Self watering pots

[asspirate]

Hello all, I am thinking about buying a pack of these for my plants that I will be growing in my attic soon. What do you all think of them? and will I not have to check up on my plants for a week at a time?

 

 

thanks everyone

[WantDaChronic]

they are good, but only to a certain degree if you are using soil or coco it will gradually soak up the water giving it to the plant, but if you are using perlite, clayballs, etc. then the roots will need to be extremely close, if not in the water to get the maximum effect and that can raise all sorts of issues like root rot

 

personally i think you are better off using normal pots with the trays that fit under them. they are cheaper than the auto-pots and they do virtually the same job but imo you'd be better off looking after your plants and giving them all the love and attention they need, you'll be rewarded with a much better crop for doing so

[bufo marinus]

I've used self watering pots with perlite and they work perfectly with good results.

I used the real basic ones from K-Mart.

You do have to pay attention to root health as WDC mentioned.

Growing in an attic will be bloody hot and unless you can keep the root temperature at or not much above 20' Celcius then most likely you will have problems. Products such as HySan and OxyPlus will help with the higher temps but need to be maintained every 3 days.

I'd be keeping out of mum and dads roof and getting my own place

[Pure]

Autopots make for a great system but you have to constantly check your feed lines are not blocking up otherwise it all becomes useless and it can't be fed , I found using 6mm hose instead of 4mm helped but you would still want to be able to watch it.

 

A basic top feed system is probably the least effort and maintanence for you , which would allow you to gap your visits a week apart ( not including any light lifting that is needed which WILL be needed ) .

 

Best option though is to get out of your folks place or wherever it is you are now if you can't grow there, because you simply can't grow in a house with someone and have them not know at all. If you lie you also risk pissing them off enough to call the police because your putting them at risk aswell as yourself. Just my 2 cents

[Gazza2001au]

ive tryed those cheap self watering pots the ones with the 3 parts that suck up the water imo there shit i used them around 10 years ago outdoors the roots grow down into the res than the res drys up drying up the roots if u keep the res filled it causes root rot as wdc said u just cant win with them

[asspirate]

thx for all your help guys. Well I have a very big attic and in the back of the attic there is a room in which you have to duck down and walk a few feet and then its a normal room. My parents never ever go in the attic and whenever they need to or need something put up/taken down from there they make me go up there. I also think I am going to buy a grow tent ( http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=51920 ), and I am going to build a bud dryer box too. So what do you guys think about the grow tent? will it help reduce smell during flowering? and will this stuff actually help http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=46122 .

 

 

thanks alot everyone

Edited September 17, 2007 by asspirate

[Pam]

thx for all your help guys. Well I have a very big attic and in the back of the attic there is a room in which you have to duck down and walk a few feet and then its a normal room. My parents never ever go in the attic and whenever they need to or need something put up/taken down from there they make me go up there. I also think I am going to buy a grow tent ( http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=51920 ), and I am going to build a bud dryer box too. So what do you guys think about the grow tent? will it help reduce smell during flowering? and will this stuff actually help http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=46122 .

thanks alot everyone

 

In my experience the odor gels don't work well at all even for common household smells. Waste of $ Better to invest in an odor sock.

As for a drying box... you have a whole attic! All you need is a fan and some line to hang the stems on!

I don't understand the tent. I thought you were going to grow in the attic... It seems to me that the attic will be like an oven and you would be better off spending on ways to keep it cool. I thought about using my attic, but it's way too hot up there without the lights!

Ok...wait a minute! You said feet! Ur in the US aren't you? You want to grow in the attic in winter! It all depends how cold it gets where U live. You'll have to block the vents in the eaves to keep the light in and the cold out... might work.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Granny

[asspirate]

yes, i live in chicago, illinois. The temps through the fall season will be ok up here. I know that the temps will not be a problem and my question was if i hang my stems in my attic will the smell seek through my whole house and my house smell like weed? ice is the strain im going to grow. I'm still waiting for the seeds from www.buydutchseeds.com

 

thanks

[WantDaChronic]

yes, i live in chicago, illinois. The temps through the fall season will be ok up here. I know that the temps will not be a problem and my question was if i hang my stems in my attic will the smell seek through my whole house and my house smell like weed? ice is the strain im going to grow. I'm still waiting for the seeds from www.buydutchseeds.com

 

thanks

good luck with the seeds and hell yes it will stink, but as long as you keep that stink factor at a constant level anyone who lives in the house should become nose deaf

[Samjana]

growing at youre parents is not a good idea for all sorts of reasons. I grow in the attic (used to) and pulled decent harvests. A bit rough in summer with high temps but ith a fully sealed room and fresh air intake from outside the house sorts that issue out. I've tried autopots and they worked well, prefer coco/perlite mix. Move to hand watering and abandoned autopots cause plants needed diff feed levels etc. Good luck