You won’t have to use the buttons too often, but here’s an overview of the user interface:

Here's how it works: 

Plant chip reader:










This is where you place the chip containing the plant program. The plant program controls nutrients, light, and water and it tells Auk which conditions the plants need at different times. 
  • Nutrition: Auk has a 3-part nutrient mixer that feeds the 14 minerals plants require to flourish. The plant program tells Auk when to dispense what kind of nutrition (the mix of nutrients varies with the size and type of plant).

  • Light: What kind of light the plants need in different stages of life. The light affects how the plant grows, e.g. the red light encourages flowering, while the white light in the early phases promotes stem growth, giving you a sturdy plant.

  • Water: The plant program includes a watering algorithm, and Auk measures moisture levels to determine when to water.


As of now, we have two plant programs:

  • “Herbs & salads” (the green chip), for green plants where you eat the leaves and stems.

  • “Chili & tomato” (the red chip), for plants that bear fruits.

These programs cover most plants. Don't hesitate to ask if you are unsure of which program to use for your plants. 

 

Moisture indicator:











The moisture indicator counts down to the next watering, from 4 blinking, blue lights to one. When there is only one blinking light, it's almost time for the next watering. When Auk is watering, you'll see all the blue lights going in a wave up and down. Note: When the plant light is turned off, these lights will be dimmed. 

 

Plant phases:

This shows which growth phase the plants are currently at. Auk will take care of changing phases as your plants grow, but you can change phases manually by holding the button of the phase you want for about 5 seconds. If you are starting over, we recommend setting it back to phase 1. 

 

Nutrition capsule:










This light will blink red when it's time to refill your nutrition capsules.  Remove the water tank, refill the empty capsules, and hold the button for 2 seconds to confirm the change.

NB! The nutrition indicator light can be inaccurate when the nutrition is empty sometimes, so check the capsules when you refill the water. If one capsule is empty, just fill it up and put it back in. Learn more about how you refill the nutrition capsules.

 

Plant light:










This is on when the plant light is on and off when the plant light is off.

Press the button once to dim the light. 
If you press the button once, the light will be dimmed to a warm, comfortable light. The light will stay dimmed until the next light cycle starts, then automatically turn on at full strength again. 

Press the light button for 5 seconds, until the light turns off and then on again, to set the light cycle. In the herbs & salad plant program, Auk will have the light on for the next 16 hours and off for the following 8 hours. Phase 1 is different - then, the light is on for 12 hours.

For the tomato & chili program, the light will be on for 12 hours in phase 1, 16 hours in phase 2, 14 hours in phase 3, and 12 hours in phases 4 and 5. 

Example for the herbs & salad program: You reset the light cycle one morning at 7 am. The light will be on for the next 16 hours, before switching itself off at 11 pm. 8 hours later, at 7 am, it will turn on again and follow the same rhythm.

You can reset the light cycle any time you’d like :)