I just wrote about expanding your indoor hobby outdoors. I know like me, many gardeners grow both indoors and out. I have to travel a lot during the summer and I have gardens in a couple of the places where I visit each summer. This means sometimes I can only tend to my plants once a month. Does anyone know ways to keep plants watered and fed over periods of time... like if you go on vacation for a week or more? Maybe even advice for people like me that have to plant plants and leave them much of the summer until they are harvested when I come home.
I use compost, recycled potting soil mix from my indoor garden over the winter, vermiculite and other organic mixes like coir in my garden to help plant roots hold water and this mixture helps plants through droughts as well.
I want to have a contest for the best answer to this question;
What is a trick you have successfully used to help keep you plants watered and/or supplied with nutrients for long periods of time?
Send your answer to me at askthedoctor@htgsupply.com The best answer(s) will be featured on the blog and you get a 10% off next purchse coupon from HTGSupply.com .
(I have multiple coupons so runners up win as well.)
Good Growing,
Dr. E. R. Myers
4/9/10
Start an Outdoor Crop Indoors for Best Results
(I have written about starting plants inside for the outdoors before)
I actually started growing indoors to compliment my outdoor love of gardening. Living much of my life in northern areas of the USA I was always eager for spring so I started it early on my window sill as a child and eventually in a closet with a grow light later. I always will grow outdoors, it is the way of nature, but growing indoors has its benefits as we all know.
One real trick to starting plants indoor early is that you need to harden off your plants before putting them outside. Hardening off plants is the process, where you are preparing plants started indoors for the environmental conditions outdoors. If you don’t allow plants to harden off, they will be negatively impacted by UV light and other environmental stressors like wind, rain, and nighttime coolness. In other words, if you are not careful your plants will die days after you put them outside. The process of hardening off plants involves a transitional period in which plants are left outside in protected areas for short durations that get longer over time. You want them to get exposed to sunlight gradually over a week or so.
EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU CAN NOT HARDEN OFF YOUR PLANTS, there are a few things you should do to help your plants survive and thrive outside. The first is to have a fan on your plants. Of course this is just good growing, providing ventilation to maximize growth; but you should for several minutes each day put the fan(s) on high so the plants wave and bend. This will have the plants grow strong stems so they can handle wind, rain, and hail. It is also good to expose your plants to direct sunlight sometime when they are growing. If you don’t want the hassle of taking several plants in and out of the house each day, the least you should do is when they are very small, (seedlings) put a lot of plants on one flat and put it out for a few minutes each day until the plants are too big to take out in one trip. It would be best to gradually expose the plants to sunlight right before you put them outside, but if you can’t do that try to get them a couple hours (no more) of direct sunlight as they are growing. You should also transplant your plants outdoors on over cast days, multiple over cast days with drizzle is best. Hot sunny days are BAD.
Always water your plants well when you transplant as they will be stressed with the transplant. Try to disturb the roots minimally, if the roots are in the shape of the container break them up a bit so that they grow out and down and not around each other. Gently pack the soil around the roots. A trick I learned was to fill the hole ½- ¾ full then pull the plant up by the stem an inch or two (These are one month old strong stemed plants, not seedlings). This will make sure any loose roots are pointing down. Then, as with any transplant make sure the soil is firmly packed around the plants so there are no air pockets. I like to put the soil around the plants so that it drains toward the stem to increase water getting to the plant. However, for some plants you will want to mound the soil so that it drains away from the stem (fungus problems). If you are not sure, try both and other combinations to find the best one. If you have plants that are several inces or bigger you should have dug a hole at least twice as wide and deep as the container (minimal for good growing). If you are growing an annual you can dig a hole and fill it with potting soil, compost or other amendments. If you are a dirt grower like me you can just mix your usual indoor mix with the outdoor stuff. (Or ditch the outdoor soil and grow in 100% indoor mix the plants won't be limited by a container) If you just want to add something to some decent soil, worm casting and other organic nutrients are good to add because they provide nutrients with minimal risk of harming the plants. Chemical fertilizers are usually not good to add to the soil, they are usually dissolved in water and applied. If you put chemical fertilizer in with the soil you risk burning (and killing) your plants.
If you can take care of your plants often, you should water them and give them fertilizer often to enhance their growth. If you can’t attend to your garden often you should water and give them fertilizer minimally. If you water a plant a lot it will have a shallow root system but more above ground growth (higher yields). BUT, if you water a garden a lot for a period and then stop, the shallow rooted plants have a greater chance of dying due to lack of water. Vermiculite or organic mixes like coir will hold water and help plants through droughts as well as help drain water in wet times.
I wish you a successful summer full of outdoor good growing!
Dr.E.R. Myers
I actually started growing indoors to compliment my outdoor love of gardening. Living much of my life in northern areas of the USA I was always eager for spring so I started it early on my window sill as a child and eventually in a closet with a grow light later. I always will grow outdoors, it is the way of nature, but growing indoors has its benefits as we all know.
One real trick to starting plants indoor early is that you need to harden off your plants before putting them outside. Hardening off plants is the process, where you are preparing plants started indoors for the environmental conditions outdoors. If you don’t allow plants to harden off, they will be negatively impacted by UV light and other environmental stressors like wind, rain, and nighttime coolness. In other words, if you are not careful your plants will die days after you put them outside. The process of hardening off plants involves a transitional period in which plants are left outside in protected areas for short durations that get longer over time. You want them to get exposed to sunlight gradually over a week or so.
EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU CAN NOT HARDEN OFF YOUR PLANTS, there are a few things you should do to help your plants survive and thrive outside. The first is to have a fan on your plants. Of course this is just good growing, providing ventilation to maximize growth; but you should for several minutes each day put the fan(s) on high so the plants wave and bend. This will have the plants grow strong stems so they can handle wind, rain, and hail. It is also good to expose your plants to direct sunlight sometime when they are growing. If you don’t want the hassle of taking several plants in and out of the house each day, the least you should do is when they are very small, (seedlings) put a lot of plants on one flat and put it out for a few minutes each day until the plants are too big to take out in one trip. It would be best to gradually expose the plants to sunlight right before you put them outside, but if you can’t do that try to get them a couple hours (no more) of direct sunlight as they are growing. You should also transplant your plants outdoors on over cast days, multiple over cast days with drizzle is best. Hot sunny days are BAD.
Always water your plants well when you transplant as they will be stressed with the transplant. Try to disturb the roots minimally, if the roots are in the shape of the container break them up a bit so that they grow out and down and not around each other. Gently pack the soil around the roots. A trick I learned was to fill the hole ½- ¾ full then pull the plant up by the stem an inch or two (These are one month old strong stemed plants, not seedlings). This will make sure any loose roots are pointing down. Then, as with any transplant make sure the soil is firmly packed around the plants so there are no air pockets. I like to put the soil around the plants so that it drains toward the stem to increase water getting to the plant. However, for some plants you will want to mound the soil so that it drains away from the stem (fungus problems). If you are not sure, try both and other combinations to find the best one. If you have plants that are several inces or bigger you should have dug a hole at least twice as wide and deep as the container (minimal for good growing). If you are growing an annual you can dig a hole and fill it with potting soil, compost or other amendments. If you are a dirt grower like me you can just mix your usual indoor mix with the outdoor stuff. (Or ditch the outdoor soil and grow in 100% indoor mix the plants won't be limited by a container) If you just want to add something to some decent soil, worm casting and other organic nutrients are good to add because they provide nutrients with minimal risk of harming the plants. Chemical fertilizers are usually not good to add to the soil, they are usually dissolved in water and applied. If you put chemical fertilizer in with the soil you risk burning (and killing) your plants.
If you can take care of your plants often, you should water them and give them fertilizer often to enhance their growth. If you can’t attend to your garden often you should water and give them fertilizer minimally. If you water a plant a lot it will have a shallow root system but more above ground growth (higher yields). BUT, if you water a garden a lot for a period and then stop, the shallow rooted plants have a greater chance of dying due to lack of water. Vermiculite or organic mixes like coir will hold water and help plants through droughts as well as help drain water in wet times.
I wish you a successful summer full of outdoor good growing!
Dr.E.R. Myers
4/4/10
E-mail -- LED vs HPS
Hello Dr. E.R. Myers,
I would like to thank you for taking the time in providing everyone with all the knowledgeable information that is posted on HTGSupplysaskthedoc. I read your posts more then the daily newspaper. I am new when it comes to ordering from HTG Supply but I am quickly becoming a loyal customer.
My question is...
Which would you (personally) use between a 90 Watt UFO LED or a 400 Watt HPS for flowering? I am torn between the two. I know there are pro's and cons to both but am I just going to be disappointed if I try to flower with a 90 Watt UFO LED? The area (enclosed) where either light will be used is 4' x 4' x 7' feet tall. Also, what is the minimum and maximum square foot coverage you would use for both?
Hope to have a reply from you soon and thanks for all the input you provide
Hello,
Thank you so much for the kind words. I really hope I am helping people be better growers. I know I am enjoying hearing and learning from people like you. The best compliment is telling a friend. (I read that at my dentists office)
I personally would go with the HPS for flowering. I should say I am just getting into using LED's and have used HPS's forever. I will be writing about LED's in the next few posts. ( Link to first part of LED test) I know you can grow plants with the triband from HTGSupply.com but an HPS would be better if you can handle the heat. LED tend to have a more focused light, meaning it comes straight down. the HPS if it has a good reflector will bounce MORE light around a LARGER area.
If you have issues with heat, or electricity usage (400w vs. 90w) then you should go with the LED (or maybe two in that area which still has less heat and electricity usage). Otherwise I think you will be very happy with a 400W HPS in a 4x4 space. You do have some sort of ventilation to get rid of the heat right? If not, you may want to think about a 250 W HPS. I think even this would be a bit better than one 90 W LED for flowering. Even leaving the door to the closet/grow room open with a fan when the light is on should be enough to keep the temperature below 100F (which is when most plants are very stressed). With the 7 feet of height you can keep an HPS a few feet above the plants. You could grow short plants and keep the HPS further away (use mylar etc.) and this may keep the temperature by your plants down. If the HPS is too close you will see the closest part of the plant turn brown, due to heat stress. If you can, buy a thermometer with a Min. Max feature and make sure the temperature by the plant tops (closest to the light) does not go over 100F. The 90's are a bit high but ok. Ideally you want the day (lights on temperature) to be in the 80's and night in the 60's for most plants. I hope this helps.
Please read my latest post about LED vs. HPS
Good Growing,
Dr. E.R.Myers
p.s. In general you want at least 1000-1500 lumens per square foot, and you can go up to 3000 lumens per square foot.
4/1/10
April fools
I wanted to run a post that said HTGSupply.com will give the first person to E-mail me a 1000 dollar shopping spree. But, a lawyer said that I could not because, “Some jerk might sue” for lying, misrepresentation, you name it. All because they do not have a sense of humor and understand an April 1, 2010 (Fool’s) joke.
So, to everyone but that jerk (Who I am not speaking to, ever), HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S there is NO PRIZE
Keep the E-mail"s coming. I enjoy hearing from you!
Dr. E. R. Myers
So, to everyone but that jerk (Who I am not speaking to, ever), HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S there is NO PRIZE
Keep the E-mail"s coming. I enjoy hearing from you!
Dr. E. R. Myers
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