How should I trim plants for best bud growth and yield before switching to 12/12?

[1love1earth]

So I'm ready to switch to 12/12 anytime now. I've got some 6 week old clones that are ready to go.

One of the big issues with my last grow was that I had far too many budsites (due to overtopping, plants overveg'd and allowed to grow too high without LST), and thus it wasn't as dense as I'd have liked sometimes, but mostly a real PITA to manicure.

So I want to know, how should I trim my plants before switching to 12/12?

What all should I cut off? Should I cut off tiny shoots?

They've been LST'd alot (My ceiling is 5.5ft tall or so), and there are a number of real healthy thick shoots.

Just wondering what I can do to maximize my yield before making the switch to 12/12.

Growing under 2x400 watt CMH's aircooled.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[Navigator330]

You say that last time you had far too many shoots with tiny buds at the end? This is caused by stretching, the nodes are farther apart therefore the buds are farther apart. I would make sure your lighting is close enough and begin top during veg, then only take the lower shoots off the plant to focus all the power into the top side 2 weeks after 12/12 begins.


Peace! G/L

 

[thc43]

veg less with more plants is the easiest way to grow may only need 1 week veg in a 1.3x1.3m room with around 9 to 16 pots without tipping or trimming.

scrogging controls the stretch but 12/12 timing is more crutial and you really need to know how your strain/s grow. trimming probally needed and youll need to tip atleast the crown to spread the plant evenly to plant..



personally i tip my clones at about the 8th node cut the two bottom nodes off leaving 10 to 12 soon tobe branches, veg for a week or untin you have the 10 branches or so at the same height

an ideal size for 9 pots per room



a good time to tip if you go down that path



4 pots per light note where i tipped once only


finally a scrog screen of 6plants vegged for two weeks under 2x 600wt and 6plants 7 day veg under the third light so different plant sizes put still a pretty even canopy





with your low head height scrogging isnt a bad option mate 12/12 switch when no more than 75% of the screen if filled.

 

[1love1earth]

well, it's looking like SCROG is going to be best way to maximize my yield.

Does anyone have a link to a nice SCROG guide? Just wondering exactly how to do it. What size/kind of wire to use? How high up to put it? I'm guessing you just pull all your big shoots up through the wire, where they then turn into nice buds, but what about all the stuff left underneath that dense canopy? Do you cut it off?

Regardless, is there any growth I should be doing away/cutting off with before switching to 12/12?


I'm noticing my plants have really been LST'd to hell. There are so many solid branches on each plant.

I think anything but SCROG would just be too messy.

 

[HeadyPete]

Just leave yourself 6-8 nice similar sized and height branches to grow colas on. I usually trim a couple weeks before 12/12, and a week or two after as well. Any branch that is scrawny and doesn't reach up into the top of the canopy will not, so off it comes....

LST depends on the strain and how branchy the plant is. A compact indica with no side growth LSTs slower and harder than a sativa leaner with more branches.

The true key to LST is to have all the branches adjusted so the tips are always at the same height. This way they all grow evenly, including colas. When one tip gets higher than the others, the hormones flow to it and the plant grows it faster than the others...it becomes the dominant branch. Once you are a couple weeks into flowering the stretching and veg growth stops and you are done LSTing. When you do a few and learn your strains it will make more sense.

 

[1love1earth]

so should I cut off everything but 8 solid branches?

What about the little shoots on those branches, leave em or chop em?

 

[1love1earth]

Basically I've got alot of different shoots, and I'm wondering if on those 8 branches I leave, should I strip them of the tiny 1/2" shoots as well?

IE, should my top 8 shoots be the ONLY shoots left on the plant?

 

[1love1earth]

pre 12/12 that is

 

[maryj315]

Just leave yourself 6-8 nice similar sized and height branches to grow colas on. I usually trim a couple weeks before 12/12, and a week or two after as well. Any branch that is scrawny and doesn't reach up into the top of the canopy will not, so off it comes....

LST depends on the strain and how branchy the plant is. A compact indica with no side growth LSTs slower and harder than a sativa leaner with more branches.

The true key to LST is to have all the branches adjusted so the tips are always at the same height. This way they all grow evenly, including colas. When one tip gets higher than the others, the hormones flow to it and the plant grows it faster than the others...it becomes the dominant branch. Once you are a couple weeks into flowering the stretching and veg growth stops and you are done LSTing. When you do a few and learn your strains it will make more sense.

Pretty much all their is to say read it a couple of times it will make sense i know i have to some times

 

[1love1earth]

What it doesn't say is whether or not to trim off all the little shoots coming off of those main branches, or to leave them.

Basically, I've trimmed off all of the shoots down below, but there are still a good number coming off of those main branches.

I'm wondering if I should trim those, or leave them?

That part really isn't made clear.

 

[maryj315]

Sorry for sounding like a dick my bad i really can not explain it better than HEADYPETE but i will try

Any branch that is scrawny and does not reach to the top of the canopy gets chopped

If any of those small branches turn toward the light to compete for it chop it at least that is how i read it and how i did mine

I apologize again for coming off like that i hope were cool i might need some info from you 1 day

 

[1love1earth]

no worries, it made more sense after I actually installed the wire netting and threaded shoots/branches through the screen.

Hence pretty much any branch/shoot not threaded through the screen should be cut off and removed, right?

Making more sense after actually setting up the SCROG.

The other thing I like about SCROG is that you can jam pack however many plants you want, as long as there's room in the screen.