Most fool proof system for absentee grower(nutrient delivery)?

[bushdoctor215]

Job may require me to be away 5-7 days every couple weeks. This will be for larger plants(4 per 1k). I`m thinking some sort of gravity fed DTW. Blumats maybe? Advice from anyone who has actually done it with success is appreciated.

 

[Vernal Equinox]

Job may require me to be away 5-7 days every couple weeks. This will be for larger plants(4 per 1k). I`m thinking some sort of gravity fed DTW. Blumats maybe? Advice from anyone who has actually done it with success is appreciated.

From what I've read, Bluemats are hit-or-miss, so they wouldn't even make the list for me. Obviously, 7 days is a long time to be away from a pro-type grow...any small, manageable thing (while you're on-site) can blow up to get you nicked.

Personally, in your situation, if I didn't have a person I could completely trust in my absence (I FULLY understand you not wanting to go this route), I wouldn't assume such a high level of risk. Cheers to having big balls!

 

[rives]

I've been using blumats now for about 2-1/2 years. I am normally out of town for 10-12 days and home for around 3 weeks, every month. I lost two plants a couple of years ago to air bubbles air-locking the line, and have since figured out a way to avoid that. They certainly have some peculiarities and a distinct learning curve, but I can't imagine any other feed system having had the overall success that I've had with them over that period of time.

 

[Nosmo King]

Dirt and water have worked for thousands of years.

 

[otis33]

The blumats at my remote grow have worked flawlessly,I have been away for yup to five days at a time. The ones in my basement at my house have had several dry outs and runaways, I think the ones at my rental work better because I am not there to tinker with them, the are a able to do their thing and they work great. At home, I see a pot that looks a little dry and adjust here and there and I am now certain this is my problem at home. If you set them at your desired moisture level and just leave them be the blumats work great.

 

[iampolluted]

organics and a decent sized res. hooked to a pump on a timer. you could be gone for 6-8 weeks if you trust your equipment.

 

[bushdoctor215]

The blumats at my remote grow have worked flawlessly,I have been away for yup to five days at a time. The ones in my basement at my house have had several dry outs and runaways, I think the ones at my rental work better because I am not there to tinker with them, the are a able to do their thing and they work great. At home, I see a pot that looks a little dry and adjust here and there and I am now certain this is my problem at home. If you set them at your desired moisture level and just leave them be the blumats work great.

That is some good info. Thank you

 

[Vernal Equinox]

OK, I guess I need to learn when to keep my whore mouth shut!

 

[Zumie]

Two words . . . Blu Mats

 

[vein5]

If you get bigger supply lines to stop air bubbles then blumats %100.

 

[Storm Shadow]

Large pots and hand water ...Pure coco ... U can water once a week if you want

 

[greenmatter]

blumats work great!

read sunnydog's thread and the dreaded "learning curve" will be shortened by about 95% ........ honest

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Self watering trays like these http://www.twowests.co.uk/product/self-watering-trays using water matting, plumbed to a central res. The tray is fed with dripper line and recirculates back to the res through something like 20 mm line. Obviously, the trays need to be above the res. If your pump fails, you still have a little reservoir in all the trays.
A DIY version can be made from paint roller trays.
Use some poly over the water matting(hole cut for plant pot) to cut down on evaporation.
I've just set a friend up with a little stadium using the paint tray setup and it is working beautifully. He's got one side in coco getting nutrient, and the other side in soil(bio bizz) getting water, but feeding by hand twice a week.

 

[shuswap]

dr bush-they work very well,few things i found tricky was taking the time to let them work after adjusting,start more closed then open and adjust slowly over a 4-6 hour period,keep your res at least 2-3 feet high then top of pots,if u ever run the res dry you need to fully open every blumat (just count the turns with the markings they have so you can put it back to same spot) to get the air out,i also found having a longer mainline worked well for that,first getting air out of mainline and then doing each individual blumat.my only complaint is if your not careful u can keep them roots way to wet but yeah they work fucking great!

 

[ThaMagnificent]

blu mats

 

[onthaherb]

Blumats aren't exactly KISS.

Flood and drain tables are by far the lowest maintenance and least gear involved AND lowest chance of things going wrong.

Just setup the table. Maintenance is pulling the res out every ten days and mixing new nutes. The added bonus will be an incredible yield especially if you are coming from soil. Stupid simple is just mixing hose water & Maxibloom @ 1scoop/1tbsp/7grams per gallon all the way through and plain water 10 days before chop. The secret sauce is keeping the PH between 5.5-6.5 and topping off the res with fresh water when possible -- invest in a good meter. Just remember the larger the res, the less you will have to top off and the less severe PH fluctuations.

Shopping list:
Meter
Tray+Res
Maxibloom
Waterpump
*Airstones (some people don't even run them, just do shorter more frequent floods)

Please don't say something like "well they need to be fed once a day and if a pump dies they won't last 3 days" when aquarium owners rely on these same pumps for 24/7 use and ebb tables only require about 30m of daily use. If you can't afford a loss just install 2 sets of fittings and get another pump... Plus its very easy to hand water if you so choose too (eg. don't want to run organic teas in your res/pump).

Sustained blumat systems require a water pump anyway.

 

[shuswap]

onthaherb i totally disagree,either system takes time to set up and optimize no doubt,but yes there are issues with pump failure or tripping circuits,i know both have happened to me,and when lights on full tilt and no water we both know what happens,what makes the blumats great is its just gravity doing the watering,if something does go wrong and they get overwatered while your away thats way better then drying right out,this is just my opinion from dealing with both,each to there own....

 

[redbudduckfoot]

blumats have worked great for me.

rbdf

 

[BasementGrower]

id set up a system with timers.... if i was going to be doing this every month.. id make a res kinda like a Toilet.. .. were u have the res fill up.. to a certain point and have the water shut off like a toilet fills the back and turns off on its own..

then maybe have an empty res next to it. with a hose coming from the bottom .. as a gravity fed.. then have a timer come on for a certain amount of time... to fill the emtpy res enough to feed ur plants.. maybe even set up a nother small one.. with a diluted nute solution .. and have that mix into the empty res .. u can have everything completly automated.. DIY.. or go online and find what u need to do it on a hydro site.. many people have automated gardens.. that they can watch over a camera setup threw internet.. so u can view on ur smartphone!..

iunno i thought this idea up as i read this.. it needs some touches.. and ull need to figure out how much time u want ur timers on for.. to fill the rez enough to feed the plants.. and 1 to bring ur nutes into the tank. good luck man. if u need any help with automating it pm me.. ive got a couple good ideas.. depending how much cash u can spend to make this happen. if its a monthly thing id go with a system that has a the rez's in a bigger rez .. so if anything overflows.. u can have a overflow catch.. and a sensor to turn the water off if it starts to flood. .

 

[BasementGrower]

and another thing. i was looking into it awhile back.. for wen i went on vacation.. and the hydro store guy told me about this thing.. guys are using so they can run multiple house grows and only have to go run by and check out the places an hour or 2 per house.

they use something called a GroBot.. actually controls the entire Grow.. but its like 2900 bucks.. its worth it for dudes that are running multiple houses.. and dont wana have partners.. its perfect. im thinking of buying one.. just because. i can get rid of the partner.. and buy a partner lol that doesnt bitch. or tell me how or wat or wen to do watever LOL.