AutoPot - 1Pot 8 irrigation system

The 1Pot system for eight pots is eight trays each with an AQUAvalve5, fed through a 16 millimetre main line with 9 millimetre branches. From this size up the tank is no longer included: you connect to your own reservoir or choose the FlexiTank.

Nothing comes out of the bottom

This is what separates it from almost every other irrigation system, and it is rarely spelled out. With drippers from above you plan for surplus: you deliberately give more than the plant takes so that some runs out, to stop salts accumulating and to be sure the whole root ball wets through. That surplus is either caught or drained away, and it is often twenty percent or more of everything you mix.

An AutoPot does not do this. The valve admits exactly 20 millimetres to the tray and closes. The medium wicks it upward. When it is gone, and only then, more arrives. There is no drain, no catch tray and no return line, because there is nothing to carry away: everything leaving the tank goes into the plant or transpires out of it.

At eight pots that shows up noticeably in what you mix and therefore in what you buy. It also shows in what you clear up: no wet floor, no tub of leftover solution to empty or dispose of.

What it asks of you in return

Because nothing flushes through, salts accumulate in the top layer of the substrate instead of running out. That is exactly where you want them, well away from the roots, and it is why you must not water from above once a plant is connected. A watering can flushes those gathered salts straight back down through the root zone.

To adjust or flush, do it through the tank. At the end of a crop, flush the line using the supplied flush tap.

Choosing your own reservoir

Eight plants use too much for a 47 litre tank to be worthwhile, so AutoPot supply none. Work back from the days you want covered and keep the refill rule: top up at about a third. Running fully empty admits air to the line, and the valves then lose their vacuum seal.

Technical Specifications:

• Pots: 8 x 15 litres
• Trays: 8, each with its own AQUAvalve5
• Pipework: 16 mm main with 9 mm branches
• Tank: not included, FlexiTank optional
• Drainage: none; there is no surplus

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a catch tray? No. Nothing runs out of the pots.

How do I avoid salt build-up then? It happens in the top layer, away from the roots. Do not water from above; adjust through the tank.

Why is no tank included? At eight plants you set the capacity yourself; 47 litres would empty too fast.

Can I use my own drum? Yes, provided you can fit an outlet and stand it higher than the trays.