Upside-Down Aeroponic Cabinet...Design in progress!

Hey, y'all. I posted in another thread already, but I figured it's probably a better idea to start my own. I'm working on a 3D model of the cabinet I'm designing, piece by piece, and I'm going to start posting the progression of the design. Feel free to give me any input that you would like!

Only thing I ask is, please don't ask me for the individual part drawings or dimensions until I actually complete the design. Once I'm done, I'll be posting ALL of that. Thanks!

Ok, here goes:



Looks pretty much like a normal grow box at this point, but rest assured, IT'S NOT. Stay tuned!

you've got my interest : what's so special about this box, I wonder ...

Haha, well, the concept is to grow the plant upside down, without using any actual grow medium (aside from the initial germinating process). The rest of the grow process will be mediated by a top-mounted aeroponic nutrient delivery system. The idea with hanging the plants is to remove the vertical stress from the stem system. This should allow for the plant's energy to be focused on producing the buds, rather than stem structure. The same process is used to grow tomatoes, and various other fruiting plants, generally providing a higher harvest yield and superior quality.

very interesting cant wait to see how it comes out

So I've been kinda lazy today, just setting up a bunch of marijuana-related news widgets on my phone. On an unrelated note, I've been trying to quit smoking cigarettes for a while (I've been smoking cigs since I was 13, for the last 10 years), and now I'm officially on my way to being nicotine-free. Bought one of those electronic cigarettes that vaporizes a nicotine solution, and I haven't had a real cigarette in 9 days. When I get fewer urges, I'll switch over to the nicotine-free cartridges.

Ok, now onto the design picture for what I've gotten done today.



Basically what you see so far is this: On the top, there is an aeroponic chamber. This is where the roots will propagate, without the use of a typical medium (no soil, water, etc). Below this is the actual grow chamber. The size of this chamber is governed by the adjustable light box (this moves up or down depending on the distance requirements for the plants/lights. I will be using two ballasts, each with the ability to run either HPS or MH bulbs (both 600W). The reflectors will simply come from a few clamp lights with the moguls removed and capped off, with holes in them to allow the bulbs to slide through and be centered.

At this point, I'm thinking that I'm also going to use 40W 48" UVB fluoro's during the flowering phase, so I'm coming up with a way to spread that type of light evenly. If anyone has information regarding this process, then feel free to chime in. I'm totally capable of doing my own research, but since this is my thread, I want to keep the info in one place, lol.

Subscribed, this might be something i would try....

I am interseted but confused as to how this setup is going to work, I understand plants grow towards the light, and gravity pulls things down but wont it stress the plant having to grow down instead of up like nature intended? or are you going to grow them upright and somehow bend the branches down... like an upside down scrog method... Very interested to see more of your work

stelthy said:

I am interseted but confused as to how this setup is going to work, I understand plants grow towards the light, and gravity pulls things down but wont it stress the plant having to grow down instead of up like nature intended? or are you going to grow them upright and somehow bend the branches down... like an upside down scrog method... Very interested to see more of your work

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Well, the plants will be fully inverted, root systems up in the air, and tops and buds down below, in the grow chamber.

The easy way to look at it is this: When a plant grows upright, it diverts a significant portion of its energy to creating a very strong stem structure -- this being because it needs to support the weight of the plant wanting to tip over. Meaning, if the stem wasn't strong, the plant would simply bend and break.

By hanging the plant, it removes this natural desire of the plant to fall to one side or the other. The energy that the plant WOULD have spent on the stem growth can now be diverted to bud, THC, and resin production.

Keep in mind, this is all experimental with marijuana, as I haven't been able to find a definitive case where this has been tried yet.

so the stems will kind of be like vines?

I would love to see this built.

just had a quick question for the root system - are you planning on setting up some sort of netting to support root growth into the air or will the roots just spread themselves?

FreakNasty11 said:

so the stems will kind of be like vines?

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Similar, yeah. Again, think of the side-to-side argument. A simple experiment to show this concept would be using a wire and a weight. When using the wire to support the weight by method of hanging, it's not difficult to keep the weight in the same position (in the XYZ planes). Now flip the experiment over. It is impossible to support the same weight with the same wire in the same position. The thickness of the wire needs to increase exponentially in order to be able to effectively support the weight without the weight changing position. The energy that would be put into the creation of the thicker wire can be compared to the energy used by a plant to propagate stem growth.

hunt4pot1 said:

I would love to see this built.

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And see it, you shall. Stay tuned!

IMO said:

just had a quick question for the root system - are you planning on setting up some sort of netting to support root growth into the air or will the roots just spread themselves?

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Indeed, I am. I don't know exactly what it is called, but the material I plan to use is used to make washable filter screens for computer intake fans. Let me see if I can't find a picture of it. Hang on.

EDIT: Picture found.

It's difficult to see the structure, but there is a high amount of airflow, with a lot of strength, so once the plants have begun to root, this will support the root structure, leaving the ability of the nutrient mist to reach the plant completely unrestricted.

You would get much better results growing up-right, you could actually see negative gains growing upside down as building stronger stem systems actually encourages bigger/healthier bud production. It's like those few uneducated people that actually think that THC 'flows' to the buds when you hang the plant upside down...they couldn't be more wrong. Honestly I would use all of that effort/time to build a proper cabinet...unless you have time to burn for no reason.

Wizz said:

You would get much better results growing up-right, you could actually see negative gains growing upside down as building stronger stem systems actually encourages bigger/healthier bud production. It's like those few uneducated people that actually think that THC 'flows' to the buds when you hang the plant upside down...they couldn't be more wrong. Honestly I would use all of that effort/time to build a proper cabinet...unless you have time to burn for no reason.

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I am well aware that resin doesn't "flow" through the plant. I am simply building a cabinet that allows an experiment to be done, and should it not work, it will not be difficult to reverse the setup to grow as normal. If you have evidence that a stronger stem system encourages bigger/healthier bud production, please post it.

And yes, I have time to burn, lol, I'm unemployed currently.

EDIT: This is in no way meant to sound like I'm being a jackass. I just haven't been able to find any information that negatively affects my experiment, but I am 100% open to it. If it ends up saving me money by means of not wasting money on seeds just to have them grow feebly, then by all means, let me know ahead of time. I'm not rolling in dough, here, lol. Any money I can save, I can use for gas or rent.

As much as I wanted to pursue the experiment, through some in-depth research, I no longer think it's feasible. If anyone is curious why, check out the Gravitropism article on Wikipedia. Basically it describes that the reason plants grow stem-up/root-down is because of the release of the plant-hormone Auxin, from gravisensing cells in the plant's roots. Basically what this means, is short of genetic engineering to mutate the DNA of the plant, no matter what you do the plant will continue to grow its roots and stem according to gravity. From what I've found, the reasoning that tomatoes lends themselves to the upside-down growing method is because of the inherent lack of stem strength.

Sooooo, sorry to disappoint, but my cabinet design will be reverting back to a gravity-correct setup. I will, however, be keeping the aeroponic qualities of the design, just changing the orientation.

CaptainPointless said:

As much as I wanted to pursue the experiment, through some in-depth research, I no longer think it's feasible. If anyone is curious why, check out the Gravitropism article on Wikipedia. Basically it describes that the reason plants grow stem-up/root-down is because of the release of the plant-hormone Auxin, from gravisensing cells in the plant's roots. Basically what this means, is short of genetic engineering to mutate the DNA of the plant, no matter what you do the plant will continue to grow its roots and stem according to gravity. From what I've found, the reasoning that tomatoes lends themselves to the upside-down growing method is because of the inherent lack of stem strength.

Sooooo, sorry to disappoint, but my cabinet design will be reverting back to a gravity-correct setup. I will, however, be keeping the aeroponic qualities of the design, just changing the orientation.

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are you positive? i dont mean to argue against science, but i seem to remember trolling this site about a month ago and happening upon a grow journal with plants growing practically upside down. (i say practically because i don't think they were entirely inverted) im not sure what medium was used but the pots were suspended from the top corners of a grow room in a vertical setup. my description definitely leaves something to be desired, so maybe ill take a minute and search for it.
anyhow, this particular grower seemed to think that it was possible (his plants were growing, duh) and well i believe he even noted superior growth. please don't quote me on that, im really not interested in becoming just another person on this site providing bunk info.
that being said, im sorry to hear you have given up on your project, i was interested in seeing how everything turned out.

-IMO

oh and if i cant find this journal, either because im too lazy, stoned, or just incompetant, and you feel like doing some looking yourself the other particularly strange part about the grow was that he was doing it in a trailor(you know, those solid white boxes that you could hook up to your hitch) in his front yard. dont know who this person is, but they are thinking on a whole nother level...

IMO said:

are you positive? i dont mean to argue against science, but i seem to remember trolling this site about a month ago and happening upon a grow journal with plants growing practically upside down. (i say practically because i don't think they were entirely inverted) im not sure what medium was used but the pots were suspended from the top corners of a grow room in a vertical setup. my description definitely leaves something to be desired, so maybe ill take a minute and search for it.
anyhow, this particular grower seemed to think that it was possible (his plants were growing, duh) and well i believe he even noted superior growth. please don't quote me on that, im really not interested in becoming just another person on this site providing bunk info.
that being said, im sorry to hear you have given up on your project, i was interested in seeing how everything turned out.

-IMO

oh and if i cant find this journal, either because im too lazy, stoned, or just incompetant, and you feel like doing some looking yourself the other particularly strange part about the grow was that he was doing it in a trailor(you know, those solid white boxes that you could hook up to your hitch) in his front yard. dont know who this person is, but they are thinking on a whole nother level...

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You know something? Fuck it, I'll do it. I found his thread, and it was pretty interesting. I see he's still waiting on results, but from what I can see, the plants appear to be doing just as well as their gravity-correct counterparts. In addition, I've seen anecdotal evidence in some other threads where people claim that it increased their yields. I think this warrants an experiment. And like I said, if it doesn't work out, I'll just switch the setup around.

You gotta do it man! ! ! That chemical you said the plant needs to release through its roots is made with low levels of green spectrum light, maybe add some green spec near to the root system to help release it ? .. Just a thought, and if fans were correctly positioned the stems would surely thicken to hold the weight of the dangling budz?? - i would never of thought of this method so am pulling at straws for for you.... Hope you find a way to make it work from stelthy...never give up!!!!!

A little redesign might make it work though. You could have the roots going down but pull the plant lower and then you will just need to scrog them and keep pulling them down into the scrog. Give the plant no choice.

im thinking of growing and man i think its cool you should try it first on a small project so you wont lose anything i saw most people learn like the pc grow box dont go big from the start but trying and learn so you know where did you go wrong dont stop know no one know how it will end every body is just talking who know at the end what will end just start with a small box as test i wish i had the space i would start the test but for know i have to wait until the next year so i can order the seeds and start growing but go for it man good luck and i will be looking