upside down trial

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stuart6060

Member
i bought one of those upside down tomato baskets and i started from bagseed, waited one day and then placed the whole 4" pot, covered with a coffee filter with a hole in the middle for the plant down into the upside down planter with help from someone holding the basket i lowered it thru the hole at the bottom. removed the pot and added more soil around the roots. i then stuck it under a 27 watt 6500k cfl, then place a paper towel around the bottom of the topsy turvy also with a hole in the middle for the plant, this is to help with some of the heat and reflect some light back to the bottom of the plant. my biggest concern was watering without having water drip down onto my lights, so to try and fix this and several other more technical problems i am trying to overcome, i lined the top of the soil with sponges to help keep the water at the top of my planter, and act like a wick system for watering, hopefully solving these problems. this is just day 2 of its life, and i will try to keep updating this. i am doing this as a small project just for curiousity in between my other grows. i just registered for this site today, but this is my main source of knowledge of growing. i have frequented many related sites, but i always come back to this one. as for future plans for this girl, as long as things go well, are to switch the light out, it was just an extra one i had lying around, to one 27watt cfl negative ion bulb, one 27watt uv cfl bulb, and one 42watt cfl to be my top light source and add other cfls for side lighting as she gets bigger. i will have these new bulbs within the week and will update when i do.
 
xceptional

xceptional

Active Member
ive always wanted to see if this worked thanks for pushing the bar and giving it a shot! i'm subscribed i'll be watching!!!!
 
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stuart6060

Member
stupidclown said:
you'll need to hang a weight from the top or she'll try to go up around the bucket
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right i know gravitropics (sp?) thats one of big problems, but i am hoping that the sponges cause the roots to have to grow up and the lights below to give it a source to grow towards. i have her on 24hr schedule to prevent any turning she might do when its dark. i am also going to try to tie her down if needed.
 
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stuart6060

Member
a few other things, although the uv light will be at the top it will be the only one on a timer, i do want to start it early on in the plants life, but i dont wanna fry her, so it will be set at just 5 min the first week and plan to increase very slowly over some time, or maybe i should keep it on all the time but farther away and move it slightly closer over time. only time will tell what i will do, gotta have the bulbs in hand before i can anything, and thats just a few days away. anyone know how reflective a paper towel is?? ha ha. already have a seconds set of leaves poking out and she seems pretty content growing right into the light, i just hope it doesnt change, i have heard many people have problems with this even doin alot of the same things i am trying. but to me i need to see it for myself, and if it doesnt work i still have a very nice hanging baskets for tomatoes come spring time, i know they work. i see it as a great learning experience. the bag isnt opaque its lets some light thru but i am using soil which covers the roots but could that cause more of an algea issue with the sponges given that light penetrates the upper portion of the bag above the sponges as i only have the bag filled 1/2 full of the soil and just one layer of sponges above that?
 
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stuart6060

Member
another thought is i might top this and concentrate on four main colas making it easier to manage and if those four tend to go up i will train them or tie them to the stem... some many thoughts of how to go about this... its still early but i like to have a plan. after seeing some pictures from 420magazine.com i know that if they bottom branches dont get enough light they turn back up, leaving only the closest branches at the light. see many obstacles to overcome but i am keeping my fingers crossed
 
themistocles

themistocles

Well-Known Member
you have inspired me and I am going to do the test along with you. I'm going to try to use a MH light under as well. Will post picks soon.
 
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stuart6060

Member
so im am just at the end of day three and i am already losing the battle to nature. i have new leaves sprouting and they are doing great, but the first set of true leaves are already almost facing the container. not in the way i thought and had seen a picture of, with the tips curling back under, but with the whole leaf almost facing the pot, like the leaves of some trees turn over before it rains, its odd looking. i am wondering if it would work best if the plant had established more of a root system, say having waited a week before flipping. i wanted to start it off the rip so it would never really know the "right" way. also i am wondering if this would work doing just a 12/12 from the start, not trying to get a big yeild , but keep the plant more confined, thus giving me less to have to try and get to go right. it would be just one bud basically and i know people would say waste of money time and effort, but im not concerned about any of these as this is just for fun. i do have three other planters, but i wanted to see what i could do with one before i tried to expand. any thoughts?
 
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stuart6060

Member
so the plants bending/flipping was countered last night by moving the light away from the bend, hoping it would straighten out...


no luck. in fact it is almost growing "up" already, against what i have now. she is still progressing but her top is at her base, i think my lights need to get here quick in case this is an issue of not enough light to pull the plant down. maybe a more powerful light would suffice for trickin it, i was a little concerned about that in the earliest parts of her life, but as she is growing i think i have no choice. time to get out the rope already.....:eyesmoke: the heat from just this little light has bad a significant rise to root temps at such a close range
 
bloatedcraig

bloatedcraig

Well-Known Member
This looks really interesting am in. What about putting a toilet tube around the sprout so it has to go toward the light. At the minuet there is light bouncing around every where. It will focus the plant on growing towards the light, looks a little small for ropes and knots at the min.
 
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stuart6060

Member
bloatedcraig said:
This looks really interesting am in. What about putting a toilet tube around the sprout so it has to go toward the light. At the minuet there is light bouncing around every where. It will focus the plant on growing towards the light, looks a little small for ropes and knots at the min.
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i like the toliet paper tube idea, i had propped it upright earlier with a straw, i also took off the paper towel at the bottom to keep light from reflecting back to the plant and confusing it more, i dont wanna have to tie it up at all but i think it is inevitable...
 
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stuart6060

Member
so i just put the tube around it and kept the straw in there to straighten it out to the end of the tube (cut down). if i can find some batteries around here i will snap a new pic and post it, looks pretty funny with its bottow leaves facing the pot and the top leaves heading toward the light now.
 
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