Should I remove chicken wire due to mold?

[Bib4tuna]

I have an outdoor plant with chicken wire around plant. I noticed yesterday that one of the small budding sites where branch was growing through wire had mold where budding site was flush against the wire. I removed the tiny flower but am worried that more mold is going to develop where budding sites are against the wire. Should I just remove the chicken wire & let plant grow as is?

 

[Homesteader]

I would let it grow but that is me. Hexagon chicken wire? You could try spraying that area with a greencure or hydrogen peroxide.

 

[Bib4tuna]

I would let it grow but that is me. Hexagon chicken wire? You could try spraying that area with a greencure or hydrogen peroxide.

It’s hexagon. I’ve never really used chicken wire before but buddy who gave me clone told me to put some around it. When I noticed the little bud flush against wire that was starting to mold I assumed it was from no airflow to bud & also probably pressing moisture into bud. This has got me worried because there’s a few other sites where flower is practically growing against the wire.

 

[Homesteader]

I use steel wire and never really had that problem. Sometimes they cut in though. Is the plant health overall good?

 

[Bib4tuna]

I use steel wire and never really had that problem. Sometimes they cut in though. Is the plant health overall good?

Yeah plant looks good aside from that little bud that had some brown on it.

 

[Homesteader]

Personally I would trim anything in the cage just for airflow. If you get some buds cut out it just puts that growth into the better buds up top. It def wont hurt anything to do so

 

[Bib4tuna]

Personally I would trim anything in the cage just for airflow. If you get some buds cut out it just puts that growth into the better buds up top. It def wont hurt anything to do so

Will do. Maybe I’ll take some wire snippets also & cut wire where it’s flush against bud sites.

 

[Homesteader]

You could keep that one branch that is sticking out and get some quality bud off it though. Up to you

 

[Homesteader]

Yeah you could if you arent looking to reuse it

 

[Bib4tuna]

You could keep that one branch that is sticking out and get some quality bud off it though. Up to you

That one branch is actually main stem. I super cropped plant & that’s where main stem is coming through horizontally.

 

[Bib4tuna]

Yeah you could if you arent looking to reuse it

Yeah I’m not probably not gonna reuse but anyways.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I use rabbit wire sometimes to circle my outdoor plants. The holes are larger, the wire diameter is larger and due to that its less likely to cause injury to plant material. Welded wire fence has its place as a barrier or form of a trellis. Small gauge, small holed wire isn't the best choice though.

Vinyl coated fencing is a good option too.

 

[Bib4tuna]

Personally I would trim anything in the cage just for airflow. If you get some buds cut out it just puts that growth into the better buds up top. It def wont hurt anything to do so

Also was thinking about trimming up a bit like you mentioned but had read not to trim after wk.3 of flowering or could cause stress. Now I don’t know if that’s fact or If I got bad info from site.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Also was thinking about trimming up a bit like you mentioned but had read not to trim after wk.3 of flowering or could cause stress. Now I don’t know if that’s fact or If I got bad info from site.

I'll still trim a little here and there. Not much because the majority should be removed prior to week 3 ... but a little here and there is not going to hurt anything.

 

[Bib4tuna]

I use rabbit wire sometimes to circle my outdoor plants. The holes are larger, the wire diameter is larger and due to that its less likely to cause injury to plant material. Welded wire fence has its place as a barrier or form of a trellis. Small gauge, small holed wire isn't the best choice though.

Vinyl coated fencing is a good option too.

Yeah,Like so said this was my 1st time using chicken wire but I didn’t like size of holes like you mentioned. I was worried it might damage plant. I’ve grown yrs outdoors without using chicken wire & never had problems with any animals messing with plants. Just the usual pest like insects. I just kinda humored my buddy & gave it a try but not liking what I seen with that bud.

 

[Bib4tuna]

I'll still trim a little here and there. Not much because the majority should be removed prior to week 3 ... but a little here and there is not going to hurt anything.

Cool,I’ll do a lil trimming for airflow but keep it light then.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Yeah,Like so said this was my 1st time using chicken wire but I didn’t like size of holes like you mentioned. I was worried it might damage plant. I’ve grown yrs outdoors without using chicken wire & never had problems with any animals messing with plants. Just the usual pest like insects. I just kinda humored my buddy & gave it a try but not liking what I seen with that bud.

I use heavy gauge tomato cages. and I use the different hoop levels to help support my super-cropped branches. The wire also makes an outstanding place to anchor tie-downs too.

 

[Bib4tuna]

I use heavy gauge tomato cages. and I use the different hoop levels to help support my super-cropped branches. The wire also makes an outstanding place to anchor tie-downs too.

Yeah I was gonna tie down some branches so other branches could get more light but kind of a pain with those little holes.

 

[nashobaTHC]

Next year you might want to try my method of plant support that I’ve used for about 15 years. It’s useful for spreading branches and opening up middle of plants. Simply surround plants with 4 stakes (6-8 ft), then run strings around stakes at multiple levels depending on plant height (I’ve run up to six levels about a ft apart for tall plants), then use twist ties to secure your bud branches to strings wherever you want so they open up insides and don’t block lower buds. As branches and buds fill out the twist ties can be slid on the strings to move your branches as needed. The multi string layers provide support without touching buds. I’d estimate total cost to support an 8 ft plant with 4x8’ stakes and string is $8.25 ($8 for 4 stakes, $0.25 for 40 ft twine).

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Next year you might want to try my method of plant support that I’ve used for about 15 years. It’s useful for spreading branches and opening up middle of plants. Simply surround plants with 4 stakes (6-8 ft), then run strings around stakes at multiple levels depending on plant height (I’ve run up to six levels about a ft apart for tall plants), then use twist ties to secure your bud branches to strings wherever you want so they open up insides and don’t block lower buds. As branches and buds fill out the twist ties can be slid on the strings to move your branches as needed. The multi string layers provide support without touching buds. I’d estimate total cost to support an 8 ft plant with 4x8’ stakes and string is $8.25 ($8 for 4 stakes, $0.25 for 40 ft twine).

I love your method. It looks like a great way to handle it with larger plants. For smaller plants, the heavy duty tomato cages really do work well. Once the plant gets large though, branching can become so overwhelming that it becomes somewhat impossible to keep it from lifting the cage out of the ground.

I'd look at both methods and others ... there's many good ways to do this. Some fit better than others because of space/grow style/plant size etc. The worst thing to do is nothing at all ... spread those branches out the best you can. At the end of the grow season you'll be glad you did.