Is it too late to do topping?

[Tenner]

Okay this isn`t my grow but I was talking to a good friend and he told me he had a few litlens growing indoor using outdoor sun. As I grew before, I decided to ask some questions and see if I could spot anything that I could improve and found out:

4x plants of the same seeds, purchased online and a form of skunk.
1 month into growing using a soil substitute which was bought.
Plants are 8 cm tall with 8 nodes each (he is a beginner and I`m trusting its 8 nodes.)
They are healthy.

So, question. I told him about topping and I don`t know what the risk/benefit ratio is. What would you guys do in his place? Would you cut off the top node and get it to split into 2 anyway? Bare in mind the seeds aren`t feminised and I don`t want him to lose one of his daughters!!

Thanks guys

Edit: Oh and try and give him a good enough estimate of the benefits of doing this!

 

[faithfulmastiff]

sounds like a good time to top, a lot depends on height issues & yield etc etc, theres a lot of different methods out there, i topped mine 2 different ways, check links in sig

 

[sworth]

Why not top half of them now, and leave the others to compare the result with?

 

[Tenner]

Why not top half of them now, and leave the others to compare the result with?

I appreciate but was waiting for a more definative answer Its a different country with big fines on cannabis, if your caught your fucked so I don`t want him to screw around growing 10 plants which don`t yield enough, fines are issued on number of plants rather than the fruits.

 

[howdini]

LST them, you get more yield, the plants are smaller and more bushier topping isnt the best method coz it stunts the growth and from what i know LST doesnt correct me if im wrong im still new

 

[Tenner]

Yes your right about it not stunting the growth, I think. But I don`t think LST increases yield, I mean it can under certain circumstances e.g buds too heavy for the branches & buds not getting enough light etc.. but just by general, it won`t increase yield but rather get the plant to grow where we want it.

Correct me if im wrong, lol

 

[jawbrodt]

Sorry man, but there are no definitive answers, not really. Yes, you will end up with 2 main colas, but that's about all we can say, atm. The best I can do, is say that if veg time isn't an issue, and that you aren't in a rush to get another batch into the flowering room behind them, go ahead and top them, then top them again, etc..... The longer they veg, the bigger they will be, and the more main tops they have, the bigger your yield will be. It's a trade off, with time spent vegging. Each time you top, you lose a week or two, as the plant splits and recovers. But, in return, you end up with more mains. Also, keep in mind, that once your plant gets past a certain size, you'll need bigger lights to take advantage of it. Basically, there's no sense in growing a 6' monster, when your lights are only capable of illuminating the top 12", and so on.....

 

[Tenner]

So final verdict, just top some of them I guess... More for the fun haha cheers guys

Oh and lighting, its sunlight and not my grow so I dunno. The dude has the link to this topic so he can see your answers. Thanks!

 

[jawbrodt]

^If it's sunlight, and you have lots of veg time, I'd veg them as big as possible, topped a few times, as well. The sun, is as good as it get's, as far as light penetration goes.