Ok, Time for some LST, prolly a week late, actually. Found some "hookup wire" I had picked up a while ago from Radio Shack, of all places, for some project or other. Unopened. Basically 20ga solid wire, insulated. I used the red, for contrast. Mostly took before and after shots. Drilled holes in the buckets every 2-3 inches around the rim to give LOTS of tie down points, may need to take Jucy and Zilla(2) around the rim, we'll see. Using the wire, I made a hook end (Like a shepherd's crook), and ran that around the trunk. The other end went through a hole and got bent up over the lip. Seems strong enough to secure the pieces, but if the girl objects too much she should be able to pull free. Based on what I'd read up on, I used two ties / plant, one to support the stem, so as not to stress/crimp the root / stem junction; the other to actually tie the girl down. It had been about 3 days since last watering to improve their flexibility. Will see if I can post the pix, and add text below them. They all got a good drink, pretty much the last of the condensate. Either the basement's staying dry so the du-hume is not getting as much, or it's leaking out - sure don't seem to have much going into the collection bucket..
Juicy, no before shot, you can easily see the wire ties. She had already gotten a bit bendy chasing the light, which has been on for 24 / day since losing 1/2. Hopefully the replacement power supply comes soon. Anyway, hopefully she'll roll over / turn up to chase it again. Not sure the lower nodes will amount to anything but larf, but they'll have a chance!
Goldy, showing what a proper topping looks like. Funny, She was the one taking OFF as a sprout, is much the shortest of the group. Not tall enough (yet) to reach the lip / use the holes, so I just drove the end of the hooks into the soil. You can clearly see the two separate tops, and the lower nodes are branching well, and will get better light now too. The stump of the original stem is just to the right of the left side hook. At some point in the next week, I'll top 'em again, and get the lower nodes too.
Zilla(1) - Pretty sure she got Fimmed. One of the leaves is missing about 1/2 the ends, seems to have just one central stem, still. 2nd shot shows highly developed branching on lower nodes. This is being VERY interesting, to compare to her sister.
Zilla(2) - TALL (a bit stretchy, missing the extra light. Starting to show pre-flowers / proto-buds, which I guess at nominally 5 weeks is about right. Seeing that, Picked up some Vigaro Bloom ferts, 15 -30 - 15, top dressed the 3 autos w/ that, 'should' take them to completion w/o and additional ferts, as they're showing NO sign of deficiency, looks like the soil / manure / worm casts was a good call, for starters! 2nd shot gives a good idea of how tall she is (well, LONG, now...) the the difference in the lower nodes from her sister is dramatic. Again, not sure those guys will ever do anything, but hey, they'll get a shot, now.
Was supposed to be a group pic, but apparently I only bothered to include Zilla(1) again. You can see how much shorter she was than her sister, but appears to be pre-flowering on all the lower nodes. The main stem is toward the top left, you can see the red "hook"
