Soil compressing blocker with molded plunger for seed starting
A plunger device for making soil blocks. The plunger device is used to form soil blocks in a grid to facilitate seedling growth. The plunger is made of a configuration and material by casting or molding to compress soil consistently and evenly into blocks for seeding. The plunger device includes a plurality of plungers joined together that align with the rows of cells within the grid. The benefit of cast or molded plungers of the present invention is their uniform shape that will not bend of deform as prior sheet metal plungers potentially can.
1 . A soil blocking plunger device comprising:
a joining body comprising a first corner chamfer and a second corner chamfer;
a first handle disposed over at least a portion of the first corner chamfer;
a second handle disposed over at least a portion of the second corner chamfer; and
a plurality of plungers joined together by the joining body, wherein each plunger of the plurality of plungers includes a main body with an upper section, a lower section, and an end cap joined to the lower section, wherein the upper section of each plunger is joined to the joining body, wherein the lower sections of each plunger are spaced from one another and not joined together;
wherein the main body, the upper section, the lower section, and the end cap of each plunger are each made of one or more materials of sufficient structural integrity to minimize deformation thereof when soil compressing force is applied to the joining body; and
wherein the end cap of each plunger includes a base, wherein the base has a bottom configured to removably fit in a frame of a soil blocker frame cell substantially and uniformly with application of pressure to the joining body.
2 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the joining body includes one or more coupling ports for coupling together a plurality of plunger devices at upper sections thereof.
3 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein a dibble is substantially centered on the bottom of the base and wherein the end cap is replaceably joined to the lower section of the plunger.
4 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the main body of each plunger includes one or more structural flanges.
5 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the main body, the upper section, the lower section, and the end cap of each plunger is made of a metal material.
6 . The plunger device of claim 5 wherein the metal material is cast or molded.
7 . The plunger device of claim 5 wherein the metal material is Aluminum.
8 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the main body, the upper section, the lower section, and the end cap of each plunger is made of a nonmetallic material.
9 . The plunger device of claim 8 wherein the nonmetallic material is cast or molded.
10 . The plunger device of claim 8 wherein the nonmetallic material is Carbon Fiber.
11 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the main body and the end cap of the plunger are made of different materials.
12 . The plunger device of claim 1 wherein the joining body, the main body, the upper section, and the lower section together form a substantially flat member.
13 . The plunger device of claim 12 wherein the joining body, the main body, the upper section, and the lower section are all about 1/16-th inch or more in thickness.
14 . The plunger device of claim 1 , further comprising: a grid frame comprising a plurality of soil blocker frame cells.
15 . The plunger device of claim 14 , wherein each soil blocker frame cell of the plurality of soil blocker frame cells is of a generally rectangular shape.
16 . The plunger device of claim 14 , wherein the end cap of each plunger is of a generally rectangular shape less than but substantially the same as the generally rectangular shape of the soil blocker frame cell to establish a snug fit of the end cap of the plunger in the soil blocker frame cell.
17 . The plunger device of claim 14 , further comprising: a pair of handles connected to the grid frame.