I've done side by sides before and my conclusion every time is: don't.
I never take off leaves unless they're bunched to where I remove a few to prevent mold, the leaves are totally dead or I'm harvesting the plant. Defoliating has always reduced my yield.
I top the main and FIM the rest. When they're growing you just focus on keeping everything growing evenly. This will vary from supercropping to plain pinching. More towards the end when everything is growing more evenly I'll just pinch the stem of the highest branch(es) accordingly every so often.
Here is my method to harvesting and curing:
When the plants are ready to be chopped, I cut off all the fan leaves that are easily accessible. I then cut the plant at the bottom and hang upside down and cut them into manageable segments ~12-15". Here I will cut off any fan leaves I missed before...
Here's my coco nute regiment:
(55 gal res measurements)
VEG:
1/2 cup Dyna Gro Protekt
1/2 cup Dyna Gro Foliage Pro
1/4 cup Grow
1/2 cup calmag
1/4 cup sm-90 (surfactant)
BLOOM:
1/2 cup Dyna Gro Protekt
1/2 cup Dyna Gro Bloom
1/4 cup Grow
1/2 cup calmag
1/4 cup sm-90
I run around 400 ppm and...
I would say blumats if you only have a couple plants but def go with dripper system if you have a lot. Blumats are gravity fed and it gets complicated if you have some pots higher than others, low pressure can get clogged easier, etc. I run 55 gal barrels with enough air bubbles so they look...
BigSteve good point but I was just giving a general guideline simplified then people can change it to fit their needs. for instance, mine bloom for 60 days average and i will veg anywhere from a month to 3 months depending on the strains. I'm working with a larger plant count so I have 2 veg...
Once you get your loupe they will look like little mushrooms with a stalk and a ball head. They will be like glass or see thru in the beginning. When they say "milky" the glands will literally look white and you won't be able to see thru them. Only 60% milky might be a bit too early. I usually...
To simplify for those with a max plant count i.e. 12. You split them into 3 phases: clones, veg, bloom. That's 4 plants in each phase for those who are bad at basic math. Once you have 4 of each phase going, you do the following:
Harvest 4 plants in bloom area.
Move 4 veg plants to bloom area...
If limited space is your issue, just switch the plants to 12/12 early on. you can start a plant on 12/12 in a solo cup and get a budding little 8" tall plant if you want. You can control how big your plant gets more so than with an auto. You would also be able to take clones and have a perpetual...
I've got 2 galaxyhydro 300w and I tried them in bloom but all my under foliage below about 6" from the tops started dying so I use them in my veg now (with t5's on the side). I also have to keep my at least 6" away or they'll burn.
Never let your coco dry. My rule of thumb for the minimum time for waterings is wait until the top layer of coco dries out i.e. 12 hours. You would then water at minimum every 10 hours. These times will vary depending on plant size, pot size, temperature and humidity. It's extremely hard to over...
I use 3 gal smart pots too. If it's working you can stick to it but I'm always a fan of tweaking things to see if tthere's room for improvement. With coco you dont need to wait until the top inch or so is dry like with soil. Also your runoff may be 200 but plants use different nutrients at...
What size containers are you using? And feeding once or twice a week in coco means your containers are too large. coco dries much faster than soil and when it does can cause salt build ups and ph fluctuations. I would suggest watering at least every other day so your plants have a continuous...
5 gal for up to 8 ft. 7 gal for beyond. judge your watering as follows: time how long it takes for the pot to dry i.e. 24 hrs. And times that by 4. That is how often you should water after you're in bloom.
Are you using a heat mat? seeds don't like cold. Normally my soil is warm enough just from the heat radiating off the light but it's worth a try. I've also had terrible results from the paper towel method. Normally iI'll soak my old seeds til they sink no more than 24 hrs then pop them right...
I will do my main lollipop a week before I put into bloom. Depending on the plant I may do 2 cuts in veg. I then do my last one when the plant quits stretching in bloom. After that iIl just snip off stray lower stem buds that form. The whole point of lollipopping is to get rid of foliage that is...
That pot isn't to small for that plant size, especially in coco. 900ppm is extreme for such a little girl. Lower leaves turning yellow is an N deficiency. Try getting your ratio more towards 3-1-2. For plants that size you should be closer to 200-300 ppm. Also, make sure your ph is 5.8-6.2 to...
you can always just decapitate the plant as far down as you want and as cannacat said allow for 1.5-3x stretch. Make sure you wait a week or so after topping to flip to bloom to give the plant time to heal.