Hydroponic production gives growers increased control over the way they cultivate their food or medicinal crops.

With practice, many hydroponic growers can fine-tune their growing environment to remove bottlenecks, minimize maintenance, and increase the quality of their produce. One way they do this is through automated nutrient dosing.

With “autodosing” hydroponic growers have the ability to provide the perfect amount of nutrients to their crops, while minimizing their time spent measuring and monitoring – something all commercial growers will gladly embrace.

But, the learning curve behind autodosing can be a bit overwhelming for the new (and even experienced) hydroponic grower. 

In this post, we’re answering some of our most frequently asked questions about autodosing to help you decide if automated dosing might be a useful technique for you.

Can I trust a machine to feed my crops?

Many crop failures are based on human error and inconsistency. When water pH and EC levels fluctuate, you open up possibilities for health issues or, in more extreme cases, total crop loss.

In contrast, automated dosers provide stable environments for plant growth, doing what a machine is supposed to do: accurately measuring nutrients and pH and releasing precise amounts of nutrients or acid into your system.

I have a small small system. Should I consider an automated dosing system?

It depends. Small systems can be just as hard (or harder!) to keep in balance as large systems. If you want to have a stable growing environment, and free up more of your time, then you might want to consider an autodose system. Be sure to weigh the benefit of healthy crops and saved labor against the cost of an autodosing system.

How much time can I save?