LST - Please Explain How To Do It

I know what LST means. I think I have a basic understanding of what to do. Basically, you take the top of the plant and bend it over gently and keep the top low. This causes some kind of hormonal change and creates more branches - ie bud sites.

I'm doing my first grow with CFL in a small closet. I plan to top the plants and try to get at least 2 main branches/colas. I'd "like" to top it the correct way and get 4 main colas, but I am unsure how to do this. Would really appreciate it if somebody could walk me through it step-by-step. Assume I'm a total idiot, because I am. I really have no idea how to properly top a plant to get 4 colas out of it.

If I can successfully get 4 tops, I am planning to lay all of them over and work the LST method as far as possible. I'm trying to grow a short, bushy plant with lots and lots of bud sites. I've been reading a lot and I will probably begin taking main fan leaves off as soon as possible to keep an open canopy.

I really need to know just how crazy I can get with LST. Can I just keep bending all the main and secondary branches down and try to get a few hundred bud sites on a single plant?

Thanks for any help.

[video=youtube;6kx40AI1yys]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kx40AI1yys[/video]

Sounds like I can tie down every branch and grow a short shrub if I wanted too.

Thanks for the video.

How do you top for 4 colas?

PoorDad said:

Sounds like I can tie down every branch and grow a short shrub if I wanted too.

Thanks for the video.

How do you top for 4 colas?

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just like this.

PoorDad said:

Sounds like I can tie down every branch and grow a short shrub if I wanted too.

lst as much as you like fuck 4 go 16 main colas lol.

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HOW?

Tell me HOW to prune the plant ... PLEASE. Or a link?

[video=youtube;GyUypOw1g-g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyUypOw1g-g[/video]

Yeah man, you can go as crazy as you want with LST, basically. What it sounds like you plan to do, is to get a kick ass yield out of one plant, by keeping it small and wide, rather than a tall monster(which requires monster lights)? I think you'll be quite happy with the results, as long as you don't skimp on the lights. Also,.. you might want to look into SCROG, which is the same concept, just done a tad differently.(looks like that's what they are showing, in the video above)

The only drawback, is that you have to veg longer than you would,(in order for the foliage to grow and fill the open areas) if you had multiple plants. Other than that, it's easier, because have less to water and feed.

One tip....use the biggest CFLs you can, because your yield relies DIRECTLY upon you lighting. Basically, your yield could be twice as large, if you chose 42 watt bulbs, over 23 watt bulbs, for example.

Experience is your best teacher, there are an endless number of ways to train a plant. Once you get 2 or 4 shoots coming up, tie those back and you'll get more shoots coming up. If you have a single stationary light source, LST will be far more productive because your branches will be competing for that single light, thus crowding each other out.

What I do is simply tie string to a branch and duct tape it to the side of the pot, repeat all around so that the strings pull your branches out allowing more light to the center of the plant. What you want in an indoor grow is more of a bush-like profile with an even top, as opposed to the christmas tree profile of an outdoor plant which gets far more ambient light.

The strength of your light will determine how big your colas get, a 1kw light penetrates farther than a 400w. Once you get deeper than 1½' away from a 400w (including the distance between buds and light) your buds become popcorn nuggets, so you can see the advantage of having lots and lots of colas collecting all the available light. I know you're using CFL's, the concept still applies though.

How many watts are you running?

Xcon said:

What I do is simply tie string to a branch and duct tape it to the side of the pot, repeat all around so that the strings pull your branches out allowing more light to the center of the plant. What you want in an indoor grow is more of a bush-like profile with an even top, as opposed to the christmas tree profile of an outdoor plant which gets far more ambient light.

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That's EXACTLY how I do it, as well. Just did my 6 girls two days ago, then flipped 'em to 12/12.

to be honest dude i wouldnt top if you are going to LST. you should focus on one or the other. The point is to bend the plant over creating the hormonal change but also exposing every branch to the same amount of light. you can create as many tops as you want but keep in mind that every strain has a maximum yield so as you add more branches to your canopy the smaller the nugs on each branch

I have a 175w metal halide that will be added to the room very soon. I had to order a new 6500k bulb for it today. Right now, I have (4) 23w CFL 6500w and (1) 2700k CFL. The plants are just popping out of the soil. Biggest one is only 1" tall.

I only have a 24" x 24" closet, but it's 7 feet tall. I'm going to put CFL's all over the walls and put the MH on the top. I was wanting to spread it open and LST like crazy, but with such limited space, I'll have to go ahead and let it grow up just a bit. I figure I need 8-10" of space between the top of the MH light and the ceiling. And I probably don't want any leaves closer than 8-10" from the light. So thats roughly 16-20" of wasted space up top. Now I'm down to about a 5' tall closet. I'm going to veg and LST until things are about 2 feet tall and the flip to flowering.

Only problem is I can't find a 175w MH bulb in 2700k or even 3000k. Lowest K rating I can find is 4000k. I'm not sure how I'm gonna deal with that when the time comes. I certainly don't want to just shut the 6500k bulb off and yank 175w of light out of my grow. Gonna have to search for another HID setup. I figure I got about 4-6 weeks to come up with a solution.

Will 4000k work for flowering?