how to prepare for extra budding
- Thread starter whitey111
- Start date
mogie
Well-Known Member
Okay here is one view:
This branch's top is less than half the way to the top, so it's useless to me.
First, I like to start at the bottom of the plant. I make sure that there's nothing to stop airflow under the plant. Air flow is extremely important in getting healthy plants with good yields. As the leaves use up the CO2 and produce O2, small pockets of useless O2 are collecting under the leaves. If your garden has good circulation, this won't be a problem, the air is constantly moving throughout the entire surface of every leaf, however gently. So, I start by cleaning up useless leaves and branches that are at the bottom four to five inches of the plant. NO GREEN will exist here except for the branches themselves.
Snip the bastard right off!
I am not very conservative in my pruning. I will attack a healthy plant just as it shows first signs of flowering. This is also the last time I prune any branches. I know at this point how much taller they will get, and I am trying to keep them at a certain height and a certain thickness.
This is a better scene, but...
I will go on to make sure that none of those tiny branches starting at the bottom of the plant remain. NO GREEN!
This is also when I attack the leaves...
All I am interested in at this point (first signs of flowers) is exposing as many bud sites as possible here in the first stages of flowering. This exposure to the light source early on will establish many more prominent bud sites than just letting the plant overgrow itself. Carefully look at the plant from the top, where the light comes from, and look for bud sites that are not exposed to your line-of-sight because of a leaf. Take that leaf off.
All this vegetation will return soon, don't worry about that.
Can you see what was stuck in the shadow of the leaf in the above picture? Not any more! Notice the lighter shade of green the shaded leaves and bud site have. That's from lack of direct light. This should darken up and fatten up now that it has access to more light.
This branch's top is less than half the way to the top, so it's useless to me.
First, I like to start at the bottom of the plant. I make sure that there's nothing to stop airflow under the plant. Air flow is extremely important in getting healthy plants with good yields. As the leaves use up the CO2 and produce O2, small pockets of useless O2 are collecting under the leaves. If your garden has good circulation, this won't be a problem, the air is constantly moving throughout the entire surface of every leaf, however gently. So, I start by cleaning up useless leaves and branches that are at the bottom four to five inches of the plant. NO GREEN will exist here except for the branches themselves.
Snip the bastard right off!
I am not very conservative in my pruning. I will attack a healthy plant just as it shows first signs of flowering. This is also the last time I prune any branches. I know at this point how much taller they will get, and I am trying to keep them at a certain height and a certain thickness.
This is a better scene, but...
I will go on to make sure that none of those tiny branches starting at the bottom of the plant remain. NO GREEN!
This is also when I attack the leaves...
All I am interested in at this point (first signs of flowers) is exposing as many bud sites as possible here in the first stages of flowering. This exposure to the light source early on will establish many more prominent bud sites than just letting the plant overgrow itself. Carefully look at the plant from the top, where the light comes from, and look for bud sites that are not exposed to your line-of-sight because of a leaf. Take that leaf off.
All this vegetation will return soon, don't worry about that.
Can you see what was stuck in the shadow of the leaf in the above picture? Not any more! Notice the lighter shade of green the shaded leaves and bud site have. That's from lack of direct light. This should darken up and fatten up now that it has access to more light.
mogie
Well-Known Member
This is an example...
of what happens when you prune branches for the effect of making your plant bushier. Notice I sniped the center branch about a week ago. Back then, those two side branches were just barely visible tufts of green, not yet leaves or branches. Now they're doing exactly what I had pruned for, to produce two branches at the same top level where before there was only one. Access to the greatest amount of light by the greatest amount of branches, and therefore bud sites, is a way to ensure heafty harvests in healthy plants.
I supercrop to increase yields
I have supercropped before and have recently come to the personal conclusion that it does really work. My largest and most developed colas last crop were on supercropped branches. Just take a tender branch in your fingers and pinch and twist at the same time until you feel the insides start to collapse under the pressure of your fingers. The branch might droop slightly, but this is what you want. You're actually damaging the insides of the branch. We are trying to damage the vascular (water and nutrient carrying "veins") tissues so that they double in size after a week or so of healing themselves. As in human muscle, we must slightly damage our muscle tissue (by exercise) before it heals, larger and better able to move fluids to and from places in the body that need them. So by supercropping, you're creating body builder Pot plants!
This is the flowering...
area after pruning leaves, branches and supercropping. I didn't take a picture before, but if I had, you'd see that they used to be very very cluttered with light blocking leaves and useless bottom branches which never catch up to the producing branches, and actually cause a drain on resources more than anything. In a week these will be covered in young but well-lit bud sites. The front half of these girls are Yankee Platinum clones the back are NL.
To help increase yield...
and to decrease overall height of the plant, I top (snip the main growth shoot) when the plant has four to five sets of leaves. This is at the fourth set. This action will cause your plant to react by extending those tiny green tufts of green on the side of the stem into full-blown branches.
Proof that it works...
This is what happens after about 5 days to a week after topping. You can see the great increase of side shoots. These will, with some training and future pruning, all compete for light at the top of the plant, instead of being relegated to the middle or bottom of the plant, shadowed by the main cola that you didn't snip when you had the chance to do so.
of what happens when you prune branches for the effect of making your plant bushier. Notice I sniped the center branch about a week ago. Back then, those two side branches were just barely visible tufts of green, not yet leaves or branches. Now they're doing exactly what I had pruned for, to produce two branches at the same top level where before there was only one. Access to the greatest amount of light by the greatest amount of branches, and therefore bud sites, is a way to ensure heafty harvests in healthy plants.
I supercrop to increase yields
I have supercropped before and have recently come to the personal conclusion that it does really work. My largest and most developed colas last crop were on supercropped branches. Just take a tender branch in your fingers and pinch and twist at the same time until you feel the insides start to collapse under the pressure of your fingers. The branch might droop slightly, but this is what you want. You're actually damaging the insides of the branch. We are trying to damage the vascular (water and nutrient carrying "veins") tissues so that they double in size after a week or so of healing themselves. As in human muscle, we must slightly damage our muscle tissue (by exercise) before it heals, larger and better able to move fluids to and from places in the body that need them. So by supercropping, you're creating body builder Pot plants!
This is the flowering...
area after pruning leaves, branches and supercropping. I didn't take a picture before, but if I had, you'd see that they used to be very very cluttered with light blocking leaves and useless bottom branches which never catch up to the producing branches, and actually cause a drain on resources more than anything. In a week these will be covered in young but well-lit bud sites. The front half of these girls are Yankee Platinum clones the back are NL.
To help increase yield...
and to decrease overall height of the plant, I top (snip the main growth shoot) when the plant has four to five sets of leaves. This is at the fourth set. This action will cause your plant to react by extending those tiny green tufts of green on the side of the stem into full-blown branches.
Proof that it works...
This is what happens after about 5 days to a week after topping. You can see the great increase of side shoots. These will, with some training and future pruning, all compete for light at the top of the plant, instead of being relegated to the middle or bottom of the plant, shadowed by the main cola that you didn't snip when you had the chance to do so.
mogie
Well-Known Member
Early Vegetative Pruning
After the tops come off, there's a window of opportunity to get those second-story branches to reach up to the top floor and stay there. After I've got the four main tops at the same level (more or less) and the plant is throwing growth shoots on those top branches, I'll FIM those new shoots at the top. This creates a thick canopy of bud sites at the top, and the secondary bud sites are close to the top as well. I use this method for plants that will finish flowering at about two & one-half feet. Anything shorter, like in a clone, quick turnaround garden, the FIMing should happen straight away. FIM it early (fourth or fifth leaf set) to keep it short. These seedlings were topped at the fourth node (leaf set), and FIM'd later to gain height.
After the attack
Post battle schematics
Group before the Battle
These are the NLs before boot camp.
After training
The soldiers, waiting for their next assignment. (after pruning)
The results are in!
After the tops come off, there's a window of opportunity to get those second-story branches to reach up to the top floor and stay there. After I've got the four main tops at the same level (more or less) and the plant is throwing growth shoots on those top branches, I'll FIM those new shoots at the top. This creates a thick canopy of bud sites at the top, and the secondary bud sites are close to the top as well. I use this method for plants that will finish flowering at about two & one-half feet. Anything shorter, like in a clone, quick turnaround garden, the FIMing should happen straight away. FIM it early (fourth or fifth leaf set) to keep it short. These seedlings were topped at the fourth node (leaf set), and FIM'd later to gain height.
After the attack
Post battle schematics
Group before the Battle
These are the NLs before boot camp.
After training
The soldiers, waiting for their next assignment. (after pruning)
The results are in!
This is the result of all that pruning and FIMing.
Each of those tops will be a nice, tight Northern Lights bud.
TheresNoLuckLikeBudLuck
Well-Known Member
Thats a sweet looking crop, keep it up
Justin12421
Active Member
What a great thread that I never saw before. Its perfect. Pictures, explained well and I have northern lights seedlings right now. Im going to try to do what you did exactly. Thank you for the great answer to his thread
misshestermoffitt
New Member
Excellent tutorial.
Pidgeon
Well-Known Member
Some plants don't react as well to topping/fimming as well as others. You just kinda have to learn by experience which plants like it and which don't.
misshestermoffitt
New Member
I think I'm going to try out supercropping. Do you do that while it's still vegging so it's got time to recover before flowering?
Are you making clones out of those tops you take off? They'd make nice little starts.
Are you making clones out of those tops you take off? They'd make nice little starts.
Sir.Ganga
New Member
A plants genetics play an important role in overall quantity. Most of us grower can't grow to that potential so manipulation is one way of increasing YOUR yeilds.
If done right with the right strain, it can really pay off
I only remove fan leaves during veg(and sparringly). I do 1 top about 7-10 days before flower.These 4 girls ended at about 36" and a dry weight of 570g.
Its always worth trying new things and its fun!
redeyedfrog
Well-Known Member
Awesome post and the illustrations were done beautifully.
Kudos dude!!!!
Kudos dude!!!!
chunkybuds.
New Member
hi could some one help me and explain how the best way to trim the buds once it has finished flowering , when do they stop flowering? Drieing ect.....