Going on vacation- what should I do with my seedlings?!

14 years ago

I am going away for 6 days. My veggies are just starting to sprout out of their soil block in the humidity domes.

I have not had to water since sowing (1 week) since the soil is sill moist.

So tonight I am going to take off the dome and put under lights. What should I do about watering this week? Should I just put some water in there and hope it is enough for the week?

Thanks so much for your help!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

flshimmer
14 years ago
Buy some grow lights, buy an automatic timer, and voila!

This has been a real life and time saver!
sandyman720
Original Author
14 years ago
Yea but how about watering?
Related Discussions
what do i do with my white oak seedlings over the winter!?!
Q
Comments (30)
If it's in a fully enclosed porch, that helps. If it's warmer in there during the day, that helps. But it can also help if you get yourself some bubble wrap and wrap the pot a few times. It's kind of the easiest and fastest ways to get a little extra insulation on a pot in the porch if you can't do more serious stuff. If the pot is small enough to fit in a cooler, that works well too- think of the styrofoam caps folks sometimes use on rose bushes to overwinter. If you get box food delivery service that has insulation in the box, that insulation works well too. Yes, you should water. But not a lot. You don't want the dirt to go bone dry, but you don't want it wet either. The plants are dormant and so don't really need water themselves, but the dirt still should be a bit moist. And pots seem to want to stay damp longer when it's cold out so you might not need to water much at all depending.
...See More
What you do when you go on vacation?
Q
Comments (9)
That's an interesting idea about the water. They do need to drink water, right? :-) I've been lucky to have neighbors who would take my feeders down after a couple of days and just empty them out so that the hummers wouldn't drink spoiled sugarwater while we're out of town. They were down for just 2 days though and the hummers came back fine when we got back. Harryshoe - I used to not know exactly what was considered spoiled sugarwater either. I kept reading/hearing that once the water turned cloudy that that was the sign that you needed to change it out. Well, I assumed that it meant that when you see cloudy floaty things that it was time. I later figured out what they mean is when the clear sugarwater (ya know, the way it looks right after you fill the feeder up) turns thicker and cloudier (not necessarily any floaties or flakes of stuff) but when it's no longer clear is when it should be changed. When it's not so hot most of mine will last about 3-4 days, this summer though I've had days where it only lasted 1 day, but normally it's every 2 days. I like doing it every 2 days now though and will probably keep that up cause I like knowing that my little winged friends are getting fresh, cold sugarwater.
...See More
should I go (family vacation)....
Q
Comments (36)
Having had a few bear encounters in my day, that whole, "They're more afraid of you than you are of them" doesn't come to mind when you're staring in the face of a 300+ pound animal. You're never sure if your particular bear got the memo. The vacation sounds like a blast to me, but I'm Ms. Outdoorsey. But I know and understand that there are folks that just don't "do" rustic and there is no sense trying to make them into something they are not, I think respecting differences is very important. Way too bad about grandma. I have to say, BF's family sounds like a pretty close bunch, which I kinda like but could also be crazy! I grew up with sparse family, so I've always wanted to be part of a big boisterous clan, but if I had one I would probably wish the opposite! P.S. I think you should make BF a teddy bear cake!
...See More
Going on vacation- what to do with cat?
Q
Comments (13)
I agree.........although some cats crave contact with humans on a regular basis, it's often with select humans and not humans in general. Cats are very sensitive to their surroundings and often do better without their humans in familiar surroundings than in unfamiliar territory with humans they do know (like visiting at the vets) or worse yet, in unfamiliar surroundings with unfamiliar people. What you may consider is to give your vet a head's up that your cat may be brought in by another party if needed and he/she has the authority to do it for care or boarding. Then let your neighbor take over. It may fly very well and he'll have no difficulties. If he does, however, he can take the cat to the vet for boarding with your prior permission. If this happens, the cat may stop eating for awhile and do their separation thing, but it would be monitored and they won't let the situation get too out of hand. The important thing for a twelve day hiatus, is that the person whom you trust to feed your cat is completely trustworthy to actually come in and do it on a daily basis. You may want to take their phone number and make a call every three days to monitor their success. I have routinely done this for my daughter and her spouse when they travel out of country, and even though the cats know me well..........they will do the hiding routine for the first couple days. So, if your neighbor is not familiar with cat quirks, remind him to check the food dish/water dish/ and contents of the cat's pan to make sure the contents of the appropriate receptacles are either disappearing or accumulating. LOL. He may never even catch sight of the cat, is what I am saying.
...See More
soinspired
14 years ago
You are definitely leaving at a critical time for your seedlings... If I were you, I'd keep the lids on them but just not tight. And, just before you leave, make sure they are nice and damp. And, either in partial sun or under your grow lights. I have to watch my seedlings daily for watering needs. They can dry out very quickly and those tiny seedlings don't last long without a little moisture. Good luck!
sandyman720
Original Author
14 years ago
The only problem is that some of them are hitting the top of the lids already!
michelelc
14 years ago
Do you have a friend who can come and water? I went away for the weekend, last weekend, and some of my newly sprouted tomato seeds didn't make it. 6 days is a long time to go without water.
keriann_lakegeneva
14 years ago
Is there any way for you to set up a wicking system.

I will try to describe one, but you can use different materials...

Take a 1020 tray with no holes and add one inch of water. Then set a baking rack in it so it sits out of the water. Then lay a piece of paper towel, cotton cord... something that will draw water, over the tray so that the ends are sticking in the water and then set your seedlings on that so that the seedlings can wick up water via the cord/papertowel... I know it is a long shot but worth a try.

The other thing I would try is getting them into bigger pots to hold more moisture.

Or setting them in a 1/2 inch of water and putting a fan on them... that would increase the chance of dampening off but you may get lucky.

Good luck, don't let it ruin your vacation : )

Keriann~
tdscpa
14 years ago
I'm still giving a neighbor free tomato plants, and tomatoes I grow when she has crop failure, for her help in watering my starts daily about 4 or 5 years ago for a few days when I had to be away due to a death in the family. That, and I can't do anything else with them.

Sell them? Ha Ha Ha! Can hardly give tomato plants away around here. I think the greenhouse tries to sell them for $1.50, but doesn't move many until they have their 6 for $1. end of season sale.

Going on vacation- what should I do with my seedlings?!

Comments (7)

flshimmer

sandyman720
Original Author

Related Discussions

soinspired

sandyman720
Original Author

michelelc

keriann_lakegeneva

tdscpa

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Going on vacation- what should I do with my seedlings?!

Comments (7)

flshimmer

sandyman720Original Author

Related Discussions

soinspired

sandyman720Original Author

michelelc

keriann_lakegeneva

tdscpa

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sandyman720
Original Author

sandyman720
Original Author