Moisture Matters - Overview

Sonnenerde_Tim In this run, three cuttings from a Blueberry Muffin mother plant (MannyT Selection, Humboldt Seeds) are compared in terms of soil moisture and its effect on root development and overall plant health. All plants were potted into 15-liter fabric pots filled with Bio Hanferde (organic hemp soil) and covered with a 3 cm mulch layer made from our Bio Faser (organic fiber). Each pot was initially irrigated with 3.1 liters of water, applied slowly and evenly until light runoff occurred. During the installation of the Blumat drip system, care was taken to ensure even spacing of the three distribution drippers. The distance between the drippers was set at 15 cm, with a minimum of 8 cm spacing from the main Blumat sensor. Target Soil Moisture Ranges: • Left plant: Overwatering (average soil moisture  250 mbar) Note: The lower the mbar value, the higher the soil moisture content. ⸻ Objective To analyze the effects of different irrigation strategies on plant vitality, root development, and water uptake behavior. ⸻ Methodology • Soil moisture is continuously monitored using one analog tensiometer (T1, MMM Tech Support) and one digital IoT4Water tensiometer probe (TX-E, MMM Tech Support) per plant. • All sensors are installed at mid-pot depth to provide representative measurements within the active root zone. • Each plant is irrigated autonomously via an individual Blumat system with three distribution drippers and a separate water reservoir, allowing precise tracking of water consumption per plant. ⸻ Experimental Setup • Genetics: Blueberry Muffin – MannyT Selection (Humboldt Seeds) • Pots: 15 L fabric pots (Gronest) • Soil: Organic hemp-based substrate with 3 cm organic fiber mulch • Analog tensiometer: T1 (MMM Tech Support) • Digital tensiometer: IoT4Water, 1x TX-E per plant (MMM Tech Support) • Irrigation system: Blumat drip system with 3 distribution drippers per pot ⸻ The data recorded via the digital sensors enables long-term, data-driven analysis of soil moisture dynamics and their impact on the physiological development of the plants.

Sonnenerde_Tim I have found that a fan directed at the fabric pot dries out much faster in comparison. (Right Pot in this case)