Seriously tho ....
no matter the plant training , “ pheno “ hunting ( *cough ) , porous cork ( they can mold too ) , high moisture / mildew ( look at grow cube sides - seen in pics .... or your grow plan ...
Those conditions alone would wreck it.
I would pretty much get space dialed in
first before throwing in ANY plants.
Jeezus ..... i feel like coughing my god damn lungs out thinking it .... lol.
________________________________________________________________
Will take it into consideration. Grodan blocks get algae, you can limit it but it will be present wherever the insulation's exposed to light. Not sure what the long-term solution is about corks -- something weighted and non-porous, perhaps, idk. I already figured I'd have to replace the corks over time whether they became brittle, water-logged, moldy, etc.
But so far, I'm just seeing a progression of bigger, better buds ... and I'm getting better at the ripening process. I get that there are bacteria/mold risks ... and appreciate the emphasis on aseptic technique ... at the same time, plants can grow outside in dirt, rain, sharing an ecosystem with bugs and varmint ... growing indoors already greatly reduces plants' exposure ... I don't even use soil ... but, right, I'm moving toward a cleanlier grow area. I work with my plants every day, so I'm not letting anything get out of control. Yes, it has a long way to go. And when I move in about 2-3 years, I'll start anew, incorporating everything I've learned along the way. Thanks.
Quickly re weighted LST v. tying branches back: since I started using corks and adding silica, I've noticed more flexibility in branches and I've broken fewer branches. I've also excluded strains that I found to be brittle, not conducive to LST. And these are unused corks. Never sat in wine, unlike the photo in the image above. They're "craft corks."
... I'm always going to be a little "dirty."
And from what I've seen, the local market's not that impressive ... so, the fact that my bud has funk, a name, is well-fed, ripened, and at least dried/cured in a climate-controlled room, it's a lot better than what I've been seeing in the past several months locally.