Should you cut off fan leaves during flowering

Scwirl1611

Active Member
So I purchased a spider farmer sf 4000 and learned from last harvest to only pull what’s under my scrogg net week one of flower and tuck for a week then untuck. After that raise the light and tie we down. I learned it’s better to only make 8 -10 bud sites that will be the size of my bed on each plant with satellites also having bud sites attached to it then to make as many cola sites as possible making popcorns if that makes sense. Last harvest it took almost 15 weeks to harvest because I pulled way to many levels at week 2 of flower and I got more leaf than calyx ratio. From learning that I am just flipping today and have at least 50 plus branches with main cola sites and sati as live that spider farmer. I’m trying to do a low nitrogen and all p and k for bloom. Gonna try 0-10-10 for flower. Last crop I used tiger farm and it was crap. Burned my ladies badly.
I had the same problem with my first grow and I also used fox farm TB? And I found that ocean Forrest was too strong for baby autos.
 

Scwirl1611

Active Member
I had the same problem with my first grow and I also used fox farm TB? And I found that ocean Forrest was too strong for baby autos.
You also have to look at the company’s intent and that is to sell more product. So try using half of the recommended dosage. They tell you three teaspoons (to sell more) when one,one and a half should be good.
 
I had the same problem with my first grow and I also used fox farm TB? And I found that ocean Forrest was too strong for baby autos.
Get away from fox farms. I know several guys that have bails of it sitting in the shed because fox farms, innce they make everything in small batches, they messed up the innoculant/biologicals/microbes/bacteria ect.... so the only way to get it to actually be "super-soil" they had to buy fox farm organics and add it to the soil themselves. Thats why they still have 200 gallons of FFOF soil sitting in the shed. You're seriously better off using promix with some perlite and some RAW microbes, its cheaper too. This is one of the many reasons i switched to hydro. Instead of buying all thay soil every time, just buy hydroton once. Uses up to 80% less water too. Sure you need constant power but you know what else does.... ligjtts! So if the power goes out so do your lights, at least in ebb/flow hydro you can still top feed if the pumps wont work but in DWC you're screwed unless you can oxygenate that water somehow. Ok sorry now im starting into a different topic... what was the question again? I love the first toke of the day.
 

xwant2LeaRNx

Well-Known Member
Get away from fox farms. I know several guys that have bails of it sitting in the shed because fox farms, innce they make everything in small batches, they messed up the innoculant/biologicals/microbes/bacteria ect.... so the only way to get it to actually be "super-soil" they had to buy fox farm organics and add it to the soil themselves. Thats why they still have 200 gallons of FFOF soil sitting in the shed. You're seriously better off using promix with some perlite and some RAW microbes, its cheaper too. This is one of the many reasons i switched to hydro. Instead of buying all thay soil every time, just buy hydroton once. Uses up to 80% less water too. Sure you need constant power but you know what else does.... ligjtts! So if the power goes out so do your lights, at least in ebb/flow hydro you can still top feed if the pumps wont work but in DWC you're screwed unless you can oxygenate that water somehow. Ok sorry now im starting into a different topic... what was the question again? I love the first toke of the day.
I can remember years ago when I was a dirt guy after harvest I would have to discard of so much soil then go buy new soil for my next round.. so then I jumped into hydro my first system was ebb and grow bucket system. Then after those harvests I would be cleaning hydroton for 2 weeks. I kept telling myself there has to be a better way to do this without having to do so much work after harvest. So I got rid of the bucket system and now I just run flood and drain tables with 8-in net pots. A running piece of white felt at the bottom of my table for the roots to grow through.... Cheap and easy set it and forget it.... I still have to clean hydroton after harvest but the amount I'm using now only takes about 30 minutes to clean and I'm done everything else goes in the trash....
 

raggyb

Well-Known Member
no one ever mentions bending fan leaf stems similar to like we do super cropping. does that work? Just pinch it tightly between 2 fingers and it flops right down. I don't really like tucking cause it's all mangled, and I feel stupid buying ties just to tie a fan leaf down. I tried bending it because the leaf was all in the bulb trying to burn itself!
 

Holeleeshet

Well-Known Member
Through veg I used 6–4-4 and just flipped the day before yesterday. I’m gonna use 8-22-18 Alaska. I tried happy farms fish feet last time and it didn’t work out so well. I’m growing peaches this time and it loves its ph at 5.1-6.1 and they like there humidity high as well. I’m assuming it’s where there sativa photo. Last harvest they were a train wreck but doing wonderful this crop. This was last harvest with dialed number in ph levels at 6.8 and ppm of 350. You can see the def. where they nutrient locked. I tried to go higher at first this season thinking it was the other way around but was wrong and it gave magnesium problems. I added that lemon juice and they blew up.
 

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xtsho

Well-Known Member
I like to cut fan leaves off as soon as they form. They're just sucking up energy from the plant. I keep all the leaves trimmed. Just stems and sprouts. That way everything goes into the new growth that I keep cutting off to save energy that could be going to new growth.

And around and around we go.

My plants love their leaves.

 
no one ever mentions bending fan leaf stems similar to like we do super cropping. does that work? Just pinch it tightly between 2 fingers and it flops right down. I don't really like tucking cause it's all mangled, and I feel stupid buying ties just to tie a fan leaf down. I tried bending it because the leaf was all in the bulb trying to burn itself!
I did. I mentioned that I usually bend the leaves and tuck them behind or under a stem or another leaf anywhere its feasale and doesn't block bud sites.
 
yeah the leaf actually straigtened itself out so I bent it again. I didn't expect it to do that.
Yeah its technically called phototropism. The leaves will always try to reposition themselves to absorb as much of that delicious light energy as they can. Fun Fact: It's when they are getting too little light energy (either the light is too far away or too dim) that stretch occurs. when they start getting too much light (above 84,000 lux for some strains) the plant starts closing off its photoreceptor cells in an attempt to protect itself from too much light. If left unchecked for too long, the plant will not reopen those photoreceptor cells even after you lower the intensity and the plants (and you) will suffer a severely diminished and stunted harvest.
 

Holeleeshet

Well-Known Member
Last time I cut and lost a good 13-15 oz because of calyx to leaf ratio so I’m leaving all of them on until they wilt yellow from the nitrogen telling me they need more. I might have pull a couple big fans on top when I defoliate week two of flower but it will be very lightly and maybe one big from each cola site. Ladies are looking good but need watered tonight.
 

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Holeleeshet

Well-Known Member
These pics are each 9 days apart. Daily leaf trimming and LST. And definitely no I'll effect on growth. I've done both no trim and trim. And In my experience trimming over grown fan leaves seems encourages fast growth
It works well when u do that to pull the big leaves but when that happens your also opening up that door for nitrogen to push up in more places faster then it’s needed. I never trim anything unless it’s week 1 after final transfer and week two of flower. Good luck you got a nice looking bush growing there. I would pull them six cola sites on your corners straight as an arrow as far as you can get em and let them lower nodes peak out. You’ll gain another six sites cause right now I can see part of there edges under you colas in the scrogg net
 

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
Last time I cut and lost a good 13-15 oz because of calyx to leaf ratio so I’m leaving all of them on until they wilt yellow from the nitrogen telling me they need more. I might have pull a couple big fans on top when I defoliate week two of flower but it will be very lightly and maybe one big from each cola site. Ladies are looking good but need watered tonight.
Narrow leaf varieties don't need as much leaf removal as broad leaf varieties. That said, I doubt you lost 13oz in that small space because of leaf plucking.
 

Holeleeshet

Well-Known Member
Also I would go buy a pack of bananas and put the peels in water for a week and use it for some potassium when your vegging. Mine turned yellow like that and I gave em a potassium bath in between a feed.
 

Holeleeshet

Well-Known Member
Narrow leaf varieties don't need as much leaf removal as broad leaf varieties. That said, I doubt you lost 13oz in that small space because of leaf plucking.
If not 13 close to it. All my buds didn’t dense and only grew foxtails up. I over plucked at flower and I ended up making the colas grow a foxtail and sugar leave between each layer all the way to the tips. You can see how many sugar leaves are on em.
 

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PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
If not 13 close to it. All my buds didn’t dense and only grew foxtails up. I over plucked at flower and I ended up making the colas grow a foxtail and sugar leave between each layer all the way to the tips. You can see how many sugar leaves are on em.
And your on of them people who always over analyze what advice one gives and assume your opinion is superior to others. I’ve banana peeled my pot for years and they love it. Especially in coco
I stand by my previous assessment.
 
If not 13 close to it. All my buds didn’t dense and only grew foxtails up. I over plucked at flower and I ended up making the colas grow a foxtail and sugar leave between each layer all the way to the tips. You can see how many sugar leaves are on em.
Poor calyx to leaf ratio can be genetic or caused by grower error and foxtailing can be genetic too, however, if you have good genetics, proper defoliation will not make them foxtail. Proper defoliation only removes fan leaves that are blocking light to the nodes. If you can look down at your canopy and see the floor/soil/hydroton/whatever, you have removed too much foliage and are now wasting light. PGRs will also cause foxtailing as well as compost teas, if you have weaker genetincs or if you feed them any PGR past week 6. Too much phosphorous will also make them foxtail, but again, if you have good genetics, its unlikely (unless the foxtailing IS genetic). I have stripped almost every fan leaf off of a plant before doing an experiment and with almost no fan leaves, 18 inches under 1KW HPS, no foxtailing. The buds were definitely suffering for it but no foxtailing. So, especially since there are multiple causes for foxtailing, defoliation being the least likely, please stop spreading misinformation about defoliation. Defoliation, like most other things, is good in moderation. If you think you are right then prove it by getting good genetics, proving they are good genetics (like breeder packaging) and grow them without using a PGR or anything with triacantanol in it and defoliate them properly. Grow to clones from the same mom side by side and defoliate one properly and leave the other alone. If you are right then only the one you defoliate should foxtail, right? If you are so sure of what you know that you are advising others on the subject, you'll have no problem proving that people should listen to you instead of science and decades of experience. Sorry if i sound like an asshat but i hate it when people spread misinformation. If you had bad results from doing something that everyone else has great results with, then you did it wrong. THAT is why your harvest was apparently 13 oz under. By the way, im curious, with a space that size and you claim you lost over 3/4 of a pound, are you saying that because you have grown that exact strain in that exact setup last cycle and 13oz less OR did you just get 13oz less than what you were expecting? Im sorry if this post seems harsh but proper defoliation is a huge boost to node growth, air circulation, and helps keep humidity lower in bloom. If you had a bad experience with something, call it a bad experience until you test it again, properly and get the same results.. what nutrients and additives were you using, what was your TDS throughout flower? What type of lighting were you using? How close were the lights? What strain were you growing? Where were the genetics from? Have you tried to repeat exactly what you did with a different strain?
 
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