Airbasket and fimming tech pics

zags

Active Member
Its not really a trial as it has already been used and tested by others and myself.
I have used it for a while now.
I guarantee results and i make no money,thats how you know you can trust me:weed:
Hey Natmon,

Just found this post... Just starting my real first grow with a couple of bag seeds and a couple of Nirvana Afghan, all have germinated and three are out of the soil with the afghans showing green leaves. But haven't decided how I'm going to grow them...until now I think.

i'm intrigued by the system you use natmoon and amazed by the fact you've gotten > 1lb yield by this method. I suppose your theory on the extra oxygen and added ability to sustain all that dense bud growth is dead on.


Is this a system a novice could mimic?

my current setup is specifically 400w combo + 150w CFL all in a grow tent (~5x5x8) with enough cfm exh

thanks!
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Hey Natmon,

Just found this post... Just starting my real first grow with a couple of bag seeds and a couple of Nirvana Afghan, all have germinated and three are out of the soil with the afghans showing green leaves. But haven't decided how I'm going to grow them...until now I think.

i'm intrigued by the system you use natmoon and amazed by the fact you've gotten > 1lb yield by this method. I suppose your theory on the extra oxygen and added ability to sustain all that dense bud growth is dead on.


Is this a system a novice could mimic?

my current setup is specifically 400w combo + 150w CFL all in a grow tent (~5x5x8) with enough cfm exh

thanks!
Yeah man anyone can use it,it takes no skill really.
IMO most buds are starved of oxygen during flowering which leads to them being smaller.
I know my yield claims sound like crap but you should also consider that i used an F1 sativa/indica hybrid.

F1s are usually always 25% more of everything.
I will personally guarantee that you will notice better results using an airbasket setup than normal pots.

I also use fimming,leaf removal and bending,good nutes and good water and make sure that my hps is about 8" or so above the plant.
This will cause slight bleaching of the tops which puts people off of doing it but its not really a worry and will greatly increase your yield.
The bleaching effect disappears from the tops as the plant grows bigger anyway.

Also use sip watering for the best results which is more work than flooding the plant,but in my opinion this causes the plant to "assume" that it is in a fairly dry climate and push out a bit more resin.
I believe that one of the main purposes of the plants resin is to prevent itself from drying out.
If the plant thinks water is aplenty it will produce less moisturiser imo.

I have no scientific evidence of anything that i say,just my own exp which i share freely.
Give it a go for yourself and see what you think,i am sure you wont be dissapointed and that you will also never grow in a normal pot again after the airbaskets.
Best of luck:weed:
 

zags

Active Member
Yeah man anyone can use it,it takes no skill really.
IMO most buds are starved of oxygen during flowering which leads to them being smaller.
I know my yield claims sound like crap but you should also consider that i used an F1 sativa/indica hybrid.

F1s are usually always 25% more of everything.
I will personally guarantee that you will notice better results using an airbasket setup than normal pots.

I also use fimming,leaf removal and bending,good nutes and good water and make sure that my hps is about 8" or so above the plant.
This will cause slight bleaching of the tops which puts people off of doing it but its not really a worry and will greatly increase your yield.
The bleaching effect disappears from the tops as the plant grows bigger anyway.

Also use sip watering for the best results which is more work than flooding the plant,but in my opinion this causes the plant to "assume" that it is in a fairly dry climate and push out a bit more resin.
I believe that one of the main purposes of the plants resin is to prevent itself from drying out.
If the plant thinks water is aplenty it will produce less moisturiser imo.

I have no scientific evidence of anything that i say,just my own exp which i share freely.
Give it a go for yourself and see what you think,i am sure you wont be dissapointed and that you will also never grow in a normal pot again after the airbaskets.
Best of luck:weed:

I don't have any reason to suspect you'd be BS'ing...plus that effen huge plant with those huge colas speaks for itself, IMO.

I scored some airbaskets (10x10x8), got a pump, got some sponges and got some water crystals (calcium chloride I believe?)
However, I can't seem to find your post in which you indicated your soil to perlite ratio, nor how much of the water crystals you used, I saw something on the i-net about 2 teaspoons per gallon of soil.

I found this stuff:

D A M P R I D - The Original Non-Electric Moisture Absorber

but again, could find no indication on how much is suggested (and whether that would even be appropriate for my use)

DO you mind sharing your nute schedule/amounts?
What pH level would you shoot for?

thanks again Natmoon...expect to have some pics to share shortly.
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
I don't have any reason to suspect you'd be BS'ing...plus that effen huge plant with those huge colas speaks for itself, IMO.

I scored some airbaskets (10x10x8), got a pump, got some sponges and got some water crystals (calcium chloride I believe?)
However, I can't seem to find your post in which you indicated your soil to perlite ratio, nor how much of the water crystals you used, I saw something on the i-net about 2 teaspoons per gallon of soil.

I found this stuff:

D A M P R I D - The Original Non-Electric Moisture Absorber

but again, could find no indication on how much is suggested (and whether that would even be appropriate for my use)

DO you mind sharing your nute schedule/amounts?
What pH level would you shoot for?

thanks again Natmoon...expect to have some pics to share shortly.
I use 7 small,5" width,pots of soil to 3 pots of perlite and i mix the crystals into this mix at the ratio that is stated on the packet per soil volume.
Dont forget to mix this mix up really well by hand.

The nutes that i use usually bring the ph of my water to the correct levels on their own but as all waters and all nutes are not the same you will have o check this for yourself using a ph kit.
As to my ph levels this will always depend on the strain that you are growing.

Look for the recommend ph levels for your exact strain from where you bought your seed from,if it isnt mentioned try a search for it.
Some strains like a higher or lower ph level so you need to check for the best results.

Here is a link to my original thread as to be honest i cant really remember all of the details right now.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/39993-p-p-p-x-blueberry-134.html
If you have a read through you should be able to find any answers that you need.

If you cant just post in the original thread or here and i will try to answer based on what i can remember.
Best of luck:joint:
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
cant open the link, would mind explainin the airbasket briefely
Link seems to work fine when i click on it.
You will need winrar to open it.
It is basically just pictures showing how and what you need to build a basket and some fimming tip pics.

The basket is a simple pond basket with a normal bath sponge put in the bottom.
You then take a small fish tank pump and cut several small holes in the end of the pipe that you intend to place inside the sponge.

Cut the sponge only half way through with a knife so that you can put the part of the airline with the holes cut into it inside of the sponge.
Then just use and plant as you would any other pot.
The sponge acts like a lung essentially and your buds will be bigger:joint:
 

zags

Active Member
I use 7 small,5" width,pots of soil to 3 pots of perlite and i mix the crystals into this mix at the ratio that is stated on the packet per soil volume.
Dont forget to mix this mix up really well by hand.

The nutes that i use usually bring the ph of my water to the correct levels on their own but as all waters and all nutes are not the same you will have o check this for yourself using a ph kit.
As to my ph levels this will always depend on the strain that you are growing.

Look for the recommend ph levels for your exact strain from where you bought your seed from,if it isnt mentioned try a search for it.
Some strains like a higher or lower ph level so you need to check for the best results.

Here is a link to my original thread as to be honest i cant really remember all of the details right now.
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/39993-p-p-p-x-blueberry-134.html
If you have a read through you should be able to find any answers that you need.

If you cant just post in the original thread or here and i will try to answer based on what i can remember.
Best of luck:joint:
Good lookin out. Just ordered this pH tester, and storage solution; since I may try a DWC of some sort down the road.

Milwaukee pH52 pH °C Tester, Meter, pH 52

Natmoon, how do you suggest testing pH; via run off?

thanks again.
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Good lookin out. Just ordered this pH tester, and storage solution; since I may try a DWC of some sort down the road.

Milwaukee pH52 pH °C Tester, Meter, pH 52

Natmoon, how do you suggest testing pH; via run off?

thanks again.
I have never had the need to test run off as i haven't ever had any problems of that nature.
I let my water breathe in 3 litre milk containers for 48 hours,usually,24 if i forgot to fill them:o
I then add my liquid nutes to the water in the amounts described on the bottle.
My bottles state 3-5ml per litre,i use 5 ml per litre.
I then occasionally only check the ph levels with a ph chemical kit,but i live in a rural English area and my water is soft and clean.
I have a friend who lives in London and their bath/tap water looks yellowy,whereas mine looks bluey.
If you know your water sux where you live do not feed it to your plants.
My nutes always bring my water to the correct level:weed:
 

aliasofmike

Well-Known Member
excellent thread and rar

natmoon's airbasket will be supporting my next group of clones once they are grown up and round 1 is done.

thanks again.

anyone got an explanation of the use of water crystals?
 

kaydub

Active Member
Hey Nat, your plants always look incredible - you are obviously on to something.

I've ordered some 12" water plant baskets, and once my seedlings are ready for transplant they will get the moonbasket experience.

One thing you mentioned is that your plants are due not just to the airbasket, but to your fimming and trimming techniques. I think I understand the fimming pretty well, but I wonder if you would care to expand on your trimming philosophy a little bit.

What I've picked out from your posts is remove fan leaves that shade bud sites, don't remove too much at once and stress the plant. Anything more tips you'd care to add?
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
excellent thread and rar

natmoon's airbasket will be supporting my next group of clones once they are grown up and round 1 is done.

thanks again.

anyone got an explanation of the use of water crystals?
Hi Mike,thanks for looking through and giving my way a go,appreciate it:leaf:
I use water crystals for retaining extra moisture.
You mix them into the soil before you plant into it and they hold many times their size in water.
I think these are actually needed when using the sponge and airline as they cause the soil to dry out more quickly unless you have the time to keep a daily eye on them anyway.
Best of luck with it all:weed:
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Hey Nat, your plants always look incredible - you are obviously on to something.

I've ordered some 12" water plant baskets, and once my seedlings are ready for transplant they will get the moonbasket experience.

One thing you mentioned is that your plants are due not just to the airbasket, but to your fimming and trimming techniques. I think I understand the fimming pretty well, but I wonder if you would care to expand on your trimming philosophy a little bit.

What I've picked out from your posts is remove fan leaves that shade bud sites, don't remove too much at once and stress the plant. Anything more tips you'd care to add?
Firstly thanks for the compliment on my plants,much appreciated:leaf:

If you download the rar file in my first post in this thread it has detailed pictures of the plants all the way through which will help you to build a better picture of what i have done to my own plants.
Some of the pics have clear details of exactly where to fimm and trim.
As you will notice from the pics i take leaves off very specifically in the first stages of veg.

Once the plant is in flower i am more careful and i try to just take a few leaves every day from the top and working down the cola each day,removing only the biggest light blocking leaves from each cola and of course any dead or dying leaves.

I do this so that light can penetrate to the bottom nugs as well as the tops,this way you get more bud.
Some plants do not like to be topped or trimmed though and you need to check with your seed banks info first.

I dont really have any more info on trimming except dont be tempted to remove to many leaves in one day,seems like you have the general idea in your mind properly already.
4 or 5 at the most from each cola is plenty,its easy to get scissor happy and this is what has given trimming a bad name in the past.

Best of luck with the baskets,dont forget to keep them moist and use water crystals,let me know if you do a grow journal and thanks for giving my idea a go:weed:
 

kaydub

Active Member
Thanks, that's the sort of information I was looking for. I've read through your pppxblueberry thread, but with the pics deleted it was hard to figure out what was going on, that makes it a lot clearer.

As I recall from that thread you wait till the seedling has 4 pairs of real leaves, and then do the first fim on the 5th set.

Thanks again for the help. I am going to reproduce one of your trademark baseball bat colas or die trying! :weed:
 

natmoon

Well-Known Member
Thanks, that's the sort of information I was looking for. I've read through your pppxblueberry thread, but with the pics deleted it was hard to figure out what was going on, that makes it a lot clearer.

As I recall from that thread you wait till the seedling has 4 pairs of real leaves, and then do the first fim on the 5th set.

Thanks again for the help. I am going to reproduce one of your trademark baseball bat colas or die trying! :weed:
Yeah deleting all of those pictures sucked but was necessary,unfortunately.
It totally ruined my great thread,the pics were HD and really made the thread and all of the info come together.
Its very annoying when all of the pics are deleted from a thread so sorry for that.
Best of luck with it all and i reckon you'll soon have some bats of your own:weed:
 

jzs147

Well-Known Member
nat moon when fiming as you say you just grab the middle an pull it out do you.

i have done this for years but never had any more than 2 heads come back
 
Thank you for this Nat!
I love your airbasket's by the way. I 've got one with a sponge in the bottom and one with an airstone. I have my two mothers in the baskets. They love the extra oxygenbongsmilie!!
Big UP!
 
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