Why Would You Want To Automate An Autopot System?

Automating something that is already 'automated' sounds a bit like an oxymoron but, as a home automation enthusiast, if you see something that can be enhanced, you damn well do it!

Scenario
We grow a lot of tomato plants or, rather, my wife does. But, we also like to go on holidays during the period when they need the most watering. Early in 2026, and after hearing some hints from my good lady, we (I) purchased an AutoPot system for the greenhouse.

Although we also grow outside, the greenhouse is the main pain point - inconsistent watering causes something called 'blossom end rot' and, over the 4 years we've had it, the 'sweet spot' of consistent watering has never been hit. This is mainly because growing medium tends to dry out a lot quicker inside a greenhouse and the majority of moisture sensors are utterly useless (because they aren't measuring moisture at the depth the plants need it). I'd already put 3 versions of an automated watering system in place. All of those were based on typical drip watering and moisture sensors, each of which have their own problems (which I will probably cover in another post).