Support for new weak plants...

Support for new weak plants... With harvest time near I am starting my new crop.

A few of my new babies are quite weak and almost top-heavy. I waited some days hoping they would right themselves but now they need additional help.

The main stems are too weak to tie up to small stakes so I though of a better way...

Use small hollow plastic coffee stir-sticks and a short lengths of twisty-ties! I cut the ties about three inches long and stuffed one end of the tie into the top end of a stir-stick leaving about 1/2 inch of tie exposed. I bent the remainder of tie over. Next I estimated the length of straw I would need to to gently tie around the new plant stem and meet the stem about midway. I cut off the remainder of the stir-stick.

I placed the open end of the stir-stick in the soil and I've got to tell you that this approach works great with minimum stress to my new plants. When my weaker babies get stronger I will remove the twisty and brace and we should all be good-to-go!

We have local 'Smart and Final' stores and I got a box of 1,ooo stir-sticks for about $5. I suppose you can check around at some restaurants and get them for free ~ even better. I have been using the stir-sticks for coffee and cappuccino, but now I found a new use for them!

Sure hope this helps y'all...

I remain,

SOGLAD

A picture is worth...

And SAY... see my LadyBug on patrol on the rim? She is one of MANY!

I remain...

SOGLAD

I read here from someone to take a straw, cut it to length and slice it open and just wrap it around the stem and press it down. have not bothered with anything else since, works brilliant

HONESTLY... while it is a easy and novel approach, I would not want to molest any plant that much... UNLESS it was Primo!

You could bury your stems deeper when transplanting and lower the lights too.
Also add a fan for some air movement to thicken those stems.

probo24 said:

You could bury your stems deeper when transplanting and lower the lights too.
Also add a fan for some air movement to thicken those stems.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply.

You know, it's just one of those things... the plants in back are 1 Full Moon older... same seeds, same germination process, the lights have not been adjusted (yet) and there is a fan gently moving all of them,

My newer 4 simply grew taller, faster and the only thing I can think of different is that it has been much HOTTER this last week and maybe that contributed to the rapid growth up?

I could see the upper weight really starting to pull them over, so my Rx has added ZERO stress to the plants ~ unless I hit a root installing the stir-sticks? As you can see, I simply provided a hook and I didn't need to totally around the stock.

It's a solution that worked for me and I hope that it can help others too.

I remain,

SOGLAD

Yeah, i find the hardest thing in soil is when it dries, the support can move around.
Does that happen with those?
I use root riot cubes and always stick a unbent rubbercoated paperclip in the cube
with any clones/seeds i plant in case they need support later on. Roots simply grow around the clip.
You just bend it to shape as needed, and you can use different colors for different strains.

probo24 said:

Yeah, i find the hardest thing in soil is when it dries, the support can move around.
Does that happen with those?
I use root riot cubes and always stick a unbent rubbercoated paperclip in the cube
with any clones/seeds i plant in case they need support later on. Roots simply grow around the clip.
You just bend it to shape as needed, and you can use different colors for different strains.

Click to expand...

A good idea too!

No, I have not had that problem because I never allow my soil to get so hard that roots can't grow or navigate. If it is so hard it can't accept a stir-stick, methinks the soil is much too hard.

No offense, but I like mine better because I can adjust/cut the stir-stick to the height I need. The twisty-tie only has a 'hook' (see my photo) and that does not have to wrap completely around the stock, only hook around the stock to support it.

SOGLAD

FOLLOWUP...

So far my plants are launched and happy as can be! I've decided to leave the braces for now, but the stems are now strong and simply 'float' within the twisty-tie ring.

Film at 11:00!

SOGLAD