2020 outdoor defoliation.Need everyone’s opinion

jaggedpotato628

Active Member
Had a aphid problem so I pruned and defoliated a cpl of my plants I think there like week 2 or 3 of flower.. don’t know if I have to take more or what to do?? This is my first grow so any advice would be great!!! I have 12 of them outside would love any input on how to have quality buds this season not wanting quantity! Quality is always preferred!happy grows everyone!
 

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dunphy

Well-Known Member
Okay just wanted to try it out.. hopefully will turn out well I’m up here in northern Michigan so will have to deal with bud rot and what not just wanted to have as much air flow as possible.. I’m trying a cpl different tactics on each plant! If you got any suggestions im
You got the right idea..

Main concern/benefit of defoliating outdoor plants would be to promote better airflow... But you want to also keep enough fan leaves because they are the energy producers (your "solar panels" as people say..) So the goal of defol. would be to find that medium of having just enough taken off where there is airflow, but keep as many as you can on to produce energy for the plant... Dont worry about taking fan leaves off that are covering bud sites or anything... When using the sun to grow that doesnt matter... the sun will penetrate those leaves just fine.. That is more of a concern for indoor growers/lights.

They're looking good, keep doing what your doing, and try to get a fan out there if possible, keep an eye for mold and dont harvest early... You'll make it to the end just fine.

EDIT* I notice you have one of the pots on top of some roofing material or something, was that just to keep it level? Roots will grow from the fabric pots through the seams and then into the ground so its not a bad idea to have them just on top of straight soil, or even buried into the ground a few inches is common.

The plant in the ground looks much bigger than the pots, did you excavate and/or dig holes/fill with amended soil? If not it looks like your native soil is pretty good as is... Im sure with some cheap organic additives next years crop can be planted straight into the ground and be much larger.
 
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jaggedpotato628

Active Member
You got the right idea..

Main concern/benefit of defoliating outdoor plants would be to promote better airflow... But you want to also keep enough fan leaves because they are the energy producers (your "solar panels" as people say..) So the goal of defol. would be to find that medium of having just enough taken off where there is airflow, but keep as many as you can on to produce energy for the plant... Dont worry about taking fan leaves off that are covering bud sites or anything... When using the sun to grow that doesnt matter... the sun will penetrate those leaves just fine.. That is more of a concern for indoor growers/lights.

They're looking good, keep doing what your doing, and try to get a fan out there if possible, keep an eye for mold and dont harvest early... You'll make it to the end just fine.

EDIT* I notice you have one of the pots on top of some roofing material or something, was that just to keep it level? Roots will grow from the fabric pots through the seams and then into the ground so its not a bag idea to have them just on top of straight soil, or even buried into the ground a few inches is common.

The plant in the ground looks much bigger than the pots, did you excavate and/or dig holes/fill with amended soil? If not it looks like your native soil is pretty good as is... Im sure with some cheap organic additives next years crop can be planted straight into the ground and be much larger.
I put the roofing medal down on ground underneath the pots cause I thought it would help from absorbing anything from the ground. I guess I was just thinking in my mind that I wanted the plants to only get what I gave them... prolly not the case but just wanted a good tasting quality buds.. as for the big plant I got root bound a few weeks ago I THINK!! They say you can’t get rootbound in a smart pot but it sure seemed like it to me... I want to get fans out there one for each plant hopefully I can get them going ASAP!! But man your advice was awesome and I appreciate all the help I can get! Lot more work than what I thought lol thanks again here a pic of the cheese I thought was root bound I’ll give yah a few of the grow previously they got way to big and had to move them around‍♂
 

dunphy

Well-Known Member
My Original Cheese base of plant.. Root bound or no?!
Which one are you referring to that you think is root bound? I cant tell which went into the ground...

But Im curious.. Why do you say its root bound and how can know without even seeing the roots? Are you judging the distance of the canopy or growth rate something?

I agree with ganga gurl420 , I doubt a fabric pot will become root bound (check out "air pruning" for why) Also when I said "you got the right idea" it was about the airflow being something you were concerned about, rather than answering your question of if it was too little/too much.. If that wasnt clear to anybody reading my response, there's no need to really defoliate when growing outdoors EXCEPT if airflow is really needed... and even then it should be kept to a minimum, and never to uncover bud sites from being shadowed by the fan leaves to let more light in or anything like that.


Also one last thing I should mention because of that picture with the stump/stalk/top of pot..
When growing organically your soil is doing all the work, and when the soil is left uncovered the UV / sun light will damage the first couple inches of your soil, which can hold some of the most beneficial bacteria and organisms, mycorrhizal layer, etc.
Its always a good idea to cover it with something, that goes for your lawn too.. (grass vs. dirt is better for the soil-will also retain moisture a lot better)
You can use something like straw/hay which is extremely cheap and goes far ( I spent 4 bucks on half a bale and still had half that bale leftover after using it on everything) There are also "cover crops" which are actually better because certain plants will provide nitrogen, or other nutrients, or will break down other things so they become more readily available for your plants, or attract beneficial insects to your plot, that sort of thing. (You should also plant a cover crop mix AFTER you harvest if you are going to reuse that soil, and as the cover crop grows you can cut it and drop the cuttings right into the soil to break back down, or smother it out and replant/wait for it to regrow then smother again. Look into it, theres different techniques and plantings for current grows/over wintering/etc.

Even though I think that was way too much taken off the plant, I've done worse in the past and by the end of flower I wouldnt be surprised if she was a bush again... Granted I dont know what would've yielded more... Keeping them on, or wasting energy on growing new ones.. I lean toward the former... But either way, I dont think it will kill the plants.

Enjoy the home stretch, Cheers :peace: :joint:
 

steve870

Well-Known Member
I only remove 4-6 inches of leaves and branches at the base of my plants outdoors. Indoors is a much different story
 

jaggedpotato628

Active Member
Which one are you referring to that you think is root bound? I cant tell which went into the ground...

But Im curious.. Why do you say its root bound and how can know without even seeing the roots? Are you judging the distance of the canopy or growth rate something?

I agree with ganga gurl420 , I doubt a fabric pot will become root bound (check out "air pruning" for why) Also when I said "you got the right idea" it was about the airflow being something you were concerned about, rather than answering your question of if it was too little/too much.. If that wasnt clear to anybody reading my response, there's no need to really defoliate when growing outdoors EXCEPT if airflow is really needed... and even then it should be kept to a minimum, and never to uncover bud sites from being shadowed by the fan leaves to let more light in or anything like that.


Also one last thing I should mention because of that picture with the stump/stalk/top of pot..
When growing organically your soil is doing all the work, and when the soil is left uncovered the UV / sun light will damage the first couple inches of your soil, which can hold some of the most beneficial bacteria and organisms, mycorrhizal layer, etc.
Its always a good idea to cover it with something, that goes for your lawn too.. (grass vs. dirt is better for the soil-will also retain moisture a lot better)
You can use something like straw/hay which is extremely cheap and goes far ( I spent 4 bucks on half a bale and still had half that bale leftover after using it on everything) There are also "cover crops" which are actually better because certain plants will provide nitrogen, or other nutrients, or will break down other things so they become more readily available for your plants, or attract beneficial insects to your plot, that sort of thing. (You should also plant a cover crop mix AFTER you harvest if you are going to reuse that soil, and as the cover crop grows you can cut it and drop the cuttings right into the soil to break back down, or smother it out and replant/wait for it to regrow then smother again. Look into it, theres different techniques and plantings for current grows/over wintering/etc.

Even though I think that was way too much taken off the plant, I've done worse in the past and by the end of flower I wouldnt be surprised if she was a bush again... Granted I dont know what would've yielded more... Keeping them on, or wasting energy on growing new ones.. I lean toward the former... But either way, I dont think it will kill the plants.

Enjoy the home stretch, Cheers :peace: :joint:
Which one are you referring to that you think is root bound? I cant tell which went into the ground...

But Im curious.. Why do you say its root bound and how can know without even seeing the roots? Are you judging the distance of the canopy or growth rate something?

I agree with ganga gurl420 , I doubt a fabric pot will become root bound (check out "air pruning" for why) Also when I said "you got the right idea" it was about the airflow being something you were concerned about, rather than answering your question of if it was too little/too much.. If that wasnt clear to anybody reading my response, there's no need to really defoliate when growing outdoors EXCEPT if airflow is really needed... and even then it should be kept to a minimum, and never to uncover bud sites from being shadowed by the fan leaves to let more light in or anything like that.


Also one last thing I should mention because of that picture with the stump/stalk/top of pot..
When growing organically your soil is doing all the work, and when the soil is left uncovered the UV / sun light will damage the first couple inches of your soil, which can hold some of the most beneficial bacteria and organisms, mycorrhizal layer, etc.
Its always a good idea to cover it with something, that goes for your lawn too.. (grass vs. dirt is better for the soil-will also retain moisture a lot better)
You can use something like straw/hay which is extremely cheap and goes far ( I spent 4 bucks on half a bale and still had half that bale leftover after using it on everything) There are also "cover crops" which are actually better because certain plants will provide nitrogen, or other nutrients, or will break down other things so they become more readily available for your plants, or attract beneficial insects to your plot, that sort of thing. (You should also plant a cover crop mix AFTER you harvest if you are going to reuse that soil, and as the cover crop grows you can cut it and drop the cuttings right into the soil to break back down, or smother it out and replant/wait for it to regrow then smother again. Look into it, theres different techniques and plantings for current grows/over wintering/etc.

Even though I think that was way too much taken off the plant, I've done worse in the past and by the end of flower I wouldnt be surprised if she was a bush again... Granted I dont know what would've yielded more... Keeping them on, or wasting energy on growing new ones.. I lean toward the former... But either way, I dont think it will kill the plants.

Enjoy the home stretch, Cheers :peace: :joint:
Things are going great flowering pretty well now hopefully see some swelling soon on the buds themselves! And the picture that says stump is the pot that I thought was root bound because the plant was light green and super droopy and none of the others seemed to be acting this way?..... I took it out of the pot and placed it into the ground now it is the only one that is in the ground the rest are in 100 gallon and 65 gallon pots.... I have 13 outside right now up here in northern Michigan all of them are flowering except for two... I really appreciate all the advice and thoughts of everybody!! happy grows I’ll try to send more pics along the way all the way to chop and harvest and curing lol hopefully you guys can help me along the way! And yes defoliating for me outdoors is strictly for mold issues and airflow like you had mentioned
 

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PioneerValleyOG

Well-Known Member
Had a aphid problem so I pruned and defoliated a cpl of my plants I think there like week 2 or 3 of flower.. don’t know if I have to take more or what to do?? This is my first grow so any advice would be great!!! I have 12 of them outside would love any input on how to have quality buds this season not wanting quantity! Quality is always preferred!happy grows everyone!
Try yellow sticky boards. Install the then thwack your plants, if the infestation is bad, they will swarm to the yellow. If moderate, they will go to boards in a couple days. It's a good start with results.
 

PioneerValleyOG

Well-Known Member
Defoliage I use a technique where I may snip 2-3 can leaves off a plant, sometimes 5-6 depending on size.and time of year. My thoughts are not to shock the plant - which may kick it into a stunted phase, you may be lucky enough that did not happen, however.... There is a time to trim a little heavier, when the buds are so big most of the energy is going to them anyways. But we live and learn.
 

canadiantoker420

Well-Known Member
Okay just wanted to try it out.. hopefully will turn out well I’m up here in northern Michigan so will have to deal with bud rot and what not just wanted to have as much air flow as possible.. I’m trying a cpl different tactics on each plant! If you got any suggestions im
I got way to much foliage on the DFG’s there extremely high leaf to bud I’ve noticed, most of these plants in the pics are lemonade OG x freezelands that 5 patch has 1 DFG back left , then the 3 patch is two DFG’s and a lemonade in the back, front right DFG has colas the size of my damn head already and we had two days of flat out rain like 3-4 days ago I’ve been fighting the early onset of botrytis/mold , harvested bout 30 grams wet, with probly a solid 3-4 wet grams of actual rot itself I just don’t take chances when I see that shit I go down a few inches at the least and cut the whole bud off or sumthing,depending ... New Brunswick Canada here though, very bad for botrytis after mid sept usually but these bitches are early fat fucks lol 8-10+ inches in diameter a few of em so there mold bait at this point even though they got the Canadian workhorse in wit the lemon OG kush (freezeland) and the other has Durban poison an early guerilla gold then freezeland I believe , all flowered between July 17-21/22
 

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