Hello So I decided to tie my plants back a few weeks ago. I was having problems with stretching but also heat damage to my top nodes, so topping and tying seemed the logical answer. I have them secured about 1/2 way up the plant with wooden dowels and loose string at about a 45 degree angle, along with strings loosely tied to the tops to keep them growing sideways without any leaf overlapping. This helped a ton. My question is, do I leave them like they are now or should I bend them in the opposite direction? My leaves are all getting light, I'm just not sure if the lack of light to the underside of the stem is bad. I have considered side lighting, but I would rather not add more lights if I don't have to as I live in Maine and electricity is very expensive. Also, I understand I was getting heat damage because I'm running cheap plant bulbs, but again I'd rather not invest in expensive bulbs. Advice?
Here is my setup.. Build you a small AC unit put of a bucket... Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum You just put a frozen gallon jug of water in it. Cold air blows past jug, air comes out pipping.. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
When you tie them down, you create many more viable bud sites....or you could put up a SCROG. At that point, you should get rid of the bottom foliage that isn't getting light...it will allow the top sites to gain more strength and energy. This is a single plant that I topped and applied LST to....it is one of 3 that are 100 days into veg.
Don't worry about getting light to the stem. The leaves are the main facilities for photosynthesis, and they will bend themselves back toward the light as you bend down the plant. Just try to keep bending the tops down until the bottom branches catch up. TJ
kind of off topic, but I would not use string, as it cuts into the branches. If you do it right, you can remove all ties before flowering. Money is better spent learning how to grow than buying new lights. Here is what I use http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057567U0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have a fan going already that's keeping my lights cool and a breeze of my taller plants. The string I'm using is very thick and soft, yarn or a cut up bootlace, and it isn't tight enough to cause any damage. I have a few pictures here. Btw, what is a SCROG?
Btw the big three are the ones I'm talking about. They are probably two and a half month old, started from some junky mersh seeds.
looks like you've got some stretching which is from insufficient light. How many watts are your light bulbs and what spectrum are they (do they look white or yellow)? If they are CFL bulbs they should be 3-4 inches from your plants. edit - you want the lights as close as possible to get the most out of your electricity. A good way to tell if your plants are too hot is just put your hand where the top of the plant is. If your hand is comfortable your plant should be too.
I can't move the lights any closer or risk heat damage again. The plants look much healthier since I tied them back and pinched the sides, do you think that they are showing since of past stretching or is it still an issue? When I added a fan and tied them back I was able to move my lights closer. I am running 2 150w plant bulbs 24/7. The top of the bulbs have some kind of blue paint or whatever it is they use on them, so not yellow.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you'd be lucky to harvest a gram per plant the way they look right now... You need better lighting and ventilation. A proper plant should be thick and bushy. Like this. Please invest in adequate lighting and ventilation.
How old is that plant? Im wondering because these plants are a little over 2 months in these pics. I know there is probably irriversable damage to mine, but this is my first experimental grow so its really alright. Im going to attach pics of the original heat damage, the plant after that issue was solved, and pics of how they look now (a span of a few weeks barely). What Id like to know is, can you fix stretching or just try to prevent more? And how do I tell if being tied back and pinched is helping the issue? My plants were tied at a lower angle last night so i could move my lights closer and allow light to the bottom leaves, so the tops are a little curvey on some of them from being moved around, theyll straighten back out
That plant was about 5-6 weeks old when I took that picture. Yes, LST will help with stretching, but with adequate lighting and airflow, it wouldn't really be an issue in the first place.
Okay. Thank you. I'm considering saving up and getting a few cfl bulbs instead. Practice makes perfect
