trying something with the AG with pics

so, i started my plants but not all germinated at the same time.
by the time i had seven plants going, my first ones were close to 4 weeks old.
(planted 7, got 2; planted 5 got 2; planted 3,got 2; and finally planted 1 and got 1.)

so all my plants were of different stage growth.

i had them raised closer to the lights, but the first 2 plants were tall and i had to remove the "shelf".

then i found out that the tall ones were male. i had to remove 3.

down to 3 and as it turns out they are all females, BUT because i removed the "shelf" they started to stretch.

to make long story short here is what i trying.

i tied them down. i used mono filament fishing line and some tape to hold it in place. i just looped the line around the plant at an advantageous point and taped the other end down.

you can see from the pics how they look and after a few days how they have turned.

i have limited space and have not seen this done on the AG setup yet.

thought i would keep up with the info in case it gives anyone ideas.

the pics are sequential; 1a 1b 1c 2a 2b 3a 3b and the last one is the best close up of a female bud on my cell phone. hard to see i know but the white blurriness is the hairs.

Yea those look pretty leggy, I'd try and get lights close as possible especially since they're flowering. Plants will also move towards like to a degree too, so if you put a lot pretty close to the top there's a chance if their stock is strong enough they might "lean" kinda towards the light and straighten up. Almost looks like low stress training gone semi wrong lol. Good job so far, though.

well its only been a day and a half since i tied them down. if i had them at the same growth stage as the males i would expect them to look more like the males. short, stocky and bushy.

i have some pics of the males in my gallery. they are the nice tall bushy ones.
what i am hoping is that the females will turn to the light(which they have) ad start to grow alittle more.

they are now as close to the lights as i would dare,AND i can always remove the "shelf " i have them on now when they get too close.

i can promote more growth when needed and fold them down again if possible.

i have read alot on the advanced techniques posted here. it seems to be working and like i said have not seen anyone try to do something like this.(with AG)

most people are hanging the light(which i do),BUT letting them grow tall. or taller than intended by the unit. as per say, it was designed with minimal space needed.

it has proven itself as a unit that can produce phenomenally looking plants albeit only 1-3 at max, why not employ advanced techniques to help maximize as much as possible. already doing that by running hydro, using nutes, special lights, etc....

anyway i am stoned and know how to type unfortunately.

thanks for the support and i hope this encourages the use of this technique no matter what the growing method.

ghengiskhan said:

Yea those look pretty leggy, I'd try and get lights close as possible especially since they're flowering. Plants will also move towards like to a degree too, so if you put a lot pretty close to the top there's a chance if their stock is strong enough they might "lean" kinda towards the light and straighten up. Almost looks like low stress training gone semi wrong lol. Good job so far, though.

Click to expand...

these were flowered at late 3weeks to early 4 weeks of veg, so they were young to start as far as flowering goes.

from the looks of things i think i have atleast another 3-4 weeks to go before i can consider something to harvest.

still trying....

Hey Mass I love it and have secretly been waiting for someone to try somthing like this with the aerogarden....

It was always one of my original intentions to try every single way of growing in the AG and figure out which one is the best...And I've always wanted other people to try different ideas too...

Luckily many people have come around and come up with new ways to use the AG...

I've always thought about having a plant in one of the back corner holes and bending it down till it reaches diagonally to the opposite front hole...

I wish you the best of luck and glad to have you doing this...

Peace
-Tek

Teknique70 said:

Hey Mass I love it and have secretly been waiting for someone to try somthing like this with the aerogarden....

It was always one of my original intentions to try every single way of growing in the AG and figure out which one is the best...And I've always wanted other people to try different ideas too...

Luckily many people have come around and come up with new ways to use the AG...

I've always thought about having a plant in one of the back corner holes and bending it down till it reaches diagonally to the opposite front hole...

I wish you the best of luck and glad to have you doing this...

Peace
-Tek

Click to expand...

dude you have been an inspiration since i joined in dec 07.
to hear that kind of praise is unbelievable. cool man thanks.

anyhow, the plants are doing good. they have upturned and are still growing strong. i got a little screwed because these three females are all on the same side of the AG.

so due to the way they were growing and to stress them the least, one is next to the light stand and got bent over towards the front corner. the one next to that got bent over back to the middle of the AG and the one next to that in left front corner got bent out further away from the AG.

soon i hope to bend them back the opposite way i have them now. since i think i got 3-4 weeks left i should get enough growth out of them to do that.

i certainly will keep posting.

it may be more than 4 weeks...how long have you been in flower? Flowering seems to take longer in the AG but I'm not completley sure on this...

It my be a good idea to start over, with what youve now learned...but maybe not...I know its a hard decision...I only say this becaue of the stress theyve been recieving and how much they have stretched...I dunno..

Peace
-Tek

Teknique70 said:

it may be more than 4 weeks...how long have you been in flower? Flowering seems to take longer in the AG but I'm not completley sure on this...

It my be a good idea to start over, with what youve now learned...but maybe not...I know its a hard decision...I only say this becaue of the stress theyve been recieving and how much they have stretched...I dunno..

Peace
-Tek

Click to expand...

i will try and post more pictures as well as take some measurements,but the plants were ~16-20 inches when i decided to pin them down and raise them closer to the lights.

i was just in wally world and saw 42 watt cfls. i got 2 and added one to the setup. they put out 150w equivalent. then i have a 70w hps home depot security light and the AG light with some side T8 2ft to help. mylar and all. co2 somewhat. it is a hack job but have learned a lot. i can now move a couple T8s and the AG light over to a new area and do mothers and add the other 42w cfl with my hps and remaining T8s for SoG rotation.

they may have been young and i got lucky they turned out to be females with no pre flowers, but the buds look nice and healthy i just cant take a close up picture. i think with the added light and moving them closer will help in bud development. i also mixed up a new res solution and bumped up the bloom nutes a little more than the recommended value.

like i said earlier i think, i can still remove my "shelf" and give them more room to grow upwards when needed. if it takes five to six weeks thats fine too.

man i cant wait for my mushrooms to get here...to start growing them,

so it has been 5 days now since i started LSTing my plants.

the following pics should be in order.

i even LST'd a side branch and have it pointed out.

the pics are ok and at the moment 2 have a single bend and one has a double bend.

the singles are pics labeled a-aaaaa and b-bbb

and the double bend are the pics labeled c-ccc

can see the bud locations too. all plants are ~ 20-24 inches in length and are ~10 inches from the AG surface.