How do I keep plants alive while on school breaks ?? [Archive] - Green Grass Forums

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thex420

11-20-2007, 07:43 AM

Has anyone who grows while they are in college had to leave their plants for 2-3 weeks for their christmas break ? I was wondering what you would have to do to keep a veging mother alive when leaving for an extended period of time. I would think this would only be possible in a dirt setup but if its possible using a hydro medium I would like to know that as well...

Let me know what you guys think..

Cannabic

11-20-2007, 07:46 AM

a drip irrigation system? like at walmart to keep the veggies fresh an wet

Opie Yutts

11-20-2007, 08:22 AM

I imagine it could be done with hydro or dirt. Just depends on how much money you want to spend and/or how much building you want to do.

I'll share a Mcgyver-type idea I've had for a long time, but never got around to trying it out. You could do this with any plastic container that is air tight except for a lid that can be screwed on. You could use a quart or gallon milk jug, a 5 gallon bucket with lid and gasket (I got 2 of these at Fred Meyer, I think), or even a 5 or 10 gallon plastic gasoline can. Heck, how about a 50 gallon drum? Anyway, hang it above your plant and fill it with water/nutrients, poke a very small hole in the bottom directly above your plant (or just to the side of the plant, you don't want water on your leaves with the light close by). You adjust how fast the drip comes out by tightening or loosening the lid. If it is all the way tight, no water will come out if the hole is small enough. You wouldn't have to have it directly above your plant if you want to get a little more involved and put a grommet and 1/4" hose or something in the reservoir, and run the hose to the plant. You could get a valve for the hose too, that could almost completely shut off the flow. This would be easier than trying to figure out the correct drip by using the lid. Obviously you would want to practice this rather than just turning it on and leaving town. You may need to experiment with hole size. Just another invention of mine that I will see in an infomercial 3 years from now.

Alright, enough nonsense. This is really what you came here to see:

Plants Can Survive Your Holiday (http://gardenline.usask.ca/plants/holidays.html)

Hope that gives you some ideas. Good luck. Better hurry.

PS, you could also get one of those huge plastic buckets they sell at farm stores (25 gal.?) for a reservoir and put a $7 submersible pump in it, with a drip line to your plant. You can have it on 15 minutes and off 15 if you buy a $14 timer, or you can have it off for 2 hours and on for 5 seconds, or any thing else, if you get a $135 timer called a cyclestat. And/or you can get a $1 valve to put on your line which could almost completely shut off the flow from the pump, and/or put a drip emitter on the end of the line which could also almost completely shut off the flow. Just a closing thought or 2.

PharmaCan

11-20-2007, 08:31 AM

stinkyattic

11-20-2007, 11:03 AM

I'd take the plants home or leave them with a friend off-campus.
The possibility of the school using break to fumigate and make repairs is pretty good... risking your college education to grow pot isn't my idea of a good risk to take... But that's just me.

SunnySativa

11-20-2007, 05:16 PM

The best bet would be have a really good trust worthy friend as a fall back if the drip system setup doesnt work [what i did] but before i built my little drip system [a simple one like Opie just explained] but i also have a good friend around. Anywayz i dunno what medium or how many plants your talkin about, but my first grow was one plant and i put that lady in a dufflebag and carried it to my car [for the ride home] sideways. Very risk and very very stressful on the plant, but i was despreate. Id suggest the drip system with a good friend to check up on it.

P.S invest in a $14 timer for the light then youll only have to worry about watering

thex420

11-27-2007, 06:09 AM

Thanks for the link opie, got a lot of good ideas there. I was planning on doing a hydroponic grow as my first grow, but with all the problems I have run into while trying to build a drip/aero system, I am just going ahead with dirt. Now I figure I can just lay a pump in a res and set it on my digital timer for whenever I need to water.

With the soil in mind, what does everyone recommend for a good first grow soil mix. I will be able to test and adjust ph. I do have hydrotron already purchased, would it be okay to use it instead of a vermiculite for drainage ?

Thanks all for the comments