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Hydroponics Systems
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Nutrients & Supplements
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Quality
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Assistance
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Water Quality
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Related Content
Ending spider mite, whitefly and mold problems.
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Introducing The SmartGardens Planter
Waters Your Plants So You Don't Have To!
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Makes Caring For Container Plants A Pure Pleasure
The SmartGardens Planter is a self-watering container garden that operates by automatically subirrigating plants when their (soil or soilless) growing medium begins to dry. In the diagrams that follow, we have illustrated how easy it is to setup and operate the SmartGardens Planters in addition to providing an overview on how they operate. A nice feature with the SmartGardens Planters is that you can easily vary the amount of moisture held by the growing media to best suit your cultivars by simply varying the ratio of Ultrapeat (coco-coir) and Aerolite (perlite). An equal volume mix (1:1 by volume)) will give you higher concentration of Ultrapeat will result in a higher moisture content and conversely a higher concentration of Aerolite will result in a lower moisture content.
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View a video demo
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SmartGardens Planter Setup And Operation
View a video demo
OVERVIEW: A. Shows the hollow inner jacket of the SmartGardens Planter that acts as a reservoir. B. Root Mat. C. Solution inlets. D. Moisture sensor.
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SETUP STEP 1: Place the root mat over the water inlet to prevent the roots from clogging the subirrigation holes. For filling the planter, we recommend a blend of 2 parts Aerolite to 1 part Ultrapeat. If you choose to grow with a soilless medium (hydroponics), be sure to use a complete nutrient solution to provide your plants with an optimum diet of all the essential elements they need. After you have chosen a growing medium, fill the planter to roughly 1 to 2 inches below the top of the rim, keeping the moisture sensor out of the planter. If you are re-potting a plant as opposed to starting from seeds, carefully remove the plant from it's original pot, and hollow out enough growing medium in the planter to suit the size of the plant's rootball.
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SETUP STEP 2: Now that the medium is in place, calibrate the sensor by dipping it in water for a full 15 seconds. Using a screwdriver, pen, or similar tool, make a hole in the growing medium (or rootball) for the sensor at a 45º angle - halfway between the plant stem and the planter sidewall, as shown here. For moisture-loving plants, insert the sensor at a shallow (less than 45º) angle. For plants that prefer dryer soils, insert the sensor straight down
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SETUP STEP 3: Remove the rubber stopper and fill the reservoir with water. Again, if you choose a soilless medium, be sure to supplement the water with a complete nutrient solution. Even if you choose to fill the SmartGardens Planter with soil, using a dilute nutrient solution will insure that your plant thrives in its new home.
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SET UP STEP 4: Moisten the stopper and insert it into the jacket with a firm, downward twist to ensure a tight seal. DO NOT remove the rubber stopper frequently as it will result in overwatering
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OPERATION 1: Once full, the liquid will slowly seep from the solution inlets. As the solution draws down inside the reservoir, its volume is replaced by air that is drawn up through the moisture sensor. Natural capillary action will cause the solution to rise up through the growing medium to waiting roots.
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OPERATION 2: When the medium is saturated, the airflow through the moisture sensor stops causing a vacuum to develop inside the reservoir. At this point, the flow of solution stops.
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OPERATION 3: When your plants consume enough solution to reduce the moisture level in the medium where the sensor is located, subirrigation will begin again. Indoors you can expect to refill the SmartGardens Planters every 2-3 weeks. Outdoors it can be as much as once per week. This all depends on the amount of light, ambient temperature and size of the plants you grow in your SmartGardens Planter.
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A Note About Soil & Growing Mediums;
Never use field soil when planting in any type of pot or planter. It quickly loses its structure, leading to reduced soil aeration, capillary action, drainage, and nutrient release. Care must be taken when planting a tree taken from the field that the surrounding soil be appropriate for use in a container. Heavy clay soils should be removed or rinsed off (as possible), and replaced with potting mix.
We recommend that soils used with our systems be lightweight potting mixes. These are typically made up of:
1/3 Ultrapeat or shredded peat moss
1/3 Coarse composted bark or other organic matter. Watch out for mixes that utilize very fine organics ? they don?t allow for proper aeration when compressed.
1/3 Aerolite super coarse horticultural perlite or sterilized coarse sand. For exterior applications sand is preferable as it adds weight, although it isn?t often available in pre-bagged mixes.
Many commercially available potting mixes will conform to approximately these ratios
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A Note about Nutrients And Fertilizers;
For best results, use Futuregarden's Liquid Earth plant nutrition system. Nutrients or fertilizers that are not 100% water soluble should NOT be used in the SmartGardens Planter. These include elemental and organics that settle out of solution as well as granulars that don't completely dissolve. Use of non-soluble products in this reservoir will result in clogging and possible failure of your plants and will void the manufacturer's warranty.
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Small SmartGardens Planter - Painted Finish
Use these Beautiful Self-watering planters to keep your smaller indoor houseplants going weeks between waterings. Smooth painted finish suitable for display purposes. Planter measure 8.5" W x 6.5"
T & holds 1/2 gal.
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$29.95
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Small SmartGardens Planter - Rough Plastic Finish
Use these Self-watering planters for plants up to 24" tall to go a week or two between waterings. Economical rough plastic finish is suitable for non presentation or can be inserted into a slightly larger "attractive planter" for display purposes. Planter measure 9.5" W x 7.5"
T & holds 1/2 gal.
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$16.95
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Large SmartGardens Planter - Rough Plastic Finish
Use these Self-watering planters for plants up to 36" tall to go a week, two or even three between waterings. Economical rough plastic finish is suitable for non presentation or can be inserted into a slightly larger "attractive planter" for display purposes. Planter measure 12.25" W x 11.25"
T & holds 2 gal.
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$34.95
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