Autopot Tray2Grow

[bye12]

So I had a little hick up with my living soil and thought to switch to Coco Coir and and Canna coco nutrients.
Problem is that I cannot run drain to waste and I need a automatic watering system.
I have seen that AutoPot have a new system called Tray2Grow that is bottom feeding the plants using gravity and a check valve. Basically the plants gets bottom watered automatically when the plants need water.

So will this system work for Coco coir since it never get any run off?
Or will it cause issues with salt build up?

I have not invested in anything yet so if any one have a better watering system or nutrient suggestion i'm up for it.

Stay green

 

[StickyBandit]

Why does it need to be auto? Hempy pots are good and easy but can need topping up more often when they're mature. The cost is very minimal and results are great

 

[madalasatori]

I bottom feed during veg with auto trays no probs

 

[bye12]

Why does it need to be auto? Hempy pots are good and easy but can need topping up more often when they're mature. The cost is very minimal and results are great

Some times I need to go away for a week or so and then it's nice to have a system in place that can manage my garden.

 

[bye12]

I bottom feed during veg with auto trays no probs

Sweet, that makes me more confident.
How long do you veg for?
And how high EC do you feed with during veg?

 

[StickyBandit]

Some times I need to go away for a week or so and then it's nice to have a system in place that can manage my garden.

You can easily pump water into a hempy on a timer. A drain hose can just as easily return to the res or go to waste from the overflow

 

[madalasatori]

Sweet, that makes me more confident.
How long do you veg for?
And how high EC do you feed with during veg?

4 weeks and ec 0.8

I find if you feed any higher the ph goes out of whack and you get lockout. That’s under 315cmh

Make sure to put an inch of clay pebbles at the bottom of the pot

I use a product called silver bullet which means the rootzone is sterile. I think it reduces risk of root issues

 

[bye12]

4 weeks and ec 0.8

I find if you feed any higher the ph goes out of whack and you get lockout. That’s under 315cmh

Make sure to put an inch of clay pebbles at the bottom of the pot

I use a product called silver bullet which means the rootzone is sterile. I think it reduces risk of root issues

Now I'm confused, How does the wicking work if you have an inch of clay pebbles at the bottom?
Are you inserting the "wick spikes" in to your pots or do you just place them in the tray.
How big pots do you run?

My plan was to run 4 fabric pots, each 20l (5 gallons) filled with coco and perlite 50/50. I think the pots might be too big but I already have them and might not fill them all the way up.
And to keep the EC low and check the PH and EC of the medium every now and then.

 

[bye12]

You can easily pump water into a hempy on a timer. A drain hose can just as easily return to the res or go to waste from the overflow

That is true, I might consider that avenue.
But I like the idea of the tray2grow since I will be able to use it with living soil as well.

 

[bye12]

So I had a chat with Autopot and they suggested to not use any clay pebbles when growing in 20L bags or 11L plastic pots. And since I don't have any clay pebbles on hand I think I will try without.

Any thought on what would be best, 11l (3 gallons) plastic pots or 20l (5 gallons fabric pots?
I would assume that 11l would be enough for coco and provide a more frequent watering

 

[madalasatori]

I use 3.8l fabric pots. The clay pebbles wick fine , clay is a great wicking medium. But go with autopots advice. I’m just super careful as had some issues with root rot earlier on

 

[madalasatori]

I’d go with 10l fabric pots but out of the two the plastic pots

 

[StickyBandit]

I also use clay pebbles for wicking, but in the hempy's. They work great because they allow air to the bottom of the root ball for optimum health. They have no trouble drinking large amounts of water

 

[bye12]

Thank you so much for the info.
I think I will invest in some clay pebbles and stick with the 11L pots. maybe even get some smaller fabric pots. what's e few € more in the long run.

I heard that clay pebbles have an alkaline PH, and that they need to be rinsed and buffered before.
Any suggestions on how to do it the best way?

 

[madalasatori]

I’ve never bothered rinsing them

 

[StickyBandit]

So I had a little hick up with my living soil and thought to switch to Coco Coir and and Canna coco nutrients.
Problem is that I cannot run drain to waste and I need a automatic watering system.
I have seen that AutoPot have a new system called Tray2Grow that is bottom feeding the plants using gravity and a check valve. Basically the plants gets bottom watered automatically when the plants need water.

So will this system work for Coco coir since it never get any run off?
Or will it cause issues with salt build up?

I have not invested in anything yet so if any one have a better watering system or nutrient suggestion i'm up for it.

Stay green

I was just looking into these and they're basically a hempy with a float valve but without the benefit of runoff.
My ideal setup after looking at this would be a hempy with a timer that fills to overflow every day or two. I like the idea of automating it and might make one and log it in a thread. Thanks for the idea

 

[bye12]

I was just looking into these and they're basically a hempy with a float valve but without the benefit of runoff.
My ideal setup after looking at this would be a hempy with a timer that fills to overflow every day or two. I like the idea of automating it and might make one and log it in a thread. Thanks for the idea

Good luck mate, Hope it worked out for you. I would like to do more DIY but since I'm depending on my own harvest for medicine I don't feel I can experiment so much.
Please make a thread if you go true with your Automated Hempys so we can follow along