Article for treating soil around growing plants

Claim 1

A package containing soil conditioning agents, the package being adapted to be placed adjacent the stem of a plant and comprising: a pair of confronting flexible, flat panels of at least initially moisture impermeable material joined along their peripheries by a continuous bond to define a sealed chamber containing the soil conditioning agents, the package being substantially flat and the panels defining surfaces so that in use the package shelters the root system of the plant against over-watering and inhibits weed growth, the confronting panels being adapted to be pierced by the user so as to predetermine the rate of release of the soil conditioning agents from the package, the panels being L-shaped whereby a pair of said packages may be placed in abutting, complimentary relationship to define a central opening for the plant stem, the area of each of the panels comprising four square units of equal area, the units being arranged in a three-by-two pattern facilitating the manufacture of said packages from a continuous web of panel material without waste.