Hello all -
With my most recent grow I tried something I had learned a while back - once the plants got to 8-10 sets of branches off the meristem (main trunk) I removed the entire top - just above the 2nd set of branches from the top - leaving 7-9 sets of branches. I did this by cutting the meristem parallel to the ground. After this I waited for all the other branches to grow to the height of the newly removed top then I cut them at a 45 degree angle just above the node before the tip. I did this 3 days prior to transitioning the plants into flower mode.
I remain absolutely amazed at how MANY hugely BIG buds there are and how each branch now has filled out to have it’s own cola buds. Initially, my main purpose in doing this was to fill the plants out so that they looked more like a shrub than a tree. It was primarily a height control technique however a by-product of this technique as been that my yield is set to be better than I could have ever hopped. Currently, these plants have spent between 2 and 3 weeks in transition then once the plant stopped all vertical growth, and there was bud clearly showing - I switched them into flowering (12/12 hps light). I did this on March 10. From the data I’ve read the flowing time for my Gold Leaf, AK-47, and White Widow plants should put me near harvest at or around May 10 +/- a few days.
I will post pics soon and hell who knows, might even enter the big bud contest later this month or perhaps next.
The moral of my story is that I will be using this growing method from here on out, as it more than doubled my per plant yield and that doesn’t include the growing thats not taken place yet!!!.
The details of my grow are as follows:
10x5 tent with 2 1000W air cooled lights
5 gallon smart pots filled with Canna-Coco
Nutrients are exclusively Canna nutes - Coco A&B, Cannazym, Rhizotonic, Boost, and a small amount of PK half way into flowering (about 7-10 days or 3 to 4 full waterings). I have followed their schedule to the T as I assumed they knew far more than I when it comes to growing. I have not been disappointed as of yet.
need a pic sounds interesting.
Probably sounds like a stupid questions - but here goes - how to I attached a pic to this thread???
Iphone when you click reply touch the camera icon and upload from your camera. Laptop click reply and click on the icon with the arrow up and ( 7th icon) and follow directions. I use to see an upload button bottom right when using my laptop but no more. Good Luck.
Or if it’s an Android click reply and then upload on far Right of screen below the text box.
Looking forward to the pics as well
Welcome to ILGM ! Sounds like a good plan. How long was the total veg period on them ? The plants look great and should be a big producer. I would not hold the plants to a timetable. The times given for flowering are a guideline and frequently the plants will take longer than that. Let the plant tell when it is done. Trichomes and pistils will guide you home.
Just goes to show you that there are many ways to grow and not all of your plans have to follow convention that everyone uses. Good Luck on your finish. Jerry
Looks great!!
I used a similar technique with my plants this year. I am only 2 weeks into flowering so with any luck I’ll see similar results.
Hello Jerry and all -
During the final phase of this grow - I am looking forward to observing / studying the trichomes and pistils for their nod to harvest. The trichomes now are so plentiful that they will not be too terribly difficult to judge. In the beginning of my growing endeavor I vowed not to “stick to the book” for direction on what and how to grow rather I’d let the plants lead the way and I’d simply be the one clearing the path and making it easy for them to do their thing. I absolutely love the way the plants react (both positively and negatively) to what I feed and do to them.
I’ll try to post the exact time line for when these switched out of veg into transition, then also I’ll post the date when I took them outta transition and into flower mode. I differentiate these growing periods this way:
Veg = 18 hours MH light, 6 hours dark, and med to strong VEG nutes,
Transition = begins three days after cut the branches at a 45 degree angle just after the second to last node. I feed strong VEG nutes and reduce the light to 12/12 MH directly following 24 hours of darkness. This period of time lasts between 2-3 weeks.
Flower = When there is clear “fruit” formation and the plants have completely stopped growing vertically. I consider from that point on to be true “flowering”.
My current set up is like this - I have a tiny 3’x2’x6’ for plant starting (clones or seedlings). Then I have 2 exact same size tents (10’ x 5’ x 78") I use one for Veg and Transition and the other for flowering. Both tents have 3 1000W lights hanging in them There are 6 plants in the tent that I took pics of. They are the following strains:
2 - AK-47 (fem) from seeds
1 - Gold Leaf (fem) from seeds
3 - Sour Diesel (fem) from clones
I took pics of the gold leaf and AK plants as they are far and away out preforming the diesel clones.
Regarding the other tent (the transitioning tent) it was just switched to 12/12 MH from 18/6 MH following the plant trimming and a day in the dark. I remain shocked at how strong those plants are and wowed by how fast they are growing / filling out. In that tent I have 19 plants, 9 under one light and 10 under another. The 5 gal smart pots are easy to move and manipulate - I do have one anomaly in that tent in that there are 4 plants I started from seeds given to me as part of a swap however my buddy got all his strains mixed up so we don’t know what they are (strain or sex) - I can tell you this - I have never seen leaves so damn big. The different strains in that tent are as follows:
4 unknown - from seeds
3 White Widow (fem) from seeds
1 AK-47 (fem) from seeds
2 Gold Leaf (fem) from seeds
2 Black Russian (fem) from clones
7 Sour Diesel (fem) from clones
All the best to all of you and please keep the rest of us informed as to what you are growing, what your techniques are and how they are working out.
Those look awesome!
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By topping, you can prevent your marijuana plant from growing too tall with one main cola and smaller ones. Instead, you can encourage it to grow more side branches and colas. This way, you can make your weed plant more bushy and productive.
If you want to learn more about how to top a cannabis plant, check out our guide on this topic!