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SURFACE (table) BLUMATs with capillary mats

Vandenberg

Well-known member
Blumats for starts and seedlings fit on top of capillary mat with perforated black foil on top of that to prevent algae and other things from growing.
The surface blumat turns water on and off that spreads moisture through the felt and soaks up from the bottom.
It works great with fabric pots and plastic ones with a flat bottom and extra holes drilled in but not plastic pots with a big lip - the mat needs to be touching the bottom of the pot.

This sensor is good to excellent for pots up to 2 gallon and larger for plants with deep but not surface roots.
In a 5 gallon pot, the moisture will only go up about half way so with that size it's better to use a regular Blumat sensor.
One of these plus distribution drippers will supply enough water for 5 square meters of tray.

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I love the fact that that by using Blumats, one of its greatest realized benefits is it will give you back that time (life) that one would normally spend watering as it tends to be a somewhat time consuming task when growing more than a couple plants. :)
This works set-up either as a resevoir supplied system or is house pressure hose bib adaptable.

This Blumat product line has a proprietary aspect to it, so most required accessory parts can be only acquired from Blunt distributors.
The 8 mm Blumat tubing can be pricey @ about $50 for 50 feet.

Vandenberg :)
 

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Vandenberg

Well-known member
A GOLDIE-LOCKS OF A MOISTURE ZONE
Hand-watered gardens or those on timers go through fluctuations of moisture levels.
If you water in the morning for example, it is likely your plants are over-watered for the beginning hours of the day.
They are not in optimal growth/metabolism, and likely won’t be for several hours.
Then as moisture levels get optimal toward the middle of the day, your plants begin to grow rapidly.
As the soil dries toward the end of the day, plants slow growth as they work to conserve water supply.
Instead of going through a daily cycle where optimal growth is achieved for only a few hours a day,
Blumat systems keep your soil in the “Goldi-Locks” Zone all the time.

That interprets into bigger plants in shorter periods of time, and increased yields.
When you are moving in/out of the Goldi-Locks zone, you are wasting precious time and opportunity.
Blumats minimize moisture swings, and you will see that this translate into constantly-vigorous growth and flowering.
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It's a beautiful thing,
Vandenberg :)
 
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Vandenberg

Well-known member
Blumat Watering Systems are the epitome of drip irrigation technology. However, installing and operating the systems can be tedious and high maintenance for gardens with a high number of low-volume containers (e.g. several hundred or thousand plants in 1-gallon containers). The problem is only exacerbated when the plants need to be moved around frequently, and a Blumat system can become more of a liability than an asset in these settings.

Capillary mats are commonly used in agricultural nurseries and greenhouses to efficiently irrigate a multitude of small containers. However, just like conventional drip systems, these watering systems are subject to over and under-watering, needlessly boosting humidity, stressing plants, and requiring more out of dehumidifiers and air conditioners.



Vandenberg :)
 

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