TIPS FOR PREPARING INSIDE PLANTS FOR VACATION TIME I AM CONFRONTED WITH THE PROBLEM OF CARING FOR MY PLANTS WHILE I AM AWAY. I WILL BE GONE FOR 10 DAYS AND MANY PLANTS HAVE JUST STARTED TO FLOWER. THIS IS SOME OF THE PROBLEMS I ANTICIPATE AND THE WAYS I AM PREPARING FOR THEM. WATERING BAD TIMING HERE. I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO KEPT A HIGHER THAN USUAL MOISTURE CONTENT IN THE SOIL IN THE EARLY STAGES OF FLOWERING THEN DRIED THINGS OUT TOWARDS THE LATER STAGE. THE HID LIGHTING, ALONG WITH THE VENTILATION SYSTEM REALLY DRIES THINGS OUT. COMBATING THE DRY CONDITIONS REQUIRES MY ONGOING ATTENTION. WHILE I CONSIDERED LIMITING HID TIME INTO SHORTER INTERVALS AND SUPPLEMENTING MY LIGHTING WITH FLUORESCENT, THERE WERE STILL TOO MANY RISKS INVOLVED. I HAD TO CONSIDER THINGS LIKE TEMPERATURE EXTREMES AND POWER FAILURE IN ADDITION TO HAVING THE SOIL DRY OUT. SO, THEY HAD TO BE MOVED TO A FRIENDLIER ENVIRONMENT. TEMPORARY RELOCATION I CHOSE MY SECOND-FLOOR BEDROOM AS THEIR TEMPORARY HOME. THERE WAS A WINDOW FACING SOUTH THAT LET IN PLENTY OF SUNSHINE THIS TIME OF YEAR. THE AREA WAS BIG ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE MY NEEDS, BUT IT WASN'T AS EASY AS JUST MOVING THEM FROM THE BASEMENT TO THE BEDROOM. THERE WERE MANY THINGS THAT HAD TO BE CONSIDERED. SHORTER DAYLIGHT HOURS AND/OR REDUCED LIGHT/OVERCAST CONDITIONS I AM USING FLUORESCENT LIGHTING TO EXTEND DAYLIGHT HOURS AND BOOST LIGHT ON DAYS WIHEN LIGHT IS BEING FILTERED THROUGH CLOUDS. THE DRAWBACK TO THIS WAS THAT IT CAUSED CONSPICUOUSLY BRIGHT WINDOW AT NIGHT AND ON DAYS WHEN NATURAL LIGHT WAS LOW. IT WAS ENOUGH TO ATTRACT ATTENTION FROM THE OUTSIDE. A SECOND LOOK BY SOMEONE COULD MAKE OUT THE FAMILIAR SILLOUETTE OF THESE PLANTS. \t REPARING THE TEMP SITE PRIVACY THE FIRST THING I DID WAS ADDRESS PRIVACY. I COULDN'T HAVE THIS BIG BRIGHT WINDOW GLARING OUT TO EVERYONE EVERY EVENING. SO I STARTED OFF BY CLOSING THE BLINDS AND HANGING UP BLACK GARBAGE BAGES ON THE FRONT WINDOW (FACING THE ROAD). THIS WAS ENOUGH TO TONE DOWN THE ILLUMINATION AT NIGHT. THEN, I REMOVED THE WINDOW TREATMENTS AND COVERED THE BOTTOM SECTION OF MY SOUTH WINDOW WITH A LIGHT PLASTIC (LIKE 4MIL) WHITE, NOT CLEAR. I DID THIS FOR TWO REASONS. THE FIRST ONE IS THAT IT SUFFICEINTLY BLURRED THE VISUAL COMING IN FROM OUTSIDE THEN I ARRANGED THE PLANTS WITH THE SHORTER ONES STARTING CLOSEST TO THE WINDOW. FINALLY, I PRUNED EACH PLANT AND ALSO HAD TWO OBJECTIVES IN MIND. AS IT RELATES HERE, I WANTED TO MAKE IT HARDER TO IDENTIFY FROM OUTSIDE. SUNSHINE WITH SUPPLEMENT LIGHTING RELYING ON SUNSHINE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR POSES ME WITH A FEW PROBLEMS. CONSECUTIVE DAYS WIHERE THE PLANTS ARE IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT WILL HASTEN THE LOSS OF MOISTURE IN THE SOIL. THE PLASTIC OVER THE WINDOW SHOULD HELP MODERATE THIS PROBLEM. OF COURSE, IT ONLY HELPS BECAUSE IT FILTERS LIGHT – KIND OF CONTRADICTS MY USUAL OBJECTIVE CONCERNING LIGHT, BUT WHAT CAN I DO? I WILL TELL YOU WHAT I DID. AT THE BASE AND ALONG THE PERIMETER I INTEGRATED LIGHT USING A FEW 100W (65W) COMPACT FLUORESCENTS, A CLAMPLIGHT OR TWO, SOME VARYING SIZES OF TABLE LAMPS. I THEN DOUBLED UP THINGS WITH A HANDFUL OF INEXPENSIVE DUAL SOCKET ADAPTERS THAT ALLOWED EACH LAMP TO HOLD TWO BULBS. OVERHEAD, I ATTACHED THREE 500 WATT FLUORESCENT FLOOD LIGHTS TO A SIMPLE RIG MADE FROM SCRAP BOARDS I HAD ON HAND I ATTACHED THE TWO OUTSIDE LIGHTS USING THE ROTATING WALL MOUNTS THAT CAME WITH THEM. I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST THE HEIGHT OF THE RIG TO THE PERFECT DISTANCE AND SUSPENDED IT FROM THE TWO LARGE HOOKS IN THE CEILING AND HEAVY DUTY CHAIN (WARNING: I GOT HELL FROM MY WIFE FOR THIS). FOR EVEN GREATER ADJUSTMENT VERSATILITY, I MODIFIED THE CENTER LIGHT TO FUNCTION IN A CHAIN-LINK ADJUSTABLE SUSPENSION SYSTEM TO BETTER ACCOMMODATE SHORTER PLANTS. RETAINING H2O AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, I HAVE BEGAN THE FLOWERING CYCLE. AS A RESULT, I A FEW MALES HAVE BEEN EXPOSED AND REMOVED. LIKEWISE, A FEW FEMALES HAVE BEEN REVEALED. THE PRESERVATION OF THE KNOWN FEMALES IS PARAMOUNT. TRANSPLANTING INTO LARGER CONTAINERS. IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE LOGIC: A GREATER SOIL VOLUME WILL HOLD WATER LONGER. SO ALL KNOWN FEMALES CAN NOW STRETCH THEIR LEGS IN LARGER CONTAINERS WHILE I AM GONE AND HOPEFULLY THEY WILL RETURN THE LOVE WITH BOUNTIFUL AND POTENT BUDS WHEN I GET BACK (OR SHORTLY THEREAFTER). LAST DAY: SAYING I LOVE YOU WITH WATER. YES I PLAN TO SATURATE THE SOIL BEFORE I LEAVE. HOWEVER, I AM NOT GOING TO DUMP A GALLON OR TWO TWENTY MINUTES BEFORE I LEAVE. I HAVE DECIDED TO ADMINISTER WATER GRADUALLY OVER THE DAY. I CANT SAY WHETHER IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE-BUT I HAVE LEARNED TO TRUST MY INSTINCTS. ADVICE FROM THE WISE IS ALWAYS WELCOME. I AM LEAVING LATER TODAY, BUT WILL BE CHECKING BACK BEFORE I GO. I WILL ALSO POST PICS IF TIME PERMITS. PS ANYONE HERE FROM JAMAICA?