Watering when on short holiday, any McGuyver style techniques? Maybe water bottles with pin pricks?
- Thread starter willc
- Start date
GroErr
Well-Known Member
I tried that didn't work very well. In a pinch, I saw some clay watering carrots in the dollar store, similar to the Blumats but no-name obviously, they work more reliably than a pinhole in a bottle and come with adapters to use multiple bottle sizes, can fit up to a 2L (1/2 gallon) bottle.
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Skunk Baxter
Well-Known Member
Giant block of ice? Depending on how many plants you have, and the way you have them set up, could you put a block of ice in a tray or other container that has a tube attached to the bottom, run the tube to your plants, and put it on a tall table that's higher than the plant? A big enough block of ice, with some insulation laid over the top of it, would take a few days to melt.
willc
Well-Known Member
ahaha when I thought of McGyver i did actually think of ice, like when he set that bomb to trigger by the ice melting ha ha but dont think its practical
willc
Well-Known Member
going away for 4 days, I know they can last for 3 but thats pushing it. Maybe ill just set the light down to 250w instead of 550w and move them further away from the lights in the hope that the temp will be lower and they wont use the water as quick.
Skunk Baxter
Well-Known Member
Funny you should mention McGyver. The people at my old grow shop always used to call me "McGyver Guy," because of all the off-the-wall engineering schemes I used to come up with. If one of them is reading this thread, I know they'll know who I am, because this is exactly the sort of thing that made them start calling me that! Hope one of them PMs me; I hate having lost touch with some of them.... used to have some really good times, just hanging around there all afternoon playing with the dogs and talking shop.
You could also lay some plastic sheeting loosely atop the soil to retard surface evaporation. That could easily buy you a day or two right there, depending on your medium and how much the roots suck out of it every day.
You could also lay some plastic sheeting loosely atop the soil to retard surface evaporation. That could easily buy you a day or two right there, depending on your medium and how much the roots suck out of it every day.
Richard Drysift
Well-Known Member
If you are in soil & use fabric pots here's an idea that's worked for me when I left for 6 dayz last summer: get some thick trash bags to fit your pots inside...a 30 gal trash bag will fit up to a 10 g smart pot...& then just water the piss out of them until it puddles in the bottom & wrap it around the main stem with a twistie tie. Plants could go almost a week without needing water now...Bon voyage
Skunk Baxter
Well-Known Member
Fuck, why didn't I think of that? That's so much easier than my version. I forgot about the drain plugs in large coolers; a 5/8 or 7/16 hose should fit right onto that.
Bose
Well-Known Member
You did think of it you forgot the cooler thats all. Great idea by the way. Sounds like a perfect solution.
researching
Well-Known Member
Repot to larger pots, and water well. If feasible.
saiyaneye
Well-Known Member
Water well and put seal up with plastic as much as you can garbage bag tie around stem that would be best bet.
Maybe a layer of mulch to hold moisture?
I mean i water every 4 days (lots of vermiculite). How often are you watering if you are only going to be gone 3 days, I'd let it ride.
GroErr
Well-Known Member
That's a good one if you're in fabric. I'm running some fabric lined party cups right now 12/12 from seed and they wick the water well. I've been watering the tray they sit in and the plants wick it up surprisingly well. The one's I used are the rougher fabric, almost like felt which is a common material for wicks.
Skunk Baxter
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I was thinking that it would drain so slowly, the melt water would probably have plenty of time to warm up to ambient temperature (or close to it) and you won't have to worry about shocking the roots.
I remember one outdoor guerilla grow where I used to have haul in water to some of the plants, and found (for various stealth reasons) that it was actually smarter to haul in blocks of ice, set them next to the plants. What happened was, I planted in a secluded field about a third of a mile from a bicycle trail. The trail was heavily lined with trees and bushes, so you couldn't see the grow from the trail. But then halfway through the summer, they trimmed the damned brush, and suddenly anyone riding on the trail could see about 4 or 5 of my plants if they glanced in that direction. It was too far away to identify them as marijuana, but plenty close enough that they'd notice some guy standing there in the middle of a field, bending over and fussing with something. And I didn't need that.
So what I did was hump the blocks or bags of cubes in through the woods, hide in the trees until I was sure there was no traffic on the trail, then walk quickly out to the plants and drop a block of ice next to them. Then right back into the woods. I felt like a complete idiot, but it worked pretty well for one or two dry August weeks, and I wound up getting decent weight off of those girls. White widow, I think it was, and hauling in that ice every day or two during the drought saved me well over a pound, maybe a pound and a half. Very much worth the effort.
willc
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the suggestions. Although some of them sound fun I think a good soaking and then wrapped in a bin bag is my best bet at the moment. @Skunk Baxter you sound like you're one sandwich short of a picnic, but funny!
dgthumb
Well-Known Member
Just give them a little extra water then you normally do before you go. Watering more at one time isn't going to hurt, watering to often will.