Growing Outdoors with AutoPot
With summer approaching, it’s time to consider the age-old question…can I use an AutoPot System outdoors?
The short answer is YES! You absolutely can, but there are some things to consider to ensure you have success with an outdoor AutoPot grow.
As we all know, your plants need regular water, but when temperatures get high in the heat of summer, they could use some extra. In time of high heat, your plants drink more than usual, but it’s also true that more water evaporates from the soil. The good news is that with AutoPot, your plants always have access to water, so they’ll never dry out and be able to drink as much as they want, when they want it. However, they will drink very quickly, and you will go through A LOT of water, so be sure to keep an eye on your reservoir to keep it full!
One of the biggest questions we get when people inquire about using an AutoPot System outdoors is ‘will the water in my reservoir get too hot and cause issues with my plants?’
The answer to this is that without proper care of the reservoir, the temperature of the water can rise and create problems for your plants. This is not unique to an AutoPot System. Any time you store large amounts of water outside for plants, you want to avoid using hot water to feed your plants. Ideally, you want to keep your reservoir temperature between 70°F and 77°F. There are a variety of ways to cool down your reservoir, ranging both in price and how annoying they are to deal with every day.
The first thing to consider is reservoir placement. Are you able to place your reservoir in a shady spot out of full sun? That’s an ideal starting point to help keep reservoir temps down. Shade naturally cools down the area around the reservoirs, adding an extra layer of protection against heat.
In addition to the shady spot, try using reflective material to cover your reservoir to help reflect sunlight/heat. You can wrap this around the reservoir but make sure you cover it completely without leaving any gaps where warmth could sneak in. We offer a reflective cover for our 12.4 gal hard tanks that will help keep temps cool.
Another option is to paint your reservoir white or a lighter color to help reflect light instead of absorbing it. Dark colors absorb light so by pairing a light-colored paint job or a reservoir wrapped in reflective material that reflects light/heat with a shady location, you will help keep temps down to create an environment for healthy root development and strong plant growth.
Ideally, you find a shady spot for the reservoir. If your reservoir has to be placed further away from the system to get it out of full sun, you can always run longer lines to the pots. If you’re doing this with your reservoir, we recommend to then elevate it to add some additional pressure. With your reservoir elevated, you will have plenty of pressure to push the water through the lines from a distance. An easy, DIY method to elevate your reservoir is to use a few concrete blocks and a piece of plywood cut to size.
Finally, you can mitigate reservoir temperature by opening the tank lid at night. This allows all the heat absorbed by the water during the day to escape at night and the water can cool to a lower temperature in that time.
Now that we’ve covered some DIY methods to cool down your reservoir, there are some other ways to guarantee cooler temperatures that are a bit pricier. The easiest way to guarantee the water in your reservoir stays cool is by using a chiller.
You can find smaller chillers that can be used with our 12.4 gal hard tank reservoir, like this one, priced for under $200.00. If you’re using a chiller outside, make sure to keep it out of full sun and protected from rain. You can use a larger chiller for our FlexiTank reservoirs as well, just make sure to match up the strength of the chiller with the size of your reservoir. A chiller is an easy way to ensure your reservoir temps always stay cool.
A common alternative DIY practice to spending money on a chiller is to use frozen jugs of water and place them in your reservoir. This typically will keep the reservoir temperature down but there is the added labor of switching out bottles daily. However, you can use multiple bottles so one is always freezing while one is in the reservoir to help streamline the process. That way, you can just switch them out as needed and always have a frozen jug on deck. With that said, be careful about cross contamination! Transferring jugs of water in and out of freezers and reservoirs could lead to the introduction of bacteria or pathogens into your water, so be sure that you properly clean/sterilize the bottles in between uses.
When thinking about keeping the reservoir for your AutoPot System cool, it’s important to remember that your plants are going to be drinking a lot of water. AutoPot automates your irrigation so the plants can drink what they want, when they want and in the heat of summer, they want to drink a lot. The water in the reservoir and lines will be moving as your plants will consume gallons of water per day so you won’t have a full reservoir baking in the sun for days on end. In most cases, you’ll be refilling your reservoir every couple of days keeping your water fresh. AutoPot allows your plant metabolic growth rates to match that of a hydroponics system so you will experience rapid growth rates and consumption of large amounts of water regularly.
Now that we’ve discussed the reservoir, let’s talk about the piping. When the aquavalve shuts off the flow, water will sit in the tubing until the tray is empty and the aquavalve calls for a refill. There’s not going to be a lot of water in a short length of 1/4″ ID piping, but nevertheless, you can practice some strategies to keep that water cool, especially if your piping is sitting in full sun.
A common practice in hot and dry climates is to bury your piping below ground. This will help keep the piping cool and prevent damage from exposure to the sun. Remember, as long as your reservoir is higher than your aquavalves, gravity will push the water through piping and into the trays. Burying the piping is a zero-cost way to keep them cool! If you can’t or don’t want to bury the piping, other options are insulting or painting with a lighter color to reflect heat instead of absorb it. The need to do this will depend on system/reservoir placement and sun exposure. If your system/reservoir is in a greenhouse or under a shade tent, burying or insulating the piping likely won’t be necessary. However, if they will be in full sun, you may want to consider implementing some of the above-mentioned strategies to keep the piping cool.
Onto the trays and pots. Another common question is…will the water in the trays will get too hot before the plant consumes it?
This topic illustrates the importance of properly establishing your root zone in an AutoPot System before turning it on. If when you turn on the system, you have a small plant and the root zone hasn’t been properly established, the water will sit in the tray longer because the plant isn’t eating as quickly as it should. You want to avoid this when using an AutoPot System outdoors. Make sure you properly establish your root zone before turning on the system because when you do, the plant will be larger, more established and drink faster keeping the water moving which will help prevent it from getting too hot.
However, if you’re feeling ambitious, you could DIY something to shade the trays for added protection. We’ve seen people wrap pots/trays with reflective materials or paint them for an added layer of reflective protection.
Keep in mind that if you’ve taken the steps to ensure your reservoir and piping is out of direct sun, the water in the trays getting too hot won’t be an issue because of the rate at which the plant is consuming it and calling for more. Moreover, as the plant grows, its canopy will shade the pot/tray from direct sun, so you want your plant to grow quickly and efficiently to help keep things cool!
Speaking of painting pots, did you know we also sell white pots for outdoor use? We them white pots available in 2.2 gallons (used in the easy2grow and 1Pot Systems), 3.9 gallons (used in the easy2grow and 1Pot Systems) and 6.6 gallons (used with the XL Systems). In trials done in Thailand, the Caribbean and the UAE…you can expect anywhere between 5-10 degrees difference in substrate temperature with a white pot vs a black pot. Whether you use one of our white pots or paint/insulate yours with a DIY method, it’s important to properly establish your root zone before turning on the system as having a more established plant that drinks quickly and efficiently when growing outdoors with an AutoPot System is KEY!
The final topic in discussing shade vs full sun and keeping temperatures moderate is the consideration of a shade cloth, hoop house or mobile greenhouse. These are all easy ways to not only protect your plants from overheating while keeping things cool. In addition, if you have the framework of something like a greenhouse over your system, you could even go as far as to mount overhead misters to further keep things cool for your plants.
Another big topic for outdoor AutoPot use is what to do when it rains. There are a few ways to deal with rain to ensure success. This information is only for growers using their AutoPot System exposed to the elements. If you have your system in a greenhouse, you won’t have to worry about the rain as it will be covered!
If you’re growing with the XXL System or the Tray2Grow System, simply remove the blanking grommet aka the overflow grommet, so water can flow out of the tray during a rain event to not flood the tray. This can only be done with the XXL System and Tray2Grow System as they are the only two product lines with the overflow hole. Of course, you could drill a hole into any tray that is being used outdoors to allow for overflow. Just make sure you drill the hole above the water line. Check this by letting the tray fill up until the flow stops and then mark the tray. Drill a hole above that line so the tray and aquavalve can still function as normal. We recommend drilling the hole on the opposite side of the aquavalve. The hole size used on the XXL System and Tray2Grow System is 3/8” in diameter. It uses this blanking grommet.
If it rains heavily and you’re around, simply turn your reservoir tap off. Once your plants drink all the water that is in the tray from the rain event and the tray is dry, turn the tap back on. Rain will certainly slow the use of the reservoir water, however, good draining soil will happily weep out with gravity. We’ve also had growers recommend lifting the pot out of the tray to allow it to drain during a rain event but that’s not always easy to do, especially when plants get larger.
Rain will follow the contours of the plant and eventually get into the substrate so it’s hard to avoid. Once you have a canopy above the pot, that will help keep the plant cool and keep rain out.
We haven’t noticed issues caused to the plants from rain as long as you’re mindful of the plants. If you live in a rainy climate, don’t allow your plants to be overwatered. If it rains, shut the reservoir off or ensure you have the overflow enabled. This will ensure success growing outdoors with AutoPot, whether you’re using an organic living soil or mineral based fertilizers in the reservoir.
Keys to growing outdoors with AutoPot:
- Establish your root zone before turning on the system!
- Use a light, airy substrate blend so it drains well and doesn’t become oversaturated.
- Use an AirBase or 1” drainage layer of perlite no3 or ph stabilized clay pebbles in the bottom of the pot
- Place your reservoir in a shady area
- Paint your reservoir a light color or cover it with reflective material
- Use a chiller or frozen water bottles to cool down the reservoir temperature
- Bury or insulate your lines if they will be in full sun
- Consider a mobile greenhouse or shade cloth if you live in a high temp area
- Remove blanking grommet for overflow (XXL & Tray2Grow) or consider adding an overflow hole into an existing tray for rain events
- Shut off the reservoir if you’re around with it rains. Turn it back on when the trays are dry.
We have seen people grow successfully in AutoPot outdoors without burying/painting/insulating their reservoir/piping, so it really depends on your specific situation and how hot things get. Make sure you pay attention to your plants and the weather and make adjustments as needed. If you have any questions along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out at 702-338-0373 or info@autopot-usa.com!
