Watering experiment

[justatypn]

I had to rush out of town emergently and could not water my mounts like I'd like to.....so what I did was grabbed a long stick hung it on my bakers table and filled a pot with distilled water and hung my mounts dangling in the water. When I returned this evening the mounts had soaked up a bit of the water and were moist. Question is, my husband and I will be leaving on vacation in May begging to take my mounts but with the trip it would be better they stay home. I thought that maybe this technic would work, am wondering if these guys are left dangling for a week moist would this be to much moisture for them??? Any other suggestions on making sure my mounts are well hydrated. I grow indoors.

[aceboj]

I have to call on friends to water when on vacation and try to minimize the burden when I can, and have had great luck with this method:

Water well the last morning you're in town, then pull an adequately sized plastic bag over the mount. A drycleaner bag or bread bag works well.

Then take a good handful of sphagnum, wet it down, wring it out, and place it in the bottom of the bag. Tie or twist tie the bottom of the bag leaving the moss well below root level, poke the mount hanger through the plastic then re-hang the plant.

This will take me through a good week with no apparent impact. I grow mainly encyclias which don't mind it a little drier, but I don't think I'd let anything sit wet for any length of time.

Good luck!

Joe

[Tindomul]

Cheryl, I have long been thinking about such an eventuality. My solution. I plan to get one of Marty's Mist King Misters. I was thinking to hook them up so that the misters are supported by a pole and put on a timer, so they keep the orchids nice and moist certain parts of the day, every day. Much like my vivariums. Except these will be out in the open. Just have to think and make sure the floor doesn't get too wet.
As for you prob, I'm thinking if you dip the sticks a little bit, by the time you come home, they will no longer be touching the water due to vaproizatioin, and therefore, were watered nicely during the beggining of your trip, and had the rest to dry off nicely. Maybe thats not enough either. What about a nice timed mechanism that will automatically dunk them in the water once a day while you are gone?

[justatypn]

Am in search of a timed mechanism for daily dunking... I have a son living back home and to depend on someone else to take care of my babies the way I would like, would have to become a worry wart with that and vacation..ain't gonna happen. I have thought about the misters but than again it's all a matter of mold and mildew noting my son is highly allergic and could cause his asthma to act up. The plastic bag is an idea will give it a try on a few of the mounts and see how the plants react. A whole new meaning of sphag ~n~ bag.

[markr]

Here's an idea I've heard about - never tried it but it might work. The basic idea is to create a dripping syphon that will slowly and continuously feed your plants.

Go to an aquarium store and get some soft plastic airline tubing and an adjustable threaded tubing clamp (a small clamp with a threaded knob you can turn, might also find them at hardware stores - any small clamp that you can finely adjust and that won't loosen will do). Finally, pick up some small plastic buckets or anything you can use to make a water resevoir.

Suspend or place the water buckets above your plants somehow. Fill them with water. Start a syphon through the airline tubing and use the clamp to squeeze the tubing enough so that only a slow drip emerges from the end. Attach the end of the dripping syphon over the roots of your mounted plants.

Might take a lot of tiral and error, but it should work. All you would need to worry about is finding someone to fill the resevoirs every now and then. They'd have to be reliable because if the water level drops too low the syphon would stop.

Something to think about, anyway.

[justatypn]

Now that would work, need to put this in place; road trip to the hardware store....

Wow, lots a great information and a few weeks to work on a game plan....thanks for the imput..

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by aceboj

Water well the last morning you're in town, then pull an adequately sized plastic bag over the mount. A drycleaner bag or bread bag works well.

Joe

Do you make any hole in bag for ventilation?

[aceboj]

I have, and on other occasions haven't, with no noticeable difference in plant response. The moss of course won't stay as damp as long with ventilation.

[Shadow]

Thanks for answer. Of course, the moss will dry quicker with ventilation, but I'm too concerned that the plant will rot without air circulation. I'm thinking of building a dripping device with timer but it will cost much more money than the bag.

[justatypn]

That was my first thought Shadow weighing it all out. Have not tried the bag as of yet, but want to see what other options I have, the air circulation is a big concern.