Going out of town help

NGA said:

I would think you will be able cut your wattage to a min even 100 watt bulbs just creat daylight effect that will help you'll be fine bye

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lol thanks for the quick thought.

Gorillaglue4u said:

When I was going out of town someone had suggested hanging a 2 liter upside down over the pot with a really small hole for it to drip out of

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like it.

Walter9999 said:

Have you considered sitting them "in" a water source??? You know, Heavy watering and a saucer to hold extra water while you're gone??? Their feet would be wet for longer than normal but something to consider...g/l

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quick soln.

Reesecup said:

Maybe you can ask the local law enforcement to come by and water the ladies.....

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I cant tell the cat sitter much less johnny. lol

snoeman032 said:

I went on vacation for 7 days and put three of these in each of my pots with a 2 liter bottle attached to each,When I came home The three bottles were empty and the plants were still alive, these are on amazon. $7.99 for 10 of them

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sweet!

xtsho said:

Use a wick system. Cotton rope and a something to hold water like a large plastic tote or equivalent.

https://www.wikihow.com/Water-Plants-While-You're-Away

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yeah that's a good old trick I forgot. would the fan blowing hurt this system?

T macc said:

That's a good one too.

And what size are your pots?

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Up to 5 gal.

Thanks these ideas are awesome!

How about a 2 liter bottle with a very small hole that will slowely weep into the soil. They sell things like this for house plants that are much pretty then a bottle but.

What you could do until you leave get a couple two liters and test them with different size holes and see which one will last the longest.

Just a thought is all.

A starter blumat kit can be had for like 45 bucks on amazon. All you would need to supply is a bucket do act a a reservoir. You could try a DIY solution, and it may even work perfectly, but to me 45 bucks is a small price to pay to make sure months of time and effort don't end up being wasted.

shawnery said:

How about a 2 liter bottle with a very small hole that will slowely weep into the soil. They sell things like this for house plants that are much pretty then a bottle but.

What you could do until you leave get a couple two liters and test them with different size holes and see which one will last the longest.

Just a thought is all.

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it's funny, the hole has to be incredibly small and precise. I did one so small once that nothing came out at all.

NanoGadget said:

A starter blumat kit can be had for like 45 bucks on amazon. All you would need to supply is a bucket do act a a reservoir. You could try a DIY solution, and it may even work perfectly, but to me 45 bucks is a small price to pay to make sure months of time and effort don't end up being wasted.

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I should have grown just 1 big plant then I would definitely do this. But on the other hand my goal is trying many varieties.

raggyb said:

I should have grown just 1 big plant then I would definitely do this. But on the other hand my goal is trying many varieties.

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Variety is the spice of life!

All these, and also crank up your RH to slow transpiration

Another thought is to get a single zone battery operated irrigation timer that screws onto a hose bib. Cheap at the big box hardware stores. Then either fit it to the bottom of a reservoir or faucet and run irrigation line with drip tubing.

Merlin1147 said:

Another thought is to get a single zone battery operated irrigation timer that screws onto a hose bib. Cheap at the big box hardware stores. Then either fit it to the bottom of a reservoir or faucet and run irrigation line with drip tubing.

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What happens if he's not there and it fails when open?

shawnery said:

What happens if he's not there and it fails when open?

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Flood.

raggyb said:

Growers,

I'm an indoor grower and going out of town and have no one to water. If I have ~ 1 or 2 foot high plants in veg that are normally under 800W HID, would it work to turn one light off and run only 400W and raise that up say 1 foot, and also give the plants a heavy dousing before I leave? Will they drink slower since the light is less? If they normally get watered every 3 days, will they last 8 days alone? Could they last 2 weeks?

I don't want to set up an elaborate dripping system. That sounds dreadful.

Thanks in advance,
Raggyb

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@raggyb do you have room in your space to put your plants in bins? If you can, then place your pots in bins and place a few gallons of water with 1/4-1/2 strength nutrient mix and the plants will slow down and have plenty of fluids while you're gone. I've done this before. I was vegging in 3 gallon fabric pots and used 10 gallon totes that I got from Walmart for $3 each.

mr_c said:

@raggyb do you have room in your space to put your plants in bins? If you can, then place your pots in bins and place a few gallons of water with 1/4-1/2 strength nutrient mix and the plants will slow down and have plenty of fluids while you're gone. I've done this before. I was vegging in 3 gallon fabric pots and used 10 gallon totes that I got from Walmart for $3 each.

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Fuck, Why didn't I think of that? that's brilliant! So you didn't even have to turn the lights down?

Re if it fails when open. I’ve used these for years on my lawns and garden beds without failures but I hear you. Definitely would be a concern. If I was attaching to a fauce indoors I would put the timer in the sink right at the faucet in case a leak developed. Also maybe just crack the valve to just a trickle and set it up to run longer. At the bottom of a reservoir would be if a failure occurred.

raggyb said:

Fuck, Why didn't I think of that? that's brilliant! So you didn't even have to turn the lights down?

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I didn't adjust anything else in my environment besides adding the bins.

There are those plant watering bulbs, I'm not sure how long they last. You can get them at Home Depot. You fill them up and turn them upside down and stick them in the dirt. They slowly let water out over a period of time.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Large-Watering-Stakes/1000649655

Also, someone else had posted these, if you have time to order them they would definitely be the best bet.

https://www.harrietcarter.com/products/irrigation-spikes?sku=9741&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-4r9nM7t3wIVAVqGCh3Ddg1wEAQYByABEgIqfvD_BwE

Also, what would actually work really well is the wick system. But, instead of a rope, use 2 inch wide piece of thick felt. Cut a 2 ft strip, and put one end in a full 5 gallon bucket beside your plants, and the other end down in your plants' dirt. It will easily wick that water at the proper rate for the entire time. I know for a fact that the wick will work because I've grown plants in 2 liters for their entire cycle just with that wick.

One time, I went out of town and used these plant watering polymers. I can't remember what they're called but they were sort of large size flakes that you put inside the dirt. When you water the plants they swell up and turn into like a jelly. They hold a ton of water.

Also, I would recommend getting glossy white plastic trash bags and covering the tops of your soil with that to hold all the moisture in.

Well when I go out of the city...I get a trusted person I know to stay here to look after my plants..
Always someone at my house.

Mr Blamo said:

Well when I go out of the city...I get a trusted person I know to stay here to look after my plants..
Always someone at my house.

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Yeah, of course that would be ideal, however, for a lot of us it's not doable. As part of my opsec, I have a rule that no one, absolutely no one, can know that I'm growing. If you do that, and take all the necessary precautions to prevent fire, there is no way you would ever get busted.

raggyb said:

I should have grown just 1 big plant then I would definitely do this. But on the other hand my goal is trying many varieties.

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Why are you forced to leave in the middle of a complex variety grow? Why do you refer to being "nickled and dimed" by your hobby? I'm curious about how old you are and what line of work you are in?

mr_c said:

@raggyb do you have room in your space to put your plants in bins? If you can, then place your pots in bins and place a few gallons of water with 1/4-1/2 strength nutrient mix and the plants will slow down and have plenty of fluids while you're gone. I've done this before. I was vegging in 3 gallon fabric pots and used 10 gallon totes that I got from Walmart for $3 each.

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I have left mine standing in run off and by the next day 1/2 were dead. The other 1/2 did very poorly. Thank heaven it was just a batch of clones and I still had those genetics. Cannabis usually reacts very poorly to wet feet in my experience.

If it were me I would set up a simple timed watering from a big res. Ideally I would have them drain back to the res so even if a timer failed watering wouldn't.
I would likely set up an IP camera and smart plug set up to a second pump so I could manually intervene while away if needed.
Would cost much, smart plugs are about $10 each, pumps same, IP camera can be had for $40-60

Wouldn't mind spending that if It was to ensure my crop doesn't fail.