Emeraldo's 2020 West-Facing Balcony Grow

G13 Haze was my favorite strain from last year's grow. I described that plant as having narrow sativa-looking leaves, and that made intuitive sense to me because Barney says she is 80% sativa. And sativas are supposed to have narrow leaves, right? Here are two photos of last year's G13 Haze:
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G-13 x Haze now bent at 45-degree angle going into flowering

This year's G13 Haze seems different, at least at the present stage. She looks like more of an indica-pheno, judging from her very broad fan leaves, below on right. Her leaves are even wider than the indica-dominant White Widow, below on far left. Didn't see that breadth of leaf on last year's G13 Haze plant. The original legendary G13 strain is supposed to be a pure indica developed in a secret CIA/FBI lab, and, after she was "liberated" for the masses, Barney crossed her with a Hawaiian haze and selected for THC dominance. Possibly Barney also selected for wide leaves. If that is so, G13 Haze is 80% sativa with incredibly indica-looking leaves, which is kind of interesting. Goes to show you never can tell. Flowering does not start for at least a month.
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Dream Berry has put up numerous shoots from her prone position.
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Ding ding ding! Super Lemon Haze, left, has passed the raingutter. Acapulco Gold is very sensitive to heat and seems alsmost to wilt sooner than the others on a hot day, and Dream Berry shows a lack of energy on hot days too. As soon as I give extra water, they perk up. Certainly a sign that the water is insufficient. So in response I have increased the amount & frequency of irrigation from 1.5 gallons x 3 times a week (4.5 gallons total) to 1.5 gallons on Sun & Wed + 0.5 gallons on all other days (5.5 gallons total), will watch to see if this is enough. Certainly not over-watering in this 35 - 40 C degree weather we've been having.
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The photos above were all taken from one angle, looking as the plants do, toward the sun. From another part of the house I took this front-on view which shows how the terracing has worked out: Dream Berry is low and flat in front. Blackberry was topped on the main-stem and then, after the strong side-branches pushed up vigorously, each of them has been topped twice. Getting a pretty even canopy there. The other two are SLH on right side next to house, and Acapulco is there in behind. What comes next are the three new plants that will be installed in the space on the right, in front, in the row next to the house: G13 x Haze, White Widow, and Gold Leaf.
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Front-on view of grow space (looking northeast)

LST'ing the Dream Berry into this low and flattened canopy was done in hopes the sun could still penetrate behind her, to another plant. Well, I've now installed that other plant into her permanent place in the grow space.
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Dream Berry bud platform

The idea was to LST Dream Berry so low that the plants behind her get the 5 hours they can get where they are if the plant in front doesn't block too much. Now the G13 x haze has been there only one day, but in a few days she will grow up through the grid. I'll not top her right away. I'll let her get as taller than the Dream Berry and then bend her over, toward the oak tree and into the sun, then top. This will allow more sunlight toreach the Gold Leaf, which in a week or so will be installed to the right of G13 Haze, "behind her". If my plan works out, the White Widow will be LST'd into a shape that mirrors image of Dream Berry, only in the opposite corner of the grow space, bent off to the left and then allowed to grow toward the sun. My goal is to maximum the amount of sunlight each plant gets.
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The idea was, lIght should penetrate over Dream Berry to the newly installed G13 x Haze, which...

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Looks like that idea will work. She got about 5 hours direct sunlight today, as opposed to the...

White Widow and Gold Leaf still in smaller 1gallon pots.
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White Widow and Gold Leaf
 
Progressing nicely Emeraldo. It'll be interesting seeing them develop, especially the Sativa dominant selection which look intriguing. :hookah:
 
Thanks for commenting, Stunger. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading this thread, and then suddenly there's a comment from Stunger. We are in the middle of summer, fortunately there some nice days when it's not too hot.

Yeah, I am pretty happy with the way the training has progressed this year. The key realization for me was that each plant gets a specific grow space alloted to it in relation to the other plants, and that early in their life it is necessary to start training them to fill that space. While the tissue at the main stem growth point is soft, it is so malleable. If the plant's individual grow space is clear (defined by where the plant can get the most direct sunlight), a decisive bending creates a permanent change in the plant's direction of growth.

I have to get a bit creative in defining what space the particular plant should occupy, particularly with the three new plants in the back row. For example, G13 Haze is in the intermediate level, like Blackberry next to it, but I'll let it grow vertically until it is about a foot or 18 inches higher than Dream Berry and about even with Blackberry. At that point the G13 Haze's main stem will be bent angled into the space higher than Dream Berry but west, into the sun, away from Gold Leaf behind her but above and slightly to the right of the White Widow below her.

Three of the seven plants are "mostly sativa" or "sativa dominant". The Acapulco Gold's effect is supposed to uplifting and cerebral, energizing, so that says sativa, but Barney's Farm doesn't really say what the genetics are, except that there is a Central American/Mexican strain in the background. What Barney crossed it with in the breeding is not said, but they do say they "improved" on the AG from back in the old days. But they do say it is 70% sativa.

Barney's G13 Haze is supposed to be 80% sativa.

Super Lemon Haze is also mostly sativa.

Dream Berry and Blackberry are said to be "indica/sativa", which implies I guess a more balanced effect.

Gold Leaf is said to be 60% indica / 40% sativa, as is White Widow (from Spliff).
 
Emeraldo said:
Thanks for commenting, Stunger. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading this thread, and then suddenly there's a comment from Stunger. We are in the middle of summer, fortunately there some nice days when it's not too hot.

Yeah, I am pretty happy with the way the training has progressed this year. The key realization for me was that each plant gets a specific grow space alloted to it in relation to the other plants, and that early in their life it is necessary to start training them to fill that space. While the tissue at the main stem growth point is soft, it is so malleable. If the plant's individual grow space is clear (defined by where the plant can get the most direct sunlight), a decisive bending creates a permanent change in the plant's direction of growth.

I have to get a bit creative in defining what space the particular plant should occupy, particularly with the three new plants in the back row. For example, G13 Haze is in the intermediate level, like Blackberry next to it, but I'll let it grow vertically until it is about a foot or 18 inches higher than Dream Berry and about even with Blackberry. At that point the G13 Haze's main stem will be bent angled into the space higher than Dream Berry but west, into the sun, away from Gold Leaf behind her but above and slightly to the right of the White Widow below her.

Three of the seven plants are "mostly sativa" or "sativa dominant". The Acapulco Gold's effect is supposed to uplifting and cerebral, energizing, so that says sativa, but Barney's Farm doesn't really say what the genetics are, except that there is a Central American/Mexican strain in the background. What Barney crossed it with in the breeding is not said, but they do say they "improved" on the AG from back in the old days. But they do say it is 70% sativa.

Barney's G13 Haze is supposed to be 80% sativa.

Super Lemon Haze is also mostly sativa.

Dream Berry and Blackberry are said to be "indica/sativa", which implies I guess a more balanced effect.

Gold Leaf is said to be 60% indica / 40% sativa, as is White Widow (from Spliff).
Click to expand...
I think that is good what you are doing to coax each plant to grow into it's optimally designated space to make the most of the sunshine. In a sense I had to do similar on my balcony grow but next time I will consider training their shapes to be perhaps narrower and more condensed as it became challenging to work around them in limited space while trying to be stealthy.

It is very interesting how those sativa dominant strains will go. After my WG experience it sounds great to have several different strains to look forward to with similar percentages.
 
Stunger said:
...In a sense I had to do similar on my balcony grow but next time I will consider training their shapes to be perhaps narrower and more condensed as it became challenging to work around them in limited space while trying to be stealthy....
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Oh, and I thought you were doing all that LSTraining just to maintain stealth, haha. :) But the good by-product of all that training was a nice even canopy and much attention to the plants' health.

I wonder if you really want to "condense" or narrow the plants' growth to keep them less voluminous because density can lead to lack of air flow, light, etc., trapping humidity and leading to mold, mildew, etc. Your call, of course, I still think you would have a good experience with 5 gallon fabric pots because the plants 1. won't get so big, 2. can be moved easily around the grow space, 3. improved stealth. But you know much better what works for you.

I wondered if you could set up a screen, low down and just above the seedlings, that would keep your plants under control. A sea of green, screen of green.

It is interesting and fun to grow different strains and to have a variety on hand. Also, a slightly earlier harvest on the same strain is almost like having a different strain. I have two Jack F-1 from Spliff's Seeds from last year, one was just as ripe, dripping, heavy bud, and full of amber and in the cure jars it was fluffy bud but it became like a solid hard material. Effect is very relaxing, although she is 55% sativa. The other Jack F-1 plant was on the shady side of the balcony and in comparison was harvested at the same time but the pistils were mostly milky with a some clear and hardly any amber. The bud on this second Jack F-1 plant was rock hard, not fluffy like the first. So it's like having two different strains, one is more usable in evenings, the young one is great for daytime.
 
Emeraldo said:
Oh, and I thought you were doing all that LSTraining just to maintain stealth, haha. :) But the good by-product of all that training was a nice even canopy and much attention to the plants' health.

I wonder if you really want to "condense" or narrow the plants' growth to keep them less voluminous because density can lead to lack of air flow, light, etc., trapping humidity and leading to mold, mildew, etc. Your call, of course, I still think you would have a good experience with 5 gallon fabric pots because the plants 1. won't get so big, 2. can be moved easily around the grow space, 3. improved stealth. But you know much better what works for you.

I wondered if you could set up a screen, low down and just above the seedlings, that would keep your plants under control. A sea of green, screen of green.

It is interesting and fun to grow different strains and to have a variety on hand. Also, a slightly earlier harvest on the same strain is almost like having a different strain. I have two Jack F-1 from Spliff's Seeds from last year, one was just as ripe, dripping, heavy bud, and full of amber and in the cure jars it was fluffy bud but it became like a solid hard material. Effect is very relaxing, although she is 55% sativa. The other Jack F-1 plant was on the shady side of the balcony and in comparison was harvested at the same time but the pistils were mostly milky with a some clear and hardly any amber. The bud on this second Jack F-1 plant was rock hard, not fluffy like the first. So it's like having two different strains, one is more usable in evenings, the young one is great for daytime.
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My balcony grows definitely has to be stealthy so the training of last season's grow addressed that. But the canopy were quite round which meant working around them was tight, plus the branches grew long. I was looking thru the pictures I took, and I can see the time point when everything went stretch crazy, I think at that point is when I could supercrop to slow the stretch down. I still like the bigger containers, not just because the hold moisture when I am away, but I like the thought that they can potentially grow a good root base to supply the colas. This next grow I intend to prune off any and all larf growth and weak branches. So you're right, not so much to condense everything but grow out what biggest potential yielding branches but still with air flow etc.

I don't feel I can set up a screen. As if so I would certainly set up a rain sheet for stormy wet weather which would be fairly easy to do, the trouble is that would make it look too obvious to family who aside from my wife, think I am growing peppers for the greenery, I feel the least outward effort I create the less attention they draw. Hence the crappy old straggly old herbs growing in the rail planters haven't been refreshed, altho maybe I'll do that this time. :hookah:

The Jack F-1 sounds good, as does that Mexican Sativa. I'd like to investigate more of the Sativa hybrids, like the C99, it'd be interesting how it is after reading a lot of positives on it.
 
Stunger said:
...family who aside from my wife, think I am growing peppers for the greenery...

The Jack F-1 sounds good, as does that Mexican Sativa. I'd like to investigate more of the Sativa hybrids, like the C99, it'd be interesting how it is after reading a lot of positives on it.
Click to expand...

Aha so that's why the neighbor once asked how the chile peppers were coming? Did your kids tell the neighbors you were growing peppers? Very prudent of you not to share the identity of your plants with the kids. Maybe someday you can tell them what papa was really growing...

Talking about researching strains. Do you use seedfinder"dot"eu? It a great site for researching strains, with real growers contributing. They're not trying to sell you anything, but there are links to the sellers/breeders. Mostly European grow info from growers in Europe. I also like the climate data they make available from other growers who've grown the particular strain. If you're going to shell out $$ for seeds, it is best to find a strain that will like your climate.

Yes, C99. She is either a Holy Grail or some kinda rabbit hole. For a long time, Brothers Grimm were out of business because of a raid on their grow. After that, you couldn't even locate the seeds anywhere. I tried. The original seeds were somehow gone, lost, forever. Now the Bros are back, and uhh, they mysteriously managed to find the original genetics! Whew, am glad they weren't lost forever! And oh, the price... yeah. Must be good!

I tried a C99 offspring called Sexbud by Female Seeds about 3 years ago. The name alone was controversial. Didn't improve my sex life as the breeder suggested, but she had nice hard bud and was hard hitting. FS has created a whole line of seeds that are early flowering, I guess that's their niche, and sexbud was in fact harvested ripe by the end of August, a good month ahead of my indicas, which is really saying early for a sativa. Sexbud was a strong head high, very little body. Didn't really want to grow it again, just got distracted with other strains. FS says they create these "early" strains by crossing with ruderalis and select the hybrid seeds for early flowering. FS Purple Maroc was said to be crossed with an autoflowering strain, and my first Purple Maroc was geminated in early May and she started flowering in early July, also done pretty early, in September.

But now I think really good weed needs time to ripen. Short cuts aren't my thing. For me an excellent end product is the priority, not how fast it will be done. I'd rather wait through 12 weeks of flowering to harvest on say November 25 in the middle of a snow storm and get a late ripening sativa that is exhilarating (like G13 Haze or Arjan's Haze #1 or Mexican Sativa) than grow something that is just ok. I am going to try the GGA when I get a chance, just to try my hand at growing an auto. I expect it will be disappointing, but maybe I'll be surprized.
 
Acapulco Gold seems to be in pre-flowering at this point, quite a bit ahead of the other strains. Super Lemon Haze also has those hairs -- not pistils, yet, I guess they are the calyxes in early development. Flowering due to start at this lattitude (38 N) one month from now, usually around the first week of August.
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Acapulco Gold in preflower on July 4
 
Emeraldo said:
Aha so that's why the neighbor once asked how the chile peppers were coming? Did your kids tell the neighbors you were growing peppers? Very prudent of you not to share the identity of your plants with the kids. Maybe someday you can tell them what papa was really growing...

Talking about researching strains. Do you use seedfinder"dot"eu? It a great site for researching strains, with real growers contributing. They're not trying to sell you anything, but there are links to the sellers/breeders. Mostly European grow info from growers in Europe. I also like the climate data they make available from other growers who've grown the particular strain. If you're going to shell out $$ for seeds, it is best to find a strain that will like your climate.

Yes, C99. She is either a Holy Grail or some kinda rabbit hole. For a long time, Brothers Grimm were out of business because of a raid on their grow. After that, you couldn't even locate the seeds anywhere. I tried. The original seeds were somehow gone, lost, forever. Now the Bros are back, and uhh, they mysteriously managed to find the original genetics! Whew, am glad they weren't lost forever! And oh, the price... yeah. Must be good!

I tried a C99 offspring called Sexbud by Female Seeds about 3 years ago. The name alone was controversial. Didn't improve my sex life as the breeder suggested, but she had nice hard bud and was hard hitting. FS has created a whole line of seeds that are early flowering, I guess that's their niche, and sexbud was in fact harvested ripe by the end of August, a good month ahead of my indicas, which is really saying early for a sativa. Sexbud was a strong head high, very little body. Didn't really want to grow it again, just got distracted with other strains. FS says they create these "early" strains by crossing with ruderalis and select for , which is autoflowering. FS Purple Maroc was said to be crossed with an autoflowering strain, and my first Purple Maroc was geminated in early May and she started flowering in early July, also done pretty early, in September.

But now I think really good weed needs time to ripen. Short cuts aren't my thing. For me an excellent end product is the priority, not how fast it will be done. I'd rather wait through 12 weeks of flowering to harvest on say November 25 in the middle of a snow storm and get a late ripening sativa that is exhilarating (like G13 Haze or Arjan's Haze #1 or Mexican Sativa) than grow something that is just ok. I am going to try the GGA when I get a chance, just to try my hand at growing an auto. I expect it will be disappointing, but maybe I'll be surprized.
Click to expand...

Saying that they are chili peppers was just to give a passable but boring explanation. At some point they are going to become recogniseable and I am not sure what to do at that point. Although with a bit a luck of perhaps the referendum gets passed and I can then boringly pass them off as herbal medicine plants?!? :hmmmm::straightface:

I have looked on seedfinder and the bit to see customer feedback on the seedbanks. Looking at seedbanks and discussions of strains is more of an eye candy thing to look at, as here in NZ it is still a big bloody hurdle to then successfully get the seeds delivered. It would be absolutely amazing to be able to freely order them and know they'd get delivered.

Of those strains which are a class above the average then I would like to get some of them and grow them out, maybe make some seeds too, and just get on with realizing some of these fantastic strains sooner than later. I think building a collection of jarred buds of different top strains would be good, as I feel as much I can enjoy the high of them when fresh, I can also get a tolerance of them too. I'm not really bothered with the flowering length of time a strain takes, altho by mid Autumn the weather here can get pretty wet and damp which isn't so great for bud rot etc, so there's probably diminishing returns if flowering goes on too long, altho I like the purpling that the cold nights can give the buds.

It'll be interesting how your GGa goes and what you think of it, as well as the Gold Leaf which I'll grow out this year too.
 
Kids will figure it out, sooner or later. Like Santa Claus, papa grows peppers...

Yes, you can get a preview of Gold Leaf here on this thread.

Today moved Gold Leaf and White Widow into their permanent 5-gal fabric pots, they're already slipping through the wire grid and I have some unusual training plans for them.

conversation started
 
Up-potted White Widow and Gold Leaf two days ago, and set up a vertical lattice cut from the same screen and bent 90 degrees for the G13 Haze to grow up on, into the sun. All three of these plants will get a custom training to get them to grow into a sunny space unique to them. These are in smaller 5-gal fabric pots.

In the photo taken last night with the help of an outside lamp, the 3 newcomer plants are, from Right to Left, Gold Leaf, G13 Haze, and White Widow. Gold Leaf will be untrained, and will grow up as high as she can, like SLH and AG (not visible in photo), hopefully getting higher than the raingutter, and will have plenty of sun in the afternoon.

G13 Haze will be trained up on the wire lattice and pointed due west. The lattice was set up to give her medium-height, about the same as Blackberry. Because G13 Haze will be higher than Dream Berry, she'll get full sun coming in over DB in the afternoon. If the main stem grows out far enough, I'll bend her in an arch shape, top her and tie the end down, and may the flowering branches proliferate! The branches shooting off her can be trained or pruned if needed.

Finally, White Widow will be LST'd flat opposite the Dream Berry. In a mirror image of Dream Berry, the initial bend will be West Southwest, which is a sharp turn left, then over time I'll allow her offshoot branches to grow toward the sun, keeping the main stem flat along the railing. Branches will be LST'd low, then let go and allowed to rise in flowering.

I know this seems overly complicated to some folks, but my experience last year, with plants keeping each other in the shade, tell me maybe this will work out. More later...

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It is great to see them full speed ahead in veg and progressing nicely. I think your plan on ensuring they all get the maximum benefit of the sun is a good one. The variety you've got going should make for a wonderful harvest. :morenutes:
 
Yeah, looks a little funny like they're growing sideways. And they are. Only the Gold Leaf has the luxury of growing straight up. I had to direct the other two to emerge through the screen at points different from where they would have had they grown straight up. That gives them all more space and ultimately more light.
 
Hey Emeraldo! Exciting stuff on the balcony. You guys are making me wish I had somewhere to put one down outside (hmmm..)
I’m liking your grandstand type tiered seating arrangement for your flowers. Very well executed!
Your garden gets a great view from there.
 
Hey DD and welcome to my grow! This is my third year growing on this balcony (an old balcony was torn down and rebuilt in 2018) and it took me a few grows to work out the grandstand seating arrangement, as you aptly describe it. However, there's nothing baffling about the stealth: The neighboring land out there is just an absolutely huge walnut orchard; no one or very few people could see the balcony, and then only from a distance, with several fences between the orchard and the grow. Besides, it's legal here, so that's one less worry.

This year the are 7 different strains in the grow, a sampler of strains I've not grown before for the most part. Only G13 haze and white widow were also grown last year, and were so good I had to grow them again.

Here some photos from last night:

This G13 Haze is so different looking from last year's. As the 2019 photos above show (see my post of June 29, 2020), last year's G13 Haze plant had much narrower sativa-looking leaves, while this plant has very wide leaves. The seed was from the same enclosed breeder's package, so I trust it is the same strain, just a remarkably different pheno. Very indica-looking, though she is 80% sativa. Goes to show you never can tell. So am very curious about how she will turn out.
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G13 Haze on July 7

Gold Leaf has grown at an incredible rate of two and three inches per day. A little sativa-ish looking, even though she's said to be 60% indica. Actually, she has some nice wide leaves, too. Here two photos of Gold Leaf:
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420's Gold Leaf at about 2 months on July 7

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420's Gold Leaf on July 7

Acapulco Gold is supposed to be an "improved" version of the old school AG and a 70% sativa, crossed with who knows what but said to be from Oaxaca, Mexico. So am keen to find out how she turns out. If she's anything like Sensi's Mexican Sativa (which is said to be an Oaxacan sativa crossed with a Durban from South Africa and an Afghani hash plant) I will be happy, but you know, like Chuck Berry said.

I have to say AG is a beautiful plant to grow. She started out slow and small, but now at about 2 meters high is just an inch or two shorter than the biggest and most vigrous plant in the grow, the GHS Super Lemon Haze, both of which have passed the raingutter with some stretching still to come. Acapulco Gold has a delicate look and gets all wilty on a hot dry day if I don't give her more water. Some of the other plants aren't that sensitve, but she has a beautiful look, very sativa-ish, and is already preflowering ahead of the others.
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Acapulco Gold on July 7
 
I mentioned Mexican Sativa. I grew that one in 2018 in another grow, a very different climate. I bought Sensi's seeds because Mex-Sat was said to be great to grow in Northern Europe, specifically bred to do well in a climate like, say, Holland. This plant is the culmination of a huge breeding effort.

Amazing, I thought, a Central American or Mexican "Oaxacan" quasi-landrace sativa crossed with genes that will strengthen her for other climates: super sativa Durban plus dash of indica from the Afghani. And the result is a plant that Sensi says will do well in even the less sunny and warm places. And I think it's true, I harvested in early November at about lattitude 48 N.

The effect? Uplifting, cerebral, clear, great for daytime. So I ordered 10 feminized Sensi Mexican Sativa seeds from Santyerbasi last year. It's really a bargain of a seed. I haven't grown those out yet, but I do intend to grow her again, maybe next year.

This year, am going with another "Oaxacan", Acapulco Gold. Well, there was another song, about the street being lined with bricks. But is Barney's really the Acapulco Gold of yore? Barney's is not so open about the genealogy, however, so it's not known what the cross really is. But they maintain it is a better strain now. Ok, I'll be gullible enough to believe this is actually from that part of the world, ok. We'll see what she is later. So far, she looks very good, a beautiful plant!

:Rasta:
 
Over the top, Super Lemon Haze and Acapulco gold at dusk.
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How High the Moon: Super Lemon Haze, left, and Acapulco Gold at dusk

Because of her position close to the railing, AG has good sun all day long from early morning on, and has put out strong side branches to the East and to the West.

In comparison, Super Lemon Haze was by far the most vigorous plant in the grow, very robust and broad-leafed, said to be a cross of Greenhouse Seeds' Super Silver Haze and a Lemon Skunk. Though growing on the shadier side, the higher she got, the more sun she got in the earlier weeks. Now she has sun all day long, though not on all sides.
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SLH and AG on July 9

Super Lemon Haze gets early morning sun at her apex, and full sun in the afternoon, so her strongest side-branches shoot west from her 5th node up. I've done extensive pruning below the grid (photo below) on all plants, and have removed SLH branches from her back side that don't get sun. I think I get a smaller but better harvest if I allow the plant to put its energy into the branches with sun. My motto is allow the plants to produce their best where they have what they need to do that. Here the Super Lemon Haze's upward shooting side branches are shown, just above Gold Leaf, who will join her at the raingutter in a few weeks.
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Super Lemon Haze has strong lower side branches on the sunny side

Blackberry is a cross of Nirvana's Raspberry Cough with a clone-only indica strain, Black Domino. Her leaves are extremely dark green, with tougher look and feel than say, the delicate Acapulco Gold. A gruff appearance, with strong branching. I've topped her mainstem a month ago, and have since had to top the several side branches making up the canopy to keep her in a medium size. Continue to LST her, particularly since the new three have been added, to let the sunlight through to the Gold Leaf.
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IMG_1852.jpeg

Blackberry bush

Here the view below the grid, where if left unpruned, most leaves will yellow and wither. I've pruned below the grid on all plants, leaving on a few lower branches on Dream Berry, on the right at the far end, there being more light down there. As it turned out, I've left branches beginning at about the 5th node on most of the plants because those branches can grow through the grid and will have sun to produce bud. My thought is the bottom branches will not produce the best bud and will be a drag on the plant's productivity.
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IMG_1858.jpeg

View below the grid
 
Your setup and the plants look great. They're really into stretch mode now where it all happens quicker. Looking very vigorous.
 

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