Drought: How do you deal with it?

Dry Dry Dry thats the only way to describe the month of june, I had less than 1/10 th inch of rain in the past 34 days. Sitting here around 90degrees X 31 degrees, I'm fortunate to have a creek to haul water from to my grow. Everyone knows that when you are watering for this length of time you are only keeping your plants alive... OOO yea there is new growth but if you let it grow and grow the more water it demands and the greater chance your plants will wilt and die if they dont get plenty of water.. Large plants, mine were approaching 5', now I have cut them back to under 3, but I am cutting back every 2 weeks. With my growing season lasting till october or early november I know they will grow out and make plenty of bud. Hauling nearly 50 gallons every 3 days is killer work for us in the geriatric group.. I had a pump system but all the ponds near my grow have gone dry. Generally speaking dry weather, or having to deal with drought is, I personally think, the worst scenario for us outdoor growers... I always say, lest we forget this is just a weed we are dealing with, but when I see all the wild weeds, bushes and underbrush dying out, I know its just not good for my "wild wood weed"

Have you tried water crystalls or Newspapper shreds to hold water? Hauling 50 gallons does suck alot. What about making a reservoir and covering it with a tarp.

yeah you should try a reservoir, I grow within comfortable distance that I can take water to my plants everyday but that doesnt mean I like to. This is really the start of the monsoon season for us so we get pretty heavy rain on and off and as soon as August hits we really start getting it. Just the other day though I got rubbermaid container this it looks exactly like this and I took the top off and put a camo t-shirt over it and then set it up outside in the bush where its well hidden. This way when it rains the water collects in the tub and the t-shirt will filter stuff out and make sure no animals fall in it and die. Then when I need I go and collect water from it and water my plants, so far its working great.

What I've done in past years (haven't had to use it this year, i'm getting too MUCH rain) was rig up a hose (or two) to an automatic timer. The hose was connected to a simple pump in a 3.5ft reservoir I dug. The hose had pin pricks spaced evenly along the length of it supplying a light watering to the plants. In total it shouldn't run you more than 50 bucks and a couple hours of digging. The link below has something similar to what you'll want for your timer.

http://www.berryhilldrip.com/GardenAcces1.htm

Shoulda been out there digging in January when it was raining, the soil was soft, and no one was out on the trails. Find a spring. Fill a bunch of reservoirs. Install your plumbing. Use water crystals and vermiculite when planting. Mulch the surface. There are electric pumps that will pump water out of a creek. Check out backcountry's thread.

Maybe I was looking for a shoulder to cry on......naaaaa redneck potheads dont cry.. Seriously, the mulching, watercrystals, vermiculite, are all good suggestions however we arent talking one or two plants,,,,, I need 4 or 5 lbs, for me, the wife and one friend and his wife. Thirty plants all clones started out looking great, however one plot had 6 now down to 3, another with 8 plants now has 6 I think that makes 25.... and still 4 months to go.. I have 4 that are in pots 3 gal. that will be transplanted to 5 gal this weekend and go under a 400 watt hid. from those plants I will clone maybe 10 more to get in the ground late july depending on the weather and rainfall... with a little luck I will go to Thanksgiving before we have a frost. I prune the tallest, newest growth when ever I water, kinda depressing to cut tops and not root them. I'm glad the growing season is very long. These are all sativas, I've been doing some breeding using good pollen and clones from some really good stock that produces well and when cured packs a real body slam. Anyone have experience in handling really dry conditions??? thanks all

I dont understand any of this lol. So you cut the new growth as in they stay relatively the same size in a month? Why dont you just grow them indoors and them put them out during flower? 25 plants is not a lot. Last year it only took about 2 days of hard work to prep a 20 plot.

Toker, sorry you dont understand, I was "mental" when I wrote the last post, I understand me perfectly, lol. I cut away the newest growth trying to keep my plants alive. I am talking serious dry weather. My grow room would have to be very large to take care of 25 plants 5' tall and 3 or 4 ft in diameter.. I have my grow on private land that has very little public access. I do try and keep my activities as undercover as possible but the outdoor grown smoke is so fine.. I will finish some plants under the light but the primary reason for growing under lights will be to have more clones to put outside. I guess I am addicted to growing pot not just smoking pot... there's a 20% chance of rain for sunday july 2, I have even been tempted to give the pastor at my church a blank check, signed and ready to cash if he can pray for rain...lol.

Back when there was a really bad drought like no rain for 3 months, I got some anti-transpirant called wilt-pruf. It stops plants from loosing water by coating them with a film. Use a low rate. It may, however, slow their growth.

Gobbler we had a very dry season last year. Hauling water was unavoidable. Although I don't consider myself in the geriatric catagory yet, the job took the wind out of my sails every week.

My plants not only survived....they flourished on 5 gallons every two weeks, while the surrounding vegitation went dorment or died.

In my opinion, the new growth is helping them develop bigger root systems, in search of ground moisture, A good deep watering, will force the tap roots to follow the moisture down deeper into the soils surface, increasing thier chance of survival and finishing. One heavy watering every two weeks, is better than multiple light waterings several times a week.

Cutting them back is not the answer to your problem and it may even be making the plant work harder to survive.

I also like to cover the ground around my roots with with any type of cover that will minimize the evaporation of the water at the soils surface when the sun is pounding down. Leaves, tree bark, and dead vegitation reduce the amount of moisture removed from the soil surface through evaporation.

You can set a watering schedule where you only water half your plants every week, reducing your weekly work load to half. You'll be surprised how long a 5 gallon pail of water per plant will keep them alive and growing even in the driest conditions.

Once the root system gets deep into the ground, those plants will find moisture that you wouldn't suspect was there, by the surface conditions.

Her's a couple of pics of some Ducksfoot and AK-47 that grew just fine in the drought of 2005. They recieved one 5 gallon pail of water every two weeks.

Note: the surrounding vegitation is mostly brown and dying from lack of water, and the ground was hard as concrete.





You'll be surprised how little water MJ can survive and flourish on when a healthy root system has been established.

good luck and stay safe.

^^ Cpt. Skunk knows his shit. i would add that the best time to get the water to your plants is during the night, this allows far more water into the root systems than during the day-time, in such dry and heat conditions as you have described, a considerable percentage of water flushed into the soil will evaporate.
droughts suck! they are the worste...
peace and good luck.

Looks like the drought has ended, I got 1.25inches of rain today. The rain was a bit late for a total of 7 plants, these were in soil that was too sandy, all surviving plants now have additional soil around the base of the plants, and a second circle of dirt to hold in the water that hauled in on sunday. While I was filling in around my plants I pulled several limbs down and covered them with soil, they should root in a few weeks. Thanks all for all the advice most times I just want a few heads to bounce off what I am doing... Toker, Cap. Skunk thanks again... Cap, on the plants I cut back I see no adverse effects, you are so right in the amounts of water they need, large plants with nice healthy roots can survive with little water, and PasVerde, you got it bro, late evening watering does alot more good than cooking your plants by watering in the noon day sun. Maybe one day I will have balls enough to post a pic or two. Feeling so much better now that I am soaked to the skin...

this is what the drought here has caused the spot where last year a few plants grew and fully matured:






last year it looked like this:




peace

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=106606

Hi gobbler
From this thread i learned the secret. It is true that pouring water on top of the ground to water your plants is futile during drought as less that 20% of the water you pour on the ground actually helps the plant. The majority of the water is evaporated by the sun as it is laying on or near the surface, or the moistue is immediately sucked off to the surrounding dry soil.

After reading that thread, I now bury a small plastic bottle next to my plant with holes in it. I pour the water in the bottle(nutes too) and it drains into the soil in the root area and below the surface where it doesnt evaporate. This reduced my water usage by 300%. I moved from using 2 gallons of water per plant every 2 days during the driest period with poor results, to using 1 gallon every 3 days pouring the water in the bottle and the plants never wilted. The difference is amazing.


That thread has changed the way i grow. Threads by Backcountry are also very helpful.

check out 'the no work garden book' by ruth stout... The stout system is simple, mulch! and mulch thick 6-8 inches....... many people love the stout system and swear by it.
not only does it help plants through drought, but feeds top soil and keeps weeds at bay.

Here at our country, we can buy Agrogel, granules such as in baby diapers, that can hold quite some water and can save you some time...depending on how much you add to soil. I'm sure there are multiple products at any gardening stores that can help you . Orelse you can buy some diapers and take them apart and use that granules for other activities

some of us have been fighting this problems for manymany years and are way beyond making "suggestions". After loosing crops and testing and trying many different methods over many crops, we've learned there are somethings that are concrete facts.

Any approach at getting moisture to your plants that involves pouring water on the surface around the plants is useless and ineffective in every single case and condition with only 1exception and that would exist only where a grower has the capacity to supply all of the plants moisture needs during extendeded dryness. We have measured that amount for a 7' plant to be 2. 5 gallons per day, every day, 7 days a week until significant rain returns. The reason that amount seems high is because the plant only recieves approximately 20% of the water that was applied to the surface around the plant. The rest is lost to evaporation and leeching. Water crystals work great in container or where there is just short periods of dryness but offer no significant relief in seriously dry conditions


Mulch decreases the rate of soil evaporation by 75% or in real terms, it extends moisture to the plant for an additional 4 days when compared to an unmulched plant. Drought indicates weeks of dryness. Mulch is helpful as part of a watering plan, but its effectiveness is only at the margins.

Water crystals are also only effective on the margins. where severe to moderate drought exist. I would challenge anyone dealing with dry conditions to dig 4 holes. Fill 2 holes with water crystals in the soil and make no modifications to the soil in the other 2 holes. Plant 4 plants. As the ground becomes drier, you will discover that there is no discernable difference in the amount of water required among the 4 plants and that there is no difference in the time between the need for waterings . Weve had years to test it. I know what the results are.


There simply is no alternative. If you have serious drought or dryness and dont distribute your moisture below the surface of the soil where it doesnt evaporate then you are wasting your time and effort. Period. Ive been there too many times.

thanks for the info ds toker....

do you use the water collar method (like silver backs?)
can you tell me how thickly you mulched?

I dont use that particular design because i found what i feel is the easier, cheaper way but the basic idea of delivering the water below the surface delivers results unequalled by an other method. It increases water efficiency many times over just pouring it on the ground.

About 1' from my plant, i bury a Poweraid bottle or a G2 bottle with holes punched in the bottom. The top of the bottle is even with the surface of the soil. When i water, i just scrape the mulch away, open the top and pour in water and nutes. Put the top back on, mulch back over and that will provide more moisture for your plants than pouring several gallons on the surface.

There is some good info on this site and that thread is a good example. Its made watering in drought doable where it really wasnt before. Backcountry has some good threads on watering.

What many dont know and you really need to know is that cannabis maturation slows and even stops as moisture is reduced. 4 weeks of very dry weather without providing moisture will delay flowering by weeks. If the plants get too dry, even though it may not be wilted, it has stopped maturing and wont resume that path until adequate moisture is provided. If they go 2 weeks without moisture, add that to your finish time. IVe witnessed that effect in at least 6 or 7 strains so i think its a univeral law where cannabis is concerned.

im going to give this a spin, this year... thanks for the heads up.
those power aid bottles hold about a pint of water, correct?
is there a reason why the only holes are punched in the bottom? i guess the water just slowly seeps out and downward... sorry for the pesty questions