I was just thinking of various ways to achieve the dispersion of buds while away on vacation or if I had to leave for a bit and it occurred to me that I could place a sheet of thick glass just over the tops of my plants. As the main shoot hit the glass it should bend to escape the barrier, as will all the others. After a couple of weeks you should have a nice table of green to zap into flowering mode. I would think-anyhow. I was curious if anyone has already tried this idea out. Did the glass get too hot and burn the babies or did you have any success? Love to hear about it. killTrix
if you put the galss where you would usually put the screen, i dont see why not, except leaves dont lke touching stuff, and airflow might be a problem.... good expeiriment though...
Actually guys, there's a pretty good reason why this is usually discouraged. Putting things under glass not only increases their chances of being scorched due to reduced airflow, it also cuts down dramatically on the amount of UVA and UVb (to a lesser degree), that can reach the plant (since glass acts as an extremely effircient UV Filter bizarrely). As a result, i'd assume that the plant would have trouble with pigmentation and synthesis of some minerals that may be needed for growth. UV is used to release some free radicals in a process similar to photosynthesis. I don't know if weed needs UV to produce good THC, but since most plants need it in some degree, i'd guess it's a bad idea. Anyway, if anyone mentions greenhouses to me i'll just snigger and note that all botanical gardens have swiitched to perspex. *jaicen
I suppose you are correct with regard to scorching and/or moisture build up. I wasn't really thinking that clearly about it, just seemed like a good idea, but obviously if it were everyone would be doing it. I'm just fascinated by all the different techniques everyone has come up with. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
Since I never deliberately leave my grow for longer than 3-4 days at a time, this problem has rarely arisen. They'd grow up, but were easy to weave back into the mesh. Maybe, if you were going to be gone so long you had to worry about proximity of foliage to bulb, you could tuck the terminals and meristems below the screen, and weight them(I've used small plastic clothespins for similar control), so they would have to u-turn.This might save you an inch or so. Whatever gets above the training screen should still be easy to incorporate into the design. Or maybe, if you tightly stretched some sheer green fabric just above the foliage, it might keep them under control without undue harm. It's an intriguing idea, and may be worth pursuing for the sake of science, of course!
i cant see that effecting anything, or else why would all the top of the line growhoods come with glass and air cooling vents.... and in my expeirience (only had to do one grow under glass, cause temps were way to high) the glass doesnt effect growth at all.... and greenhouses are most likely made of perspex because it wont shatter if damaged....
Picture that piece of glass, or perspex only an inch or so above the foliage, to redirect growth laterally. This would trap moisture and interfere with free airflow. But I agree with you about the glass in an air-cooled hood. It is only there to confine the heat as the air removes it, and is not a serious UV blocker. Cold frames and greenhouses have been used since man first began making sheet glass...Several centuries, at least, and we are alot better at it now! And the advent of nonbreakable clear acrylics/plexiglass has revolutionized greenhouse design and popularity. L8R M8E, eg
The initial idea arose while I was trying to decide what to do about my first grow. I've only got 4 bubblish under lights and they're right at 3.5 weeks. I have to leave for 10 days for business so they were going to be unattended as I didn't want to tell anyone on earth about my grow. However I had to find a fellow gardener I could trust to check them periodically in my absence. I was just thinking that I've see weeds crawl around glass windows left out in the yard and such that it wouldn't interfere with the light, but I suppose the airflow would be tricky (but possible). I think a better idea would probably be a fine mesh screen or the like (duh...the scrog). It was just a brain fart. I was just curious is they'd run screen while away and then they'd be easy to train on a scrog when I got back. Sort of already a tabletop. I'm growing DW in DynaGrow with a 1K tanning my kids (hopefully all girls). I'm just going to let them run amok until I return (under supervision of course). They'll just be at 5 or so weeks and I fear gigantic... (Dreaming?) So was just playing with the idea of unattended scrog solutions. Thanks for all the great discussion though, isn't pot fun!
How far from the lights are you keeping your plants? What kind of light are you growing under? How many nodes do they have? A scrog works best when the plant has been pinched a minimum of 1st primery, then each of the 2 secondaries, to make 4 mains. And the reason I suggested a sheer green fabric is because it would be smoother than wire mesh, and the color would not block the most necessary parts of the spectrum. Tightly stretched on a frame just above the terminals would probably give you satisfactory results. Bon voyage, eg
what about the wire screens you have in your windows, those bug screens, ya know? it'd easily let light through, but the plant would be forced to go outward, not upward. Plus if you do it outside, just bug screen a box around it, no bugs gettin in there, unless the tunnel, and the tunneling ones (i.e. worms) are generally harmless and help aerate the soil. just get those screens deep (1-2") into the ground. all's good then!