Update:
Rolling into the end of week 5 and sad to say disasters have struck. My kids are on Summer holiday from school. This has made tending my loft garden rather difficult to say the least. Yesterday I had a narrow window when the family was out and I was not at work. A quick scramble up the loft and I find my water reservoir (HMA filtered water fed via blumats) bone dry.
The plants looked as if one more day would have been their last.
So duty bound I filled the tank and made my humble apologies to the plants. An unavoidable problem solved none too soon. The old wives tale of trouble happening in threes reared it's ugly head again. As I tucked into my bed for a peaceful nights sleep I was awoken by my wife informing me that the ceiling in our bedroom was dripping water.
Once I established that I was not having a nightmare I explained to the wife that our roof must have a leak. So as is expected of me as a husband up into the loft at 2:00am I go, explaining to my other half how dusty and spider infested it is up there.
Upon investigation I realise that the reservoir has completely emptied through the plant pots filling the trays they sit in and spilling out onto the floor. Somehow despite my judicious use of pond liner the water has found a way to ruin my night's slumber. My only course of action was to poke a small hole in the ceiling to allow drainage into a bucket. Needless to say I did not sleep at all after that. Thanks to the rain that seems a constant here in the U.K. my wife was satisfied with my explanation (or I am living in denial).My after action report will state that not only had the soil dried out but the Blumats must have also. I assume this caused the valves to stay open.
Fortunately for me the wife is off to a music festival this morning with the girls and will be away for several days. As I sat with my morning coffee stroking my beard and pondering my narrow escape. I thanked providence that my worries were over. I decided to once again return to the loft and assess the damage. Low and behold disaster number three made its unwelcome appearance. My fixture for some reason was only illuminating the garden with the supplemental 660nm osrams and not the CXB3590s. Well bugger me, 30 years of growing and my hubris allowed me to forget that sometimes things go south with a vengeance.
Fellow gardeners I seek not your sympathy with my tale of woe. Though beset with minor trials and tribulations, I take heart that I am a fortunate man in many other respects. Age has taught me that no matter the challenges I face there is always some other poor sod somewhere with bigger worries than mine.
My hope is that my story provides you the reader with a moment of mirth. A bit of trouble shooting and my luminaire is working again and the rough seas have calmed.
The only casualties from this situation is my pride and quite possibly a holy grail kush that did not appreciate being parched and then flooded. The super lemon haze, pineapple express and girl scout cookies however seemed to have taken the situation in their stride.
I am content with life and it's lessons. I would take momentary strife over boredom any day.
Cheers,
Will