AutoPot - easy2Propagate Extension Kit

What the AutoPot easy2Propagate Extension Kit Adds to a System

The kit is the module without the reservoir. It is for a grower who already runs an AutoPot system and wants a propagation tray hanging off the same FlexiTank. In the box is a 47 by 21.5 in garden tray, the clear lid with four fitted vents, and an AQUAvalve5 with its cover. Then comes the pipework to join it all up. That pipework is 3.3 ft of 3/8 in piping, a 1/2 to 3/8 in tee connector and a 3/8 in tee convertor. The two tees are the point of the kit. One cuts into a 1/2 in main line, the other into a 3/8 in line, so the tray can be spliced into either size of system. Two coco mats, each 23 by 20 by 1.2 in, lie in the base of the tray. A 46 by 20 in root control sheet lies over them, gold face up. The AQUAvalve5 sits in one corner and lets water into the tray only when the mats have drawn it down. Mats hold water and the sheet passes it up into a pot or seed tray by capillary action. Roots stay above the sheet instead of growing through it. The tray should never share a tank with a system that is also feeding established plants. Young plants want a much lighter feed. A dedicated propagation tank, or a tank that is only running propagation trays, is the arrangement it was drawn for. The kit weighs 27 lb and carries part number APWS212.

Setting Up a Gravity Fed Propagation Tray

A gravity fed propagation tray needs the tank above it and the tray dead level. Both are worth getting right before a single cutting goes in. The AQUAvalve5 cover carries a circular spirit level. Shim the bench until the bubble centres, or one end of the tray floods while the other end dries. Soak the coco mats fully submerged in water adjusted to pH 4.5 for a day or two, then rinse them. Fresh coco carries salts that a seedling does not want to meet. Give the root control sheet half an hour under water as well. Cut a corner out of a mat and the sheet to make room for the valve and its cover. Lay the mat, then the sheet, then the pots or plug trays flat on top so the media touches the sheet. Water each cell once from the top to start the capillary pull. Fill the tray until the mat is about two-thirds under and set the lid on with all four corners seated. Then connect the valve to the tank. Vents stay closed while roots form, with the target sitting at seventy to eighty degrees Fahrenheit and at least eighty percent humidity. Open them one at a time once roots show, and leave the lid on for several days after the last vent opens. Peel the protective film off the lid before the first run or the plants sit under a fog. Check the valve at eye level now and then to see that the silicone on the top float seals flat on the hole beneath it. Scale in the nozzle clears with a paper clip or a pipe cleaner, never a drill bit. Warm soapy water is all the end-of-season clean needs.

Key Features

• Joins an existing AutoPot system: Two tees, one for a 1/2 in main line and one for 3/8 in.
• 47 x 21.5 in garden tray: A bench-length footprint under one lid.
• Clear lid with four fitted vents: Each vent opens on its own as cuttings root.
• AQUAvalve5 with cover: Admits water only when the mats have drawn the tray down.
• Two coco mats, 23 x 20 x 1.2 in: They hold the water the sheet wicks upward.
• 46 x 20 in root control sheet: Gold face up, so roots stay above it.
• 3.3 ft of 3/8 in piping: Enough to reach a tank sitting beside the bench.
• No tank in the box: The module for a grower who already has a FlexiTank.

Technical Specifications