LST training in detail. Why bushes are better

[Tunefull]

I aim to get 2 OZ a plant(dry)
Best i have managed was 2 and ahalf on a plant...Worst is like 1 and a half OZ

I found it hard to know when to start to flower them aswell,On first grow i just vegged for about the standard 5 weeks..I think i roughly have always carried on veggin that long(maybe 6 weeks(depending on cuttings rooting)


My room is about 4 and a half foot from floor to ceiling....My light is a simple 400 hps....I Would deff invest in a air cooled one next time(forget what there called now?)

 

[steveoi812]

I was wondering if I should transplant these guys into 3 gallon pots and flower these babies you guys? They are about 13 inches tall now...Any responses would be great!!




Sorry for the yellow of the hps you guys... Btw trained with Lst and I have had them since the 6th of oct. Boy these guys grow fast dont they? I have a 1000 watt hps I am going to be putting them under...

 

[bounty29]

Well here's my LSTing...
Plant on the left is pictured

 

[Guest]

What about fan leaves that stick up after bending? Does anyone cut off their fan leaves to expose more light to the shoots? Or does this actually impede the growth of the plant by reducing photosynthesis? Any thoughts anyone? Have there been any threads about this one?

 

[bounty29]

I've heard both sides of the debate, but I feel that photosynthesis happens in the fan leaves more than it does in the buds, so the leaves create food for the buds. I'm leaving mine on, I've seen people trim with no ill effects. Seems to be just whatever your opinion is.

 

[Guest]

thats a whole nother can of warms...my opinion is dont remove leaves

 

[Flutch]

This is just what I need for my micro grow. I will be growing in a computer case and dont' have much space. Thanks for all the info!

 

[MamaStoner]

Big thanks for bumpin' this thread, it should be a sticky

what does this mean? what is bumpin and how do you bump?

 

[Pedro_De_Pacas]

I love lsd..I mean lst...PEACE

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Bumping up this great thread. It has convinced me to use LST in my grow!

 

[Kush]

this guide helped me the most out of all the LST guides here on icmag, here is my attempt at LST on an OG kush in veg. I use shoelace, expensive, but I want to be as gentle as possible!

 

[thescissors]

LST BABY!!

LST BABY!!

 

[Deft]

Key to any bushing teqnique is to not have the auxin (plant go up here hormone lol) all collect in the apical node (top of the current main stalk, the thickest highest one where its growing like crazy). If ya can bend the stalk so its close to straight level with gravity the auxin will spread out and go up each node and you'll have a lot of nodes similar in height and all compeeting for light and in so doing using it efficiantly.

Toping/fiming works similarly, forget exactally how though, maybe making levels of auxin more even throughout the plant and less polar forces the plant to distribute growth more evenly? Just a guess I cant remember why it works lol.

 

[Pinner]

I have been reading up on LST'ing, reading all the way through this thread and many others on the subject. One thing I have noticed mentioned more than once is that this is a great method for small spaces and low Wattaged lights.

While yes that makes sense my question to the experts is:
"Is there a reason not to LST if you do have space and lots of light?"

LST'ing seems like a great technique to use any and all times but...... I have a feeling there is a catch somewhere.

I will setting up my room with 15 plants to start and hope at least 8 of them will be females. Is there a reason NOT to LST when using this many plants, with lots of space and all the neccessary lights and equipment?

Pinner

 

[madnugs]

ive heard tucking the fan leaves back is better than cutting them, so that the plants can use the nutes in the leaves rather than losing them altoghether....

 

[TahoeTops]

Good question Pinner... I was wondering the same thing. I do believe that LST would be good in any situation but definately better in smaller applications. But I am definately not the expert.

This is a great thread... I am learning so much from this site. It is amazing. I thought I knew a lot about growing and Now I come here and learn there is so much more. Lots of good people with great ideas!

 

[dejan84]

here is my micro grow.
Currently the plants are ending their veg cycle, had them under 5 CFLs=4x21W+1x18W
i grown them from seeds planted 25th and 27th october. So it has been a good month and a half.
They are all full LST. The cab is about 38cmx58cmx70cm (inch=2.5cm, something like that)
i am gonna put them to flowering next week when i get a 200W flower Envirolite.
It is getting a bit crowded so i must indentifiy the males as soon as possible.








got 2 Citral and 4 Misty from Nirvana going on there. Only had minor deformations on one plant early on, but now its ok.

P.S. sorry for some upside down shots

 

[Deft]

I have been reading up on LST'ing, reading all the way through this thread and many others on the subject. One thing I have noticed mentioned more than once is that this is a great method for small spaces and low Wattaged lights.

While yes that makes sense my question to the experts is:
"Is there a reason not to LST if you do have space and lots of light?"

LST'ing seems like a great technique to use any and all times but...... I have a feeling there is a catch somewhere.

I will setting up my room with 15 plants to start and hope at least 8 of them will be females. Is there a reason NOT to LST when using this many plants, with lots of space and all the neccessary lights and equipment?

Pinner

In SOG you have all the tops you want IMO, you take lots of clones so you know how to space them to get light to everything.

 

[Tunefull]

Hello all

Pinner u asked some valid questions*smiles*

Mmm regarding draw backs to LST
Well obvious one is time...And the more plants the longer u spend*smiles*
But the amount of time u spend can be down to you.I only grow a few plants.And i like to not only train the main stem but the side branchs aswell(So can have anything from 8-16 ties to adjust(per plant)
but coz i only have 3-4plants it dont get to be a chore,It is somit i look forward to(Take a cuppa/smoke out to my shed.And bingo)*grins*

But if doing a Basic LST then it can only take 20 secs per plant.....



Another Down side of LST can be in the Strain of the plant...My knowledge of strains is very limited,but from the strains i have grown i can tell a diff in how they handled LST...

By that i mean(lol hard to explain)
But take Afghani(btw this is Only IMO)
It had really strong stems...felt it could hold up a little tree house*smiles*
The colas were nice and big,But at no stage did they feel top heavy....

At the same time i had Some NL..And the stems on them looked/felt Much weaker(healthy mind you)
The colas were not as big/fat as the afghani,but were feeling very top heavy.And i felt if they did get much bigger,the stem would not support it....

Also then i have grown some cali "o"And some AK 48(everything from nirvana)And the Cali O Needed a few support sticks(well i felt it did)And the AK to some extent...

Now maybe i over trained them,but the plant i trained the most was the Afghani...And that was the strongest stemmed one(by stem i mean all side shoots aswell(not just main stem))

So i think it is down to strain(some are hardier than others)btw i do use a fan to help make them stronger....
That said...I am sure there would be a way to stregthen the stems thru a refined feeding mix(i just use tomotoe feed)*smileS*



Right going o stop typing in a min(i hope)
Will say tho*hears the groans from those hopeing for a early lunch*


Light and Space go hand in hand

No good having a huge area if wasting light(by not containing/focusing it)Same as no point haveing a small area with a big light...

So For me How u grow your plants.depends on space/light....If restricted in height LST is great(Its all i have done)

If u have plenty of height,Maybe LST would not be best....In that case i would probs top my plants.which is not LST....Or i would let them grow naturally(think i would top tho)

In a few months i am moving my flowering area out my shed(my veg cab is allready out there)So my new flowering Cab once in shed will be about 6ft(as opposed to 4 ft at mo)
So i am going to be thinking on this a lot over the next few months(plan on doing it all in a few months time))


What i will do will depend on how the finished cab is,what i am growing at that time....
But yep will have to work somit out....


K thats it
WEll one more quick line...
I aint a fan of Sog,Cos in my eyes it involves having to many plants on the go at any one time..
I would rather be caught with 5 trained/bushy/well filled out plants than 25 In a SOG(lol k maybe the numbers aint that extreme,but see my point)*smiles*

Right
Thats it!!!!
I am stopping typing
Now......

 

[Pinner]

Tunefull thankyou for that answer. It helped. As for SOG Deft it is not the best technique for my situation for 2 reasons. First, is as Tunefull pointed out quantity of plants on the go. Second, is the fact that I will be doing one grow then leaving that location for several months then come back and do another. In other words probably 2 grows a year at max. So I need to find the best technique to harvest the most within about 3 months before I move on. During this 3 months I will have everyday and night to spend with my babies so time is not an issue in terms of loving care.

Tunefull I would be very interested in following your next grow. As for strains, you mentioned several of the ones I will be growing: AK48, Afghani, Aurora Indica and White Rhino. Money went out yesterday for the beans in fact.

It took me along time to come to some conclusions about lighting but have finally decided on 600W MH and either 1000W HPS or 2 x 600W HPS (just waiting for the phone call on pricing and availability now). The area can be as big or little as I want as I have lots of space.

In another thread a member gave advice about his op of around 4-6 plants LSTed in a 4' x 4' area. Under the 600W MH I think they should be happy.

I actually look forward to trying the LST instead of just letting the plants go. From all I read I think the harvest will be greater applying this technique. I also like the hands on approach.

One thing I have to look carefully into now is time frames for vegging and flowering using LST so that I can have everything done and harvested within 3 months.

Thanks for your responses guys.

Pinner