Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand July/August 2020 | Page 43

ETTER
by Chris Bond
ING 1
Setting your garden up to be automated
definitely has its advantages, but even
with modern technology, automated
systems still need the human touch to
operate at peak efficiency.
Over the last several decades, improvements in
greenhouse and hydroponic systems have increasingly
streamlined many cultural practices of crop production.
At the same time, many of these same advancements
have incorporated several more environmentally friendly
alternatives and methods as compared to the way of doing
things in decades past. Among these newer systems and
improvements are any number of self-monitoring and
automatic injection arrays of needed plant nutrients, pH
adjusters, or other modifications to a wide variety of growing
systems. Collectively, the use of any such system to improve
crop performance is referred to as autodosing. Such systems
are widely implemented in hydroponic and aquaponic
systems as well as with aquarium care and coral farming.
Many of the benefits of autodosing are self-evident while
others are more discreet. Among the more common reasons
for an autodosing system are time, labour and space
savings, healthier plants, and the limiting of human error.
Autodosing can also help to improve water quality when
injections of chlorine or calcium are dosed into the system at
appropriate levels. Autodosing is better for plant health than
manual applications of nutrients and additives as only the
prescribed amount of product will be released into the system
as per real-time readings of current levels. This prevents
the “shocking” of plants that can occur when too much of a
nutrient, additive, or even temperature gradient is applied
too suddenly to a system. These surgical and calculated
introductions of the plants’ needs can result in healthier and
more robust plants. For those in the business of selling their
crops, this can translate to higher sales. There are hundreds of
different autodosing systems, assemblies, and combinations
on the market and each has its own attributes appropriate for
a variety of crops, operational sizes, and budgets.
The most basic autodosing systems will monitor and
correct pH and EC levels. Other systems and add-ons
will do the same for water temperature, air temperature,
humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and lighting. Some can add
more water to a system as evaporation occurs. Others will
add not only the needed N-P-K, but also chelated iron or any
other available macro or micronutrient depending on the
system. Every system can be as simple or complex as the
system owner can afford or cares to achieve.
With all the above benefits and features to consider,
keep the following five tips for autodosing in mind:
Pick a system appropriate for the scale
of your operation
The point of adding an autodosing system to your
setup is to save time, so a system that is too small may
underperform and be much more hassle to maintain than
it is worth. Conversely, installing an autodosing system
that is set up for a much greater capacity than your current
operation can potentially cost you many thousands of
dollars more than necessary. A larger system, however,
may be a wise investment if you are in a business growth
phase or adding on to your existing system.
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