Long-term watering in the urban Chili grow box

There is a method for short-holiday irrigation using about 5L of water or nutrient solution, but what to do if you’re going on a 2 or 3-week holiday?

Who would want to give up their well-deserved vacation because of the plants or plant the grow box after planning their vacation?

I bought an irrigation system with an irrigation computer for my tomato plants etc. in the greenhouse, which, however, is connected directly to a water tap, so it is not suitable for this project.

There is not always a water connection nearby and if you work with nutrient solution, this does not work either. So it has to be a self-priming pump that works time-controlled and, if possible, remotely via an app can control.
The solutions offered by various grow shops are simply too powerful for the urban Chili grow box and cannot be controlled externally.

After quite a short search on Google, I found a suitable irrigation system.
It is the Pearl NX – 4985 currently priced at €39.99
https://www.pearl.de/a-NX4985-3506.shtml

There is also a free app and all the necessary accessories such as drop skewers, hose and various distributors are included in the set.

I use a 25l plastic canister as a storage container, which should definitely be sufficient for 3 weeks. There is a small downer with the app, it only works with 2.4 Ghz WiFi, but almost all routers can handle 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz.

The system is operated with 4 AA batteries or via USB connection. If you want permanent access, the power supply must always come from the USB port.

Everything is quite simple and easy to install, you just have to drill a 6 mm hole in the back wall of the grow cabinet at a suitable point.

I’ve been working with the irrigation for about 6 weeks and there have been no malfunctions so far. Irrigation time and intervals can be set, which can also be changed on the go ( If connected via USB ).
As with small children, so with small plants, they need less food and drink at first, and later more. I started with 5 minutes every 4 days, then 7 minutes, then 10, now 12.

You should definitely test this before you leave everything to the technology. As a final note, I would like to mention that a mineral fertilizer should be used for the nutrient solution, such as Hesi Blüh Complex.

A biological fertilizer would probably tip over over such a long period of time and would no longer be usable.

Have fun and success with the NX – 4985

Your chilli fan

 

First cover the holes in the pots with kitchen roll or toilet paper. Then spread the clay granules over the 4 pots (approx. 3 – 4 cm high). The granules work as drainage and bring more oxygen to the roots. Fill the pots with soil up to the brim and press gently.