to top or not to top
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Mirrordawn
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Just pinch the tops and let em branch out, thank me later
Dontjudgeme
Well-Known Member
Top
JoeBlow5823
Well-Known Member
TOP
Renfro
Well-Known Member
A method I like to use is, top once around 4 or 5 nodes, let the resulting branches grow straight up until they are long enough that you can pull them down in all directions (horizontally) press them out under a trellis (so if the plant is centered in a 4x4 area, branches should be about 2 feet long). They will then sprout branches out of the nodes of the horizontal branches, filling out your area with branches that will become your colas when flowered. Another layer or two of trellis above the initial layer will be advisable to support the weight of the resulting colas.
If you flip to flower too soon after pressing the branches will end up really short. Timing the flip is key to good yields without having issues with the plants growing into the lights.
Training the branches (super cropping) can be tedious if the strain is a woody one with hard stems, sometimes it's advisable to do it in stages, pull them down half way one day and the rest of the way the following day. Sometimes zip ties to the trellis are required to keep the branches from splitting at the base as they get heavier.
I have found this works like a charm, if you train the branches multiple times you can end up with a plant thats too bushy and needs significant loillipopping.
If you flip to flower too soon after pressing the branches will end up really short. Timing the flip is key to good yields without having issues with the plants growing into the lights.
Training the branches (super cropping) can be tedious if the strain is a woody one with hard stems, sometimes it's advisable to do it in stages, pull them down half way one day and the rest of the way the following day. Sometimes zip ties to the trellis are required to keep the branches from splitting at the base as they get heavier.
I have found this works like a charm, if you train the branches multiple times you can end up with a plant thats too bushy and needs significant loillipopping.
this girl is 35 days from sprout, I topped 5 days ago and began training, they are definitely short, I raised my light up a bit hopefully give them some legs...I didn’t let my tops grow up before training probably should’ve waited a few days and gotten some more vertical growth...been training slightly every day to make sure I’m getting light and air flow to each new growth...I’m still on the fence about defoliating a leaf here and there but super hesitant to...
Caliverner
Well-Known Member
Renfro knows his shit!!!!
Caliverner
Well-Known Member
Renfro are you in Cali?
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Colorado
Caliverner
Well-Known Member
Nice I wanted you to help dial me in lol
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Another training tip, if you break a branch by accident during training, don't panic, zip tie it up to the trellis so it's not falling down any further, then ziptie around the split, pulling it together. After a few weeks of healing you can remove the bandaid ziptie once it's healed good. 9 out of 10 times I spilt a branch it doesn't wilt and does just fine, even great. Sometimes using three zip ties, one around each branch and one to pull those two together you can pull two branches back together without actually restricting any of them, this support can be left as the plant matures and gets heavy. I often do this on branches after training because I fear they may try to split as the plant grows.
This plant was done for support during what I call the "press" or initial training / super cropping of the long branches under the trellis, when it was pretty sparse and easy to get into. Its in early flower now and needs a lollipop.
For size perspective, this is the plant yesterday when the lights were on, it's on the left side of that 1500 watt MH, closest plant and that trellis rig is 5 feet tall. I flipped that room a little bit early and the plants didn't end up as tall as I wanted, another couple days of veg woulda made the difference.
Always use UV rated zipties in grows. With HID lighting especially. I have seen the cheap zip ties get brittle and break after just a month or two under HID lighting, especially metal halide.
This plant was done for support during what I call the "press" or initial training / super cropping of the long branches under the trellis, when it was pretty sparse and easy to get into. Its in early flower now and needs a lollipop.
For size perspective, this is the plant yesterday when the lights were on, it's on the left side of that 1500 watt MH, closest plant and that trellis rig is 5 feet tall. I flipped that room a little bit early and the plants didn't end up as tall as I wanted, another couple days of veg woulda made the difference.
Always use UV rated zipties in grows. With HID lighting especially. I have seen the cheap zip ties get brittle and break after just a month or two under HID lighting, especially metal halide.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
You will get it figured out I am sure.
Caliverner
Well-Known Member
Renfro are those 20 gallon garbage cans?
Romeo7701
Well-Known Member
Top them man and let them grow some more clone the tops if you have the room and increase you yield dude that's what I'd do...
Caliverner
Well-Known Member
Ok thank you
Romeo7701
Well-Known Member
FA man wish I could get that deep into it!!! Question a grower said my leaves shouldn't be as green as they are tell me what you think please???
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Well that can be too much nitrogen and it can be genetic. For example, I can grow my Mimosa right next to my OCD x M15 and the mimosa is really dark like that and the OCD x M15 is a lighter green. One thing that makes me lean towards it maybe being nitrogen in your case it the "claw", your leaf tips curling downwards could be a light case of the claw, it can get much worse.
So yeah too much nitrogen can make a plants leaves darker than they would normally be but you also have the genetic factor with some strains just being dark to begin with.
If growing in something like FFOF this excess nitrogen is common and doesn't persist after the first 6 weeks or so, when the nutrients in the soil start to become exhausted. If bottle feeding you simply need to ease up on the nitrogen, it's not a big deal in veg to have a little excess nitrogen but in flower we want to taper off the nitrogen as we progress, with later flower showing the N fade on fan leaves from the bottom up. If it happens too early then it's no bueno but we want it to happen in late flower to indicate we are using the nitrogen stored in those leaves to make flower and we don't have too much nitrogen that would effect flavor.
For me, in flower the N goes down after stretch and the P & K go up and then P drops off again at the very end for ripening, K going up a little. In my opinion it's mainly N and P surplus in late flower / ripening that causes harsh smoke. P is a big factor in yield so we want it in mid flower to be right up there with K but ease off on it as ripening happens.
Romeo7701
Well-Known Member
Thanks man and you may be right I'm using Peter's 20/20/20 at 1/2tsp per gallon bottle feeding in sograham peat / black cow / topsoil mix 1/1/1 with about 40% perlite mixed in... I appreciate the response man!!!
