tying down

[gilly]

just a quick one . i was wondering if you can tie the leaves up with those freezer bags ties. my leaves are so big that they dont let any light in to the new shoots. will this harm the leaves .

thanks

[Luke Skywalker]

Yup, not a problem.

 

You should be careful not to overtighten them around the stems or petioles. Don't tie the leaves themselves, just try and bend them down out of the way. The shoots are feeding themselves on the leaves, and the leaves themselves only intercept maybe 15% of the light that hits them, so it should be okay for the shoots underneath.

 

The flow of sap is just under the surface of the stems and tissues, and this is why a stem, when opened up, is hollow. Be careful about overtightening around the stems surface, as you can cut off the sap flow this way. Some use rubber bands to help with tying down, and I myself sometimes use twist-ties, although I've been using nie-co-rolls more often lately... (check out my grow thread to find out what these are...)

 

So yeah, you can use twist tie, just don't overdo it and don't worry too much about the leaves, they're there to absorb light and feed the plants, so you don't want them entirely out of the way, nes pas?

 

Hope that helps gilly.

[F420]

why not just turn the leaves so that they are sideways?? this will allow the light to get past them but you wont need to spend time tieing things up??

[Luke Skywalker]

True, but said leaves will turn back, due to their innate phototropism. You have to secure them if you want them to stay in one spot.

[gilly]

thanks for that . so tying the actual leaves with those freezer ties is no good . because i tied them up and the new shoots started to take off straight away i noticed a big difference in just 2 days. i just went and untied the leaves and found a little bit of moisture build up on them what is that from and is that a big proble?. all im trying to do is get the shoots to grow big enough so they can grow outside of the leaves and then there shouldn't be a problem (i hope) . thanks

[Luke Skywalker]

The moisture build up may be from the foliage pressing together and not allowing excess humidity, (which can build up to astounding levels very quickly in the indoor growing environment) to be removed. Most growers have some sort of fan, oscillating or not, in their growroom to circulate air around the room, as well as an extraction and possibly intake fan. The circulation fan helps to keep the overall humidity levels and ventiltation in a good range for the plants.

 

As to the stems, well, if you're growing inside, it's actually better to have close nodes and short plants than large ones, but even if the leaves are blocking off the lower shoots to some degree, it's not the only force in play. Hormones in the plants stems determine which shoots become dominant and receive the stimulus to grow. The hormones concentrate in the highest points of the plants, and you can use this to your advantage. By bending the stems horizontally instead of vertically, the hormones are evened out in the tips which are now at the top, and there is stimulus given to the lower shoots, now upper shoots, to grow.

 

So yeah, keep the venting up, don't worry too much about the leaves shading the shoots, as they'll work themselves out eventually. Oh yeah, and you can use freezer ties, but just be careful of overtightening them.