The "I'm Leaving for a Week" Thread

[boulderrr]

I've seen lots of threads started by people who are "leaving for a week" and want to know what to do with their plants while gone. The holidays are coming up so a lot of people will probably be travelling.

My situation: I'll be gone for 6 days next week (Monday-Saturday). I have 3 plants in 6" pots. The pots are pretty small. I decided not to transplant so that I could limit their size. They've been in flowering for about 3 weeks. I currently water them every 3 days with about 14 oz. of water. The soil is pretty much completely dry by the time I water again on the third day.

What is the least harmful way to keep them hydrated while gone?

Some options I've read:

1. Water them more than usual right before you leave and allow some excess H20 to collect in the pot-trays. This way the plant can drink water from the tray when the soil dries out.

2. Aqua globes. Everyone seems to hate them though. Lots of reviews say the water just comes straight out and goes into the plant very quickly. I could see this happening with my 75% pro-mix 25% perlite mixture. Also, I've heard the aqua globe is too big for small pots. I wonder if mine are too small.

Of the above two, which will most likely cause the LEAST amount of harm to plants? Any OTHER ideas of how to keep them hydrated while gone for about a week? I appreciate any help and I'm sure a bunch of other people will too. I'll throw some rep+ around too!

 

[SayWord]

i would just say if ur gone for one week or less, you can get away with overwatering them a little before u leave and just let em be. assuming the lights are on timers or on 24/0. the soil will be dried out by the time u get back but its okay to dry the soil out every now and then isnt it?

 

[boulderrr]

i would just say if ur gone for one week or less, you can get away with overwatering them a little before u leave and just let em be. assuming the lights are on timers or on 24/0. the soil will be dried out by the time u get back but its okay to dry the soil out every now and then isnt it?

The lights are on a timer for 12/12 since it is in flowering. I'm trying to figure out how much to overwater them. Like I said, I usually give them about 14 oz. every 3 days. Think an inch of excess H20 in the little trays will do? I know this is a difficult question to answer.

 

[MisterNiceGuy]

I would love to help you but my system is automated. I live in California and visited NY for over a week with no issues using hydro on timers and a web cam to monitor progress.
What you could do is use a pump like hydro on a timer to drip feed the plants on a schedule. Prolly doesn't help you but yea.

 

[HomeGrownHairy]

I've seen lots of threads started by people who are "leaving for a week" and want to know what to do with their plants while gone. The holidays are coming up so a lot of people will probably be travelling.

My situation: I'll be gone for 6 days next week (Monday-Saturday). I have 3 plants in 6" pots. The pots are pretty small. I decided not to transplant so that I could limit their size. They've been in flowering for about 3 weeks. I currently water them every 3 days with about 14 oz. of water. The soil is pretty much completely dry by the time I water again on the third day.

What is the least harmful way to keep them hydrated while gone?

Some options I've read:

1. Water them more than usual right before you leave and allow some excess H20 to collect in the pot-trays. This way the plant can drink water from the tray when the soil dries out.

2. Aqua globes. Everyone seems to hate them though. Lots of reviews say the water just comes straight out and goes into the plant very quickly. I could see this happening with my 75% pro-mix 25% perlite mixture. Also, I've heard the aqua globe is too big for small pots. I wonder if mine are too small.

Of the above two, which will most likely cause the LEAST amount of harm to plants? Any OTHER ideas of how to keep them hydrated while gone for about a week? I appreciate any help and I'm sure a bunch of other people will too. I'll throw some rep+ around too!

Unless it's not really hot & dry, they should be good for 7 days after a good soaking watering. They are weeds!

 

[highwayman]

i'd over water and then tape a clear sheet of plastic over the top of the pot to act as a catch to get the water that evaporates so it keeps the soil moist..

 

[boulderrr]

i'd over water and then tape a clear sheet of plastic over the top of the pot to act as a catch to get the water that evaporates so it keeps the soil moist..

I wonder how much of the water is actually lost through evaporation from the soil though. Doesn't most of it go through the plant? It definitely can't hurt though. Good idea!

 

[NoDrama]

$7 timer, $10 statuary pump, $3 water line. Seal the ends of the water line and pierce holes in the line at ends, place ends in pot. Time to come on 1/day for 5 minutes and make sure they do put out enough water to give the plants a little drink. Make sure it's not too much, you don't want to drown them. Alternately you could just over water a bit and they should be finer for a week.

 

[specialkayme]

I know this probably isn't an option for some of you, as it's too costly, but if anyone is planning on going out of town frequently, like I do, you can go with an Insteon home automation timer, attached to a statuary pump and some water lines. Then by downloading a program, you can access the pump via the internet whenever you want.

BigBudBalls helped me with this set up, works good.

 

[greenleaftoker]

Man... not a problem whatsoever... Water it with a 1 Litre bottle and let it be for the week... you'll be back everything'll be normal.

One overwatering doesnt kill the plant.

 

[Serper]

I know this probably isn't an option for some of you, as it's too costly, but if anyone is planning on going out of town frequently, like I do, you can go with an Insteon home automation timer, attached to a statuary pump and some water lines. Then by downloading a program, you can access the pump via the internet whenever you want.

BigBudBalls helped me with this set up, works good.

this sounds interesting. where did you buy the setup? it can be monitored with a webcam too right?

 

[Dr. Vapenstein]

and a web cam to monitor progress.

thats a great idea! ive never thought of that one! thanks

 

[specialkayme]

Smarthome - Home Automation, X10, Remote Control, Lighting, Wireless Security has all of the products that I got. I can only assume a webcam can be included. I don't have a setup like that, but I know BigBudBalls does. He's on the road alot, so he checks the plants via the camera, and if they need water he turns on the water. Easy as pie.

 

[K1Ng5p4d3]

I would love to help you but my system is automated. I live in California and visited NY for over a week with no issues using hydro on timers and a web cam to monitor progress.
What you could do is use a pump like hydro on a timer to drip feed the plants on a schedule. Prolly doesn't help you but yea.

This right here is actually a great idea. Get yourself a water pump, and hook it up with a couple gallon bucket of water. Hook up all the hoses n everything, and then time how long it takes for the water pump to pump out the ideal amount of water you wanna water your plants with. Once you figure that out, go to home depot, and get yourself a digital 7 day timer. Set it so that 4 days into your trip, the timer kicks on, and turns on the water pump, which is hooked up so there are hoses going from the pump to your plants. Have the timer kick on the pump for a minute or two, and then have it turn the pump off. Youll have perfectly watered plants, like you never left your house in the 1st place. Automated watering. gotta love it.

 

[MisterNiceGuy]

yea if you check out my grow you can see the live cam, tis not on right now as i am working on my computer. can even timestamp and label the streaming cam.
for example

 

[gangjababy]

I left my plants for 8 days, I watered them right before I left and put the 3 gallon grow bags in a large drainage dish, which held 2 gallons and filled it to the brim. The soil wicks up the water when needed.

 

[SenorSanteria]

I lay paper towels on top of the soil to help keep the moisture in after overwatering at the last minute before I leave.

 

[rollsdc]

what site or program do you use to monitor your plants privately over a webcam

 

[joesalamon]

some really great ideas... i have left mine for a week and they were dry but quickly revived after a watering. i would be more worried about anything over a week.

 

[MisterNiceGuy]

what site or program do you use to monitor your plants privately over a webcam

I am using a program called ActiveWebcam, look it up. It costs money but us internet people have our ways =)