step by step how to super crop

simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
it's been a while since i've done anything really productive around here.. but since i have a new grow going, and am doing things i often get questions about here https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/212352-all-new-growers-questions-tons-68.html i figured now would be a good time to do a nice new thread...

i love super cropping.. it is by far one of my favorite pruning techniques.. its quick, easy, causes little stress, gets huge results, and gets them quick.. best of all it can be done multiple times during the veg period.. this can mean huge results...

first lets talk a little about super cropping... the idea behind it is to push lower growth up and out... this means more tops, more lower growth that can get flowered, which all leads to heavier yields..

super cropping works by moving the auxins, or growth hormones, from the growth tips to other parts of the plant causing growth to happen below the point of super cropping...

to explain it in a way that makes sense, you basically fool the plant into thinking it has no top.. if the point in which you super cropped formed a horizontal line over the plant, the plant would try to push everything below that line up to give it a top... all the lower branches, instead of growing outward horizontally, will start to bend and grow upwards, vertically... really, everything below the imaginary line the super cropping makes grows vertically verse horizontally...

the end result from super cropping much bushier plant, more tops or branches closer to the light that will flower, and a shorter over all plant...

this can be done to any mj plant.. the only exception is autos.. it can be done once fairly early on.. but the veg life of autos is short so its impossible to get multiple super crops done successfully...

now, although it can be done to every plant, not all plants will react the same.. i urge you to try it on a few branches of a plant before doing the entire plant.. make sure your plant reacts well to it.. i haven't seen any plants that dont enjoy it yet.. but i havent by any means grown everything there is to grow..

now... for the slide show...

first, locate your plant... this girl was 3 weeks old monday.. i have super cropped her once or twice already.. you want to wait until there is a good amount of growth.. usually after a week and a half or two weeks your ok...


second, locate the spot on the stem you want to super crop.. remember it will create the imaginary line which all growth below will push up.. usually it is done close to the end of a stem or the main stalk.. i like somewhere under the 1rst to 3rd node set.. depending on how tight the spacing is..


this is where i decided to do her at...


now to start the super cropping... once you pick the spot, you want to gently squeeze the stem between your thumb and pointer finger... you dont want to pinch.. the idea here is to soften the stem.. not to break it...


this is somewhat what it should look like...


now turn your hand 90 degrees from where you started......


and do the same thing.....


hopefully after this your top will fold over like this...


if you have tops that are higher than the spot you just did do them also...


eventually you'll get to the point you do your entire plant, and it looks like this one when your done...



now a few last things before im done...

first.. please remember to start out doing a few branches at first.. make sure your plant reacts ok to it.. some do better than others... its better to make sure first... but again, i have not grown any that react poorly...

second.. if you tear the stem its ok.. you may get little rips that run vertically up the stem.. its alright if this happens.. your plant will be just fine... trust me.. it happens a lot..

third... be gentle when you squeeze.. you may need to work it a little if the stem is thicker.. this is ok... if you are too rough you will break it off.. i have done that.. topping unwantedly is not a pleasant surprise...

fourth... take your time at first... its nothing you need to rush.. get used to how the stem feels when it pops like you want it to.. how it feels when its softened enough to bend easily.. then build up your speed.. it can take a while to do a larger garden.. and you may want to hurry.. but patience is a virtue here...

lastly... when the spot your super cropped heals up it will more than likely be a thick round ball in the middle of the stem.. this is good.. think of it like scar tissue..
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
i actually went up and checked them a minute ago.. some of the tips that were pointing downwards are already turning back up towards the light.. within 3, maybe 4 days, they all should be up righted.. within 7 days they will be good to go for another super cropping..

i will take some pics of that girl tomorrow and post so you all can see how it looks the next day... its kinda trippy the first time you see it...

you will use it many times jaw... once you see the results you get you'll be hooked..
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
with super cropping you get more tops that would be available to FIM.. if that makes sense.. FIMing is a way to get multiple flowers at any given site... super cropping is a means to get more available sites towards the top of the plant that would be able to get FIM'd...
 
t crizzlet

t crizzlet

Member
Hey man good stuff. Im a newby and this is the kind of thread ive been looking for. I appreciate the time you put into this because its hard to come upon. I'm going to wait a couple days to try it but it was very well put my man. Thanks
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
t crizzlet said:
Hey man good stuff. Im a newby and this is the kind of thread ive been looking for. I appreciate the time you put into this because its hard to come upon. I'm going to wait a couple days to try it but it was very well put my man. Thanks
Click to expand...
glad to help.. your very welcome

t crizzlet said:
Do you think the bigger one is red to super crop? Its about 3 weeks
Click to expand...
yeah.. it would be fine to start her... i usually wait until there are about 3 or 4 node sets then start...





heres a picture of what it will look like as the plant begins to heal and upright the super cropped areas.. its kinda crazy to see the first time...
 

Attachments

simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
thanks bro..

i have always wondered how many people actually do this method... i think more people should.. or would be amazed if they did..

one thing about it i have noticed, is it seems to jump start growth on smaller plants.. i think its because the plant is moving the auxins from the growth tips from the growth tips to throughout the plant.. this causes an over all growth spurt through the entire plant and really gets the plants moving..

i'm still working on proving this through experience.. i have seen it a few times.. its hard to run across slow growing plants.. but currently i have 4 chocolopes.. all of which i thought would be runts... 2 of the 4 have trippled their size since i super cropped them about 5 days ago... 1 has put on substainal growth.. and 1 is still somewhat a small mutant.. but 3 of 4 aint bad...
 
B

beginnerbloomer

Well-Known Member
Good guide man,i tried my hand at supercropping this season along with topping & it was well worth it imo,it completely changed the plant.

After i first topped her she stretched really bad but now after supercropping & multiple toppings shes fat n bushy.

Is it possible that supercropping changes the node spacing coz as i said after the first time i topped, the node spacing was ridiculous like 4-5inches now its nice n tight.
 

Attachments

simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
topping, at least in my experience, causes more stretching than any other pruning technique..

i think its because the 2 tops that grow out were originally meant as side branches to the plant.. so they begin growing like that... side branches tend to stretch more when they first grow out since they have to get out from under the top foliage to get light... if that makes sense... its only after they grow out and up some that they begin acting like the main stem and grow tighter spaced nodes...

so i dont think that super cropping itself produces tighter node spacing.. but i think that super cropping allows the plant to maintain tighter node spacing throughout the grow... since it never actually affects how the branches them selves grow, more the direction that they grow... once they are close to the light source, or closer to the light source, they begin growing tighter nodes...

basically i believe the kind of light, amount of usable light the plant recieves, and distance from the light source(s) are the main factors that control stretching..

and since we are on the topic of topping.. i will recommend FIM'ing over topping... here is why and how to do it...

first FIM'ing actually works somewhat like topping.. it gives multiple tops for flowers.. but FIM'ing is much less stressful and can more often than not cause more than just 2 tops...

in order to FIM you must first locate a new growth bud.. this isnt a flower bud.. its a spot where new growth comes from.. using BB's pic i can explain where they are.. at the end of each branch, on the branch tip, is light green growth.. this is new growth emerging from the plant... in the center of all the new growth is a small "bud"... its just the actual spot where all new growth starts.. you may have to fold back a few small leaves to get to it, but its there... once you find it you simply pinch off about 75% of it... using your fingers is easiest... you can use scissors if you want.. but the uneveness caused by using your fingers, IMO, helps cause more tops to form...

if you do this right at the switch to 12/12.. or slightly before the switch, you can get crazy flower tops...

now... my personal program is this...

about 2 weeks after transplant, when the plants have a few sets of nodes.. i start to super crop... at first its just the main stem.. then as more tops emerge and push up i increase the amount of them i do... i just do this throughout veg.. and this only.. i want to expose and create as many tops as i can.. while keeping the plants short and bush... the more spots i can do the better..

about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through veg i begin really trying to get an even canopy... this is done by just making all the super cropped spots even across the top.. let branches that aren't as near the top push up, or work at pushing up, to get as close to the top as they can... this is important for indoors more than outdoors... but works on the same principal either way.. the more tops closer to the light the more flowers and larger flowers you can have..

when i get ready to flip to flower i FIM all the tops i can.. again i usually wait until right at the flip.. sometimes even a week into flowering.. but never sooner than a week before flowering.. this is because i dont want the FIM'd areas to grow out at all.. just be the to grow buds.. if that makes sense...

when going into 12/12 i give 24 to 36 hours of dark.. depending on when i want the lights on to be... and then finish things out.. but thats another story..
 
bigbudmike

bigbudmike

Active Member
I kinda used my own method of this super cropping. I started bending all the top limbs over until they would break just a little bit. Then in like 4 or 5 days they would start to heal and grow upwards towards the light. Do you think this method causes more stress to the plant than your method? It has worked great for me on my first and second harvest, but im still a little new to it all.
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
i would venture to say yes... only because you are bending them until they break... with my method (i dont like calling it that.. but....) you soften the stem up before you bend it.. and most of the time if you soften it right there are no breaks at all..

especially if your breaks are horizontal.. there is a much better chance that the plant will heal quicker and take on less stress if the breaks/tears are vertical.. horizontal breaks can lead to the limbs dieing.. not that it will everytime.. but it is more likely with horizontal breaks than with vertical ones..
 
JRG

JRG

Member
Hi all, my first ever post! (Lots more to come)
First off this whole thread has been 1 big info archive to me, explains all the ins and outs i wasn't sure on, so thanks for that my man!
My tent arrives in a few days and i should be joining the world of intelligent people by the end of the week :)
I have no questions at the minute for you guys, just lots of reading ahead of me....But of course any info would be great (Thread links, etc)
When things start to arrive i will no doubt start my own journal so that you experienced growers can have a read, and probably a giggle, at my amaturishness (is that a word?) But hopefully help me out along the way :)
This is the start of a wonderfull friendship i hope.
J
 
simpsonsampson420

simpsonsampson420

Well-Known Member
hey bro.. glad to have helped answer some questions you had.. i think you found my grow guide right?? if not let me know and ill link you to it.. lots of good stuff in there...

when you start the journal let me know.. ill be happy to follow along.. and dont worry about being new.. everyone was at one point.. gotta start somewhere...
 
JRG

JRG

Member
simpsonsampson420 said:
hey bro.. glad to have helped answer some questions you had.. i think you found my grow guide right?? if not let me know and ill link you to it.. lots of good stuff in there...

when you start the journal let me know.. ill be happy to follow along.. and dont worry about being new.. everyone was at one point.. gotta start somewhere...
Click to expand...
Link me up mate :)
I'm a bit busy through today but will have a thorough read tonight.
Honjestly can't wait for the day i don't have to buy shite off a dealer :clap:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top