Neoprene Collars for Fog

[Prodaytrader]

On my last grow I used a neoprene collar that had a large center hole in the middle. I'm pretty sure it was too big actually as I got some mold down below the neoprene. I see that this is nothing new as many people use a neoprene collar that is tighter. Black Stars seem to be the best solution. My question is this; are the plants able to push the neoprene out of the way as it grows bigger then the hole? Is this why the Black Stars have slits in the center to allow for expansion? I want to make sure and use the right collar this time to prevent mold but I don't want to put a tiny cutting in a hole the right size only to find that it cant push the neoprene away from the middle to allow for trunk growth. Make sense? I would really like to use the same collar from cloning to flowering in a 3" netpot. What's my solution?

[oldmac]

Hey PDT,

Blackstar collars are really great, they work much better then EZ-clonner collars because they lack the "skin" at the top, bottom and middles. The extra cuts do allow for a larger variation of stem sizes.

BTW, you can actually start seeds in them.:thumbsup:

But unfortunately they are only available in 2"....so make your own.

Look for some 1" thick, open cell neoprene foam. Find a pipe size with the OD you want, chamfer the pipe to make it sharp and punch out collars. Then slit them with an exacto knife like a blackstar and whala.:D

[Prodaytrader]

ok good idea oldmac. Can you point me in the right direction as to what a "open cell neoprene foam," is? Is that something different then what I have been using?

[oldmac]

Open cell foam acts more like a sponge, it will absorb water. The blackstars act like that, you can squeeze them and water is released. If you try that with an ez-clonner collar, you will find that they don't absorb or release water when squeezed. They have like a "skin" on the top and bottom and if you look closer you'll see it in the middle. This skin is closed cell and acts as a barrier, plus if you try to grow with them they leave a real dent in the stem that looks to me as a choke point.

I'll look again for the stuff I used and where I got it (tho I took a quick look before when I answered the other day...I knew you would ask). This goes back at least 11 years since I made collars, so my memory is a little weak.:D

[Prodaytrader]

ok no biggie. I made an attempt to locate sheets of any sort of neoprene but all I could find was either too thin or didn't look like very good neoprene. Looks more like foam which I'm pretty sure isn't what we are talking about. I think the black stars are cheap enough, it's just that I need to get new pots too. lol