defoliation when in flower

G

Growgettah

Member
Hey BobCajun I get it brother.Trust me you are singing my song, but it sounds like your defoliation is for maintaining a healthy plant. Mine is different. My defoliation starts in pre-flower I cut the leaf at every node with any growth except the last node and top on every branch and then every 2 weeks in flower any leaf that has a stalk to snip. I know this sounds stupid to some here (and starting to for me as well), but please folks, no flames, we are all here to learn, it has worked for me for awhile. My last grow I filled a case of mason jars (that's 12 jars) off two four and a half foot tall plants not even counting what I gave away and burned up during harvest and drying and get things ready to cure. Sorry I don't have exact weights, measurements, and pictures like most here do, I am old school, that stuff is called evidence. Way outside my comfort zone already.

I guess I always thought of my herb plant as being like old computer code. Like some old Clutch 10001110101. I thought the plant was talking to the bud going through its list, if yes do this, if no do this, as far as distribution of growth material and bud material and cannabinoid material.
 
G

Growgettah

Member
Hmmmm....half my post was lost...here it is..woohooo copy and paste is great

I thought a leaf was just one more thing the plant had to keep alive when it should be concentrating on growing bud. I mean if the plants' buds needed those mature leaves why would the buds have sugar leaves? But after reading this I have to ask myself what leaf functions did I screw up by removal. In other words, if the plant asks the bud what it needs and then tells the mature leaf to give the bud the component it needs and that mature leaf isn't there what chain of functions (size, taste, smell, or potency) did I break by that mature leaf not being there? Even further down that path of thought different parts of the bud may need different components at different times, not to mention those components might even be stackable as well, to get the best genetically possible results. If that mature green leaf isn't there to provide what the bud is screaming for then the plant has to make a new leaf to provide it and even then the plant may not come back and ask that part of the bud what it needs to be completely finished genetically, because it has moved on to the next phase of its' (and the buds) growth and maturity, be that size, smell, taste, or potency, even though what I see and harvest looks good, smells good, and tastes great with a great long lasting high, it was still not even close to what the plant was truly genetically capable of producing. Then again, I could be completely wrong, and need to go back to school to work on my reading comprehension.

Sorry to bring up this old thread, not trying to rehash old debates or reinvent the wheel just wanting validation I guess of a new thought process for me, old hat to others. Its funny though, on the one hand I find this disheartening, this new understanding that all my grows could have been so much better and on the other hand I am happy as a mule eating green briar because my genetics were still good enough to produce some great smoke even after all I seemingly did to screw it up.

I am very excited for this coming grow season.
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
I've tried leaving all leaf on and it resulted in mediocre yields. When I trimmed I got better yields. I always try to make sure there's enough leaf left that no light makes it directly down to the pots though. If you take off more than that you're just wasting light.
 
gr865

gr865

Well-Known Member
Though I do defo, first I tuck. I tuck the fan leaves through the screen, leaving them in tack to catch what light they can and they do catch light. Only after the node where that fan leaf is located put out additional leaf grow do I trim that fan.

20160824_083003.jpg

You can see some of the fans behind the screen, most of them will turn back towards the light and be able to continue it function on the plant.

GR
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
gr865 said:
Though I do defo, first I tuck. I tuck the fan leaves through the screen, leaving them in tack to catch what light they can and they do catch light. Only after the node where that fan leaf is located put out additional leaf grow do I trim that fan.

View attachment 3869632

You can see some of the fans behind the screen, most of them will turn back towards the light and be able to continue it function on the plant.

GR
Click to expand...
Rad Vert,, very nice
 
G

Growgettah

Member
.I think i should have made my first post in the "new grower" threads. Not that I am a new grower it just seems my questioning is basic.

I do have to agree with part of what you said Bobcajun, about the yield, it seems the plant doubles up if a leaf is removed and that's why i do it. I am just trying to process the new information I am gathering about leaf function beyond photosynthesis especially as it relates to cannabinoid production and what was stored in the leaf I removed, that could have been a precursor to higher THC levels and Terp production. I think the Robert Clarke quotes speak volumes if I read between the lines and make some intelligent (debatable i know) inferences. I will know for sure come November.

gr865 that is one more lovely plant you have there.

Thanks guys for not flaming me.
 
ShLUbY

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Growgettah said:
Hmmmm....half my post was lost...here it is..woohooo copy and paste is great

I thought a leaf was just one more thing the plant had to keep alive when it should be concentrating on growing bud. I mean if the plants' buds needed those mature leaves why would the buds have sugar leaves? But after reading this I have to ask myself what leaf functions did I screw up by removal. In other words, if the plant asks the bud what it needs and then tells the mature leaf to give the bud the component it needs and that mature leaf isn't there what chain of functions (size, taste, smell, or potency) did I break by that mature leaf not being there? Even further down that path of thought different parts of the bud may need different components at different times, not to mention those components might even be stackable as well, to get the best genetically possible results. If that mature green leaf isn't there to provide what the bud is screaming for then the plant has to make a new leaf to provide it and even then the plant may not come back and ask that part of the bud what it needs to be completely finished genetically, because it has moved on to the next phase of its' (and the buds) growth and maturity, be that size, smell, taste, or potency, even though what I see and harvest looks good, smells good, and tastes great with a great long lasting high, it was still not even close to what the plant was truly genetically capable of producing. Then again, I could be completely wrong, and need to go back to school to work on my reading comprehension.

Sorry to bring up this old thread, not trying to rehash old debates or reinvent the wheel just wanting validation I guess of a new thought process for me, old hat to others. Its funny though, on the one hand I find this disheartening, this new understanding that all my grows could have been so much better and on the other hand I am happy as a mule eating green briar because my genetics were still good enough to produce some great smoke even after all I seemingly did to screw it up.

I am very excited for this coming grow season.
Click to expand...



a leaf is a solar panel, okay? solar panels make energy, and a good canopy of leaves means lots of energy to do reactions (chemistry) inside the plant to.... make sugars and amino acids and all kinds of shit to grow. the plant pulls carbon out of the air and soil, and the more carbon it can pull, the more it can grow. leaves have stomata that take in air during photosynthesis (only photosynthesis opens stomata). extra energy is used to make extra things that get stored in, you may have guess it.... LEAVES. also stored in the buds, and in the roots!

to put it simply.... leaves are important. yes, removing a few can be beneficial to let some more light into the lower section. but big leaves move a lot of water. and if you have a plant with thick sturdy stalks and strong vascular systems, more water moved (transpiration) means more uptake. more uptake means better growth.
 
rickyrozayyy

rickyrozayyy

Well-Known Member
Bakersfield said:
What's the latest into flower you'd recommend defoliation? I'm willing to give it a try.
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gr865 said:
Pics my friend, show the world what defo is good for.
bongsmilie
GR
Click to expand...
Latest. Shit whenever. I did mines at the mid mark of flower. Now I didn't pull every single fan leaf either. Strategically removing leaves is what I practice and it works. My lower buds have grown almost twice the size in a week... they aren't monster buds.. trust me. But it makes all the difference in the end. I don't have to chop tops and wait for lowers to finish. 20170103_100907.jpg
 
Bakersfield

Bakersfield

Well-Known Member
rickyrozayyy said:
Latest. Shit whenever. I did mines at the mid mark of flower. Now I didn't pull every single fan leaf either. Strategically removing leaves is what I practice and it works. My lower buds have grown almost twice the size in a week... they aren't monster buds.. trust me. But it makes all the difference in the end. I don't have to chop tops and wait for lowers to finish. View attachment 3870121
Click to expand...
That looks nice! I have a few I'd like to practice on.
 
Bakersfield

Bakersfield

Well-Known Member
rickyrozayyy said:
Definitely man. Especially if you have more than 3 plants you're growing like most do. Trial and error. Every strain is different. Some like shit others don't and vise versa. I like doing shit nobody thinks is right anyways lol. Fuck it.
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I've seen where some people have went way overboard with the defoliation but that looks good.
I've got a jungle with lots of buds under the canopy.IMG_3170.JPG
 
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