Bothered by trellis netting

[Litew8stoner]

Ever since I started doing occasional trimming I’ve been bothered by how much nylon and microplastics seem to be in the weed (from the trellis nets which are cut in a million places). Kind of opened my eye to how much Ive probably smoked over the years. Does anyone in the grow community use natural/hemp netting as alternative for this reason?

 

[Switcher56]

I don't use 'em.

 

[f-e]

Not cutting the net is too low on most peoples priorities. They just think about the plants. In later life, you will just think about the net. Plants come and go, and always get chopped to pieces. Net and drip lines are what we need to think about. Fixing or replacing them, takes more time than avoiding them. It's not fun either.

I looked at some rope work recently that actually blocked 5% of the light. Typical pea and bean can't fray, it's solid. After a while it sets in shape, such that it can be tied up to the lights, out of the way, while new plants are going in. Treated right it can be used many times.

I must confess, I have had to repair a net in this last year. Now it looks shit. I can't show pics of my grow anymore, because it's sub-standard

 

[CosmicGiggle]

That's interesting Litew8, microplastics in the environment is a hot topic right now but I never thought of it as a possibility with weed.

........... one more thing to consider, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Creeperpark]

Cotton Twine is one of the more affordable, versatile materials that can be used for trellis netting It's food-safe, oven-safe, and strong but it has to be stretched into a pre-made frame.

 

[Cloneman]

I use a football/soccer goal net cut to shape in my 1.2m x 2.4m tent. Fitted with thick galvanised wire around the edge and twisted round the 6 poles tightly so I can slide it up and down.
After over 20 odd years of ball ache with others it was well worth the money and still scoring goals for me!

 

[TwistedPistil]

I use 60ft x 6ft trellis netting. It is tricky undoing the knot from the package it comes in, but if careful it doesn't take much learning curve imo.

I use either a cement drill bit and hookscrews in cemented wall areas and put the hook screws in 4" increments up and down and about 2 ft increments side to side so the trellis nets can be raised and lowered as needed.

If the room is sheet rock, I just make sure to hit the studs every 16 or 24 inches, depending on the construction of the room.

I used to use buckets filled with cement with 2x4s for a post and set those all around the perimeter and dispursed as necessary, but it was was way more ghetto looking and wasn't helping for my max potential as far as width and tightness of the trellis. I tie the trellis netting to gether for rooms needing multiple rows and found if you get 5he perimeters solid you can make the middle parts tied to gather very very tight, which you want if you plan on having nugs get as heavy as possible.

For tents, I always wondered the best methods for setting up a tight trellis system, so this thread has been investing to see the different methods used. Subscribing for sure.

 

[TwistedPistil]

As far as the netting in the product goes, that nylons in the buds is definitely a no go for me. I cut the branches out individually, big leaf, and hang, then when I've cut enough plant out to safely clear a section of netting, I do so. That way no nylon gets in the stuff. I used to think it was more time consuming, and it does take longer to harvest compared to Gung ho, but I get the branches cut up into Vs, big leafs gone, and hanging without the buds touching anything at all. I figure, what's the point of taking meticulous care of trich production to go and put your hands all over them or stacking branches and plants on each other. It's a giant puzzle, but to know the trichs are less damaged by far is a good thing in my book. This really translated to quality when making freeze dried full melt live rosin products. The buds don't get touched after day 21 at the latest, 99% of the time.

that soccer netting has me wondering. That's badass.

years ago I saw something in some forum or maybe even high times, idk, where a grower used actual fencing, like metal chicken fence or something. It was a useful tactic and the canopy was super cool looking because the weight of the fence made it droop in the middle, and he made a super nice coliseum style canopy with the shorter plants in the middle and the taller plants outside. With what we know now about PPFD, I don't know if that would be the best way to go, but for an old school grow under 1 1000w light, it looked pretty legit.

 

[f-e]

I had a fight with a new net once. It thought it had won. I had the last laugh though, when I got free and managed to stuff it in the bin.

 

[TwistedPistil]

I had a fight with a new net once. It thought it had won. I had the last laugh though, when I got free and managed to stuff it in the bin.

Lmao. Many fights, many fights.

You must fight for your right to party, no matter how you cut the cookie.

 

[exploziv]

For tents and diy rooms I used to do a wood frame with cotton twine tightened on it. Now I prefer to avoid nets, because I am not as patient as before and also I prefer to have it easier access to plants.
I seen there are elastic nets out there but also seen how they degrade pretty fast, so that means they contaminate the area with varios plastic bits, for sure. Maybe not when new, but after some abuse, yeah..
Also I am not sure most tents can take the force inwards needed to keep such a net well tightened. So I would still use the wood frame to provide lateral suport, even with those bought elastic screens, if I had to use them.
My go to training method is now bamboo or sugarcane stakes and reusable plastic ties. Each plant tied individually to their respective container, so I have easy access. But then again I am just a hobby grower, working in small spaces. For the big grows I understand the need for fast, cheap and easy to deploy plant suport systems.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

No fibers please... not even hemp, thanks.

Look into 14 guage 2x2 or 2x3 GAW (Galvanized After Welding) fencing for your screen. Sturdy as hell and only needs the grease scrubbed off of it first with soap and water. It does not break, give off fibers or any other downsides and is great stuff.

 

[TwistedPistil]

No fibers please... not even hemp, thanks.

Look into 14 guage 2x2 or 2x3 GAW (Galvanized After Welding) fencing for your screen. Sturdy as hell and only needs the grease scrubbed off of it first with soap and water. It does not break, give off fibers or any other downsides and is great stuff.

That sounds legit. I'm going to try this out. Thanks

 

[St. Phatty]

I agree, I would avoid polyethylene netting.

Polyethylene and many other plastics are destroyed by the sun.

I got way more experience with this because I started out using Poly film to cover stuff.

In some places where it broke into a thousand pieces, I had to shovel or rake the wood chips/ pieces of plastic mix into a box, pick out the big pieces, and burn the rest.

I'm doing an experiment now where I re-melt degraded poly and mold it to see how useful it is.

But my hot plate heater is barely enough. It needs to be watery when it's poured.

 

[TychoMonolyth]

I'm a fan of welded steel wire fencing. I'd rather pagewire fencing but I can't find it anymore.

I have to say, the best I've seen is a big room with bamboo stakes on every branch. Looks amazing.