1. Technical Field
This invention relates to plant irrigation, oxygenation and feeding devices and feeding systems and, more particularly, to a subterranean water collection and delivery device and system for irrigating, oxygenating and feeding plants.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Regardless of whether a tree, bush, or shrub, i.e. plants in general, are planted properly or improperly, a potentially serious problem exists of how such plants receive water and oxygen from above ground level down to their roots where it is needed. Likewise, naturally flowing surface and subsurface ground water often is inhibited from traveling down to various depths where plants' roots have migrated because of varying soil conditions. Immediately after planting, there is less of a problem because the soil surrounding the newly planted plants is loose allowing surface and subsurface ground water and air to freely reach the plants' roots. However, after approximately two weeks, this soil will begin to become compacted and the surface and subsurface ground water and air may be inhibited from traveling freely through the soil to the roots as needed. In the situation where a single plant has been planted, the planter can leave a water hose running for days or weeks in the proximity of the plant and eventually some of the water will reach the roots, but if more than one plant is involved, the watering schedule becomes more critical. For example, a manually placed above ground sprinkler may be left running with a low flow rate for days or weeks. The same is true with commonly employed automatic underground sprinkler systems that water a given area periodically for a predetermined amount of time. However, such water schedules often provide only a fraction of the water necessary for the survival and on going growth of many types of plants. Additionally, in many planting areas where irrigation is not available and the soil conditions do not freely permit the penetration of water to depths commonly associated with the roots of many types of plants, such plants may refuse to grow, may be stunted or wilted, or may die from a lack of needed water and/or nutrients.
Unfortunately, regular surface watering often does not freely penetrate through the ground down to the roots of many plants, and the majority of the water runs past such plants due to soil strata densities. Also, the use of a slow running water hose is a wasteful and risky method of watering plants because running many gallons, sometimes hundreds of gallons, of water in a small area over days will often cause the water to travel in the proximity just below the ground surface on dense soil strata and migrate far away from the plants' deeper roots where it is needed. Surface watering may also enhance the possibility of non-point source pollution which occurs when pollutants are carried away from the plant by water and are deposited into rivers, lakes, coastal waters or ground water.
It is therefore desirable to provide a subterranean water collection and delivery device for efficiently routing natural surface water, naturally flowing subterranean water and nutrients and oxygen to a plant's roots which may extend a distance below ground level where the ground water and air does not freely migrate.
More particularly, it is desirable to provide a subterranean water and air collection and delivery device which is simply buried at a predetermined depth below ground level and in close proximity to the roots of a plant, typically near the drip line, for providing ingress and egress for surrounding ground water and air at various depths where the plant's roots are located.
It is further desirable to provide a subterranean plant root water and air collection and delivery device that delivers water, air and external substances from above ground level and collects and redirects naturally flowing subterranean water and air to a plant's roots and is easily integrated into an underground irrigation system.