Ideas for support on multiple plants

[CanadianJim]

That would be very cool, our landlord wants a vertical trellis for a flowering vine we have in the front yard. So I'm sure its pretty much the same concept

Yeah, that kind of trellis can work. The one I'm designing is kind of like a freestanding corner with the point in the north, with lattice sides, but with 6x6 posts, like a fence so there's no chance of it being too weak for the plant. Using heavy duty posts also means I should be able to put a sort of roof on there to shelter it from rain during flowering.
I also need to decide if I want the lattice sides, or if I want to use some heavy gauge netting for better light penetration. This is a next season type of project for me, lol.

 

[Bnelly]

Yeah, that kind of trellis can work. The one I'm designing is kind of like a freestanding corner with the point in the north, with lattice sides, but with 6x6 posts, like a fence so there's no chance of it being too weak for the plant. Using heavy duty posts also means I should be able to put a sort of roof on there to shelter it from rain during flowering.
I also need to decide if I want the lattice sides, or if I want to use some heavy gauge netting for better light penetration. This is a next season type of project for me, lol.

I really like the idea of the netting for the softer and more malleable aspect. I feel it would give some room for growth without digging in potentially. I really want to make a green.house for to keep the plants in during flowering to give me more control of the weather, these microclimates are super unpredictable. But it's such a big venture IMO.
The lattice sides would be really cool as a windbreak as well! Grow some dense vines on it and not much wind, maybe equivalent to a breeze, would get through I'd imagine

 

[BooMtoLate]

I'm rocking tomato cages this run.

 

[Emilya Green]

I'm rocking tomato cages this run.

Its almost like they were designed to spread out the tops while you are growing cannabis. I love my tomato cages!

 

[Bnelly]

Those are super nice! You cant even really see the cages. All of these amazing looking plants is testing my patience with my own lol I cant wait for them to look like yours

 

[Grandma Weedstein]

This is how they look. You just have to space the sticks far apart on one side for watering access.

That’s a nice looking plant. When did you start getting rid of the big fan leaves? Did you do that to prevent any buds from being shaded or is there another reason?

I’ve thought about doing that with my outdoor plants to improve air circulation and reduce disease pressure, but I was worried it would take away the major “solar panels” for the crop. I mean, I cut away some but was too chicken to go all the way like you’ve done here.

 

[AdaminCO]

That’s a nice looking plant. When did you start getting rid of the big fan leaves? Did you do that to prevent any buds from being shaded or is there another reason?

I’ve thought about doing that with my outdoor plants to improve air circulation and reduce disease pressure, but I was worried it would take away the major “solar panels” for the crop. I mean, I cut away some but was too chicken to go all the way like you’ve done here.

No, I don’t remove leafs during the grow. That was during harvest, right before the chop.

 

[Grandma Weedstein]

No, I don’t remove leafs during the grow. That was during harvest, right before the chop.

When you say “right before the chop,” how many days or weeks do you mean? I am probably going to try going in this direction, but it’s hard to gauge outdoors sometimes with the fluctuations in sun and heat during autumn in Oregon.

Also, is the main reason you do this is to expose buds to light or to improve air circulation?

 

[AdaminCO]

When you say “right before the chop,” how many days or weeks do you mean? I am probably going to try going in this direction, but it’s hard to gauge outdoors sometimes with the fluctuations in sun and heat during autumn in Oregon.

Also, is the main reason you do this is to expose buds to light or to improve air circulation?

Like I chopped it 5 minutes after took all the fans off.
I don’t defoliate.

 

[Grandma Weedstein]

Like I chopped it 5 minutes after took all the fans off.
I don’t defoliate.

Ok awesome, that’s really helpful. So basically you just remove the fans while it’s growing to ease the trimming, correct?

 

[AdaminCO]

Ok awesome, that’s really helpful. So basically you just remove the fans while it’s growing to ease the trimming, correct?

No... I don’t remove fans until the day I chop.
A week before I flip, I will go in and cut entire nodes for clones, or cut them because they are too small, but never just fans.

 

[AdaminCO]

Ok awesome, that’s really helpful. So basically you just remove the fans while it’s growing to ease the trimming, correct?

Here’s a good discussion we had the other day. It really depends on a few different environmental factors.

Defoliation opinions

Your missing the point of air flow and light penetration which is severely limited in small restrictive spaces like tents. Mold is very real in a tent when things get crowded. When the canopy is so dense that light doesn't penetrate deep into the plant the stuff down low is not going to develop...

www.420magazine.com

 

[JKB1989]

I have had amazing results with tomato cages... the plants love them and I like being able to move them about and rotate them along with their support.

@Emilya. How exactly do you use the them. Without looking at them it seems like they would be constricting and hold everything to close together. Seems like there would be no chance to get light down into the middle of the plant. Help me out as I'm looking for a new way to hold up my colas. Been using 4' bamboo stakes but I've had so many stakes in the pot that it gets in the way of my watering...

 

[Emilya Green]

I use them just as they were intended. The smallest holes are at the bottom, where the young plant needs the support. As it gets taller, each successive hole is larger, spreading the plant out as she grows. I find that with proper trimming of the center of the canopy, it is very easy to open up the center to light and air using these cages. It might not open them up as far as a bunch of bamboo might accomplish, but my plants are not 3' wide and my support does not get in the way of anything either. I am much more concerned that the buds at the top are being supported without stress than I am the smaller growth in the middle and deep down into the canopy. Being metal the cages can hold up a lot more weight than bamboo also, and there is no need to truss up anything or even attach the branches to the cage... it holds everything up wonderfully, because they have support all the way up to the top and the plants are being supported more in a vertical plain. I would not have been able to get 3 plants the size of what I last grew, in the 2x4 tent I used to bloom in, if I had used my old bamboo and truss system that I have been using for years. The cages allowed for a more efficient presentation of the plants in the available space, and since there was no need for plant ties, both maintenance during and cleanup after the grow were easier. I am sold on them and will be getting more for my permanent bloom room.

 

[BigDannel]

Hey all, I've been doing some research trying to find the best way to support my plants before they get too big and cant really decide on the best option as this is my first grow. I've got plenty of time as they are being grown outdoors and are photoperiod plants.

My situation:
I've got 7 plants in 5 gal fabric pots, I dont plan on repotting them to bigger pots.
I currently have all 7 on a picnic table in my yard, we are doing a bunch of chemical spraying to make the yard all rocks and I dont want them near that stuff. I plan on moving them out into the yard and into their permanent positions once this is all done.

I am mainlining most of them, so I want something to support the hopefully big ol' colas. Im leaning towards making a PVC SCROG that will fit over all of them and support the branched about half way up the plant. I would like to save as much room and money as possible, although I'm not against separating them to allow access either.
Also thought about plant cages/ rings but the rings are a bit too expensive for the size I need.


Hopefully some experienced individuals can lend some advice. I will try to get some pictures of the area I'm thinking of making their home when I can

I've made a few PVC scrogs for inside tents and they work well. PVC is easy to work with and cut to the size that you need, drill holes however far apart you want to have your screen holes be and then I tape some twine to a drill bit and make one side, then weave through the other. You could also just drill in small screws in place of the holes and loop your twine around that. You may not need twine and netting at all depending on what you're going for, but I like the PVC method.

 

[SmokingWings]

There is a kind of wire made specifically for training plants. It's coated in a soft rubber to keep it from damaging plant stems. If you're careful you can reuse the pieces you cut for years. It comes in rolls, so you can cut it to whatever length you need. We got it at Home Depot.
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I use the same sort of wire. It can be found at just about any decent gardening store including hydro, grow shops or the run-of-the-mill places for the mundanes. Works just like the pipe cleaners.

I also use strips of muslin, the same sort of cloth that is used for sheets and pillow cases. My wife has some left over green material from some sewing project or another so she tears off several 3 foot strips for me when needed. The green ribbons are used outside a lot because I do not want the pieces of wire getting lost in the lawn or anywhere else where they might get hit by a lawnmower or get stepped on and poke through my soft sole slippers or summer shoes. The material will last all summer and winter and sometimes through the next summer.

 

[Bnelly]

Thanks for the suggestions, I went ahead and got some pipe cleaners. Which I figure are pretty close to those ties. They are working good and alot easier to adjust than the string was
Edit: also I got the tomato cages instead. Although I am gonna start the planning for a tent with PVC and a plastic tarp to use for rainy days, I mainly want it for flowering, gonna take some time and plan and see what I can come with