Granted Patent B2

US 8,931,209 · App. 13/599,735 · Granted Jan 13, 2015

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. A method of soil amendment, the method comprising:

providing a substrate of a first material in discreet granules, separate from one another;

coating each of the granules with a fluid operating as a binder;

providing a soil amendment formed as a powder, dry and adherent to the substrate with the binder through adhesion binding;

securing to at least a portion of the binder already on each of the granules a quantity of the powder;

distributing the granules dry and with the powder adhered thereto and exposed to the surrounding environment in a soil bed; and

releasing, by the binder, the soil amendment into the soil proximate the granules.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the granules are selected from sand, seeds, fertilizer, gravel, and a constituent of soils.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein distributing further comprises delivering the granules into contact with the soil by at least one of:

drilling;

broadcasting;

mixing;

furrowing;

layering; and

burying.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein releasing is effected in response to hydration of the powder by water received from the soil bed.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the soil amendment is a second material distinct from the first material and comprising a polymer.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising embedding at least one of a protectant and a pathogencide in at least one of the binder and the powder.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising embedding at least one of a protectant and a pathogencide in the powder by dissolving in a solvent absorbed by the polymer.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising comminuting the polymer to the powder after evaporating a majority of the solvent.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the solvent is water.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the polymer comprises polyacrylamide.

11. A method for amending soil, the method comprising:

providing a seed as a carrier;

selecting an absorber formed as a powder, dry, hydrophilic, comminuted to powder, and distinct from the carrier and the soil;

selecting a binder, as a fluid adhering the powder adhesively to the carrier;

coating the seed with the binder;

adhering, by the binder already coated on the seed, the powder to the seed, individually and separately;

rendering the seed individually non-adhering by drying the binder;

placing the seed in contact with the soil individually; and

separating, by the powder, from the seed into the soil.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the seed is selected from agricultural seed, flower seed, fruit seed, vegetable seed, and grass seed.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein distributing further comprises delivering the seed into contact with the soil by at least one of:

drilling;

broadcasting;

mixing;

furrowing;

layering; and

burying.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein releasing is effected in response to hydration of the powder by water received from the soil.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein absorber is an amendment modifying a characteristic of the soil.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the absorber comprises a polymer.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising embedding at least one of a protectant and a pathogencide in at least one of the binder and the powder.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

embedding at least one of a protectant and a pathogencide in the powder by dissolving it in a solvent and absorbing the resulting solution into the absorber; and

evaporating at least a portion of the solvent from the absorber.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein:

the solvent is water;

the absorber is a polymer comprising polyacrylamide.

Assignments (14)