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Blumat auto watering
- Thread starter sunnydog
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- blumat drippers irrigation watering
So im now thinkin of a single row planter 5 inches tall and 3.5 inside wide.
12 plants spaced 1 ft apart. That gives them each a little more than 1 gal space, unshared PLUS all the mingling room with each other.
I could get the smaller Blumat and 2 distribution drippers to cover each side of the octagon which is just over two feet.
So thats about 42 sq inches, surface area each distribution dripper has to cover. An 8in pot is just over 50 sq in.
Its like picturing 2, 1/2gal. milk jugs laying on ther sides, thats the amount of area needed to be water by one of the 8 setups for this.
Hey Blumat users, do you think this would work sufficiently?
a jr wont water a 1 gallon area properly?
Should it be 2 jr.'s in a trench or 1 regular with two drippers?
This thread is a gem. It is worth reading the WHOLE thread. Everything you are asking is already in this thread.
What you need is Tropf Blumat. Don't use the Jr's. Also, those distribution drippers are not advised by Blumat guru's in this thread.
Has anyone here used the Blumats in soilless media that is aged pine bark based? I have struggled with these Blumats for the last few months, and I can never get them dialed in perfectly. They help, but so far, its far from being an automated watering system.
Ive followed the directions on Blumats website, and the tips given here, but I either flood my plants, or just the soil surrounding the Blumats will remain moist, while the rest of the soil will dry out quite badly if not hand watered.
Maybe I should give the distributor drippers a shot. Im just tired of fucking with these things, and considering giving up on them.
Ive followed the directions on Blumats website, and the tips given here, but I either flood my plants, or just the soil surrounding the Blumats will remain moist, while the rest of the soil will dry out quite badly if not hand watered.
Maybe I should give the distributor drippers a shot. Im just tired of fucking with these things, and considering giving up on them.
Agreed, but this thread is 24 pages long at 40 posts per page is almost a thousand posts to read. I read a whole lot of them before SHARING my idea I couldnt find the answers for.
I thought it would interest the community if I were to share my thoughts, not annoy them. Thats why I went the extra lengths to share what I did instead of just throwing out questions and splitting. Eventually I'll link to the grow so others can see the results of my interest. I was under the impression thats what made this such a thorough community.
But thank you for answering anyways
Nothing wrong with sharing. Thank you for that.
Though, I think you might find the read of the WHOLE thread quite worth it. Save you tons of time and money. Just my 2c.
P.S. This is a friendly community, that's why I answered your questions instead of just asking you to use the search function.
Cool schematic by the way.
Maybe you are fucking with them too much? I will give you my advice, it is not the Blumats...it is your medium. Switch to Coco, I suggest Canna. Get some Smart Pots, and set your drip rate so your plants stay moist, not soaked. Mine starts out at about every 8-10 sec...once growing well it is about every 4 sec.
When you refill your res, always check your drip rate...the pressure change can cause flooding. I can go away for a week and come back with perfect plants. No worries once dialed in. Take my advice and use Canna Coco, thank me later.
sounds like you may need a bit more water retention in your media, too airy and the water will run right through.
Don`t give up Dave!!!
I believe Jr.`s have been deemed worthless.
This MAY be a good use for the dist. drippers,if you use only water in your res, and raise them above the soil so they stay clean.
Plus the Mats like to irrigate in a circular pattern, not a rectangle, so, again, this may be a valid use for the slave drippers.
Give it a try.
I hope we are all friends here, helping each other to grow more herb,faster, easier, and BETTER!
SD
I tend to keep hands off until I start to see signs of moisture stress appearing on lower parts of my plants. Once lower leaves begin to wilt or shrivel up, thats when Ill mess with them.
I may try out Coco one day, but atm Ive got a lot of components for making my own soilless media. Im looking forward to trying Blumats on the media then. Maybe it'll go well.
I think Sunnydog is right on the mark about water retention. The soil the plants are in now is a course mix, and doesn't retain enough moisture to my liking. Ive got some Mr. Nice shits in a less course soil, but I haven't had a chance to test the blumats out on them. I should get around to setting blumats up on them sometime soon.
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I hope to have it one day perfectly dialed in.
My point exactly, Canna Coco is fine. It is like a sponge. You are wasting your time on something Coarse. It will drain threw, and not disperse right. I have Blumats and Coco down to a science. Coco holds water well, but still gives the roots a ton of oxygen. That and the Smart Pots hold moisture and air prune the roots so you can grow a monster plant in a small container.
Do what you like, but if you have Blumats....dont waste their potential. Hook them up right and they will treat you right. Good luck.
no wai
Still no
nope - they didnt do a 2gal properly - was HORRID and that was with the siphon rez 2' above the dripper or so. i would never waste another single red cent on the jr's ever again, gonna try 2 in 6x6x7 sq pots - maybe they can at least keep a mom happy. Try two of the regulars - get a deck kit - its just 70 bucks and will end up being cheaper in the long run anyway.
seconded 100%
I started with the 6x6 botanicare coco boss's (small brick), and tried some canna in the bag - i dont see a growth difference between the two fine premium coco's but the canna is TOTALLY easier to deal with, worth the 20-25% premium in cost to me.
I've probably said it before, but a peat/perlite/ewc/lime/bonemeal/blood/kelp/greensand mix works great with Blumats too. Benefit with a mix like that is you really don't need to add anything to the reservoir except water. I like to put molasses in every once in a while anyway.
overmyhead
Member
I believe Jr.`s have been deemed worthless.
This MAY be a good use for the dist. drippers,if you use only water in your res, and raise them above the soil so they stay clean.
Plus the Mats like to irrigate in a circular pattern, not a rectangle, so, again, this may be a valid use for the slave drippers.
Give it a try.
SD[/quote]
On the drippers, since switching to GH 3 part I haven't had any clog so with just water, indoors they'd be great.
This MAY be a good use for the dist. drippers,if you use only water in your res, and raise them above the soil so they stay clean.
Plus the Mats like to irrigate in a circular pattern, not a rectangle, so, again, this may be a valid use for the slave drippers.
Give it a try.
SD
[/quote]On the drippers, since switching to GH 3 part I haven't had any clog so with just water, indoors they'd be great.
today is the day i plug in the mats! i'll post pictures over the weekend.
btw- i got my kit from sustainable village. they were really quick to ship it, and everything arrived in perfect condition. i also appreciated the personal (ie not form) letter that was emailed to me when they processed my order. i wrote back a couple days after receiving the kit, asking if they had 3mm tubing (duh, should have listened to all the advice in here). i got a quick and friendly reply (they are out of stock currently, but ordering more now).
i ended up ordering the 3mm tubing from greenacreshydro, and while they were very prompt getting the order processed, they did some things bass ackwards. first of all their site is down, so i had to give all my CC info to someone over the phone. i spoke to like 3 people, and only one of them was at all helpful. i ordered 20 feet of the tubing, which must weigh tops a few ounces, and they sent it in a 10x10x10 box, filled with packing peanuts, and i had to sign for it when it got here. the shipping was $11!!!! in state! the tube was only 10! i would have been happy receiving it in a padded envelope in the USPS and saved 8-10 bucks on shipping. just thought that was kinda weird/wasteful/inefficient.
btw- i got my kit from sustainable village. they were really quick to ship it, and everything arrived in perfect condition. i also appreciated the personal (ie not form) letter that was emailed to me when they processed my order. i wrote back a couple days after receiving the kit, asking if they had 3mm tubing (duh, should have listened to all the advice in here). i got a quick and friendly reply (they are out of stock currently, but ordering more now).
i ended up ordering the 3mm tubing from greenacreshydro, and while they were very prompt getting the order processed, they did some things bass ackwards. first of all their site is down, so i had to give all my CC info to someone over the phone. i spoke to like 3 people, and only one of them was at all helpful. i ordered 20 feet of the tubing, which must weigh tops a few ounces, and they sent it in a 10x10x10 box, filled with packing peanuts, and i had to sign for it when it got here. the shipping was $11!!!! in state! the tube was only 10! i would have been happy receiving it in a padded envelope in the USPS and saved 8-10 bucks on shipping. just thought that was kinda weird/wasteful/inefficient.
