AutoPot - Easy2Grow 6 Pots Watering System Starter Kit incl. Tank

The Easy2Grow set for 6 pots is three trays of two pots each, plus the 47 litre tank. At this size the choice between 8.5 and 15 litre pots becomes a real decision for the first time, and to make it well you need to know how the water actually reaches the roots.

Water arrives from below, and the pot does the work

The AQUAvalve5 fills the tray to a 20 millimetre layer and then closes. There is never more than those two centimetres standing. Everything above it, and in a 15 litre pot that is some thirty centimetres of substrate, depends on capillary action: the medium draws moisture upward between its own particles, like a sponge stood with one corner in water.

That explains several things that otherwise look odd. It explains why you need a medium that holds its structure, a coco and perlite blend for instance: too fine and compact wicks poorly and holds too much, too coarse breaks the capillary column. And it explains why you water from above for the first week, because a young plant with short roots gets nothing from a two centimetre layer at the bottom.

What pot size really changes

Not the water per cycle, which is fixed at those 20 millimetres. What changes is the buffer: how much moist substrate stands between cycles for the plant to draw on.

A 15 litre pot holds nearly double what an 8.5 litre one does. That means longer intervals between fill cycles, more slack through a warm spell, and a slower response to whatever is in the tank. Smaller pots do the opposite: they dry back faster, cycle more often, and follow a change in your feed sooner.

Six 15 litre pots is 90 litres of substrate against 51 for the smaller size. That is also what you buy, what stands on your bench in weight and how much floor you lose, so the choice carries well beyond the system itself.

Which size when

Choose 8.5 litres for shorter crops, herbs, salads and anything you replace regularly, and where you want to be able to correct course quickly.

Choose 15 litres for plants you keep long and let grow large, such as tomatoes, peppers or fruiting crops in a greenhouse, and anywhere you would rather check in less often.

The trays take either size, so you are not locked into your first choice. Just do not mix sizes within one tray, since the two pots there share their water layer and therefore their cycle.

Technical Specifications:

• Pots: 6, choice of 8.5 or 15 litres
• Trays: 3, each with its own AQUAvalve5
• Fill level: 20 mm, taken up from below
• Substrate volume: 51 or 90 litres total
• Tank: 47 litres with lid, included
• Recommended medium: structure-holding, such as coco with perlite

Frequently asked questions

Can I change pot size later? Yes, the trays take either size.

Can I mix sizes? Within a tray, better not, since the pots share their water layer. Between trays it is fine.

Does ordinary potting compost work? It can, but mind the structure: too compact a medium will not wick water up from the tray.

How long does the tank last? It depends on pot size, crop and temperature; larger pots stretch the interval.

Why is there only 2 cm of water in the tray? That is the valve's set level; the medium carries it upward from there.