some embodiments may be a hook aperture 36, of the vertical support 30, so that a rear surface 23 of the plant holder 20 may rest flush against the front surface 34 of the vertical support 30 when the plant holder 20 is mounted to the vertical support. Beneath each hook aperture or holder receptacle 36 of the vertical support 30, there may be a larger access aperture 38. The plant holder 20 may be optionally provided with a fastening aperture 25, for optionally using an additional fastener, such as a bolt, nail or screw, to fasten the plant holder 20 to the vertical support 30. Such an optional fastener may be used to configure the plant holder 20 to support a heavier plant pot P.

[0043] As best viewed in FIGS. 1 to 3, the irrigation system 40 comprises a main irrigation line 42 that extends out of the water reservoir 46 and may include a horizontal section 42a positioned along either the bottom or the top ends of the vertical supports 30, and a plurality of vertical sections 42b extending either upwardly or downwardly from the horizontal section 42a. Each vertical section 42b of the main irrigation line 42 runs through the interior cavity 30a of each vertical support 30. Each vertical section 42b of the main irrigation line 42 includes a plurality of valves 43, as best viewed in FIG. 2. The valves 43 are preferably configured to align with, or be proximate to, an access aperture 38 of the vertical support 30, and a plant irrigation line 44 is attached to the valve 43 at a first end, with the second end of the plant irrigation line 44 routed through an irrigation aperture 35 of the vertical support 30, as may be viewed for example in FIG. 3. The plant irrigation line 44 may then positioned at the top of a plant pot held in the plant holder 20, or may be routed through a hole in a wall of the plant pot P, as viewed for example in FIG. 7.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5C, the plant holder 20 includes a curved support shelf 21 extending outwardly from the rear surface 23 of the holder. The curved support shelf 21 is preferably configured to accommodate a variety of plant pot sizes; for example, the curved support shelf 21 may be configured to receive standard plastic nursery plant pots having a diameter of four, six, eight or ten inches. The curved support shelf 21 includes a curved lip 21a, the curved lip 21a having a radius of curvature so as to fit against, and thereby cradle, a larger size pot P (for example, having a ten inch diameter). However, the radius of curvature also partially cradles smaller pots, for example having a diameter in the range of four to eight inches, such that pots of any of these sizes are at least partially cradled by the curved lip 21a. An example of the holders 20 supporting a pot Pl having a 10 inch circumference, and a pot P2 having a six inch circumference, is shown for example in FIG. 2. Advantageously, the plant holders 20 may receive the plastic pots P that are typically used for holding plants to be sold by a greenhouse; it is not necessary to re-pot the plants before mounting the plants to the structure 10. In some embodiments, a person may simply place the plants into the structure, using the plastic nursery pots that the plants were sold or grown in. The support shelf 21 preferably includes a curved floor 21b that extends at an angle a of approximately 45 degrees from the vertical, as shown for example in FIG. 5C. As the side wall of the plant pot P rests along the floor 21b of the support shelf 21, supporting the pot P at an angle a helps to retain the growing medium, such as soil, within the pot P, and also allows the plant to grow outwardly and upwardly at an angle that allows the plant to be readily viewed by an observer, and as the plant grows larger, the plant’ s foliage will tend to fill the space between the plant holders 20. Although the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C includes the floor 21b at an angle a of approximately 45° to the vertical, it will be appreciated that other embodiments may have different angles a, for example in the range of 30 to 60 degrees from the vertical.

[0045] The angle a also provides for efficient drainage of the water from the plant P, as the water from the plant irrigation line 44 will be pulled downwardly through the soil contained in the plant pot P, and when the water reaches the plant wall, the water will then flow downwardly along the inclined plant pot wall towards the bottom of the pot, where there are typically drainage holes in the pot. As excess water drains out of the soil, it will collect along the floor 21b and eventually exit the holder 20 through drain 27 and spout 28. Spout 28 extends outwardly from the rear surface 23 of the holder 20, as best viewed in FIG. 5C. Advantageously, when the plant holder 20 is mounted to the vertical support 30, the spout 28 extends through the access aperture 38 of the vertical support; and thus, the water draining out of the plant pot P runs through the cavity 30a of the vertical support 30 towards the water reservoir 46 or, alternatively, to a wastewater basin for disposal of the water. The water may then be re-circulated through the irrigation system 40 from the reservoir 46, or otherwise disposed of. In embodiments of the irrigation system 40 which are supplied with water from a building’s water plumbing system, rather than from a water reservoir, the excess water that is drained from each of the plant pots may be directed into a wastewater bin, or alternatively into a drain of the building’s existing plumbing system, for disposal. Depending on the materials from which the vertical structure 12 is constructed, in some embodiments it may be advisable to add a waterproof barrier to the surface of the vertical structure 12 to which the vertical supports 30 are mounted, as the draining water may be directed through the cavity 30a of the vertical support 30 and may therefore come into contact with the vertical structure 12.

[0046] In another embodiment of the plant holder 20, as shown in FIGS. 8 A and 8B, the holder 20 may be provided with a lip extension 21c. The lip extension 21c may be sized to extend beyond the lip 21b and include deflectors 2 Id. For pots P that may have an extended rim or another feature which tends to collect excess water when pot P is supported at an angle a within the holder 20, such excess water may spill over the rim and over the lip 21b of the holder. Thus, an extended lip 21c, which is configured to extend beyond the rim of the pot P, may catch and direct any excess water spilling from the rim of the pot P to drain out of the holder through drain 27. Furthermore, the deflectors 21d on the lip extension 21c may further assist with directing excess water towards the drain 27 of the pot holder 20.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 1 A and IB, optionally the irrigation system may include a water deflector 48, positioned for example beneath the vertical supports 30 and angled downwardly towards the reservoir 46. Thus, the water draining out of the plant pots P and through the cavity 30a of the vertical supports 30 may be gathered by the water deflector 48 and deflected into the reservoir 46. Advantageously, in the system disclosed herein, each plant is individually provided with its own irrigation line 44 of the irrigation system 40. If desired, the valves 43 may be variable flow valves, whereby the flow through each valve 43 may be increased or decreased to suit the type of plant being grown in a particular holder 20 and to accommodate different sizes of plant pots P. In some embodiments, the irrigation system 40 may optionally be provided with timers and / or electronic controllers, for providing a customizable amount of water to each plant in the irrigation system or the irrigation sub-system. By providing the correct amount of water to meet the requirements of each plant, the irrigation system 40 may be configured to reduce or eliminate the amount of water that needs to be drained and collected from each plant, thereby conserving water resources and providing better care for each plant by avoiding the unnecessary excessive flushing of nutrients from the growing medium. In some embodiments, the electronic controller and / or the timer may be in electronic communication with a software program, including but not limited to an application on a mobile phone or other mobile device, so that the irrigation system 40 may be controlled remotely using the mobile phone or other mobile device.

[0048] Additionally, each plant is drained directly back into the water reservoir 46, by-passing the other plants in the system and thereby decreasing the amount of contamination that may otherwise occur in the other prior art systems that are configured for water to flow between different plants. Optionally, rather than re-circulating the drained water through the irrigation system 40, the water drained from each plant may be captured into a different container for disposal. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the system is designed to be modular and configurable into any size or configuration, offering flexibility for installation of a living wall into different interior spaces. An example of a relatively inexpensive living wall system, which may be used for example in a residence, is shown in FIG. 1. An inexpensive, re-purposed bookshelf 12, with the shelves removed, is used as the vertical structure 12 for mounting the system 10. The reservoir 46 is positioned in the bottom portion of the bookshelf cabinet 12. In this example, each vertical support unit 30 includes two hook apertures 36 for supporting two plant holders 20; however, it will be appreciated that a vertical support unit 30 may be configured with only one hook aperture 36 and corresponding access aperture 38 to support only one plant holder, or multiple apertures 36, 38 to support more than two plant holders. In the example configuration shown in FIG. 1, it may be seen that each of the five vertical supports include five vertical support units 30 for supporting a total of ten plant holders 20, for a living wall system capable of supporting up to 50 plants. The vertical support units 30 are connected to one another using the interlocking connecting flanges 50, 52 (as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D), and then each vertical support 30 is fastened to a rear wall 12a of the bookshelf cabinet 12. The horizontal and vertical portions 42a, 42b of the main irrigation line 42 may be positioned and fastened in place on the rear wall 12a of the bookshelf prior to installing the vertical supports 30. The relatively large access apertures 38 allow for ease of routing the plant irrigation lines 44 through to the plant holders and access to the valves 43; for illustration purposes, some plant holders 20 are shown as removed from, or partially detached from, the vertical supports in FIGS. 1 to 3, so as to show how the irrigation system 40, vertical supports 30 and plant holders 20 are connected together.

[0049] Another configuration of the system 10 is shown in FIGS. 4A to 4B, whereby a single vertical support comprising four vertical support units 30 interconnected to one another, is attached to a vertical beam 12. Likewise, a single vertical support comprising a plurality of vertical support units 30 may be mounted to a wall, pole, or other vertical structure 12. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the example configurations of a living wall system 10 shown in FIGS. 1 - 4 are not intended to be limiting, and the system described herein may be configured to fit any size or shape of a vertical structure 12.

[0050] It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the examples of embodiments described and illustrated herein are not intended to be limiting, and that variations of the plant holders, vertical supports and irrigation systems are intended to be included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A modular vertical horticulture system configured to be mounted onto a vertical structure, the system comprising: at least one vertical support unit, the at least one vertical support unit comprising a housing defining an interior cavity, the housing including a front surface having at least one holder receptacle and a corresponding access aperture, at least one plant holder comprising a mounting member for mounting the at least one plant holder to the at least one vertical support unit and an angled support shelf for receiving a plant pot, the angled support shelf including a fluid drain, an irrigation system comprising a plurality of irrigation lines corresponding to each plant holder of the at least one plant holder, a pump and an irrigation fluid source, wherein the plurality of irrigation lines are routed through the interior cavity of each vertical support unit of the at least one vertical support unit to irrigate the plant pot held in each plant holder of the at least one plant holder, and wherein the pump is configured to pump an irrigation fluid from the irrigation fluid source and through the plurality of irrigation lines to each plant holder of the at least one plant holder, and wherein the fluid drain of each plant holder is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the corresponding vertical support unit when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support unit for draining excess irrigation fluid into the interior cavity, and wherein each plant holder of the at least one plant holder is mountable to the at least one vertical support unit via the mounting member and the corresponding holder receptacle.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the front surface of each vertical support unit further comprises an irrigation line aperture for each corresponding at least one holder receptacle and access aperture for routing each irrigation line of the plurality of irrigation lines from the interior cavity to the plant holder.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each irrigation line of the plurality of irrigation lines comprises a valve, each valve accessible through the corresponding access aperture for controlling the flow of irrigation fluid through each irrigation line to the corresponding plant holder.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the irrigation system comprises at least two irrigation subsystems, each irrigation sub-system of the at least two irrigation sub-systems having acorresponding irrigation fluid source and a corresponding pump so as to isolate each irrigation sub-system from the other irrigation sub-systems.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the irrigation fluid source is a reservoir.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein each vertical support unit has an outlet at a bottommost end of the vertical support unit, and wherein at least one fluid deflector is positioned adjacent to the outlet of the at least one vertical support unit so as to deflect irrigation fluid flowing from the outlet into the reservoir.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the irrigation fluid source is a water line.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein each vertical support unit has an outlet at a bottommost end of the vertical support unit, and wherein at least one fluid deflector is positioned adjacent to the outlet of the at least one vertical support unit so as to deflect irrigation fluid flowing from the outlet into a waste basin.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the angled support shelf of each plant holder comprises a curved surface, the curved surface having a radius of curvature for cradling a portion of an outer surface of the plant pot when the plant pot is supported on the angled support shelf.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the curved surface of the angled support shelf is selected from a group comprising: a shelf lip, a shelf floor.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the radius of curvature is sized to cradle the portion of the outer surface of the plant pot wherein the plant pot has an outer diameter in the range of four inches to ten inches.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the shelf lip includes a lip extension, the lip extension configured to extend outwardly of an uppermost rim of the plant pot supported on the support shelf so as to capture excess irrigation fluid spilling over the uppermost rim of the plant pot.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein a floor of the angled support shelf is at an angle in the range of 30° to 60° from the front surface of the corresponding vertical support unit.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the fluid drain of each plant holder comprises a spout, the spout configured to extend through the access aperture of the vertical support unit when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support unit so as to drain excess irrigation fluid into the interior cavity of the vertical support unit.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein each plant holder comprises a rear surface and the spout extends outwardly from the rear surface, and wherein the rear surface of each plant holder rests flush against the front surface of the vertical support member when the plant holder is mounted to the vertical support member.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the mounting member of the plant holder is a hook and the holder receptacle is a hook aperture for receiving the hook of the plant holder.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the housing of the vertical support unit comprises a front wall, two side walls and a rear mounting flange, and wherein the interior cavity of the vertical support unit is formed between the housing and a surface of the vertical structure when the vertical support unit is mounted to the vertical structure.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein each vertical support unit further comprises a coupling member for coupling two or more vertical support units together to create a vertical support having a length that exceeds a length of each vertical support unit.

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