stem growth in aerogarden is very weak
- Thread starter hman230
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GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
I am sorry, didn't mean to leave you hanging there...
Nice... 400 watts eh?!
I got some new lights too, 2 x 70 watt HPS ad 1 x 100 watt Metal Halide...
The fan is a great thing, and it will allow you to bring your lights much closer...
Basically you want the plants at the same distance you would want your hand from it...
If it burns your hand, it will burn the plant...
Get it closer in small steps... that way you can observe and see when too much is too much ...
I am using the AG hood in the same way you are, but I also added a bunch of CFLs all around them...
You should come by and take a look...
Mini Aeroponic Garden
It may give you some ideas...
Good News Indeed...!!!
WoW!
That is big... my tallest was measured today at 5 inches...exactly 3 weeks into flowering...
Good deal man, seems like your garden is back on track and better than ever...
So ... get that light closer... if you can without burning the plants... a cool tube with an in-line fan would be great... you could have it a few inches from the plants...
Well, I'll be cruising back by... catch you later man...
Gypsy...
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iamthatguy
Well-Known Member
I am just going to quote GypsyBush because he hits on some good points but just one comment before I start is that in all your pictures your light is WAY to far away from your plant. This is probably and most likely the cause of your plants streaching really tall. Another reason is room temps. If the ambiant temps are high then it is another reason for streach. Also the lack of suplemental lighting is another good reason for streach. I would imagine that anywere in the world you can find cfl bulbs. Get like 4 at the highest watage and some fixture to put them in. Get 2 in the 6500 K range ( read forums or box packageing ) and 2 2700 K and suround the sides of the AG ( AG is short for Aerogarden ) ok onto the quotes
In your situation, not wanting to waste any effort, I would build a bucket system for each of your plants...
Look up in DIY for bubblers or Bubbleponics - super cheap and good first time hydro.
You say you are already at the top notch on the lights... Your plants MAY triple in size during flowering... You are already out of room... Your plants look great but they are pretty tall to start flowering with only an AG. I would say begin 12/12 at 4"-8" max but thats just my opinion. The stems are so thin that when your plant starts budding it could just break from the weight...
I suppose you can start tying everything down, but they may break if you try too hard... Yep agree but might want to try topping a plant sence this is your first grow and learning experiance just do it and learn from mistakes so as to have learned al lot of lessons before your second grow.
My lights are still at the first notch, and all week I wished I could lower them... (which I could have if I took the light off the AG and just hung it over it, not worth the trouble)... If you want to continue growing THESE plants you will have to move the light OR top them and GET THE LIGHT CLOSER!
I say, clone from the ones you have, flower the clones, find you Females, get rid of the males, transplant your Mother(s) to a bucket Hydro or Soil... and fill your AG with little clones.... Well I would sex them first then clone the females.
Don't wait too long or you may never get the roots out of the AG hopper without breaking the plastic around it... You may already be there... totally agree. The AG tank only holds about 1 gallon and with alot of plants the roots get tangeled up ..... hell with one plant the roots get tangled and intertwined with the pump and other stuff in the tank.
Now, if you are going to keep them there as they are, you are going to need way more lights... and also raise the hood some more by hanging it...
You need more lights for sure to keep it short and stocky but I think for this grow it might be to late. As far as raising the hood .... well honestly I would try and keep it as close as posible to the tops of the plants .... 3" at all times and move up only when neccessary.
Hope this helps...
But remember ... I THINK I'm right, but I KNOW I could be wrong...
But remember ... I THINK I'm wrong, but I KNOW I could be right.....
Later...
Gypsy...
iamthatguy
Well-Known Member
yes that light is too far away! But they look good!
GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
What I meant by this, wasn't to raise the 400HPS anymore...I am just going to quote GypsyBush because he hits on some good points ...
Now, if you are going to keep them there as they are, you are going to need way more lights... and also raise the hood some more by hanging it...
You need more lights for sure to keep it short and stocky but I think for this grow it might be to late. As far as raising the hood .... well honestly I would try and keep it as close as posible to the tops of the plants .... 3" at all times and move up only when neccessary....
If you look at the pictures, you will see the AG hood sideways, illuminating from the bottom....
I was just thinking of raising it so it shining from above.... not far, I agree with you that they need to be only a few inches...
Hope I clarified that.... LIGHTS AS CLOSE TO THE PLANT AS POSSIBLE...without burning them... if it burns your hand it will burn your plants...
Oh... and I am always wrong....
iamthatguy
Well-Known Member
Thats not necessarily a bad thing. You just learn the hard way!Oh... and I am always wrong....
GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
LOL...Thats not necessarily a bad thing. You just learn the hard way!
It all works in the end...
Thanks for all the great advice. I adjusted the HPS much further downward. I actually had the AG's up on my desk before but the leaves directly under the brightest spot of the HPS illumination were getting burned, so I decided to just put them on the floor while leaving the HPS suspended at the same height. Yesterday, I took your advice and brought the lights closer. This has been total trial and error.
Yeah, the roots do get pretty tangled. I try to lift up the whole tray once in a while and just sift through the roots with my fingers before putting it back into the reservoir.
Gypsy, I take it that the AG lamp hoods should be shining only on the tops of the leaves. I read that somewhere else as well, but it appeared to be disputed in this forum somewhere, so I wasn't sure. Btw, that aquarium/garden is totally mad-scientist-ish.
Iamthatguy, I removed the lamp hoods of both AG's so, I'm not sure I need to top the plants. But if I needed to, would you just snip off the top of the stem or only branches coming out of the main stem?
All the plants are getting really bushy now, not just tall and stretched. I don't wanna jinx myself, but I'm beginning to think I may actually succeed with this grow. Anyone have any experience growing/smoking Early Queen or Skunk (mr. nice)?
Yeah, the roots do get pretty tangled. I try to lift up the whole tray once in a while and just sift through the roots with my fingers before putting it back into the reservoir.
Gypsy, I take it that the AG lamp hoods should be shining only on the tops of the leaves. I read that somewhere else as well, but it appeared to be disputed in this forum somewhere, so I wasn't sure. Btw, that aquarium/garden is totally mad-scientist-ish.
Iamthatguy, I removed the lamp hoods of both AG's so, I'm not sure I need to top the plants. But if I needed to, would you just snip off the top of the stem or only branches coming out of the main stem?
All the plants are getting really bushy now, not just tall and stretched. I don't wanna jinx myself, but I'm beginning to think I may actually succeed with this grow. Anyone have any experience growing/smoking Early Queen or Skunk (mr. nice)?
GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
hman230 said:
Hman, you know... I don't know that they should be only on the tops... I said what I said because it looked like you could use more light on top... and I would prioritize the tops over the bottoms...
I have a bunch of lights from the side and even some from under, but I do have a shitload of light hitting my canopy...
Also worthy of note is the fact that my plants have been tortured into contorted shapes... so I do have leaves growing in every direction... making side lighting almost a necessity...
As for The Alpha Beta Project - A Miniature Aquaponic Farm
it is just an experiment... eventually I will harvest both fish and vegetables... but right now, it is the prefect seedling/hatchery environment... with very light nutrient content in the water, and no worries about nute burn...
It's been fun to watch... and as the seedlings develop a root system, I move them down the line to the next (fishless for now) DWC set-up...
Glad you enjoyed it...
Post some more pictures man... c'mon.. you're supposed to flood us... lol
Glad your garden is going well...
Take care...
Gypsy...
Ok, i'm beginning my fourth week of flowering, but still no signs of sex. Hope I'm looking in the right places. Having never grown anything before, I'm just going by the pictures posted in some of the other threads about determining sex. Two AG's going side by side, under one HPS and ringed with two AG lamp hoods. 3 biggest plants went into flower earlier than the 4 smaller ones, but all are pretty bushy and tall now. The tallest is 2 feet. and no more problems with weak stems.
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korvette1977
Well-Known Member
They are looking good .. Good luck ... keep growing
Thanks, Korvette. Did you use LowRyder in your AG? Your plants look so short and manageable. The seeds I used are the only ones I ever bought, but I think they are just prone to grow tall. I don't know.
Wacky, I'm not sure how to keep the plants from stretching. At first, I had the AG lamp hood on its lowest setting as I began vegging the seedlings, and I only brought the lamp hood up a notch after the leaves started touching the AG lights. That's when I had the weak stem problem.
After I removed the lamp hood and bought an HPS, I had them way too high only for a day or so. Then I brought them back down to where the edges of the leaves where the HPS' brightest spot was slightly burning them. Not sure how to keep these plants from getting so tall. I used to be mainly scared of having tall plants cuz I thought they would just tilt over from their own weight again, but now it's okay. In fact, if it means a bigger harvest, I dont' mind them growing to the ceiling.
Wacky, I'm not sure how to keep the plants from stretching. At first, I had the AG lamp hood on its lowest setting as I began vegging the seedlings, and I only brought the lamp hood up a notch after the leaves started touching the AG lights. That's when I had the weak stem problem.
After I removed the lamp hood and bought an HPS, I had them way too high only for a day or so. Then I brought them back down to where the edges of the leaves where the HPS' brightest spot was slightly burning them. Not sure how to keep these plants from getting so tall. I used to be mainly scared of having tall plants cuz I thought they would just tilt over from their own weight again, but now it's okay. In fact, if it means a bigger harvest, I dont' mind them growing to the ceiling.
GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
user#420 said:
GypsyBush said:I totally understand where you are coming from with this question... and I agree with the general thought that you can do the same or better, cheaper and just as easy as the Aerogarden...
But with all that in mind, I would like to share a different perspective on the subject....
In my case it was 99% convenience... I have made several trips to the operating room this year, treating an extreme leg fracture, and walking down the isles of HD or WM looking for stuff... even with their little cart was an impossibility...
I sent a cab driver with money over to the feed store nearby my hotel, and he came back with it... no way I could have given him a list to WM...
On top of that, it wasn't until I started with the Aerogarden that some of the "magik" disappeared... I have grown before, outdoors, in big fields, but hydroponics... AEROPONICS... that's like...scientific, futuristic, geek stuff...
I knew ZERO about it, and that same afternoon I had my clones "installed" and as happy as they are today...
Knowing what I know today, would I do it again??? No Way!!!!
Knowing what I knew then, would I??? For sure!!!!
Why? you must be asking....
Because then I didn't know it could be done so simply... call it Ignorance...
But I didn't know and it has helped me learn soooo much, it has more than paid for itself.... would the tupperware be a better deal..? YES and it would pay for itself even sooner... but that doesn't make the AG a bad investment... just a slower one to give you returns...
If you could reach every noob and tell them to get a plastic container and airstone, I would give you props.... but since no one can... it is great that there is such a product out there, to encourage people that would otherwise not even attempt...
Is it a tool for an experienced grower? NOOOO.... it's a toy with which to learn in...
Some are fortunate to have access to more information than others...
But my AG has been an education, and there is no price on that...
I don't regret it at all...
I do tell people interested in the AG that they can do it for less money, but some insist on the "product" appearance of the AG... something they can have on their counter top without it being a plastic bin with some tape...
You know how it goes... opinions... preferences.... but I agree, no questions, you CAN HAVE THE SAME OR BETTER RESULTS FOR WAY LESS MONEY THAN THE AEROGARDEN... but there is a convenience aspect for many many users...
Uh...!?!? How's that for an answer...???
I really hope I didn't sound stand-offish or rude, that was really not what I intended... I worked out hard at physical therapy today and now I am high as kite...wooooouuuww...
Anyway... Thanks for playing...!!!
Be Well...
Gypsy...
I guess that kinda explains how I feel on the whole AG debate.... lol...
After four weeks of flowering, not only can I not tell the sex of the plants, but the bigger ones seemed to be dying. The lower leaves were all turning brown and brittle and some of the upper leaves were shriveling up. For about two weeks now, the plants had gotten so big that the reservoirs would be half empty every day, so I would take a big basin and fill it up with tap water which is about pH of 7.0, add pH Minus to get it down to about 5.5 and then fill up the reservoirs. I did this for two weeks without checking the pH in the reservoirs themselves, since I figured that just adding pH adjusted water was enough (at the rate that I was re-filling every day).
Big mistake. After seeing the plants deteriorate without recovering, I checked the pH in the reservoir, and they were way too low. I use a medicine dropper type of pH test which turns a different color depending on the level. The pH was off-the-charts low. I added some pH plus and I got them up to around 5.5 to 6.0.
This was about three days ago, and I still don't see any improvement in the plants. Can plants ever recover from a pH deficiency? Should I just empty the reservoirs and start over with fresh tap water?
Do nutes change the pH level of the water?
Big mistake. After seeing the plants deteriorate without recovering, I checked the pH in the reservoir, and they were way too low. I use a medicine dropper type of pH test which turns a different color depending on the level. The pH was off-the-charts low. I added some pH plus and I got them up to around 5.5 to 6.0.
This was about three days ago, and I still don't see any improvement in the plants. Can plants ever recover from a pH deficiency? Should I just empty the reservoirs and start over with fresh tap water?
Do nutes change the pH level of the water?
GypsyBush
Well-Known Member
oh man... I'm sorry...
you need to stabilize your plant's environment as soon as possible...
make sure you check the ph level and recheck it often until you are sure of what it is going to do... do your best to not let it fluctuate...
bummer...
can you pst pics?
Best of luck bro!!!
Gypsy...
you need to stabilize your plant's environment as soon as possible...
make sure you check the ph level and recheck it often until you are sure of what it is going to do... do your best to not let it fluctuate...
bummer...
can you pst pics?
Best of luck bro!!!
Gypsy...