Topping - law of diminishing returns

Seawood

Seawood

Well-Known Member
So as I’m sitting here trying to decide if I should continue topping my plants, I wonder at what point it becomes a futile attempt at increasing yield...will 24 colas produce more than 8, 10 or 12 larger ones? Or will the yield be similar but with smaller/thinner buds? What about mold resistance?...that could be a factor to consider for us in the northeast with our cold, rainy fall season. When has the benefits of topping run its course and just creates more trimming with no gain in yield?
 

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MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
I had monster outdoor plants that i topped the shit of. They were in ground in awesome soil. 4 plants, hundreds of colas, each plant the size of a Chevy equinox. No diminishing returns with access to FULL sunlight and three feet of good soil.
 
jungle666

jungle666

Well-Known Member
MoMoGrows said:
I had monster outdoor plants that i topped the shit of. They were in ground in awesome soil. 4 plants, hundreds of colas, each plant the size of a Chevy equinox. No diminishing returns with access to FULL sunlight and three feet of good soil.
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Got any pics
 
bartow

bartow

Well-Known Member
I have tried topping plants and compared results with not topping. My plants yield more when I just let them grow rather than top them. That is for just two plants at a time using side lights as well as overhead.
 
MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
bartow said:
I have tried topping plants and compared results with not topping. My plants yield more when I just let them grow rather than top them. That is for just two plants at a time using side lights as well as overhead.
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Interesting. What kind of lights?
 
bartow

bartow

Well-Known Member
MoMoGrows said:
Interesting. What kind of lights?
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I don't grow according to professional standards so, I shouldn't be considered an authority. I have a total of 6 much despised Chinese LED blurples that say 1000 watts on each. I have no idea how many watts they actually have. I have two suspended over the plants and four suspended from the sides, shining at a slight angle. I understand that this is not supposed to work but somehow miraculously it does.
 
MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
jungle666 said:
Got any pics
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Oh man I wish I did! I went to go find the SD card that they were on and couldn't find it. Realized I never took the card out of the phone when I sold it.
They were freaking beautiful man. I had moved into a new place that had once been a lawn and garden service company. They had a big raised area where they grew their own trees and flowers and bushes and whatever.
I had 4 clones that just were not doing anything. Obviously rooted but just would not grow. Fuck it, I took them out of their pots and out in that old garden and they all doubled in size within 24 hours. Skunk #1 and jack ripper or maybe herrer I don't remember. This was in 2012 and ive smoked a lot of pot since then haha.
 
jungle666

jungle666

Well-Known Member
MoMoGrows said:
Oh man I wish I did! I went to go find the SD card that they were on and couldn't find it. Realized I never took the card out of the phone when I sold it.
They were freaking beautiful man. I had moved into a new place that had once been a lawn and garden service company. They had a big raised area where they grew their own trees and flowers and bushes and whatever.
I had 4 clones that just were not doing anything. Obviously rooted but just would not grow. Fuck it, I took them out of their pots and out in that old garden and they all doubled in size within 24 hours. Skunk #1 and jack ripper or maybe herrer I don't remember. This was in 2012 and ive smoked a lot of pot since then haha.
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That’s a pity there momo
 
MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
bartow said:
I don't grow according to professional standards so, I shouldn't be considered an authority. I have a total of 6 much despised Chinese LED blurples that say 1000 watts on each. I have no idea how many watts they actually have. I have two suspended over the plants and four suspended from the sides, shining at a slight angle. I understand that this is not supposed to work but somehow miraculously it does.
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Sounds like it would work. What part isn't supposed to work? Side lighting? Nah that helps. LEDs? Nah, light is light. You making up for quality with quantity.
 
MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
jungle666 said:
That’s a pity there momo
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No, the pity party started when I forgot to lock my gate one night in October and somebody hauled away 20 pounds of my fresh pot about 4 days b4 I was gonna chop em.
Weed wasn't legal here then...so couldn't exactly call 5-0.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
As long as all the branches are getting good light and the root mass is large enough to support the growth you will get a lot of large colas. If there is a problem with small buds and you have plenty of light then you may be root bound in flowering.
 
bartow

bartow

Well-Known Member
MoMoGrows said:
Sounds like it would work. What part isn't supposed to work? Side lighting? Nah that helps. LEDs? Nah, light is light. You making up for quality with quantity.
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If I didn't think it would work I wouldn't have tried it. Rather than bash cheap Chinese lights automatically, I decided to try some and and find out. I don't know how well expensive LEDs work but when I switched from T5's to the blurples my yields improved substantially. Hey, I am cheap. That is why I grow rather than buy.
 
jungle666

jungle666

Well-Known Member
MoMoGrows said:
No, the pity party started when I forgot to lock my gate one night in October and somebody hauled away 20 pounds of my fresh pot about 4 days b4 I was gonna chop em.
Weed wasn't legal here then...so couldn't exactly call 5-0.
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That would’ve taken some getting over
 
MoMoGrows

MoMoGrows

Well-Known Member
Jdvon89 said:
Isn't this an outdoor forum? Anyone have tips for outdoor topping/training?
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Top them once, let them recover to make sure they take to the topping. Then top A couple good side branches. Recover. Top some more. Bushes.
Or train em, tie em down so the top is lower than the apex of the bend in the branch. Might take little increments of tying down further and further.
You can train em however you like, depends on what your goals are.
 
CanadianJim

CanadianJim

Well-Known Member
However many times you top stop at least a week before onset of flowering. Depending on region and strain that is usually between the second and third week of July. Topping after that means the plant starts to flower while under stress. Tying down side branches can help with airflow, but depends on available space. Topping outdoors mostly depends on your root system. As long as it's in good condition and well developed you really don't have the time to reach a point at which you won't get a bigger yield. The plant doesn't have a pre-programmed limit on yield. It'll make as many flowers as big as it can. It's impossible to get root bound straight in outdoor soil as long as you aren't using raised beds, and even then the roots can go down to reach more soil and nutrients. Hope that helps.
 
CanadianJim

CanadianJim

Well-Known Member
I have a Bakerstreet. A Hindu Kush indica landrace that I've topped 3 times. That allowed side branches to catch up with the main stems. She's 5'6'' with 10 growing tips, and a root system that extends under the lawn. I'll be able to update you on yield sometime in October.
 
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