How Does the GrowUp Irrigation System Work?

Terrified of over or under watering your plants? The GrowUp flood irrigation system is cleverly designed to give your plants exactly the right amount of water.

If you’re scared to outlay hundreds of dollars on a green wall that produces underwhelming results, you’re not alone! One of the biggest challenges facing plantscapers and home owners alike is striking the right balance when watering.

Overwatering is one of the most common destroyers of potted plants - both traditional and vertical. However, underwatering is just as much of a problem.

GrowUp’s irrigation system mimics nature’s “flood” methodology: a sudden deluge of water, with a period to dry off afterwards, instead of constant moisture. This alleviates the stress of becoming a plant murderer or wasting money on plants that look miserable and die young.

TIP: Choose plants in your greenwall that have similar watering requirements to minimize the chance of overwatering or underwatering. This will keep all the plants in your vertical garden looking lush, and lower the overall cost of greenwall ownership.

The best advice when it comes to watering your GrowUp vertical garden is to treat your system exactly the same way you would any other potted plant. Unlike hydroponic systems, there’s no need for an advanced understanding of science to keep your decorative green wall looking lush and healthy. Depending on your plants, you can get away with watering your indoor green wall once or twice a week. Your outdoor green wall will require a more regular watering schedule depending on the weather conditions, and may need to be watered daily.

You’ll know that the irrigation has fully penetrated all of the pots in your system once the bottom row begins to drain. Once this happens, you should continue to water your green wall for about 20 minutes to ensure that your plants receive enough water. The best way to test if your plants need water is to stick the finger into the soil, about one inch deep. If it's dry, your plants will need water. If it's moist, then wait a day. Indoor plants should be watered about four days apart, while outdoor plants may need to be watered everyday depending on the weather and the type of plant.

The GrowUp irrigation system is pretty much plug and play, and can be customized to suit your needs. You can choose various options, from a smart, fully automated system to a manual system that you switch on and off yourself. Various remote monitoring solutions are available for highly delicate operations. You can speak to one of our green wall experts for advice on finding the right monitoring system for your needs.

GrowUp System Overview

GrowUp’s irrigation system is made up of three main components: the master tank, the pump and the drippers. Automation of the whole system is simple to install: the pump is connected to a timer, set to allow for the correct amount of watering time (depending on the climate and plant types being grown).

The pots are designed to drip into each other and for the water to move down through the system. By flooding each pot and allowing it to drain the plants receive as much water as they need without overwatering.

The water input is connected to the master tank. The water input is regulated by the float valve and an overflow protection system is available, in case of a system failure. The tank is fully waterproof and cleverly engineered so that you won’t experience any annoying leaks or overflows. Secondary tanks can be connected to the master tank and are an extension of the water catchment system. Each tank comes with the necessary connectors for connecting multiple secondary tanks or connecting to the master tank.

By capturing all the excess water runoff and recycling it through the system no water is wasted in the process. This makes the GrowUp system extremely water savvy and environmentally friendly - making it a great a way to improve your LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) score. Using the flood irrigation system, the pump only needs to run for one to two hours per day and therefore uses far less electricity than traditional hydroponic solutions.