Need a topping experts advice!!!

TonightYou

Well-Known Member
Malevolence.

That's a very nice garden.
Thing you mentioned about having to stir water in the event of power issues is a bit of a turnoff for someone like myself. I like being able to leave my garden for a while and not need to have to worry about another piece of failure. Besides, I don't have the time to do that most days. At least with a light out one to two days, it isn't the end if the world.

I do clone with a bucket, great quick healthy roots, but also fuck all carrying water around.
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
What's the problem and what are your day to day activities?
its not my plant but I'm needing help id'ing the problem..I'm puzzled by something I haven't seen before. it reminds me of witches broom caused by insect or disease. ima get a pic of the whole plant mb that will help.
 

dannyboy602

Well-Known Member
I found it ben I just had to look hard enough....its called cresting or fasciation...heres some info I found on icmag. I've never seen it before on cannabis so it threw me for a loup. also a pic I got off a google search.

Fasciation (or cresting) is a condition of plant growth in which the apical meristem, normally concentrated around a single point, producing approximately cylindrical tissue, becomes elongated perpendicularly to the direction of growth, producing flattened, ribbon-like, crested, or elaborately contorted tissue. The phenomenon may occur in the stem, root, fruit, or flower head.

Fasciation can be caused by a mutation in the meristematic cells, bacterial infection, mite or insect attack, or chemical or mechanical damage. Some plants may inherit the trait.

Fasciation is rare overall, but has been observed in at least a hundred different plant species, including members of Aloe, Celosia, Delphinium, Digitalis, Euphorbia, Forsythia, Primula, Acer, Prunus, Cannabis and many genera of Cactaceae (cactus) and Salix. Cresting results in undulating folds instead of the typical "arms" found on mature Saguaro cactus.[1] Some varieties of Celosia are raised especially for their dependably fasciated flower heads, for which they are called "cockscomb
 

chocobear

Active Member
Wasted forever and a day reading this soil vs hydro thread that I hoped would discuss topping a little more.

Malevolence and Uncle Ben, you guys both make some great and stupid points, neither of you use much evidence beyond "I did this my friend did this" etc

If you look at facts this isn't too hard to figure out. Hydroponic growth = faster. Therefore mistakes are not only realized faster, but they also take effect faster. Yes soil growing is better in some aspects, and yes hydro is better in others. If you are looking for a method that requires little to no skill in anything, allows for a lot of room for error, takes more time, and don't mind sacrificing a little yield then grow soil. It is not stupid simple. If it were stupid simple, I could walk out to my backyard dump a bunch of pot seeds on the ground and produce fields of beautiful potent aromatic splendid plants. Its not that simple. There are nutrient requirements to be met, soil mixes to be made, and it will become as difficult as you make it. Just the same as hydro. Stop trying to compare the two. THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. Each has its pros and its cons. One is not better than the other. They are both suited for different things.

For example if I have a very busy schedule and lack the extra time to properly take care of my plants. I would grow soil, because it suits me better. If I have a lot of extra time on my hands and don't mind spending it in my garden, then I would grow hydro because it suits me better.

Hydro = Faster bigger growth, and all the problems that come with that
Soil = Slower smaller growth, and all the problems that come with that

Uncle Ben get your head out of your ass. There is more than one way to do things, if you don't like the other ways do it your way and shut the hell up about it. Stop trying to argue for the sake of arguing and for the love of christ do not say things like "well I did this and" or "my friends do this and" what you and your friends do is meaningless in this discussion. Facts are facts. There has been volumes of research done on botany horticulture marijuana and all this bullshit. Stop spewing it and start reading. Then say something informative. Instead of "Lol soil so easy KISS KISS KISS BABY hydro dumb" you can say something like "Soil is definitely a less stressful method of growing that allows for a reasonable amount of error without affecting the plants as quickly or as strongly. I prefer using soil because I don't feel like putting in the extra time it takes to run a hydro system. Yes hydro works very well for many people, it just isn't what I'm looking for"

Malevolence get your head out of your ass. Just because people are set in their ways and lack an open mind or are unwilling to try something and pass it off as "Too difficult" or not stupid simple so they refuse to do it, does not mean you should give them the time of day and argue with them. Instead do some quick research with google, cite some sources, and make Uncle Ben look like an old hippie talking out of his ass. Then instead of you getting pissed off at the old fart being an old fart and saying something like "hydro is easy if you can't figure it out you're retarded. Just do some simple research and you're golden" You could instead say, "Uncle Ben, while soil growing is definitely at a slower pace than hydro, and allows for more error and gives you more time to react, I prefer growing hydroponically as I have faster and larger growth from my plants in equal conditions. And I'm well enough versed in basic hydroponics to the point where the only stupid mistakes I make are forgetting to check the ph of my reservoir/s, and that's only because my nutrient brand is so wonderful it puts the ph right where it should be while supplying my plants with enough nutrients to allow for big beautiful buds. Whether or not the manufacturer of the brand tells me everything that is inside, the products work and I continue to buy them because they do what I want them to."
 

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
Lilroach you are not babbling or wrong.
I guess it's just personal preference.
It's Like cars,
some people just drive a basic simple car then others need to upgrade to high performance equip.

its easier to care for the basic car.

the high performance car needs more attention and maintenance but it goes FAST.

hydro or any other inert medium allows the grower to know exactly what the plant is growing in.

growing is Growing, you have to know the plant and be attentive to your grow method.


all of the above is just my opinion, I am a beginner so what I say is open to interpretation.
 

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
The misses would love an outdoor natural garden one day, but indoor hydro for life :joint:
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Root rot is typically the most common and the most deadly issue we see in deep water culture... but you have a good 36 hours - 3 or 4 days to do something about it depending on how healthy/big/mature the root ball. Who doesn't look at their plants every day or two? Shit does not just fuckin die over night or in 6 hours unless you pull an uncle boner. Even a power outage is fine if you mix up the water by hand to oxygenate it two or three times a day, which I have done more than once when moving, etc. Other active hydro methods would simply require hand watering and transplanting aero to buckets of water which would takes like 10 minutes in a personal setup... 30 if you smoke a bowl.

I no longer use the hydroton; it is not needed. Just 2" net pots and neoprene collars as in the first pics.
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I use Dyna-Gro grow/bloom, pro-tekt (veg), and pond-zyme (keeps water clean, $15 at petco/petsmart treats thousands of gallons).
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Direct access to roots, speed of growth, initial setup cost, simplicity, less inviting to pests, ability to instantly change res and correct mistakes, and no purchasing/storing large bags of dirt are why I chose this method.
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I think growing weed is a lot like cooking in that both of them take more than just reading a book or following a recipe, it takes experience and skill. Growing shit does not come naturally to me and I have a long way to go but hydro is just so much cleaner and easier.

I like how this thread has nothing to do with topping or experts :dunce:

Hi,
just curious why you use grow plugs instead of Rock wool?

Your Grow looks Great, I love the coolers and your roots look amazing.
 

chocobear

Active Member
Finally, someone who gets it. You may say you're a beginner but you're way farther along than Uncle Ben it seems. At least in terms of life.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
I found it ben I just had to look hard enough....its called cresting or fasciation...heres some info I found on icmag. I've never seen it before on cannabis so it threw me for a loup. also a pic I got off a google search.

Fasciation (or cresting) is a condition of plant growth in which the apical meristem, normally concentrated around a single point, producing approximately cylindrical tissue, becomes elongated perpendicularly to the direction of growth, producing flattened, ribbon-like, crested, or elaborately contorted tissue. The phenomenon may occur in the stem, root, fruit, or flower head.

Fasciation can be caused by a mutation in the meristematic cells, bacterial infection, mite or insect attack, or chemical or mechanical damage. Some plants may inherit the trait.

Fasciation is rare overall, but has been observed in at least a hundred different plant species, including members of Aloe, Celosia, Delphinium, Digitalis, Euphorbia, Forsythia, Primula, Acer, Prunus, Cannabis and many genera of Cactaceae (cactus) and Salix. Cresting results in undulating folds instead of the typical "arms" found on mature Saguaro cactus.[1] Some varieties of Celosia are raised especially for their dependably fasciated flower heads, for which they are called "cockscomb
Fasciation, interesting! I've never seen it on cannabis.
 

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
Finally, someone who gets it. You may say you're a beginner but you're way farther along than Uncle Ben it seems. At least in terms of life.
As to being farther along in Life I don't know UB so I don't know who has a better grasp on this place.

I did many years with Lots of Meditation and Lots of Hitting People as well as being hit,
this can mellow even a crazy ADHD nut like me.

I went to what would be considered an Extreme MA school.

3 - 3 hour classes weekly, daily meditation morning and night as well as a 40 hour group Sit monthly.
Seated meditation is mixed with moving meditation to keep from sitting for hours on end during the long meditations.

Someone shed Blood almost every class, joints were dislocated weekly and we did lots of screaming in pain.

I spent 8 years in that school and 9 years in three prior schools till I found my home with my Teacher.


Learning to Blend with everything and I mean everything,
things like blending with the floor take a lot more practice than one might expect!


I attest whatever personal growth I have to my Teachers and my training,

"life in the Dojo because life is a Dojo."

"Train the way you Fight and you will Fight the way you Train."

and I personally love the expression-

"sit it like your hair is on Fire"
 

lilroach

Well-Known Member
I guess the only thing I take to task is the idea that hydro is a good fit with a new grower. I agree with all the positive attributes of hydro, not that I know first-hand, but have heard and seen enough to know it's true.

In defense of Uncle Ben.....if you've read many of his earlier threads from several years ago....he wasn't so gruff. But day after day he gets rocks thrown at him and sooner or later he starts chucking them back.....to the point it has become second-nature. I am not ashamed to say that I follow UB's suggestions often and what he says will work...works. I just harvested a 7.75 ounce plant that was grown as UB recommended.....it was only last June (before reading UB's stuff) that I was averaging under 2 ounces per plant. So while I don't care for his barbs at other posters, I do suggest reading his earlier stuff and give it a try if you're growing in soil.

To get us back on track......topping.....I have two linked journals of my attempt at Uncle Ben's topping technique. I highly recommend giving them a look.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
I guess the only thing I take to task is the idea that hydro is a good fit with a new grower. I agree with all the positive attributes of hydro, not that I know first-hand, but have heard and seen enough to know it's true.

In defense of Uncle Ben.....if you've read many of his earlier threads from several years ago....he wasn't so gruff. But day after day he gets rocks thrown at him and sooner or later he starts chucking them back.....to the point it has become second-nature. I am not ashamed to say that I follow UB's suggestions often and what he says will work...works. I just harvested a 7.75 ounce plant that was grown as UB recommended.....it was only last June (before reading UB's stuff) that I was averaging under 2 ounces per plant. So while I don't care for his barbs at other posters, I do suggest reading his earlier stuff and give it a try if you're growing in soil.

To get us back on track......topping.....I have two linked journals of my attempt at Uncle Ben's topping technique. I highly recommend giving them a look.
What happens in loosely monitored sites like RIU is "it" becomes political. People will take sides, there are juvenile style gangbangs from the typical undisciplined punks that frequent these sites. The exception is Riddle3m where we all respect each other and get along even if we strongly disagree on some issues (you'll remember the tit tats re: minimum wage, the Liar-in-Chief). If you launch daggers at me expect me to take your stupid, childish shit for only so long before I put my foot on your dirty little neck and wipe the floor with it.

Now, if I ignore you completely.....

Glad things have worked out for you. You have grown some beautiful plants by NOT following forum popular thought or perhaps a more accurate assessment would be - by giving it up. Kinda like going from rags to a nice suit - it takes change and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone. Any time you step out of your comfort zone you have to give something up.

Keeping it simple, conventional, and cheap is the only way to go. I have topped more plant material of every kind you can imagine for over 40 years. Just topped a mango to shape it like I want for example. Some call it "pugging" (I hate that word). Recently planted apple trees, they're next to create lower scaffold branches and train those branches into a vase like shape which my 4 cola topping method loosely achieves. Then there's the late winter task of "topping", pruning/shaping hundreds of grapevines (VSP training), peaches, roses, etc. Finding thru trial and error, professional field trials and demos, reading..... the perfect load for a grapevine by choosing and retaining the right amount of buds and fruiting positions is a REAL challenge. Not for the faint hearted, especially when your crop is already pre-sold.

Growing and training cannabis is simple. It should present no challenge but to most it is in cannabis forums. They try to make it as complicated and confusing as they can.

Best,
UB
 

legallyflying

Well-Known Member
No name calling. Just stating the facts.

Enjoy!
LMFAO. As if. Yeah. No name calling from UB

Anyways, in regards to the growth rates and yields from different methods..yes, I have done them side by side. And not just once or twice or an odd gangly plant here and there. Soil is THE slowest and coco is not much faster. UC is by FAR the fastest, by a fucking long long way but it's just too finicky and I have too many rooms as it is.

DWC can be easy but it can be very difficult. It comes down to scale.

In regards to your four month old plant.. Our vert room flowers those all the time, but they take 2 months in hempy to get that big. Bummer about the single cola. Retarded growth form for maximizing horizontal light and I know it wasn't vertical because the lowers are not developed enough.

I'm over it. Every thread UB shows up on becomes a name calling insulting shit show. No real information is ever given, just tons of negative energy and the same old rhetoric over and over and over again. They guy doesn't even grow anymore.

Anyways. Happy growing, time to final trim and bag.
 

chunkylonin

Well-Known Member
I have no dog in this fight,but I really think it depends on the person when it comes to hydro for beginers.I will say its not as easy as buying the equipment and going with the flow,you definitly have to study befor you jump into it.Also ups(uninterupted power supply) is a hydro growers best friend,you should always have a couple hooked up in case of power outtage,it might not run your lights but it will run your pumps for a few days with no power.
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
UPS, generators, etc....ridiculous......for a system that usually gives marginal or failed results especially for newbs. But it's kewl man!
 
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