FAQ

Boum is an automatic watering system for plants. It reliably supplies your pots with water and takes care of regular watering for you. The system is designed for people who want an easier way to care for their plants – at home, on the balcony or on the terrace.

Boum Drip is a drip irrigation system that doesn't simply water your plants on a fixed basis. Instead, it adjusts the pump duration to the current weather, your plants' growth stage and their water needs. An algorithm running in the background analyses how much water your plants need in real time and adjusts the pump duration accordingly each day.

With wick watering, the plant takes exactly as much water as it needs. Water is drawn up into the soil from below and is evenly available to the roots. This means you don't need to set pump intervals or water amounts. Water uptake in the pot largely regulates itself. Unlike conventional drip irrigation, water is supplied from below within the pot rather than applied to the soil from above.

Boum is for people who want to care for their plants more reliably and with less effort.

The system is especially well suited to you if you:

• don't want to think about watering every day
• are often out or away travelling
• want to feel more confident about caring for your plants
• want to water plants automatically indoors, on the balcony or on the terrace
• are looking for a system that simply runs in the background of everyday life

Boum Drip is a familiar drip irrigation system, but it can do much more than conventional watering systems. While a classic drip irrigation system simply keeps pumping (whether it is raining or sunny and hot), Boum Drip continuously adapts its pump duration to the current weather, the season and the plant’s needs. It pumps more on hot days than on cool or rainy days, and a tomato plant gets more water in August than in May.

All you need to do during setup is tell us which plants you are watering with Boum Drip. Boum takes care of the rest. 

The Boum watering system supplies plants with water from below. In each pot, wicks draw water from a reservoir at the bottom into the soil. Every Boum pot consists of a water reservoir at the bottom and a planter at the top. The wicks connect the two sections and distribute water evenly into the soil. The soil stores the moisture, and the plant takes up exactly as much water as it needs through its roots. As soon as the soil becomes drier, the wicks draw up more water. To keep the reservoirs in the pots from running dry, the controller automatically refills them from the water tank – several times a day if needed.

The Boum Controller combines a pump, sensors and a power supply in a single unit. It sits on the water tank as a lid and pumps water from there to the connected pots. It also measures key values such as the water level in the tank. This information can be viewed in the app.

No. You do not need a water connection on your balcony for Boum. The system uses a water tank that you refill by hand only every few weeks, depending on usage. When the water runs low, you receive a reminder via the app. Rainwater that falls onto the tank can also be used.

The Boum Tank holds 32 L (Core) or 35 L (Pro). The Pro version also offers an expansion with a 55 L water tank. 

In midsummer, an outdoor pot uses an average of 0.5 - 1 L of water per day. This means that with 3 pots, you need to refill the 35 L tank every 2 - 4 weeks in summer, with 5 pots every 1 - 2 weeks, and so on. Note: The larger the plant, the more water it uses.

Indoors, a pot uses around 0.1 L of water per day. A full tank therefore lasts several weeks to months.

This is possible with the optional Boum connection kit for outdoor taps. The water tank is then automatically refilled as it empties.

There is no need :-). The system is very easy to set up. Our step-by-step setup videos in the app show you how. Setup takes around 5-15 minutes.

If you still have questions, we are happy to help you personally via our chat.

We have successfully tested the watering system with many different indoor and outdoor plants. The system is particularly well suited to plants that like to grow in moist soil. Plants that prefer dry conditions (e.g. succulents) are less suitable.

The controller is not designed for temperatures below freezing. If you use the system outdoors, we therefore recommend storing the controller indoors over winter.

The pots (planted or empty) can stay outside all year round. The reservoirs in the pots and the water tank must be emptied.

Indoors, the system can be used all year round.

Yes. Whenever the watering system is installed in a new location, it needs to be connected to Wi-Fi (or a mobile hotspot) once for setup. After that, it works independently, even without Wi-Fi. In this case, no sensor data is displayed in the app.

The drip irrigation system also works without Wi-Fi, but in this case the local weather cannot be taken into account when calculating the optimal pump duration.

Yes. The watering system also works without Wi-Fi, but in this case no data on water consumption and so on is sent.

If you would still like to receive this data, we recommend an LTE router with an affordable IoT data plan. This lets you keep an eye on the watering system in your second home at all times.

Yes, the pots are connected to the tank by a hose. We supply black 7 mm PVC hoses with a Quick Connect system and a hose cutter as part of the watering system. This makes connecting and routing the hoses easy. The connection is at the bottom of the Boum pot, so the hoses can be positioned discreetly and kept out of sight.

Yes! Boum Drip delivers water from above through drippers into your planted pots, reliably watering every connected pot. The number of drippers we recommend per plant depends on the pot size and plant type. During setup, we recommend the right number for your particular setup.

Each Boum pot consists of a water reservoir at the bottom and a planting container at the top. Wicks connect the two sections, drawing water from the reservoir into the soil.

The soil absorbs and stores this water. The plant then takes up exactly as much water as it needs through its roots. As the soil becomes drier, the wicks automatically draw up more water.

To keep the reservoir in the pot from running dry, the controller regularly refills it from the water tank. A built-in float valve mechanically regulates the flow of water into the pot.

Boum Core pots are made from PP and have slightly thinner walls, making them considerably lighter. They have a rounded shape and are currently available in pebble grey with a volume of 13 L.

Boum Pro pots are made from recycled PET and PP and silica, and are sanded by hand. They have thicker walls, are suitable for both smaller and larger plants, and are available in 3 different colours (grey, taupe, white) and 2 shapes (round, elongated). 

Yes, all Boum pots are compatible with all controllers and water tanks because they use the same connections. Pots from different product lines can easily be connected to one system. You can also combine your own pots with Boum pots. You have complete flexibility :)

In principle, any number of Boum pots can be connected to one controller. For the 32L water tank (Core) and 35L water tank (Pro), we recommend up to around 12 pots, as otherwise the tank would need refilling too often. For the 55L water tank (Pro), we recommend up to 20 pots for the same reason. 

Outdoors, a pot uses 0.5 - 1L of water per day in midsummer; indoors, it uses around 0.1L per day all year round.

Boum pots come in a range of colours, sizes and shapes.

Boum Pro pots are available in grey, taupe and white. They come as pots with a volume of 15 L or 30 L, or as balcony planters with a volume of 13 L.

Boum Core pots are currently available in pebble grey as round pots with a volume of 13 L.

If you use the system outdoors, we recommend Boum potting soil, which was specially developed for the Boum watering system. You can also use your own soil. What matters is that it makes good contact with the wicks and draws water up into the upper layers. 

If you use the system indoors, we recommend Boum houseplant soil. 

Boum potting soil is tailored to wick watering in Boum pots. Its structure helps absorb water well, distribute it evenly and keep the soil loose.

It contains wood fibres, mineral components and biochar, among other ingredients. It is also enriched with organic fertiliser, peat-free and made in Switzerland.

The soil is based on raw materials from Switzerland, including a by-product of sugar beet processing.

Boum potting soil is a substrate that we have successfully tested with most commonly available outdoor plants. 

Boum houseplant soil works for most houseplants (except succulents).

Boum potting soil comes with organic fertiliser already added. Depending on the plant, the nutrients last for 4 - 6 weeks. After that, you can top up with Boum fertiliser. The app tells you when it’s time. 

Boum potting soil is made exclusively from by-products of Swiss forestry and agriculture, is free from environmentally harmful peat or coconut fibres and contains biochar – making it very climate-friendly and good for nature. 

Boum houseplant soil is made from pumice, lava and expanded clay and is also free from peat and coconut fibres. This makes it very climate-friendly too.

All Boum soils are made in Switzerland and are very environmentally friendly thanks to short transport distances.

Boum soil is approved for use in organic farming.

We have successfully tested the watering system with many different indoor and outdoor plants. The system is particularly well suited to plants that thrive in moist soil or need a lot of water, such as fruiting vegetables, herbs or small trees.

Not at the moment. But the Boum system makes growing plants easy – and enjoyable :-).

Boum is a Swiss startup and a spin-off from the University of Bern. You can find out more about us under "About Boum" in the menu.

Boum Earth products are manufactured entirely in Switzerland using Swiss raw materials. The hardware is developed in Switzerland. We source hardware components from international suppliers.

Our soil is peat and coir-free and contains biochar for CO2 storage. The material for our Boum Pro water tanks and pots is 80% recycled and designed for a long lifespan. Together with our customers, we thus contribute to climate protection and biodiversity.

It's simple: If you are not satisfied with our hardware up to 120 days after purchase, simply send it back to us. We will then refund you the purchase price after inspecting the device. Does not apply to soil.

We provide a 2-year warranty on our hardware. If a defect occurs during this period, you can contact us in the Boum App chat. We will arrange everything else. This does not apply to soil or frost damage to the control unit.

Our products are relatively expensive to ship because they are either bulky (e.g. pots and tanks) or relatively heavy (e.g. soils). We try to absorb most of the shipping and packaging costs. We pass a small portion of the shipping costs on to our customers, as is common with larger products.