Im leaving for a week...what to do?

W

weedwolloms

Member
I have to leave my lowryders for a week and im not sure what to do about watering them. ive thought about the old bucket and nylon strings to wick water to my plant but not sure if it would be consistent enough or even provide enough water. any advice?
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Here is what I did and it worked great -

I dropped a 460 gph pump into a 35 gallon trash can and hooked up a manifold with drip lines and drip sprinklers. The pump was plugged into a $20 digital timer than could turn on/off in increments of 1 minute. The real task is adjusting the individual sprinkler heads and adjusting the minutes per day and days per week to run the pump - once completed it works great.





At first I tried running loops around the plants with perforated drip line but found it much more difficult to control the rate (and they tended to clog). The sprinklers however are easily adjustable and really just drip - 4xx gph pump isn't enough to spray water.

I think this is the key component you're looking for - hydrofarm dual outlet digital timer. Can have up to I think 12 settings, you can choose single days of the week, every other day..., increments of 1 minute on/off.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CDQQ8wIwAQ
 
splifchris

splifchris

Well-Known Member
They should be fine for a week, water them real well before you go... i left mine for 6 days last year and water wasnt the issue for me... they grew real quick and got a little to close to the light and a little burned... they were fine tho... although i am in ireland with moderate temps.... you could try those water globes or make something similar...
 
machnak

machnak

Well-Known Member
If you're really wanna be safe, I've seen people use NEW sponges and cut them up, soak up in your water and put them throughout the plants...not sure how well it works.
 
ddimebag

ddimebag

Active Member
If the growing area is not too hot, they should be ok for a week, provided that you water them adequately right before leaving and as soon as you get back. I had plants survive longer than that, while stuffed into narrow plastic tubes, and packaged in boxes... cannabis plants are surprisingly hardy, and most varieties are quite tolerant to drought.
 
Mr.J420

Mr.J420

Well-Known Member
I've also had a setup similar to Gastanker, it worked great. Splifs right tho, the real problem is raising your light, they will strech making them seem to grow even quicker to get back to the light.
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Yeah... Might not be imperative for just 6 days. Really depends on the containers and temps though - my smart pots dry up super fast. Great system though if you're leaving for longer. Here's me out of town for 12 days:

Day I left:



Day I came back (12 days later) -



The next day after a good hand watering:

 
Mr.J420

Mr.J420

Well-Known Member
AWESOME!
sorry to hijack, what lights are you using there? Love the side lighting.

NVM, found it.
 
W

weedwolloms

Member
height shouldnt be much of a problem since they are lowryder and im placing my lights 20 inches above the top of the pots and dangling cfls throughout the area. hopefully everything will be fine. could i get a lil more info on your system gastanker? i will only have 3 plants going and spaced out 2 weeks apart. ive never fooled with or even seen an automated system like you have. it looks state of the art though. how much would an entire system cost and how long am i looking at to set it up.
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
weedwolloms said:
height shouldnt be much of a problem since they are lowryder and im placing my lights 20 inches above the top of the pots and dangling cfls throughout the area. hopefully everything will be fine. could i get a lil more info on your system gastanker? i will only have 3 plants going and spaced out 2 weeks apart. ive never fooled with or even seen an automated system like you have. it looks state of the art though. how much would an entire system cost and how long am i looking at to set it up.
Click to expand...
I run a 600w 4x4 tent with a ton of side lighting - half of which is 10.0 UV. My set-up without the side lighting would run you ~$700 shipped. Would take a couple hours to set-up. If you look through my 1000w xray grow (link in signature) there is a post what lists my entire set-up and where to get it.

Found it:


Ballast and sealed cooled reflector here for $320 with free shipping http://www.urbansunshine.com/index.p...ducts_id=18512

Tent here for $95 free shipping http://cgi.ebay.com/Hydroponic-Mylar...item2eb480f6f5

Bulb here for $65 + $10 shipping http://www.ezhydroshop.com/products/...tput-Bulb.html

Fan and filter combo $121 + $23 shipping http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Gro...lter-Combo.asp

Smart pots are around $3.50 a piece x 6, happy frog is $9 a bag, same nutes would run you $20 total and ducing + tape another $20.

That's $697.00 without the side lighting.
 
Mr.J420

Mr.J420

Well-Known Member
I setup my drip/ spray system like gastankers for under $100 the single largest cost being the pump, I bought all the hose, spray heads and an 8 way splitter from Home De Pot in the landscaping irrigation section.
 
Gastanker

Gastanker

Well-Known Member
Yeah, the drip itself should run you under $100. My pump was $25, timer $20, and I had the rest laying around but it's all cheap stuff that can be found at any home/garden store.
 
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