Watering while Away?

[Nitro1990]

im going away at the end of july for 11 days i need a way to keep my plants alive while im away i have about £20 to find away to keep them alive any ideas? looking for something/anything that will work reliably for the 11days i have containers that i can fill with water so some sort of auto water set up

Growing in soil
under cfl's

 

[thegreensurfer]

do a root trim and transplant into much larger container, water very well, raise the light a bit. ive put plants into a suspended state for 2 weeks doing this

 

[cannabis420420]

this will help you out buddy http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/mist2.shtml

 

[el hefe]

just set up a simple drip system, gotta do the same for a 2 week kayaking trip coming up

 

[Nitegazer]

this will help you out buddy http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/mist2.shtml

I use this regularly and it works like a charm.

 

[Dr. Bigbud]

Get a digital timer that can turn on then off for at least 1 min. Hook it up to some black plastic tubing capped at one end. Hook up 1/4 inch line to the tubing to go to each of your plants. Play with it to get the time needed to be on for it to water each plant sufficently every other day or every 3 days. Put the pump in a rubbermaid reservoir that will hold enough water to last the time u wish to be away. Same thing as the 80 dollar automatic plant waterer but for about 30 bucks.

 

[Nitro1990]

Get a digital timer that can turn on then off for at least 1 min. Hook it up to some black plastic tubing capped at one end. Hook up 1/4 inch line to the tubing to go to each of your plants. Play with it to get the time needed to be on for it to water each plant sufficently every other day or every 3 days. Put the pump in a rubbermaid reservoir that will hold enough water to last the time u wish to be away. Same thing as the 80 dollar automatic plant waterer but for about 30 bucks.

this seem to be more on my budget thanks dude

 

[mrmadcow]

want cheap? a 5 gallon bucket w/ a cotton strip or string going to each pot. water will wick up the string & work its way to the pot. you will have to experiment w/ size of string or strip of cloth to figure out how long the water will last but you have 2 months. lowering the amount of light will slow growth & water needs as well.I used to run a small closet w/ a 150 hps and several CFLs, removing the hps gave me 10 days till plants started to droop compared to 5 days w/ all the lights.

 

[cannabis420420]

I use this regularly and it works like a charm.

very nice

 

[OneHit]

what about with a hydro system?

 

[NoGutsGrower]

http://compare.ebay.com/like/350360199606?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y

I use these water globes when I leave for more than 5 days.

 

[BBYY]

what about with a hydro system?

Wouldn't you have the hydro pumps on a timer already?

 

[Nitro1990]

i dont use hydro

i use spray bottles and measuring cups to control water intake

 

[OneHit]

Wouldn't you have the hydro pumps on a timer already?

I use DWC and they drink like 1/2 - 1 gallon a day. Just wondering how I can refill the res

 

[cannabis420420]

what about with a hydro system?

it should all ready be set on a timer watering system and everything if its hydro

 

[MidnightJoker]

http://compare.ebay.com/like/350360199606?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y

I use these water globes when I leave for more than 5 days.

I am going away for 8 days so I am in the same situation. I was lucky enough to come across this thread and needed advice on how to water while away. These are the perfect solution and cheap too!

 

[BadAndy]

http://compare.ebay.com/like/350360199606?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y

I use these water globes when I leave for more than 5 days.

This was the answer i was gonna give ya also. Prob the best suggestion on your low budget requirement. +rep NGG

 

[vradd]

ill vouch for the water wicking method.
find a large enough container you can fit all your pots in, then find a big hard plastic bottle that doesnt flex easy. poke a hole in the bottom of the bottle (slightly bigger than a pencil size hole) and shove a cotton ball in the hole so that its half way inside and outside of the bottle. then fill the bottle up with water and fill up the container so that the water level is slightly higher than where the hole in the bottle is.

the concept of this is just like those automatic dog/cat water bowl feeders in that the bowl will auto refill once xx amount of water has been removed from the drinking bowl. another example of concept are like those huge water cooler dispensers at offices. you know how when you fill up your water cup huge gulps of air bubbles chug through the water chamber same principles apply.

if your pots have holes in the bottom, as long as they are slightly sitting in water the soil will wick up the water needed. normal 2L soda bottles wont work since they flex, so you have to find bottles that are harder than those.