I want to switch to flowering but..

Xephier · Jun 21, 2015

I kinda made a last minute decision to top this plant's 2 tops about a week or so ago and I want to make sure that I give these new tops time to grow out before I flip them into flowering so the buds are decent size. This is a pic I took of them today just to give an idea of how big they are.

Should I flip that now or wait another week or so for it to grow out some more?

I just wish I had more space. I've got these smaller plants in the same grow space.

I have a Rubbermaid container with the inside lined with panda sheet(used it for my seedlings) but I'm afraid that at the rate my new plants are growing that they will outgrow that container before my old ones are done flowering.

Xephier · Jun 22, 2015

As well I am also curious as to how often a plant should be topped or FIMed. If the plant in the purple picture there was a younger plant should I top or FIM those 2 growing off the main stem right away or would I wait for those stems to establish themselves with a few nodes before topping or FIMing again?

Jhhnn · Jun 22, 2015

You're fine. All the growing points will stretch into flower. Figure the plants will be 2X or 3X as tall when they finish as they are when you flip to flowering. Some strains more, some less.

If you wait too long, management issues can be severe.

Xephier · Jun 22, 2015

Jhhnn said:
If you wait too long, management issues can be severe.

Not too worried. I just started learning about LST so height shouldn't be too much of an issue. I just wanted to make sure that it wouldn't start budding off of those little branches right away and minimize my yield. But ya if the branches and the bud all get bigger over the next month or 2 then I suppose that wouldn't be an issue. I am still going to have to wait about 8 days before I can flip to flowering as I have some lollypopping to do. Fun stuff though space management can be an issue.

I can hardly wait until my next big grow, I'm hoping to have a tent then so everything will be easier.

184481 · Jun 25, 2015

If they get too tall, tie em down. its easy to make a screen or trellis. go fully organic and be healthy... Skip the chemicals, and dont trust the dude at the hydro store, no matter how much he seems like a buddy. He's tryin to sell you shit and will sell you things you dont need if he thinks you dont know much

Xephier · Jun 26, 2015

184481 said:
If they get too tall, tie em down. its easy to make a screen or trellis. go fully organic and be healthy... Skip the chemicals, and dont trust the dude at the hydro store, no matter how much he seems like a buddy. He's tryin to sell you shit and will sell you things you dont need if he thinks you dont know much

I may try organic on one of my future grows but I found out pretty quick that it's not something for a first time grower.
I actually decided to skip the lollypopping. I don't love the idea of cutting up my plants and I wanted them in flower asap so I just went with the LST method and tied em down. I did however end up supercropping by accident(creating the "knuckle") but things seem to be working out. They take a lot of space tied down though since I let one of them grow to near 21 inches before tying it down.

Jhhnn · Jun 26, 2015

Under really good conditions, many strains will explode into stretch & then flowering, often growing an inch per day or more in the first month of 12/12. The bigger they are at the flip the more they'll grow.

I nearly had a management disaster this round because of radically improved technique, aided enormously by a fellow grower. A much, much better soil mix & blumats put 36" of bushy vertical growth in 4 weeks on plants that were 15-21" at flip. Yowser! They quit stretching just in the nick of time or I'd be exploring bondage techniques I never wanted to learn. I have roped 'em against the walls a little to give 'em some distance to the light.

It's been humbling- I thought I knew something about growing but it turns out I didn't know nearly as much as I imagined.

Dready_jake · Jun 26, 2015

Yes they'll do what they can durring stretch but i prefer to be very deliberate in my colas.
The more of a ''cola" they have before flower the better the cola after stretch. I just took off a branch that I cloned off of too close to when i threw into flower. I had 11 tops plus the branch I cloned off of a couple weeks a go so I took the whole branch off because it wouldn't do as much as the 11 real colas.

I did an experimental round where I tied the bitch down the day of flower. She stretched and instead of ANY colas she produced only "C branching"(the first buds that are separate from the main cola. Typically about where I thin to after stretch depending on strain) and was one of my worst yields since I bought the light.

If it were me I'd say tie her down, veg out your defined "colas" til they get to about 1/4th the maximum height you can/want to do and then flower.

ChasingGreen · Jun 26, 2015

wait another week and your yields will be much higher, so you're not spending part of the 2 week stretch recovering.

Jhhnn · Jun 26, 2015

Dready_jake said:
Yes they'll do what they can durring stretch but i prefer to be very deliberate in my colas.
The more of a ''cola" they have before flower the better the cola after stretch. I just took off a branch that I cloned off of too close to when i threw into flower. I had 11 tops plus the branch I cloned off of a couple weeks a go so I took the whole branch off because it wouldn't do as much as the 11 real colas.

I did an experimental round where I tied the bitch down the day of flower. She stretched and instead of ANY colas she produced only "C branching"(the first buds that are separate from the main cola. Typically about where I thin to after stretch depending on strain) and was one of my worst yields since I bought the light.

If it were me I'd say tie her down, veg out your defined "colas" til they get to about 1/4th the maximum height you can/want to do and then flower.

Lots of different circumstances, styles, goals & headsets, Jake. I'm not sure how much better any of them are than the others particularly when it's not about money but just stash, my situation entirely. Everybody wants solid yields, of course, even if it's just wanting to take some pride in the job.

I get that just letting them grow from seed, not pinching or tying them at all except when forced to do so. With strong light, good soil & proper moisture control, 6-8 plants bush out to fill my 4x4x6T space entirely, each with a strong central cola & a halo of shorter stalks around. I trim away some of the lowest branches, the ones that don't reach out & up for the light mostly just to be able to crawl underneath to access the pots in the back. If I don't let 'em get too big before flip, even the popcorn down at the bottom is chunky, nice little 1" trimmed frosty budlets, not larfy at all. I also get short cycle times start to finish even allowing plenty of time at the back end for maturation. That's good when exploring, what I'm doing, or for people wanting high production rates.

I let this batch get too big before flip so they're closer to the light than I'd like 4 weeks into flower.

Should all go well, I'll have central colas the size of my fist & forearm along with lots of other very nice buds, probably 1.5 lbs or more when trimmed & cured. My oil making friends will get a few ounces of close trim & popcorn as well. I hardly fussed with them at all.

Dready_jake · Jun 26, 2015

Regardless of money or stash, you want the most of the best right? So if you deliberately topped once or twice and vegged out 4 DEFINED Colas per plant. You'd have a thick canopy of colas, won't change the height you're already working with, possibly double your yields and if done right will be no smaller buds.(gotta pull the larf after stretch)

Regardless of goal. Efficiency is still a must. Electricity and water are expensive.

Like I said ive done just like you with single cola plants, I've done what the op asked about , tied her down and threw into flower without colas, as well as my multi cola mini trees. The latter produced the highest quality and yields.

Xephier · Jun 26, 2015

Dready_jake said:
Regardless of money or stash, you want the most of the best right? So if you deliberately topped once or twice and vegged out 4 DEFINED Colas per plant. You'd have a thick canopy of colas, won't change the height you're already working with, possibly double your yields and if done right will be no smaller buds.(gotta pull the larf after stretch)

Regardless of goal. Efficiency is still a must. Electricity and water are expensive.

Like I said ive done just like you with single cola plants, I've done what the op asked about , tied her down and threw into flower without colas, as well as my multi cola mini trees. The latter produced the highest quality and yields.

Ya, you gotta top em and tie em down or you're yield will be shit and unless you have a bunch of lights around your plants. the lower branch stuff will likely be ditch weed.
Gotta open up that plant and give the entire length some light/air.

I'm not sure what you're talking about though with growing "colas" before flowering??

Thems my plants right now. I threw them into flowering long before some of the later replies so a bit late to do it any other way now. Truth is I just wanted to get this into flowering asap because I did way too many plants, that's only 3 plants that are taking most the room in that closet there(and 2 autoflowering on the right). I've got 7 more in a grow chamber(rubbermaid container) right now and those are jumpin up.

Kinda my bad on that, I decided to zerg the plants out since it was my first grow and I wanted to make sure I had a lot of yield. Also my first batch were not doing great off the start, I wasn't sure they'd make it to harvest but they healthed right up and now I got too many, lol.

Dready_jake · Jun 27, 2015

The way she goes. sometimes you gotta worry about harvest date too.

But this is what i mean By defined Colas.

I'll upload a current pic after I shower and get in there. But see how you can see the cola structure already existing?(excluding the little branch of smaller guys on the front right. That was cut of so as to prevent small buds and focus energy)

Xephier · Jun 27, 2015

Dready_jake said:
The way she goes. sometimes you gotta worry about harvest date too.

But this is what i mean By defined Colas.
View Image
I'll upload a current pic after I shower and get in there. But see how you can see the cola structure already existing?(excluding the little branch of smaller guys on the front right. That was cut of so as to prevent small buds and focus energy)

So are you just talking about growing out the stems that the colas will be growing from and lollypopping to keep the energy on the main focus points(the top colas)?

Xephier · Jun 27, 2015

It could very well produce more doing it your way but let's wait and see in 8 weeks or so I'll post my yield.

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