strengthening stem structure

[five0addict]

right now im worried that my stems are developing too slow, it wilts somewhat at night and i washed it a couple days ago and had to hold her for a few minutes until she regained her strenth.
would more wind help give a workout so to speak? i hope to pack on some weight here in a couple weeks.
let me know so i can grow!

 

[WeeD22MaN]

Hey five0addict!!!

How old is she? Younger plants tend to have somewhat weaker stems. As I grow mostly hydro my stems keep up with a fan on them but I rember once I watered a soil plant I had going for about 36 days in veg and when all her leafs were wet I had to shake it off or else she would just fall over.. Do you got a fan blowing on them constently??

WeedMan

P.S: Don't worry as the plant grows bigger the stem will keep up. Usally you will get real weight problems durring the last few weeks as the buds fattin up. You might even need to pole them to hold em up right.

 

[five0addict]

im not sure buddy just gave me a pot with a pot one day, clone off of one of his. cant be more than a month or two, and ive had this clone for a few weeks. well i just got a 15" fan blowing in the crack of the door, just to where the leaves are slightly getting moved, circulation purposes only.

i should also say its had some training(i guess thats the word) he took a pinch at what is now my main/largest node, i took one from one side up a few and im waiting for my next cycle to finish up so i can make it even on both sides.
pic may show it

thanks for the assurance, i can finally sleep peacefully (currently 3:24am)

 

[steveoi812]

Hmm did you say you washed your plant? I would throw a little fan on her bro that'll help give her some stoutness. You could give her stems a little bend everyday too. It wont hurt her, just make sure you dont bend her too much or she might break...just my .02

 

[hoyt]

i know you can use silicon products in hydro, but im not sure about soil. silicon would beef up them babies!

 

[clowntown]

A fan giving the plant a slight wiggle will strengthen the stem. And as hoyt said, silica / potassium silicate based products (Botanicare's Silica Blast and Advanced Nutrients' Barricade to name a couple) will also help strengthen stems not to mention other benefits.

 

[Endo]

you could get some wooden dowels (sp?)and prop up your stems, another technique i use is pinching, every few days or so pinch a few of the stems till you hear them crack, just a little, not enough to break them but just enough so they pop, start at the top nodes of the plant and work your way down in between the nodes. if you start at the bottom the weight of the branches could snap the stem. after about a week or 2 you will have nice strong branches.
a fan on them wouldnt hurt either.

good luck
endo

 

[stealthballer]

if still in vegy you can use your thumb and pointer finger to lightly lightly lightly crush the stem where it comes out of the ground. The plant will stunt its growth for a while then pick up where it left off and your stem will be bigger for it. fans are good but more of a long term thing through out the grow

 

[clowntown]

Yes this method of "supercropping" can fatten up the stem, especially at the point where you crushed it. I've done it many times, after watching some Kyle Kushman video. But it can also lead to a crack / damage either at the time of crush or while healing, which can invite pests and diseases.

fans are good but more of a long term thing through out the grow

I'm not quite getting what you're trying to say here...

 

[stealthballer]

Yes this method of "supercropping" can fatten up the stem, especially at the point where you crushed it. I've done it many times, after watching some Kyle Kushman video. But it can also lead to a crack / damage either at the time of crush or while healing, which can invite pests and diseases.



I'm not quite getting what you're trying to say here...

thats why I say lightly, over pinching causes the problems you listed.
I say a fan is a long term approach to thickening stems. fan on them from day one would have made him not have a problem. the way I said it was ambigious sorry

 

[five0addict]

ive had a fan on it just not enough to really move it much, just got another smaller fan i will put inside directly on it.
oh i just had an idea, if i put pressure straight down it will have to push harder to grow. how bout hanging some weights on the branches too.
couldnt hurt to try, and christmas is coming up anyway lol

 

[Guest]

wind wind wind and more wind

 

[dankbudz]

i dont think you should hang weights....too much risk

 

[stealthballer]

ive had a fan on it just not enough to really move it much, just got another smaller fan i will put inside directly on it.
oh i just had an idea, if i put pressure straight down it will have to push harder to grow. how bout hanging some weights on the branches too.
couldnt hurt to try, and christmas is coming up anyway lol

lol just tie her up and connect string to the pot she is growing in. much easier than wieghts and a pretty common practice

 

[Guest]

wind wind wind and more wind

You can try all these bending/ nute and supercropping methods but all come with risks with their benefits. I agree with lurker. You should definatley see the plants moving.

I have one very large standing fan on a roatation mode set on medium. My plants all shake pretty harsh when it hits them. I also have a small fan clipped to a ledge near the top of my plants which makes them wiggle more. At night the bigger fan is set on my light timer, so it runs less than the smaller one.

Start fans whenever you can, and you should definatley be able to see the plants shake in the wind (but don't over do it, they should shake real good, not completeley bend over). I use fans throughout the whole process, the plants like it and I have found IME the more wind I have the closer I can keep the lights...

If they are so skinny they wont stand for the fan, tie them to a stick, then turn on the fans making it shake even though it is tied down, it should strengthen up....