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My seedlings are basically small plants for the most part and I have swapped many to 4" containers. My question is how can I handle watering while I am away? My options are provided in this poll I'm in zone 6a and the dates will be in the first week of May.
Ask a fellow gardener to come in and water for you. Decrease the brightness of the light to discourage drying out. Offer to do the same for your gardening friend. If you don't know anyone to ask, show a neighbor exactly how to take care of them.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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You can buy a timer for $30, and some 1/4" drip tubing and sprinklers for another $20. I have two timers for different areas and can leave for weeks and return to healthy plants. The timer I use allows for multiple watering each day, for whatever length of time you want.
My assumption is they are still to young to transplant to the ground, even by the first week of May. In total its 5 days I'd be gone. My bil has a hose timer I could hookup and set this all up on the deck, would it be ok to leave them out overnight at that point? I guess I could rigup some kind of screen to protect them if necessary.
I also have a friend nearby who is an avid gardener who would be more than willing to help keep my plants healthy.
bought one of these last year just to try it out and while the compressed media "pucks" were kind of a joke due to incomplete filling out, the actual watering system worked quite well and would easily last a week or more, though I had mine inside and outside may dry out faster due to wind and sun.
Kit comes with a bottom baffle that lifts the cells off the bottom of the tray and the cells sit on a permeable mat that wicks up the water in the bottom of the tray just enough to keep the growing medium moist. If one could find the media of the wicking mat, you could set up a tray for probably a dollar or less.
Cost $10 but I've seen them on sale for half that amount.
You can do a DIY drip by punch a hole in a ziploc bag with a needle and put in a thread. It should last about 1 week. You may have to movie it indoor to decrease evaporation.
Don't drape the stick...drape the plastic over the stick, also covering the container. The stick will help make a 'tent' of the container. It'd be like a hothouse/greenhouse.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,573 posts, read 81,167,557 times
Reputation: 57798
Quote:
Originally Posted by clutchrider
My assumption is they are still to young to transplant to the ground, even by the first week of May. In total its 5 days I'd be gone. My bil has a hose timer I could hookup and set this all up on the deck, would it be ok to leave them out overnight at that point? I guess I could rigup some kind of screen to protect them if necessary.
I also have a friend nearby who is an avid gardener who would be more than willing to help keep my plants healthy.
Seedlings can be uprooted and eaten by rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, crows, raccoons, and of course may be eaten by deer. Cats may use it for their toilet. If you have any of those in your area, I would recommend making a big "tent" of 1/2" wire screen (rabbit wire).
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