I'm growing in a constrained 8'x2' space on a balcony in SF, with a general hight restriction of roughly 3'. I launched with 12 plants in 9 pots expecting approximately 6 plants to be male. Oops (!!), every plant is female. I"m scrogging, with the screen roughly 22" high. My largest issue is that I (a) wove the branches through the nylon string screen, AND due to density the branches criss-cross all over.
The problem is the rubbing of the external green skin on the stems. Lots of wind and lots of fog here in SF. With the wind, slowly the outer layer of protective green gets rubbed of a bit. And/or, where I've done "low stress" training, perhaps I stressed to much and cracked the external stem skin? Well, the result is MOLD. Grey yucky mold, that seems to then eat away more and more green skin, probably from underneath once its gotton a foothold.
I've found at least 10 places with this problem through careful "understudy" of the scrog. I'm using vinegar wipes now daily on the infected areas to keep them relatively mold free. The result is a fully exposed stem (white/tannish, no more green covering) where attacked and cleaned. I thought of trying to "bandage" those areas, but I suspect that would just create worse condidations re: the fog and moisture. At least exposed they dry out every day, as the moisture usually clears, maybe some sun in the afternoon and wind, etc.
So NEXT season, I'm going to be much more careful about # of plants, layout, and the "architecture" of the scrogging to prevent this problem!! I wonder how the giant commerical outdoor folks address this problem of "rubbing" of stems on the scrog cording. The recommentation is generally "run the branches under", and I didn't, I wove them: a mistake I'd say. And of course overlapping them, huge no no.
Meanwhile, my buds are growing nicely, mold free so far!! And hopefully my aggressive counter measures here are going to save most of my crop in progress.
Any suggestions or insights welcome.
-Foggy Grower in SF
The problem is the rubbing of the external green skin on the stems. Lots of wind and lots of fog here in SF. With the wind, slowly the outer layer of protective green gets rubbed of a bit. And/or, where I've done "low stress" training, perhaps I stressed to much and cracked the external stem skin? Well, the result is MOLD. Grey yucky mold, that seems to then eat away more and more green skin, probably from underneath once its gotton a foothold.
I've found at least 10 places with this problem through careful "understudy" of the scrog. I'm using vinegar wipes now daily on the infected areas to keep them relatively mold free. The result is a fully exposed stem (white/tannish, no more green covering) where attacked and cleaned. I thought of trying to "bandage" those areas, but I suspect that would just create worse condidations re: the fog and moisture. At least exposed they dry out every day, as the moisture usually clears, maybe some sun in the afternoon and wind, etc.
So NEXT season, I'm going to be much more careful about # of plants, layout, and the "architecture" of the scrogging to prevent this problem!! I wonder how the giant commerical outdoor folks address this problem of "rubbing" of stems on the scrog cording. The recommentation is generally "run the branches under", and I didn't, I wove them: a mistake I'd say. And of course overlapping them, huge no no.
Meanwhile, my buds are growing nicely, mold free so far!! And hopefully my aggressive counter measures here are going to save most of my crop in progress.
Any suggestions or insights welcome.
-Foggy Grower in SF
