how to prevent the 'light from one side' look

[Zen Master]

hey there guys. Quick question for the more experienced vert people.

Almost every time I've done a vert grow, I get nugs that grow great and towards the light, however the backside of the nug just looks slightly less mature (pistils etc).

Its not life and death, the potency is still good, It just looks like it grew with light only hitting one side of the cola for most of its life... which it did
I can pick out my vert grown nugs from horizontal in a mixed bag just by the look, granted I know what I'm looking for and am actively lookin for it

so. putting reflective material behind the plants is my first thought for a solution but in a proper V sog (I wanna get my tall boy module Coliseum up and running again) its gonna all fill in with plants anyways and reduce the effect of the mylar/reflectix

Last time I ran one 1000w HPS vert on a mover and probably stretched my light too thin with the circumference/travel (just had standing plants, no coliseum unit). This time I'm gonna have two 1000w's stacked on a mover which should throw excess amounts of light up/down and hit the backsides of the colas more. I'm hoping this coupled with adding something reflective helps.


any vert pros have any tips to alleviate the "one sided" look?

 

[megayields]

A lot of vert growers trim out the back, larf to let the energy go to the bigger buds. I did NOT do that last run and we WILL be doing the back-trimming and some minor lili-popping on shelves # 2& 3 on the next run.

I never have used light movers on a vert grow as I want a uniform and consistant luman hitting my girls, just my two cents worth tho. I know Doc Diesel has used one to very good results!

BTW using Reflectix/Mylar would be my FIRST suggestion for you to implement, cheap and it works....really well as a matter of fact! I cannot even think of running a room w/o it.

 

[Zen Master]

A lot of vert growers trim out the back, larf to let the energy go to the bigger buds. I did NOT do that last run and we WILL be doing the back-trimming and some minor lili-popping on shelves # 2& 3 on the next run.

I never have used light movers on a vert grow as I want a uniform and consistant luman hitting my girls, just my two cents worth tho. I know Doc Diesel has used one to very good results!

BTW using Reflectix/Mylar would be my FIRST suggestion for you to implement, cheap and it works....really well as a matter of fact! I cannot even think of running a room w/o it.

Yeah I've got one of these big things

and haven't ran it in years.

Last run I did bigger plants, this time its SOG, debating a one week or so veg in coco cups after getting well rooted (standard party cups fit the plant sites perfectly). Gonna be coco/perlite/possibly a bag of hydroton (been hearing about these 'chow mixes') DTW with some H&G nutes most likely.

I'm definitely going to coat the walls of the coli with something. I think reflectix would be easier to get in place and keep in place, plus reduce hotspots. I mean even a reduced reflection due to vegetation growth is still a reflection.

Given the angles of the coli wall and the lights being on a mover, I think the light should bounce around pretty well and cover most of the backsides (so long as I keep it defoliated enough to allow some light through)

I know I increased my yield of quality nuggets with the mover, the ones that get light from above/below because of the mover (usually the closer colas) were far less 'one sided' if much at all.

I'm hoping to just have some budsicles in there with minimal larf to begin with, however will remove any weak scraggly lookin stuff that manages to find its way in.

The coli itself is a tighter diameter than what I grew in last time, by a fairly significant amount actually (it says 72" but thats the reservoir I'm not gonna be using, center to center on the plant sites opposite each other is roughly 54" ). So I'm anticipating a much better run with better light distribution, double the lumens and a quick SOG type thing. (will probably throw some netting up to support em come floppin around at week 7)

thanks for the tips

 

[DHF]

The biggest factor in whether or not to hack out the backs of the plants in a sideways canopy , is if the bare bulbs are close enough to the plants where lumens penetrate THROUGH the canopy and are bounced back at the plants by either reflectix or the new high dollar "Orca" film a lot of growers are proud of these days....

Mylar sux , is a bitch to clean , and causes hot spots from Hell...now...

You answered your own question ZM since you know what went wrong on previous runs as in too big of a plant creates a canopy that lumens can only penetrate so far and if any gets past the plants they`re lost and absorbed rather than reflected back at the plants to harden up the further away nugs by end of cycle....so....

With as much light as you`re talkin bout usin ,there should be no back flarf , especially if you`ll be runnin smaller plants/budsicles ftw IME....

Can`t see the pics of your Coli so don`t know what your intentions are but good luck and holler if we can help....

Peace....DHF.......

 

[Zen Master]

Thanks DHF I was hoping you might chime in.

I updated the link to be from icmag for the pic so it should show for you now.

yeah I knew I was pushing my circumference and height with just one 1kw last time. Apparently I like to learn expensive lessons. I was trying to 'push it' and see what I could get away with for future reference. I definitely found out

I'm almost concerned the bulbs might be TOO close (colas are gonna end up being ~1-1.5' from the bare bulb)., however the vertical mover with about 1" to 1.5" of travel should alleviate hotspots.

My thoughts exactly with mylar re: hotspots.

Reflectix cut to fit should be an easy silicone/duct tape job

puttin some of these gals in there is my thought. These pix are T5 grown so vert 1000w HPS should make em nuckin futz.

I've got a bunch of ECSD x Honey White

and Tahoe OG x Honey White

 

[TommyTwoColas]

Zen, I envy you - I've dreamed about a Coli for years but (for obvious reasons) could never make that a reality.

Anyhow, I did the next best thing and made my own (more so a DIY Cage than a Coli, but you get the idea).......

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=204946

 

[FoCo(No.Co)]

Last time I ran one 1000w HPS vert on a mover and probably stretched my light too thin with the circumference/travel (just had standing plants, no coliseum unit). This time I'm gonna have two 1000w's stacked on a mover which should throw excess amounts of light up/down and hit the backsides of the colas more. I'm hoping this coupled with adding something reflective helps.

I have no solutions for you, but I'm curious what you yielded in your 1k vert run?

 

[cyat]

turn em or put a light behind em

 

[jahrastafareye]

perhaps you could place each plant on a lazy susan. tie each lazy susan together somehow and make it so a single pull on a string will rotate your entire crop. problem solved.

 

[DHF]

If you turn the plants AWAY from the light , all that`s happening is a waste of plant energy from the recovery time it takes the plants to bend backwards and grow back toward the light when they could be focusing on more important things such as node stackin and budsite formation....anyways...ta clear the air....

Couple close Bro`s at a med site did side by sides with all sorts of variables to get the skinny on what worked and what doesn`t , including a big plant grow with automated lazy susans that he ended up with 10 stretched out plants with elongated internode spaced , airy , fluffy colas that didn`t yield for shit....and...

This was with proven genetics dialed to know what they were capable of.....The other guy ran a side by side stadium setup with increased plant numbers hackin out the backs in 1 room against the other room turnin the plants 1/4 turn every day .....

The hacked out and shaped setup ended up almost double the room that was turned and left alone with no trimmin , prunin , or shapin ....so.....

If you`re gonna grow em bigger without shapin em sideways as they grow toward the lights ,it`d be better ta hack out the backs and have a distinct plant structure by end of stretch for the perfect sideways canopy where the bulbs can penetrate all the way through the canopy as stated above , and then be bounced back at the plants ta harden up the furthest nugs from the bulbs till end of cycle....

Just tryin ta save folks time and money in the long run cuz our lil hobby`s not a cheap 1 now is it guys....

Peace....DHF.....

 

[Zen Master]

I have no solutions for you, but I'm curious what you yielded in your 1k vert run?

Last time it wasn't the coli, It was just two gallon smart pots arranged like an actual coliseum with levels. the plants were taller though, not SOG style.


I was working under far less than ideal grow conditions TBH. I didn't even get a total tally because of some mid bloom spraying that unfortunately had to be done due to atmospheric conditions (mold etc). The spray had some Dutch Master Reverse in it because I was testing a strain that was notorious for throwing some errant nanners if not sprayed (bad decision #1 in running that strain period)

so long story short, the expensive lesson was 'dont spray a damn thing in bloom'. Dont jerry rig some grow setup to just get by, do it right from day 1. I lost a lot of quality OG nuggets due to being just fried from the spray, practically worthless for hash even. (I know it was my fault for using it so late, figured I'd try it and hope for the best otherwise it was surely going to be a loss regardless)

That being said I didn't spray everything and if I had to guesstimate having a similar yield on the plants I did fuckup as the ones I didn't I'd have gotten over one P but less than two.

It honestly was a 'trial run' for a handful of various OG's from co ops alongside some proven winners like ECSD and some seeds (Honey White) I ended up using in creating my own hybrids

 

[gardenbug]

Don't have the time to find the posts for you but if you are doing larger plants I've posted quite a bit about this problem. Searching my posts might be helpful. If I remember right there was also a good discussion on it somewhere in aeroheads stickied thread.

 

[madalasatori]

Last time it wasn't the coli, It was just two gallon smart pots arranged like an actual coliseum with levels. the plants were taller though, not SOG style.


I was working under far less than ideal grow conditions TBH. I didn't even get a total tally because of some mid bloom spraying that unfortunately had to be done due to atmospheric conditions (mold etc). The spray had some Dutch Master Reverse in it because I was testing a strain that was notorious for throwing some errant nanners if not sprayed (bad decision #1 in running that strain period)

so long story short, the expensive lesson was 'dont spray a damn thing in bloom'. Dont jerry rig some grow setup to just get by, do it right from day 1. I lost a lot of quality OG nuggets due to being just fried from the spray, practically worthless for hash even. (I know it was my fault for using it so late, figured I'd try it and hope for the best otherwise it was surely going to be a loss regardless)

That being said I didn't spray everything and if I had to guesstimate having a similar yield on the plants I did fuckup as the ones I didn't I'd have gotten over one P but less than two.

It honestly was a 'trial run' for a handful of various OG's from co ops alongside some proven winners like ECSD and some seeds (Honey White) I ended up using in creating my own hybrids

Mate I had the exact same thing using reverse - I applied it once on day ten of flower as per instructions and it damn near killed my entire crop. Worst product ever made, cost me thousands.

 

[Hundred Gram Oz]

FTW!

 

[catalyte]

how to prevent the light from one side look??

how to prevent the light from one side look??

easiest way to prevent that is NOT to use Screens(scrog) and or hydro set-ups in which the plants cannot be moved.....

Large plants in 10Gallon Containers(whatever medium) in a circle around a 1k bulb rotated 1/4 turn every day is my best suggestion....

 

[Zen Master]

easiest way to prevent that is NOT to use Screens(scrog) and or hydro set-ups in which the plants cannot be moved.....

Large plants in 10Gallon Containers(whatever medium) in a circle around a 1k bulb rotated 1/4 turn every day is my best suggestion....

impossible in my setup and I've heard from multiple sources that turning them isn't a good idea in vert.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I guarantee you rotating the plants results in less yield. Moving the bulb up and down though may have a slight advantage but not enough to get me to do it on a long term basis.

You are talking about a single bud lit from one side...correct? The light side ends up a little ahead maturity wise. Gotta say I had not noticed this...but I will get the scope out next time and see if I do get it.

You got some serious observation skills. I am stumped on a way to fix that..sorry.

 

[TommyTwoColas]

impossible in my setup and I've heard from multiple sources that turning them isn't a good idea in vert.

Don't turn your plants, dude.......total waste of time in setups like ours.

 

[michmedclones]

trim the backs off, its well worth it. Instead of timming off the bottom like you would with horizontal you trim the small back shit and train the large back nodes twords the front, using some "wire mesh" 2"x3" 16ga wire 36" tall 1 foot wide in the front of my plants has made a vert scrog and its all big fat buds, I trim off all the inside branches as well and it results in a lot of big colas and .5g-2g buds that are all solid, look good, and trim easier than the little fluff that you end up smoking yourself or turning it into another product

 

[Zen Master]

yeah I trim the backs out and the larf, last time my circumference was bigger so the main colas didn't get as much light as they will in the coliseum.

Even still the colas themselves, not the entire plant, had a different look on the side facing the light than the side on the 'dark side of the moon' that never saw direct lighting.

Its more noticeable in plants that color up as I've noticed purple tinges coming in on the light side with zero colors coming in on the dark side, same exact nugget.... wonder if it was because of a MH throwing UV the last time I ran the coli (mixed spectrum, last vert run wasn't with the coli, just one vert HPS)