Twist's Tropical Indoor Garden

[RandomHero8913]

Ill be doing both. Outside ill feed my garden by the tap. Inside ill do gravity.

Right now i have one plant gravity fed. I will end up with two on that string.

I've used Blumats in the past and loved them. Here is a little cheat sheet I found that worked really well. Take luck.


Blumat adjustment procedure: (for soil)In a bucket ,fill and soak units under water for at LEAST an hour. Then screw on cap( nice and tight!) under water making sure not to trap any air.
Leave dripper line at ~8cm. long.
Give the pot a good watering.
Insert B/M snugly into nicely compacted soil(not too loose) .
Open till water comes out, carefully close until just a drop barely forms.
Tighten 1.75 - 2 Arrows
Adjust as necessary for a few days, then leave it alone!

Here's what the blumat reservoir tap looks like. I think you need a 12 mm dia hole in your reservoir.

Something is wrong.....What I do; Toss cones and caps in a bucket with water. Let sit, several hours(overnight).
Jiggle any bubbles out of cap. Screw caps on under water.

Thread drip line thru hole. Jam carrot tightly into soil.
Open adj. knob till water shoots out, thus purging any inline bubbles.
Close knob down till just a drop clings at the tip of dripline.
Close knob an additional two arrow spaces.( I do ever so slightly less than two full turns)


Don't severely tighten the knob, as this can perf. the line. Using the P/R, you will have NO bubble issues, as 15psi. blows them right thru.

I think that's it!

 

[MrTwist1]

Ill be doing both. Outside ill feed my garden by the tap. Inside ill do gravity.

Right now i have one plant gravity fed. I will end up with two on that string.

That's cool you're gonna be running both... you will get to see what works best. Some people even use a pressurised system with a reservoir which kinda combines both methods!

I think running just 2 on a string should be pretty simple - not too many points to go wrong.

I added a bunch of extras to my system like little quick release valves that make life much easier... I'll post some pics soon to show u. Cheers

 

[cindysid]

I would love to use the blumats. I bought a big set for my grow room. The only hold back is that I grow so many strains in a perpetual room. Do you think taking out the finished plants and moving in new ones would be a problem? I will be using a gravity system. Hubby already made a nice reservoir and the lines have been run into the room. I'm just waiting for a good opening between harvests. I run a packed room with 30 plants in 15 gal pots in a 9' x 9' area.

 

[MrTwist1]

I've used Blumats in the past and loved them. Here is a little cheat sheet I found that worked really well. Take luck.


Blumat adjustment procedure: (for soil)In a bucket ,fill and soak units under water for at LEAST an hour. Then screw on cap( nice and tight!) under water making sure not to trap any air.
Leave dripper line at ~8cm. long.
Give the pot a good watering.
Insert B/M snugly into nicely compacted soil(not too loose) .
Open till water comes out, carefully close until just a drop barely forms.
Tighten 1.75 - 2 Arrows
Adjust as necessary for a few days, then leave it alone!

Here's what the blumat reservoir tap looks like. I think you need a 12 mm dia hole in your reservoir.

Something is wrong.....What I do; Toss cones and caps in a bucket with water. Let sit, several hours(overnight).
Jiggle any bubbles out of cap. Screw caps on under water.

Thread drip line thru hole. Jam carrot tightly into soil.
Open adj. knob till water shoots out, thus purging any inline bubbles.
Close knob down till just a drop clings at the tip of dripline.
Close knob an additional two arrow spaces.( I do ever so slightly less than two full turns)


Don't severely tighten the knob, as this can perf. the line. Using the P/R, you will have NO bubble issues, as 15psi. blows them right thru.

I think that's it!

Good advice, and I would just add that I learned to use a pipette underwater in the bucket to help purge all of the little bubbles out of the cap. I found that jiggling the cap underwater gets some out... but if you can find a way to squirt some water into the 3 little holes you will probably see even more air come out.

 

[MrTwist1]

I would love to use the blumats. I bought a big set for my grow room. The only hold back is that I grow so many strains in a perpetual room. Do you think taking out the finished plants and moving in new ones would be a problem? I will be using a gravity system. Hubby already made a nice reservoir and the lines have been run into the room. I'm just waiting for a good opening between harvests. I run a packed room with 30 plants in 15 gal pots in a 9' x 9' area.

It is possible, but remember any plants that share a Res will all be fed the same mix... that is to say that you will not be able to add PK boost or anything else to select plants via the res. You can of course hand-water any plants that you wish while on the Blumats, so that is not a huge problem.

The other thing I would say is to look into the quick release valves for the drip line... this makes it so much easier to swap out plants, and this is exactly why I bought them too... it makes the system so much more versatile. Cheers

 

[PicklesRus]

Thank you Mr Twist

That's cool you're gonna be running both... you will get to see what works best. Some people even use a pressurised system with a reservoir which kinda combines both methods!

I think running just 2 on a string should be pretty simple - not too many points to go wrong.

I added a bunch of extras to my system like little quick release valves that make life much easier... I'll post some pics soon to show u. Cheers

 

[PicklesRus]

I've used Blumats in the past and loved them. Here is a little cheat sheet I found that worked really well. Take luck.


Blumat adjustment procedure: (for soil)In a bucket ,fill and soak units under water for at LEAST an hour. Then screw on cap( nice and tight!) under water making sure not to trap any air.
Leave dripper line at ~8cm. long.
Give the pot a good watering.
Insert B/M snugly into nicely compacted soil(not too loose) .
Open till water comes out, carefully close until just a drop barely forms.
Tighten 1.75 - 2 Arrows
Adjust as necessary for a few days, then leave it alone!

Here's what the blumat reservoir tap looks like. I think you need a 12 mm dia hole in your reservoir.

Something is wrong.....What I do; Toss cones and caps in a bucket with water. Let sit, several hours(overnight).
Jiggle any bubbles out of cap. Screw caps on under water.

Thread drip line thru hole. Jam carrot tightly into soil.
Open adj. knob till water shoots out, thus purging any inline bubbles.
Close knob down till just a drop clings at the tip of dripline.
Close knob an additional two arrow spaces.( I do ever so slightly less than two full turns)


Don't severely tighten the knob, as this can perf. the line. Using the P/R, you will have NO bubble issues, as 15psi. blows them right thru.

I think that's it!

Thanks RandomHero8913

 

[PicklesRus]

Can you show me what kind of quick release Im looking for? Link? I have big quick release but they are for larger hose.

It is possible, but remember any plants that share a Res will all be fed the same mix... that is to say that you will not be able to add PK boost or anything else to select plants via the res. You can of course hand-water any plants that you wish while on the Blumats, so that is not a huge problem.

The other thing I would say is to look into the quick release valves for the drip line... this makes it so much easier to swap out plants, and this is exactly why I bought them too... it makes the system so much more versatile. Cheers

 

[cindysid]

It is possible, but remember any plants that share a Res will all be fed the same mix... that is to say that you will not be able to add PK boost or anything else to select plants via the res. You can of course hand-water any plants that you wish while on the Blumats, so that is not a huge problem.

The other thing I would say is to look into the quick release valves for the drip line... this makes it so much easier to swap out plants, and this is exactly why I bought them too... it makes the system so much more versatile. Cheers

Nutrients won't be a problem since I run organic. I don't use pk boost and I feed all plants the same thru flower. I know that some would disagree with this, but it works for me. If I spot a deficiency that needs to be addressed, I will treat the plant separately, but that doesn't happen often. I have the Blumats soaking now. I'm going to try to put them in this week and see how it goes. I'll definitely pick up those release valves.

 

[MrTwist1]

Nutrients won't be a problem since I run organic. I don't use pk boost and I feed all plants the same thru flower. I know that some would disagree with this, but it works for me. If I spot a deficiency that needs to be addressed, I will treat the plant separately, but that doesn't happen often. I have the Blumats soaking now. I'm going to try to put them in this week and see how it goes. I'll definitely pick up those release valves.

I use Veg+Bloom which is a one part nutrient so I also feed all plants the same most of the time as you do. Good luck with the Blumats, and I seem to remember ICMag was a good place to learn more tips. Cheers

 

[cindysid]

I use Veg+Bloom which is a one part nutrient so I also feed all plants the same most of the time as you do. Good luck with the Blumats, and I seem to remember ICMag was a good place to learn more tips. Cheers

I'm a member there too, so I'll check it out. This is home tho...lol

 

[MrTwist1]

Can you show me what kind of quick release Im looking for? Link? I have big quick release but they are for larger hose.

https://www.sustainablevillage.com/3mm-adapter-quick-connect-on-off-valves

Here u go. It is also really handy to have a quick release valve just below your reservoir for easy cleaning/maintenance. I would also recommend a bleed valve below your 3mm connections for the same reason.

 

[PicklesRus]

https://www.sustainablevillage.com/3mm-adapter-quick-connect-on-off-valves

Here u go. It is also really handy to have a quick release valve just below your reservoir for easy cleaning/maintenance. I would also recommend a bleed valve below your 3mm connections for the same reason.

View attachment 3925792 View attachment 3925793 View attachment 3925794

Very cool thank you

 

[MrTwist1]

I'm a member there too, so I'll check it out. This is home tho...lol

I hear you on that. I used to post at ICMag but the LED section here is quite a special little place... when the trolls are off duty anyway

 

[MrTwist1]

I forgot to mention if you buy the 3mm quick release valves u should also consider buying some extra 3mm tubing!! If you really had to I guess you could cut the existing lengths in half, but you will find them annoying short... my advice is buy an extra 10ft of the tubing and then you've got options and it makes laying the stiff 8mm tubing much easier if you've got longer 3mm runs coming off it.

@PicklesRus you might not need to buy the 3mm tubing as it looks like you're got spares in that kit you bought (since you're only running 2 of them).

 

[PicklesRus]

I forgot to mention if you buy the 3mm quick release valves u should also consider buying some extra 3mm tubing!! If you really had to I guess you could cut the existing lengths in half, but you will find them annoying short... my advice is buy an extra 10ft of the tubing and then you've got options and it makes laying the stiff 8mm tubing much easier if you've got longer 3mm runs coming off it.

@PicklesRus you might not need to buy the 3mm tubing as it looks like you're got spares in that kit you bought (since you're only running 2 of them).

I will see what I need. The idea of these blumats is totally what Im all about.

 

[cindysid]

I forgot to mention if you buy the 3mm quick release valves u should also consider buying some extra 3mm tubing!! If you really had to I guess you could cut the existing lengths in half, but you will find them annoying short... my advice is buy an extra 10ft of the tubing and then you've got options and it makes laying the stiff 8mm tubing much easier if you've got longer 3mm runs coming off it.

@PicklesRus you might not need to buy the 3mm tubing as it looks like you're got spares in that kit you bought (since you're only running 2 of them).

I will definitely buy the extra tubing. Thanks so much for your kind advice. I might have confidence enough to tackle it this week, thanks to you!

 

[MrTwist1]

I will see what I need. The idea of these blumats is totally what Im all about.

Good on you dude. I'm all about them too. Honestly once u get into buying the extra parts for a nice system it is not super cheap... but I can't really think of another system that actually monitors your plants individual water consumption and feeds accordingly. It is kinda unique.

 

[MrTwist1]

I will definitely buy the extra tubing. Thanks so much for your kind advice. I might have confidence enough to tackle it this week, thanks to you!

My pleasure - always happy to help share what I've learned. I'm assuming you guys have read about the potential for runaways though right... and the importance of having some kind of catch tray as a fail-safe? I'm sure you know already, but I just thought it would be pertinent to mention. Cheers and good luck

 

[cindysid]

I have pond liner lining the floor and 6 inches up the wall in the room. Hopefully that will be enough.