Ace Your Base – With AirBase

For such a simple pieces of plastic AirBases really are many-splendored things. They have a drainage-optimising, moisture-modulating, root-training, prep-simplifying, AirDome-integrating majesty concealed deep within their unassuming appearance. But trust us, that majesty is in there. Come, we shall reveal it.

What is AirBase?

Designed especially for AutoPot Watering Systems, AirBase is a handy little insert that slots into the bottom of your pot. You put it in there before you add your grow media and your plant.

We have AirBase Square for our 8.5L / 2.2 gal and 15L / 3.9 gal pots as used in 1Pot and easy2grow modules

We have AirBase Round for for our 25L / 6.6 gal plastic pots and 20L / 5 gal fabric pots as used in 1Pot XL and XL FlexiPot modules

What does AirBase do?

The purpose of AirBase is to lift the grow media an inch or so up and off the very base of your pot. 

How does that help? 

Because in AutoPot Watering Systems water and nutrient solution enter through the base of the pot. And for many growth-stimulating, crop-enhancing reasons it’s always best to have a small buffer between your irrigation and your rhizosphere.

What ARE the growth-stimulating, crop-enhancing benefits of AirBase?

1) AirBase optimises drainage

AirBase limits contact between your water supply and the grow media to 12 specially placed channels. When setting up you pour a little of your media into each channel so that moisture can still find its way up into the pot, but never to excess.

This removes the risk of your media absorbing excessive water and compacting. The grow media remains fluffy and aerated with plenty of room for roots to explore.

2) AirBase modulates irrigation

Because your nether regions are never saturated the grow media is always open to the smooth upward movement of water and nutrient solution. Ironically, the more gradual and regular the irrigation is, the faster it can get to work.

3) AirBase helps improve root structure

One might suppose that because AirBase denies the roots easy, unfettered, ‘balls-out’ access to hydration it would slow down plant development. In fact, by promoting a gradual influx it does the opposite. 

AirBase is part of a system that encourages your roots to seek moisture for themselves and, in the process, can vastly improve their structure and their capacity for uptake. A seeking, branching, far-reaching set of roots will be much more capable of absorbing the water and nutrients required for vigorous growth, abundant flowering, and heavy fruiting. 

As long as the water supply is always readily-available within touching distance (which it is) your plant should be set fair. It’s in a plant’s innate, eon-developed nature to search for a source of moisture, so there’s no need to mollycoddle it.

4) AirBase simplifies set up

We’ve always advocated use of a base layer in our pots. Until AirBase came along the most common choice for this layer was clay pebbles. Yes, clay pebbles were (and are) undeniably cheap and effective in this role. But the transportation, preparation, and messy pH balancing of clay pebbles can be a chore. Instead, just drop an easy-to-carry, pH-neutral, infinitely-reusable AirBase and you’re away!

5) AirBase allows for optional AirDome integration

AirDome is a rampantly popular way for AutoPot growers to introduce growth-stimulating oxygen into their rootzones. So, with that in mind, we incorporated a pop-out centre section in AirBase to allow for easy AirDome integration. AirBase even features pipe routing for your AirDomes, allowing you to get air line up and over the pot edge and away to your pump seamlessly. Magnifico!

Join us and find out just how easy AirBase is to use: