The system is the invention of Jim Fah, the author of this book. Jim is an agricultural scientist and was the head of the South East Asian division of a large British corporation that specialised in the development and construction of commercial plantations. He was also an avid home grower of gloxinias, starting with just ten plants and rapidly achieving a collection of over 200.
The gloxinias were raised in small containers using a wick watering system.
Perhaps because his professional interest was also very much his hobby, Jim’s attention to the needs of gloxinias was rather deeper than that of the average gardener and his observations as to their well being a lot more professional.
He noticed that the plants performed the best when the reservoirs were not topped up before they have been allowed to empty completely then refilled to a level of one inch with a liquid nutrient added. Very effective, but also just a tad risky, because when you are patiently waiting for the water to empty completely so that it can be refilled, and you forget for a day or so, you lose the plant. Another observation made was that as the plants increased in size, so did their need for water. With small plants, their reservoirs were topped up once a week. As they grew to maturity and in full flower, they could need topping up as often as twice a day, some even more often.
from: autopot.com.au
How the Autopot System came to be invented
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ThanateTan
