The 3 month challenge.

[orange juice]

I'm going on a 3 month vacation and I want to keep some mothers alive with no human interaction. Best I could think of so far is to start with some dixie cups filled with coco. Then hook that up to blumat with a 50 gallon res or bigger. Weak nutrient solution and hope for no clogs (blumat isn't made to be used w/ nutes) Follow the Low Maintenance Mothering light schedule with a t5 fluorescent light about 3 ft. above.

Has anyone done something like this with good luck? What method did you use?

 

[paladin420]

I would not try dixie cups!!!! Big pot smallplant would give more cushion IME...Use low salt buildup nutes..Ionic comes to mind..a layer of Rwool would be in the bottoms of my pots....Good luck bro,3 months is a gamble!!

 

[Headbandf1]

i would be amazed for an indoor garden to last without any intervention by the gardener for 3 months

 

[paladin420]

i would be amazed for an indoor garden to last without any intervention by the gardener for 3 months

yeah that ^^^ HBf1? think you could do it?? Not sure I could..certainly not without alot of $$$$ to throw at it...I know I would not be happy to try this with my keeper Moms...

 

[Headbandf1]

No f'ing way, i leave for a week and I gots trouble

 

[Ickis]

You could take cuttings, wrap them with wet paper towel around stems, wrap in plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until you get back and then root them. I know you can do this for a month or so.

Another way would be to pot the moms so they have a wick running along the roots and curled up some at the bottom of the pot and it comes out the bottom of the pot about a foot. Then take the top of the back of the toilet bowel. Get a board that covers the top where the porcelain lid use to be. Make it overlap some on the ends for stability. Now drill a hole in the board so the wick coming out the bottom of the pot fits down through and goes into the water.

Now it will wick water whenever it needs it and the toilet will auto fill whenever the water gets below the fill line. You can even put some slow release fertilizer spikes or granules in the water so they get fed. Then just hang some cfls over them on 16-8 light cycle.

They will be ragged when you return but they might still be alive.

You could just set up a wick system in a 50 gallon container in the grow room if you thought the water would last.

I think the answer is a wick system though. No mechanical parts. Nothing to overfil or not work right. Nothing to clog.

Putting the cuts in the cold and having them go dormant might be the best. You could do both so there was a back-up plan.

 

[Headbandf1]

Ickis has modified the OP but I would listen to the man, Prolly your only hope, without help.

 

[VerdantGreen]

easiest way if you have a frost free garden outside would be to root some cuts and plant them in a secluded corner of the garden....

if you are limited to inside i would agree that a wicking system would be best - but i would stand the pots on a flat tray covered in capillary matting with the matting hanging off both ends into a very large reservoir. cover with polythene that has holes the same size as the bottom of your pots (to reduce evaporation) and make sure there are actual holes in the bottom of the pots so the matting will come into contact with the soil.
ive used this system for a week or two so no reason why it wouldnt work for a lot longer if you ensured the reservoir was big enough. set it up a few weeks before you go to make sure it runs consistently .

VG

 

[ran outta love]

Use a slow release dry fertilizer instead (ones for veg very easy to find) to avoid clogging the Blumats maybe? I see Ickis already recommended that with the wick system. No experience with anything like this but the idea has intrigued me a bit.

 

[GP73LPC]

3 month vacation, DAMN !!!!

Good luck, have fun

 

[bench warmer]

The 3 month challenge.

What paladin420 said.

The longest i successfully left things to automation was one month.

Low watt T5 or cfl side lit only.
Separate plants from lights with transparent film (shrink wrap?) stretched on frames made from 1"x2"x whatever height. Keeps plants from touching light.

In my opinion, reconsider your "no human interaction" rule.

In spite of the likelihood I'm wasting all of our time saying this... I'm just gonna go a head & say it, to hopefully be helpful:

1) Ask someone with proven gardening interests whose neither anti-pot nor a super lazy pothead type to take care of some rooting cuts for you over the 3 months. Offer the necessary instructions if required.

2) Go enjoy your vacation sampling the local buds.

3) Offer them cuts off the cuts you left with that person if they haven't already taken any yet & are interested. Also, present them with a generous souvenir from your vacation spot.

Good luck & bon voyage!

 

[cody2white]

So many great ideas in here. Goodluck and have fun

 

[paladin420]

So many great ideas in here. Goodluck and have fun

Yes sir..and the best one is: Get Some Help..pass cuts to 12 people if you must. 3 months will b a devine intervention..just sayin.

 

[Iron_Lion]

I would use freshly rooted cuts, a screen to prevent growing into the light, t5's jacked up high, a large bed full of heavily amended super soil, a 50 gal res with a cover to prevent evaporation, and blu mats.

 

[e_24]

Store as many cuts in the fridge as possible. I have heard of cuts lasting that long. Oh yeah... and hope for the best

 

[dubwise]

maybe one of those plant tissue culture kits would work out.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Ok... here's a winner.

3-4 hours of light a day plus an hour of light every 6 hours during the dark periods. What are the auto-watering buckets? Mix a res with a low nute mix that matches the low-light levels you'll be using.

The increased dark time will decrease the speed the plants grow and eat, dry out. They'll stay alive but you won't have much growth.

Make sure you set this up and run it for a month to test first... There's always the "give a bro a cut" method.

Stay Safe!

 

[TLoft13]

Jorge Cervantes recommended a gel that allowed to "freeze" the growth of a cutting in his column in SS.
Either the firm is already broke or i made a mistake writing down their homepage- growmatrix.com. Can't find a thing about them or their product. Who has google-fu?