Watering cannabis plants can be especially challenging when conditions change drastically in a short amount of time. In Southern California for example, our temperatures can go from high 70’s to over 100 degrees in a matter of 2 or 3 days. When weather conditions like this occur, gardeners must adapt fast or face losing their entire crop.
During your summer grow, conditions like the one mention above are common in So Cal. Growing in extreme temperatures like 100 degrees requires an abundant amount of water. More water usually = more time watering. By nature, Mike and I are always looking for short cuts that will save us time. Watering cannabis plants was no different for us.
Watering Cannabis Plants with Technology
We live in a world surrounded by cool technology. For those living in a fast pace environment, gone are the days of hand watering. Today, gardens can be equipped with sensors that help determine when to fertilize. They can also be equipped with timers for watering your plants.
Most growers get their water from a spigot. Adding a water timer to your spigot will save you a lot of time in the garden. Before everything went wifi, we relied on a digital 4 – way timer from Melnor. This is a great water timer for the price. I really like this timer because it is so easy to use. It is somewhat programmable and offers a wide range of watering options to meet your desired schedule. We’ve had this timer in use for several years now and it is still going strong! My only dislike is that the water schedules are preset and not customizable.
New technology has recently changed the game. We upgraded to a Melnor RainCloud. This internet controlled Smart Valve is definitely worth its current $122 price tag. For its amount of usefulness, it is a bargain at that price. Seriously go buy it. The RainCloud allows a user to water their garden from a mobile device. That means you can water your garden from any place on earth. I love this feature because it allows us to focus on other things. This timer saves us a ton of time because we no longer need to hand water. When our plants need water, we log into our APP with our mobile device and with a couple clicks, our garden has water. Melnor has a free APP that is great because it is user friendly, has some great settings and is highly customizable.
Soil Moisture Sensor
For an extra $20 bucks you can add a wired soil moisture sensor. They also have a wireless soil moisture sensor as well. These sensors are built by Melnor and turns your garden into a fully automated watering system. They are great because they will water your garden even if you forget. For on the go gardeners like myself, these moisture sensors teamed up with a RainCloud make watering a lot easier. They are especially useful when conditions get hot because they will automatically water your garden when certain conditions arise.