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My first coco grow

Nice tent. I would consider putting up a net and bending them down a bit. Plenty of room.
 
The branches seem stiff and inflexible. I have them in tie downs all around the edge of the pot but I am wary of breaking a branch by further bending. Will a net assist in this? I have never used one, only plant ties. I give the plants silica up until they flower which may contribute to their stiffness. Comments?
 
When I use a net I place it above the plants then slowly lower it down. As it is lowered, the branches are spread out and pushed down and sideways. I call it splat training. Like what you would get if they were hit with a broom only in a controlled manner. Try bending down just one branch to see what it will tolerate. During early training I squeeze the stem to soften it then bend it. It looks like you are into bloom so that opportunity may have passed. The idea is to spread out the plant to get as much light as possible.
 
I spread them in a circle but direct branches towards areas on the net that still need to fill in.

11182023 Flip.jpg
 
CKbrew does what I do to.

His suggestion of squeezing the branches between your fingers, if you haven't done it before, search "supercropping" on GWE, there's a tute. That will allow you to fold the highest tops over.

I'm guessing you haven't topped these? Topping with LST to help further spread does get the best results here..I think GWE calls it mainlining, works a treat.

They look healthy and strong. If you break a branch chances are very very good it will fully recover...I used Teflon tape to good effect but even crappy sticky tape will work well to repair a break...it will need support after a break, your net can do that.
 
Scarlet Runtz and sunset haven't needed any vertical support. At this stage I would let them go up. They are about done stretching. I wouldn't take any more leaves off at this point. Looking fine my friend.
 
Yes indeed and thank you, That's exactly what I intend to do. I did redo the tie downs to spread things out as others have suggested. There is no longer any open space in the tent other than directly over the heater.
 
The reason I have not used a net in the past is my need to remove the plants from the tent for defoliation, LST, lolly popping etc. I am both quite short and have had two lower back surgeries so it is difficult and somewhat painful to bend over and reach the plants in the back of the tent. This is the same reason I use 3 gallon pots instead of 5 gallon. If I am missing something regarding scrog netting, please enlighten me.
 
I tried the net thing once OldManGrower. I have weight limitations also. DV. It seemed like a hassle in a small tent. I found that starting the same strain at the same time eleviated a lot of moving them around. I only grow 4 to 5 at a time and the canopy even is easier. Does your light (SE3000) make that 2.5x2.5 hot in summer.
 
I've grown autos in 2,4,5 and 7 gallon buckets and with each one, the roots reached the bottom of the pot and started to circulate. Anything above 7 gallons might be overkill for an auto. I doubt the roots would reach the bottom in any meaningful way. .... That being said..... If you put an auto into a 7+ gallon bucket of well amended soil, you'll just need to water from seed to finish. No top dressing, no extra fertilizer needed. So bigger bucket can have it's advantages. Though I've noticed that ppl tend to over water in larger containers. So it could be a double edged sword.
 
Good question. The Mandarin I'm currently growing has had more accidental breaks than all my past grows put together. I have been giving them silica as well but I'm not sure if it alone causes the stiffness but it's possible. A trellis could help out out could just increase the rate of breakage. It's possible it could be down to the cultivar. The Mandarin snaps like a green bean while the UG let me bend it and twist it without any breakage and they're both getting the same nutrition since they're both in the same earth box
 
Yes, about 2 degrees F. above the ambient temperature in the garage. It can upon occasion get above 90F. Absolutely nothing I can do about it. I only grow sativa hybrids and "tropical" photos and use silica to cope with this.
 
I have never used silica knowingly. Haven't been inside that long. Do you see a noticeable growth difference or early harvest in the high temps using silica.@OldManGrower.
 
Silica may be helpful, it can also cause problems.
I tend to use it in veg, the manufacturer recommends using it up to 2 weeks before harvest.
Breathing in silica dust kills you pretty quickly.
 
Silica in suspension is not dangerous like silica dust. It supposedly make the cell walls of the plants tougher and better able to endure heat. I use it on my summer photo grow until the flip. It is not recommended for plants in flower. I have found it useful under this circumstances. I tried it for this winter fall grow for curiosity sake but cannot report any differences.
 
Sixty days from seed. No more room to spread out. The hole in the middle of the plants is where the heater is. I have created a problem for myself as I am leaving the country on 1/6/24 for a week.
 

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Hmmm would be my problem also if i'd started a grow which i'm itching too and can't for the same reason. Although i do have a friend that i trust to water if needed but what if other issues happened? This feels like leaving my pets and it's terribly hard for me to do so. I wish you luck but if it's just 7 days away not 10 you maybe able to water them to runoff and not worry maybe they won't drink as much at that stage i know mine really slow down to like every 4 days needing fluids. Good luck
 
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