That's kind of a harsh trim job, but you did it correctly in my opinion. I did a similar chop job on an OG I did earlier and it looked just like that only a little taller. The extra light and energy to the tops is worth the sacrifice.
Thanks, man. I was hoping someone would comment on my grow. Yeah, the ultrasonic fogger works great for me! It doesn't need a timer like a sprayer system does, which simplifies things a lot. One fogger unit is enough to completely fill the air space in the res. There are 2 minor downsides to using one: 1) It sterilizes the water. So don't use nutrients that contain live microbes. I use AN Voodoo Juice, but don't put it in the res, I drip it into the net basket at the top, using an eye dropper. 2) The fogger heats up the res water a bit, up to around 75-80 degrees in my tub. So the water can't hold as much air bubbles. But I believe that the fogger more than makes up the difference in oxygen feeding to the roots.
Thanks. I was scared at first that I chopped off too much, but the leaves grow surprisingly fast. I never did this before. Probably should have done some topping earlier, but I'm still learning. Probably will begin the flowering phase tomorrow. The plant's over a month old now.
I see, the fog is oxygenated and a good portion of the roots need to be exposed to air to absorb it. Cool. Maybe you should keep your bubbling where you have it then? But if you have the room for it, I'm sure another airstone in there WILL NOT hurt.
A month? That sounds about right. Yes, I always go through that after a severe prune job. Like, "Lordy look how skinny and naked they look now." But every time, chopping just seems to anger the plants and they grow even harder... and you gotta chop again next week.
Yes, a good portion of the root system is above water and they divide into fine little hairs. I'll take a picture this weekend when I get around to changing the water. That's when I'll finally switch to the flowering phase.
Letting them sit in the plain water while you wash out the tub is an excellent choice. I would make sure there's a bubbler running in that temporary soak water. Letting them sit in oxygenated water will act as a flush and your plants will love you for it. I wouldn't be too worried if you damage a root strand here or there. When handling, a little damage is always expected, but the roots are a lot stronger than you might think. At the end of my last grow, I practically needed a hack saw to cut through the main root column to get it out of my tub.
Great to hear dude! Hey, I just read through your latest grow journal and saw the massive root system that you got coming out of those 6" net pots. Looked like a blonde girl's long hair combed out and hanging down. Mine aren't that thick coming out of the pot yet, but they're almost filling the res, which is a 10 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck tote. I'll post a pic this weekend. Just remember for reference that my net pot is only about 3" in diameter.
whoa, nice follow-up. I really enjoy sharing as much info as I can. That's a big part of the reason I finally started posting at RIU.
Wow, that's a lot of helpful advice already. I didn't realize that your system was so complex. The photos of the outside of the res made it look deceptively simple. The float switch and external tank for topping off the water automatically is sheer genius. If only I could find a way to automate pH adjustments, maybe I could leave my plant alone for a week and go on vacation.
Dude, that blue sprinkler tub in the video looks great. Why aren't you using that? Or are you using it for something else? Your pvc/sprinkler rig is more complex than mine. I have the cloner tips, while you have the spinners. Looks really cool. You could totally grow monsters in that.Wow, that's a lot of helpful advice already. I didn't realize that your system was so complex. The photos of the outside of the res made it look deceptively simple. The float switch and external tank for topping off the water automatically is sheer genius. If only I could find a way to automate pH adjustments, maybe I could leave my plant alone for a week and go on vacation.
I actually do have a water pump that I used on my previous grow to make a hose-less sprinkler system:
[video=youtube;MZVYF7LCnAQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZVYF7LCnAQ[/video]
But I never could figure out a good on/off timer schedule. It turned out that it wasn't the sprinkler that was at fault, but some asshole sold me a bottle of bogus nutrient solution over the internet. (Was supposed to be Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow, but was clear, not brown like the real thing. Live and learn. Waste of 2 good seeds and 2 months of work.) Anyway, I might cannibalize the sprinkler for the pump someday, but right now I'm happy just dragging the res into my shower and opening the spigot.
Hey, I did lift out my plant with the lid still attached to the net pot, the whole thing together, and it wasn't a problem at all. My wife only told me to put slightly warm water in the other "temporary" tub so that it wouldn't shock the roots like cold tap water might. Anyway, the roots weren't as heavy as I thought they'd be so as long as I patiently let the water drain off them before lifting them all the way out. When I later took them out of the temporary tub, they left behind some crud that had been clinging to them, so that cleaned them off a bit.
I took a few pics of the roots today after changing the water and adding flowering nutes for the first time (Advanced Nutrients Sensi Bloom A&B). I'll post them later tonight. Right now I only have 4 gallons of water in the res, which seems to be ok as long as I check it every day. Not sure if that's best or if I should use more. Of course I also changed the lighting schedule to 12/12 and replaced the fluorescent tubes with ones that are 3000 K. I hope that does the trick. I'm really eager to see some flowers blooming now!
I just wanted to try something different because my first grow was a flop. So I decided to do something with a fogger. I think that fog is maybe even better, because the water droplets are microscopic and easier for the roots to absorb (so I've read). I might even try propping more root above the water's surface for a while to see if it's better. Anyway, less stuff in the tank to get tangled in the roots than when I used the sprinkler, and no special timer is involved. The only timer I use turns stuff on & off along with the lights. I keep the bubbles going all night, but the fogger & fans get turned off. I don't believe that the plant feeds when the lights are out.
Yeah, you got the 'radish roots' alright. Looking very healthy. It depends on the strain from what I've seen. Some plants grow a column of fewer but much thicker cords, giving you that radish effect. Other plants grow many, many smaller strands (like mine) giving it the blonde chick effect. Anyways, what you really gotta look at is that root mass developing in the body of your res, sir. It looks pretty big already and it's just gonna fill up that bin in a hurry during flowering fyi. What you got here is a plant responding well to mostly dwc, tho. I'm sure the mist or 'smoke' nutrients hitting that exposed root column of yours is helping, but she's drinking mostly from the pool. when she starts sizing up during the first aggressive stages of flower, I can see those roots filling to the point where they mold themselves into the shape of that tote. Yeah, you're gonna have problems picking that thing up in the near future, bruthah.As promised, here are the pics I took of my roots today:
View attachment 1600287
These are some thick, gnarly roots! Kind of remind me of horseradish. Remember, the part that stays above water gets nutrient-enriched fog. Not sure why they look like this, though.
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What? How was your first grow a flop, bro? That tote you designed looks top notch. Can I have it? Lol. No, seriously what went wrong?
The tote & sprinkler were good, but the real problem was bogus nutrient. That's what killed my 2 plants, not the other stuff. But I thought the fogger would work even better than a sprinkler for the reasons I described above. If the roots in the res bulk up and rise out of the water, then there will be more of them exposed to the fog. I want to experiment with that. My air pump is about maxed out and this grow cabinet is in our bedroom closet where my wife has to hear it while trying to sleep. So I can't add more air than I have making bubbles. I think that forces me to trust in the fog. I'm not planning to lower the water level, just considering whether to prop up the roots higher so more of them will be exposed to fog. Eager to see what happens.