ShellzShuff3
Vegetating
- User ID
- 2903
i had a play with the classics as well @veritas629 did pretty much the same as you , each plant had it's own reservoir , i was in bigger pots which i used more classics than you but i didn't have much luck using them , it was outdoor not indoor which might have made a difference i guess , i'm assuming you were indoor , i just couldn't find a happy spot for them , just kept chasing my tail round with plants that were happy one minute & not the nextI used that type of Bluemat for a couple grows. There are wo major differences between those (Classic) and the kind many people like us are using (Tropf). #1 No daisy chaining, each "carrot's" feed line must be in the reservoir. #2 They don't seem to have a valve for controlling the water, just a continuous slow release of water. I put three in each 25L soil pot and ran all the feed lines back to reservoir. For reservoirs I used plastic jerry cans from bunnings and each plant had it's own. They worked well, including a 2.5wk trip out of town and no babysitter. You can control the water release somewhat by changing the rez's elevation relative to the carrot (higher up = faster; close to even height = slow; lower than the carrot = nothing, because you're working up hill).
Yeah I was looking to add this to water my circa 200ltr / 1mx1m planter … thinking the 12 carrots/droppers would provide the coverage I need for the bed - fitted to rez with a couple of air stones running … to help automate a bit, get more even coverage than hand watering; and most importantly, allow it to run by itself for a week or so if needed
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For sureI'm in a similar position Tug, ~200L 1*1m planter and considering the 12x carrot system. Usually do 4x or 6x plants in roughly the same positions. I've got a 100L rez gathering dust and that should keep the plants going longer than I would want to leave them. Lemme know if you get it setup first, maybe I can learn something from your experience...
I do have a question for anyone who's use the Tropf Blumats, which are the one I haven't used yet. Are they adjustable? Meaning can I decide if I want my plants lightly watered vs heavily watered? I think the answer is yes, but I don't want to find out the expensive way. I want to setup the Tropf to keep the plants watered, but on the drier end of the spectrum. I hand water in liquid organic ferts, microbes, teas, etc. If the plant is fully watered, at least once of week I would be over-watering with the watery fert & microbes mixture. I'd prefer the Tropfs just give the minimum water to keep the plants happy and allow me to go away. My hand watering mixture would make up the difference to "fully" watered.
Thanks mate - oh that's awesome to know they're still usable. Jerry cans is a fantastic idea for resovoir.I used that type of Bluemat for a couple grows. There are wo major differences between those (Classic) and the kind many people like us are using (Tropf). #1 No daisy chaining, each "carrot's" feed line must be in the reservoir. #2 They don't seem to have a valve for controlling the water, just a continuous slow release of water. I put three in each 25L soil pot and ran all the feed lines back to reservoir. For reservoirs I used plastic jerry cans from bunnings and each plant had it's own. They worked well, including a 2.5wk trip out of town and no babysitter. You can control the water release somewhat by changing the rez's elevation relative to the carrot (higher up = faster; close to even height = slow; lower than the carrot = nothing, because you're working up hill).
Awesome - might check out those ones. Thanks Dogfish and everyone else too for input.I use those classic ones which I make shift connected to a 25lt water drum out side my tent. Works ok but the dripper ones look better. They sell the dripper ones on catch.com under brand name Maze, cheapest I seen online. I think Bunnings stop stocking them.
the idea , as i understand blumats is the consistency they offer , if the weather warms up & the plant consumes more the carrots will drip more & V a V in cooler temps & plants consume less carrots drip less
what you want to do @veritas629 will be all in the setup i reckon , I would also say they aren't really adjustable as such after setup without a bit of messing round
if you want the media to be on the drier side but serficiant to keep plants & soil life moisture in a happy range , it would be beneficial to setup in that range to begin with , i think the use of the moister meter will help with this along with some trial & error
again my understanding , where ever you start the soil moisture level wise is where blumats will keep it , this is where you need to play round with the meter , just guessing here but i'd suggest you prob want a range somewhere between 120 to 150 but i guess what you really want to know is what number tips you over the edge of not enough so you can dial it back to just enough
i'm sure this question has been asked b4 , you could probably reach out to sustainable village in the US who seem to be the experts with blumats & canna
anyway good luck if you do go with there meter i'd love to hear what numbers worked for you
thanks matePro tip... You can calibrate Tropf Blumat without putting the carrot in the soil and it's super accurate. Once you've dialled down the cap until there's a hanging drip, that's the zero mbar point. mark that point and attach to carrot in bucket. Now insert in soil, connect to water supply. From that point simply dial down 1 or 2 triangles which will keep moisture pressure at 100 to 120mbar. Removes the variable introduced from trying to calibrate in soil that just isn't setup right.
Mine are on their way tooThanks for the tip DNG, that sounds like good goat thinking. And Tugboat, we're now in an unofficial race with a finish line of a perfectly watered garden! I ordered a 12-pack and the digital meter. I've got seedlings in small pots that will be transferred to the main bed soon. So it's as good a time as any to set them up.