Blumat auto watering

[westtexas]

And yes I've had my buds tested...

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

Is one carrot enough?

i'll try to answer before i tell you what you've already heard

it should be if you use the slave drippers, i would go with the maxis in your situation and not bother running teas through them unless you feel the need to torture yourself. if you are going to run teas set up your system so it's easy to clean and forget the slave drippers....... you'll see why


BUT

nobody but you knows anything about your set up,your limitations, your water quality, your soil mix, your abilities or your goals. those things can all change the answers to some of the questions that you're asking. this thread is well worth the read if you want things to work right the FIRST time

blumats rock! but they have to be set up right and there are probably a dozen or so different ways to do it. i don't think anyone here has actually tried them all. IMO any set up that functions is set up right even if it's not what i am doing

they're all here in the thread somewhere

 

[draz]

Is anyone using organic top dressing with Blumats?

Slowly working on a system but love someone else's feedback.

 

[Eighths-n-Aces]

Is anyone using organic top dressing with Blumats?

i don't top dress much but i do "drill" holes with my finger as close as possible to the drippers and add whatever seed/rock/critter meal i think the girls need all the time. works great and making sure i bury stuff seems to help me keep the fungus gnats in check a little easier. blumats work great in dirt

you should check out sunnydogs other threads. he's got a good one on recycled soil and blumats.

 

[Jhhnn]

Is anyone using organic top dressing with Blumats?

Slowly working on a system but love someone else's feedback.

With top dressing, watering carries the nutrients down into the soil. I don't think blumats will accomplish that very well. Never tried it.

Aerated teas work well. When added to soil w/ blumats, the blumats just shut down, resume when when the moisture level returns to normal.

Ace taught me everything I know about blumats.

 

[Lapides]

Top dressing works great with blumats and worms.

The dripper will leave about a 4-5 inch diameter wet spot around the bases of your plants. Dress this wet spot. Worms come to feed and get hydrated.

 

[dyna mo humm]

Thanks Ace
I'll just set up a separate 'rez' for the tea mix then.
A separate 35 or 55 drum with a trash pump for top watering with teas is simple enough.

I'll probably go with a pressurized system and run straight RO through the blumats with weekly teas.

 

[Higherlearning4]

in these 284 pages of glorious information does anyone cover the pump systems?

 

[CHEFfy]

No pumps for the most part, most people run an elevated res or run from the tap after a pressure reduction. Pumps can be used to elevate water from a lower res into the working unit, but probably best not used in pressurizing the system itself.

 

[jonesb]

been using the pump/accumulator setup that is somewhere in this thread for a couple of years, works great.

 

[Nomad28743]

I have read the whole thread and never seen a knock off of the Blumat mentioned. I stumbled upon these from Amazon. $11.99 for five works out to be $2.39 plus taxes or shipping. The most interesting part is they have the rez below the plant level.
Anyone try these or have any feed back?
There was another knock off brand too at similar pricing.

 

[SecondAttempt]

You didn't put a link, but I can already tell you they aren't the blumats we're talking about.... Tropf Blumat is what you want.

 

[Nomad28743]

Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Self-Watering...cr_s_cp_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=099K1WPMQB84BWN4FJHR

Yes I am aware they are not Tropf Bumats, however they are made in Austria.

I also came upon this watering system that works on a 9v battery, has a 25 litre rez and will water 20 plants for $70.00.
http://www.amazon.com/Claber-8053-4...ords=Rittenhouse+Oasis+Water+System+by+Claber
This device puts out a few ounces per day on several times you can adjust.

Perhaps someone here has tried either of these products is all I am asking.

 

[rives]

The linked spikes are Blumat Jr's, or copies of them. They are siphon devices and are constant flow, with the water fed through the ceramic cone as opposed to a hose controlled via a pinch-valve that responds to media moisture content. They have a much lower potential delivery rate and work ok for ornamental plants, but aren't well-suited to our plants needs. I have used them for both small cuttings and ornamental plants, and find them to be a pain in the ass.

The other is a packaged drip system with some pre-programmed schedules. I have not used it, but have read about them for applications like ornamental plants on a patio.

 

[Jhhnn]

The linked spikes are Blumat Jr's, or copies of them. They are siphon devices and are constant flow, with the water fed through the ceramic cone as opposed to a hose controlled via a pinch-valve that responds to media moisture content. They have a much lower potential delivery rate and work ok for ornamental plants, but aren't well-suited to our plants needs. I have used them for both small cuttings and ornamental plants, and find them to be a pain in the ass.

The other is a packaged drip system with some pre-programmed schedules. I have not used it, but have read about them for applications like ornamental plants on a patio.

Blumats do what neither of those can do- automatically compensate for temperature & transpiration throughout the life of the plant, from seedling to maturity. Although I check the plants at least once a day, I don't have to do anything else using a really good organic soil mix. Properly set up & dialed in, a grower can basically set it and forget it, watch out for pests & problems, let 'em fly. If everything else is in the ballpark that's exactly what they'll do.

 

[stoned-trout]

come set mine up ..I have had 2 boxes for like 5 years now...yeehaw

 

[Nomad28743]

TY Rives and Jhhnn for the explanation.
I was just trying to see what was out there and comparing to Blumats.

 

[sunnydog]

 

[Vanilla Phoenix]

Just got in all my blumat stuff today....setting everything up tomorrow! can't wait!!! Just doing one main res at first but most likely gonna do the elevated 5 gal over a main res in a few weeks.

Thanks to all for the great info in this thread. I feel like I have already been running it for years with all the knowledge in this thread. Lmao

 

[skyview]

Blumats in Grodan Rockwool cubes? There was a short discussion about this a year or two ago... wondering if any other people have tried this and if so, how it's working.