Need some reassurance with growing in a loft

[Tsoi]

Hey all,

 

Was just thinking of vegging 1-2 plants in the loft over the summer months. Ill probably be out of the house for a couple months, yknow how it is, dont want no one stumbling upon my plants because they couldnt find the bathroom. 

 

Got a 240w quantum board but im probably gonna run it at 50-100w for about 2 months and then transfer to the tent for flower

 

I have done a couple small grows in a tent in the house for percy. Went totally fine.

 

Only 2 problems I have is that the roof of my shed virtually has zero insulation on the roof, and every month or so for some reason I get helicopters circling my area really low. 

 

trust me, theres nothing that scares the shit out of me more than the sound of distant sirens and a helicopter rumbling over your head while you think about how bad it would be to get bummed in prison.

 

Now I know its all the propaganda I watched about magic heat seeking cameras, a desktop PC runs 5-10x as hot as my lights. Even then, police arent going to bother to knock on my door over what looks like a loft light that someone had forgotten to turn off.

 

 either way my brain cant really get those thoughts out of my head for some reason.

 

This sounds really weird, but I just want some anecdotes from you guys to reassure me so I can get those intrusive thoughts out of my head while ive got my ladies above my head and im out enjoying life   

[BilgePump]

I'm just curious how you plan to maintain plants for a couple of months if yer away? 

 

[badbillybob]

heres the thing. the pigs hire those FLIR helicopters,  the ones with heat seeking ability, and theycost thousands per hour. 

they wont be looking for some bloke in his shed growing a few plants, they are looking for warehouses full. 

crack on, youll be fine

[MonkeyBlazed]

Tropf Blumats

[Tsoi]

Just now, BilgePump said:

I'm just curious how you plan to maintain plants for a couple of months if yer away? 

 

yeah messed the wording up, will be vegging them for 2 months but I wont be out of the house more than 2 weeks at a time. Got them in very big pots so if I overwater them a bit before going off they should be able to handle 3 weeks without any permanent damage easy.

 

Worst case scenario ill just turn the lights right the way down, less light, less heat, less transpiration.

[Tsoi]

Just now, MonkeyBlazed said:

Tropf Blumats

doubt ill need it as I wont be gone for more than 2 weeks at a time but great shout

[KC]

I doubt you'd get that long out of them, you might be better off looking at some automated watering system. Helicopters won't be your problem. I've grown in my loft for years with much more light than that. You'll definitely need some loft insulation though, they get stupidly hot during summer. 

[Tsoi]

Just now, KC said:

I doubt you'd get that long out of them, you might be better off looking at some automated watering system. Helicopters won't be your problem. I've grown in my loft for years with much more light than that. You'll definitely need some loft insulation though, they get stupidly hot during summer. 

 

My bad, wont be out more than 2 weeks at a time so as long as I make sure to water before heading out I should be fine. 

 

You mean insulating to keep the heat out? Just to clarify, got thick insulation under the floor, just nothing on the roof. Nice breeze though. Went up there when it was in the mid 20's last week outside and it was cooler than the first floor of the house.

[BilgePump]

Honestly if yer wet dry cycle takes more than 5/6 days in soil there's something seriously wrong or yer pots are woefully under rooted  so assuming they'll last a fortnight unattended is pipe dreaming , I'd have a look at something like the alien easyfeed system, it's probably more failsafe than autopots or blumats given you'll be leaving it for a good while and you can just get a big res/Flexi tank for longer periods.

 

Never heard of an easyfeed causing unexpected floods 

 

[Guest anarchycamp]

Any longer than a few days with hand watering and I'd want to be checking them personally. I think we are all just double checking by what you mean by gone for 2 weeks.

No matter how big the pot is,if you give it way too much water you could introduce problems, that you aren't there to catch early.

[KC]

I'd be very surprised if you could get away without insulating the loft, every loft I've been in summer has been really hot. Tiles tend to build up heat so one day might be ok, but a week of sunshine is a different story all together. My roof tiles are black which won't help though.

I can't imagine a plant going 2 weeks without water. Drowning it before you go won't do it any good either.

[BilgePump]

Greenhouse sensation quadgrow perhaps? 

Or just a kratky bucket or two? 

 

[Tsoi]

2 minutes ago, KC said:

I'd be very surprised if you could get away without insulating the loft, every loft I've been in summer has been really hot. Tiles tend to build up heat so one day might be ok, but a week of sunshine is a different story all together. My roof tiles are black which won't help though.

I can't imagine a plant going 2 weeks without water. Drowning it before you go won't do it any good either.

 

Never thought it could get that bad, even if I only run the lights at night/morning would it be too much? Also you think the breeze wont do much?

 

I was thinking of turning down the lights for the weeks that im off to reduce transpiration, have gotten away with it fine before but probably a bit smarter and safer to go with the auto-watering approach. Im not trying to go all out on an auto watering setup, you think a couple of large bottles for a drip irrigation would be enough or am i being a cheapskate?

 

What would you recommend with insulation? Would reflective film be enough or should I go about with proper loft insulation. Honestly at that point its just gonna be easier to give it a couple months until summers over. Thanks for the advice.

 

 

[Tsoi]

13 minutes ago, BilgePump said:

Greenhouse sensation quadgrow perhaps? 

Or just a kratky bucket or two? 

 

 

i was thinking growing in fabric pots, im thinking getting a resevoir and a timed water pump, or even just a couple liters worth of water bottles in the pot for a drip feeder. Should just about work out for 2 weeks right?

[BilgePump]

Fab pots dry out faster IME compared to solids.

 

Houseplant blumats might be a cheapish option rather than the dripper style blumats