Drip Irrigation

So anyway, like many "responsible" adults (27yo but still a kid at heart), i work full time. To save time I picked up a patio container kit w/ battery powered timer at my local hardware store. I'm planning on running this to 9 plants in 45-gallon Smartpots(home-made) and 5 plants in-ground, and I was wondering if anyone has experience with these kits. I was wondering on accuracy, frequency and GPH (gallons per hour) since I will still be hand-feeding my girls their nutes. Would appreciate any intelligent input.

As for accuracy, before any watering occurs I intend to run the system and collect the water from every nozzle in resevoirs to check actual GPH as opposed to manufacturers instruction. I cannot stress enough that things are not always as advertised

Frequency I was thinking once a week. The timer that came with the kit (all very reasonibly priced at $30) offers frequencies of multiple hours throughout the day. Unfortunately, after 12hrs it only waters in frequencies of 24hrs, 48hrs, 72hrs and once a week. It also allows for a watering duration of anywhere from one minute to 2 hours. Since I'll most likely be hand-feeding once a week, I figure that once a week auto-watering is good, but could there be benefits to watering less in gallons at once with a greater frequency? Probobly not since MJ loves wet and dry periods, but would the breathable aspects of the Smartpot cloth affect that?

Also, does anyone know if a hose-end chlorine filter will work with an extremely low pressure system? I'm talking 1/6th to 1/3rd GPM(gallons per minute), about 10-20 GPH. I'm just worried that water wont be moving through the filter fast enough, could that possibly cause it to malfunction?


Thanks a Bunch guys an gals!

So this is the In-ground area i'll be planting in next season, these pics are the result of a little father/son overcrowding in veg around July 2010. Gonna run 5 or maybe 6 plants here next season and then try for another 15 in various pots. Still working out the logistics. I'm thinking that i might only want to run the drip irrigation to the in-ground plants, but it IS a patio container system, after all. Plenty of time, right? Thanks for watching, hopefully bigger and better things to come.

P.S.-Despite the fact that we overcrowded the fuck out of that little plot, after two males, and one hermaphrodite, these plants still did very well. I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures or video later in the season, always kept telling my girlfriend "I'll get batteries next week" until the season was over...haha. Guess thats the lifestyle

P.P.S.-The outdoor closeups are of a random bagseed that autoflowered, never got past 14 inches tall, but stank and smoked like the big girls...lol The budshot was taken with my shitty laptop built-in webcam, but it was the tip of one of the lower brances on the plant to the left of the autoflowering runt. Smells and tastes like sweet blackberry tea! Delicious!!

Why not grow one big ass plant 7 feet tall or a OG kush thats squatly if your worried about size?
45-gallon Smartpots, buy them they are awesome and last for years. Or the Root pot is cheaper. Get the Grey ones, black ones take on heat.
45-gallon Smartpots are cheap also.

The a hose-end chlorine filter will work great.

Smart pots leach out extra water.
Only thing with my system that I would change is 4 emitters per plant because it can channel the water and skip the roots.

So do you adjust the levels of your nutes when feeding plants in Smartpots? I'm not gonna be fertilizing through my drip system. If smartpots leach extra water, will i just be watering my deck with organic plant food after it runs through them like a bad case of Montezuma's Revenge? I mean, it's not like my nutrients are terribly expensive but i don't wanna have to run through more than a gallon a season of both grow and bloom. Any ideas?

My 60 gallon pots got 18 gallons a day of water at peek heat )110f) Yes nutrients are terribly expensive and they leach out. Its hard to watch that but the end result was stupid crazy plants.
I had an ocean of money running down an ocean of mud. If your doing one or two smart pots then its not a big deal. Find some way for the water to drain. You will find your sweet spot of soil water perlite retention so the plant can make it untill 4pm and then 6 or 7 pm to gets its nightly watering/feeding and grow HUGE.

I used 10tbs of 16/16/16 in 10 gallons of water of Maxsea food with tremendous results. It will cost a quite a bit in the end.

Not to be a dick but your plants look like my tomato plants that I completely ignored and watered once a week and feed once a week. IF you water and feed and you have Socal sun then you can get 7 footers easy with high yield.

I know because im a complete noob and this photo is my first plant ever ever...

PHOTO: 60 to 90 colas in smart pots. All developed full and large.

Ask around about buying vegging indoor clones and pinching the tops for 60 to 90 colas.