Starting your journey with an AutoPot system might feel like diving into a new world of sub-irrigated gardening—something many growers haven’t tried before. We pride ourselves on the user-friendliness of our systems but with any new venture, there’s a bit of a learning curve, no matter how easy it is. In this post, we’ll guide you through some key tips to ensure your first experience with AutoPot is as smooth as possible, helping you sidestep common mistakes and set up a thriving, self-sustaining garden.
Before diving into the tips, it’s crucial for any AutoPot user to fully understand how the AQUAvalve works and how to maintain it. It’s the heart of the AutoPot system after all, and knowing how the AQUAvalve operates will make you a better AutoPot grower. Here are two videos we recommend to help you grasp just how unique and innovative the AQUAvalve is…
Now that you understand how the AQUAvalve functions and how to maintain it, let’s dig into how to properly set-up and maintain your AutoPot System…
Potting Up Tips
AutoPot lets your plants manage their own watering and feeding schedules, so your main job is keeping the reservoir topped off. This makes the system set-up and potting-up phases critical for getting the best results.
Follow these tips to make sure you’re setting yourself up for success with your AutoPot system…
Use a blended substrate with good oxygen retention: Most growers typically use coco or soil blended with something like perlite or hydroton to improve aeration. Avoid using 100% coco/soil with no aeration or a substrate that’s too heavy, such as peat moss, as it will compress over time and reduce oxygen content in the root zone. With that said, you can always add extra perlite to any mix to make it lighter. We recommend starting with a 50/50 blend of coco or soil and perlite, pH-stabilized clay pebbles, growstones or Hydroton. Whatever you use to lighten your substrate blend to improve aeration, make sure it’s either inert or pH stabilized!
Use a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot: We recommend using a drainage layer in any pot except for the XXL Pots (9-gallon and 13-gallon fabric pots). Whether you choose one of our AirBases or a 1″ layer of perlite no. 3, hydroton, growstones or pH-stabilized clay pebbles, a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot is crucial to prevent your substrate from becoming too wet. The purpose of the drainage layer is to elevate your substrate above the max fill line in the tray, which is approximately ¾ inch, so things don’t become oversaturated. Ensuring your drainage layer is within our recommended range is key for success. Here is a video showing how to properly install the AutoPot AirBase.
Establish your root zone before turning on the system: This is crucial because you want your plants to thrive as soon as you turn on the system. You should see explosive growth right away, and if you don’t, it’s likely because you started the system too early. If this happens, you can always turn off the system and continue top feeding for another week or so to let the roots develop further. A small root zone can cause the plant to lag while the roots grow deeper to fully benefit from the AutoPot system. As a general rule of thumb, top feed until the plant’s leaves extend beyond the rim of the pot before turning on the system.
Don’t feed too heavy; Less is more with AutoPot: As a general rule of thumb, on the ppm 500 scale, keep your nutrient mix at 700 or below during the vegetative stage and 1100 or below during flowering. This of course can vary depending on nutrient brand or comfortability with the system and is only a general guideline for new users. Remember, with an AutoPot system, nutrients are always available to your plant and they’re feeding constantly, so using too strong of a mix can cause nutrient burn. Think of AutoPot like a DWC hydro system but growing in soil or coco because the plant metabolic growth rates in each are the same. If a nutrient company offers a hydro feeding schedule, use that instead of a drip or drain-to-waste schedule.
Use a recirculating pump if using a nutrient line that doesn’t stay in solution: Depending on your nutrient choice, you might want to consider adding a recirculating pump to your reservoir. Not all nutrient solutions behave the same in a standing reservoir—some contain “organic-leaning” additives, while others stay in suspension longer. Running a recirculating pump on a timer for 15 minutes every 2 hours can help keep your nutrient solution stable and pH-balanced, but this will vary depending on the solution you’re using. To get a better idea of how your nutrients will perform in a standing reservoir, you can fill a bucket with the solution and let it sit for a few days to observe any pH fluctuations or sediment formation.
Keep everything level: Always double-check that your trays are level when setting up your system. Uneven trays can interfere with how the AQUAvalve functions, which can affect performance. Ensuring everything is level is crucial for optimal results. Take the time to make any necessary adjustments before turning the system on for the first time.
Keep things clean: Always clean the sides and bottoms of each pot before placing them in the tray. This removes any soil particles and keeps your system clean. It also helps ensure your AQUAvalve5 stays free of growing media that may end up in the tray. Keeping everything clean is essential for optimal performance.
Tray placement is important: Don’t place trays on cold concrete floors as water in the tray can be chilled from below and will affect plant growth. If you can’t avoid placing them on a surface where the temperature fluctuates, consider placing polystyrene or cardboard under each tray to ensure the water temperature in the tray is not affected.
Do I need an AirDome?
Adding an AirDome to your AutoPot system can significantly boost oxygen content in the rhizosphere, leading to healthier plants and better yields. In this section, we’ll cover how the AirDome works and why it’s a valuable upgrade for maximizing your garden’s potential.
It’s never a bad idea to add extra oxygen into your root zone, but you’ll notice a more dramatic benefit if you are using a heavier substrate than our recommended mix, which is a 50/50 blend. With a 50/50 blend, you have a light, aerated substrate blend with pockets of air leading to ideal conditions for your plants in a bottom feeding system like AutoPot. With heavier substrate blends like a 70/30 or 80/20, you have less oxygen retention capacity because there are less ‘pockets of air’ in the blend so utilizing supplemental oxygen pumped into the root zone via an AirDome will lead to increased plant performance and yields.
If using a 100% coco or soil blend, be careful about using an AirDome. 100% blends can compress over time and inhibit air from the Air Pump from traveling upwards through the media. This can result in that air blowing back into the tray as its only escape and creating bubbles or water movement in the tray that will disrupt proper cycling of the AQUAvalve. Cycle disruption can also happen if you use too strong of an Air Pump so make sure you’re using an Air Pump appropriately sized for the number of pots you’re using.
Essential AirDome Tips:
Weekly Maintenance?
To keep your AutoPot system running smoothly and your plants thriving, a bit of regular maintenance is key. While the system is designed for low-maintenance operation, performing some weekly checks and simple tasks can ensure everything stays in optimal condition. In this section, we’ll cover the essential weekly maintenance steps you should take to keep your AutoPot system functioning at its best.
Opening the flush taps. The ‘flush tap’ is the tap at the end of your main line coming from your reservoir. We recommend opening this tap for 30-45 seconds every time you refill your reservoir and you have max head pressure. This will push out any sediment that may have settled in the lines throughout the week preventing it from getting into your AQUAvalve and causing issues.
Check your AQUAvalves/fittings from time to time. This is pretty straightforward. Just take a look at your AQUAvalves and connections to make sure they’re secure in the tray or secure to the tubing. We’ve seen people move pots/trays around and accidentally knock loose an AQUAvalve or fitting and cause themselves unnecessary problems. It’s always good practice to do a quick 5-minute spot check to ensure everything is working optimally.
Keep your reservoir dialed in. If your reservoir pH/ec is dialed in, your plants will be dialed in. This is what you want to check regularly to ensure optimal performance. If you try to check the pH/ec of your trays, you may get some crazy readings because that water in the tray is interacting with the substrate/plant. You want to ensure your reservoir is always dialed in, not the trays. As a general rule of thumb, aim for water temperatures between 64-70 F and a pH of 5.8 with soil or 5.5-5.6 with coco.
Let the reservoir settle after refilling. After you refill your reservoir, wait 30-60 minutes before you turn the tap back into the ‘on’ position. Do this once a week if using mineral nutrient. Ideally undertake once you have re-filled your reservoir and allowed it to settle for an hour. A full reservoir provides you with the maximum pressure to flush.
Soften tubing before making adjustments. Dip the end of your pipe in hot water before connecting your fittings. This will soften the pipe and allow you to connect fittings with ease. When disassembling the system dip the still-connected fitting and pipe in hot water to ease separation.
Thanks for reading! We hope these tips help you on your journey with AutoPots. As always, if you have any questions, don’t be a stranger! Reach out at info@autopot-usa.com or call us at 702-338-0373.
