Automated watering for organic grow

Blumats work but they are not maintenance free. You've got to fiddle with them all the time but do make watering very easy overall. No more wilted plants...
 
Richard Drysift said:
Blumats work but they are not maintenance free. You've got to fiddle with them all the time but do make watering very easy overall. No more wilted plants...
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that isn't my experience, I set one when I put a clone into a pot and don't have to touch it through the whole grow.

on some of my bonsai moms I have let them go so long without touching them that the carrots dried out completely (they will still work though), gotta top them off once a year or so
 
I think the key to blumats is what you run thru them. Some nutrients, especially organic ones, can clog the carrots.
 
If you do a gravity system that has no means of allowing the soil to dry between watering then you are asking for a case of root rot. So you would either need to use a solenoid valve and a timer or the blumat carrots. Those are the only options that I am aware of to automate watering and still allow for the soil to dry properly between watering. The downside to the timer is it has no clue how wet the soil is. If you use large pots you may need more than one carrot. With the blumat setup you won't get adequate runoff to prevent salt buildups so a periodic flush will be required to rinse out excess salts.
 
If using coco then things get a lot easier for the timer setup because coco doesn't / shouldn't dry out between waterings.
 
If using a timer/solenoid valve setup you should use a pump because as the water level in your reservoir lowers you will have less pressure to work with. The length of time required to water would be longer when the reservoir is low without a pump.
 
With blumats I leave for a weekend without even thinking and a week with only a bit of worry if I have a plant in the middle of stretch. It is great to be able to go on a 3+ week trip and come home to buds ready for harvest. Just takes a bit of planning to make sure stretch is over before you leave and nothing needs to be harvested while you're gone. Also gotta give all the moms a good haircut.
 
Soma sub planter or blumats would be my only choice.... says the guy that still hand waters lol... both a smart choice from what I have seen. Blumats after getting dialed in seem like a GREAT choice...
 
Observe & Report said:
With blumats I leave for a weekend without even thinking and a week with only a bit of worry if I have a plant in the middle of stretch. It is great to be able to go on a 3+ week trip and come home to buds ready for harvest. Just takes a bit of planning to make sure stretch is over before you leave and nothing needs to be harvested while you're gone. Also gotta give all the moms a good haircut.
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Once they are set I can pretty much leave the system alone for weeks at a time. Problem I have is when I am moving plants in or out every so often or trying to spin the pots around for even light. If the lines get to an uneven height from being moved the drip rate will change slightly in another carrot. The lines need to be uniform; no roller coaster dips. I've had one carrot set and then moved something to find a puddle of water on the floor the next day. It is perpetuity and stupidity that causes most my issues. Had plants vegging on a Blumat line not long ago & did not touch them for weeks.
 
Richard Drysift said:
If the lines get to an uneven height from being moved the drip rate will change slightly in another carrot. The lines need to be uniform; no roller coaster dips. I've had one carrot set and then moved something to find a puddle of water on the floor the next day.
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How many feet above the top of your highest pot was the output of your reservoir?
 
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