Growing Systems — WateringSystems

A watering system solves two things: plants that get thirsty at different moments, and the days you are not there. Everything on this page does that with no pump, no timer and no socket. What separates these systems is not the brand but the rhythm they give your plants.

Wet and dry, or evenly moist

AutoPot works through an AQUAvalve: the valve fills the tray under the pot and only opens again once it has run completely dry. That gives a pronounced wet-dry rhythm, in which the roots get air between two waterings. Tropf-Blumat does the opposite: a ceramic cone in the substrate lets small amounts through continuously as the medium around it dries, so it stays evenly moist. Neither is better; they suit different ways of growing, and at this point you are effectively choosing your whole watering strategy.

Sized to your setup

The AutoPot lines run from a single pot to twenty-four. 1Pot and 1Pot XL are the individual pots, the XL holding more substrate per plant and also coming in fabric Smartpot form, which lays out neatly on a square tent floor. Easy2Grow puts two to a tray. The tray systems Auto3 to Auto9 are under Grow Tables, because there the table is the system. The smaller sets come with a 47 litre tank; on the larger ones you choose the tank yourself.

The tank has to stand higher

Everything here runs on gravity, so your reservoir decides two things: how long you can be away, and whether the system runs at all. Set the tank too low and nothing arrives. Tanks, floats and fittings are under Water & Irrigation, and separate valves and expansion sets under System Parts. For a system that actively pumps, see Hydroponics and DWC.

All in one: the Bonanza

The G-tools Bonanza 3-in-1 at 0.35 and 1 m2 is not a standalone watering system but a set of parts letting you grow three different ways, one of them dripping with a four-armed spider and a digital timer. That is the exception on this page, because power is involved there.

Frequently asked questions

Can I go away for a weekend?
That is what these systems are for, provided your tank is big enough. Size it on what your plants drink on a warm day rather than on an average, because the warmest day is what decides whether the tank runs dry.

Does Blumat work in coco?
Yes. The cone responds to the tension around it, so it behaves predictably in soil and coco. In a medium that barely holds moisture it works less well.

Do I dose nutrients differently in a system?
You mix in the tank rather than in a watering can, which means a mistake lasts a whole tankful. Mix in stages and check your values before connecting the tank, not after.