Hows & Whys Of Supercropping

[InTheShed]

Hey Shred if I perform super cropping on a photo should I have the tape ready? Or should it be ok providing I don’t snap it right off? Will there be a pop?

Tape is an easy thing to have ready, so why not? You won't hear a pop but you could feel the inside of the stem pop depending on how thick it is. I bend mine back and forth over the tip of my thumb (not the nail) until it's got enough play to lay flat.

I find that a small weight on the flattened branch will keep it from straightening itself out overnight. I use a paper clip with the right size binder hanging from it. How much weight depends on what it takes to hold it level.

If it goes too far over (like if you supercrop lower down) you can prop it up from below or tape a barbecue stick to the flattened and upright branches forming a right triangle, where the stick is the hypotenuse!

 

[TwelveCoffee]

Tape is an easy thing to have ready, so why not? You won't hear a pop but you could feel the inside of the stem pop depending on how thick it is. I bend mine back and forth over the tip of my thumb (not the nail) until it's got enough play to lay flat.

I find that a small weight on the flattened branch will keep it from straightening itself out overnight. I use a paper clip with the right size binder hanging from it. How much weight depends on what it takes to hold it level.

If it goes too far over (like if you supercrop lower down) you can prop it up from below or tape a barbecue stick to the flattened and upright branches forming a right triangle, where the stick is the hypotenuse!

Thank you sir and you said this should be done veg or flower so does that mean I should wait until late veg to try it?

 

[InTheShed]

Thank you sir and you said this should be done veg or flower so does that mean I should wait until late veg to try it?

The earlier you supercrop the more tops you will get from the resulting growth, but you can do it pretty much all the way through stretch.

 

[TwelveCoffee]

The earlier you supercrop the more tops you will get from the resulting growth, but you can do it pretty much all the way through stretch.

Awesome going to try it on my in ground plant this weekend I think weather permitting

 

[Absorber]

Anyone interested in a bit on supercropping? Here is my introduction to the technique. I don't deal so much on the actual way to perform a supercrop, but the reasons and places to do it:

DISCLAIMER: This is high stress plant training and I do not recommend it for an autoflower plant. Not that you won't see people do it to theirs, I just don't recommend it. It definitely slows down the plant while it recovers.

Supercropping is a technique where you bend the stem at something close to a 90º angle, snapping the internal fibers of the plant in the process. It can be done in flower, though it's usually performed in veg. There are loads of videos on how to do it so I won't go into a detailed description. Generally, you squeeze the stem where you want the bend to be until you feel the plant's tissue give way, and then lay the upper part of the branch over at a right angle.

With thinner or woodier stems that are harder to crush, I rock them back and forth over my thumbnail until they soften enough to lay over.

The stem eventually forms a "knuckle" at the bend, and it increases the nutrient pathways to the top part of that branch. That's not usually why we do it, but it's another positive result. And if done early in flower (like at the end of stretch when you know who are the leaders), it can result in larger buds on that branch.

Now let's talk about why we supercrop our plants. The traditional reason is that it keeps the plant canopy level, making all your potential bud-sites the same distance from the lights. In this instance, the leaders are bent at the level of the rest of the canopy, usually toward the outside edge of the tent so as not to cover lower growth.

But there are other reasons to use this technique, for both indoor and outdoor growers (who don't need a level canopy).

Besides leveling the canopy, here are two additional reasons to supercrop.

First, to greatly increase the number of bud-sites. Every time you flatten a branch, everything that would have been larf can now become a new top. Here is where I bent an AK-47 branch:

And here is how many new tops were created by that one bend:

All of that lower growth will now head directly toward the light.

[Note that when you are thinning your undergrowth, keep the supercrop option in mind. If you strip everything underneath there will be no shoots to grow new tops. So if you plan on supercropping, thin with the future in mind.]

And second, supercropping to make room for other supercropping! In this example I bent branch that has no lower branches to grow up, but I've bent it away to clear room to bend a different branch that does have lower branches that I want to expose. (Read the boxes in numbered order so it makes sense.):

If I had just bent the top branch it would have covered the bud-sites on the lower branch, so I bent that out of the way first.

And I will often bend a branch into the middle of a plant so the plant doesn't get too wide, as long as there is an empty spot to fill in, or some weak growth below you will be pruning at some point anyway. You can see an example of that here:

20190612_070916 IIP.jpg

• InTheShed
• Jun 12, 2019

It's It Punch

Top left was supercropped inward to keep it within the existing outer circle of the plant, and middle left was cropped outward to fill in the space.

One last trick, for those crops that refuse to stay down, attach a small binder clip to a paper clip and hang that from the branch (you can just make out the paper clip at the arrow):

Two final pics. This is an AK-47 where I used all these techniques:

AK-47 59 tops

• InTheShed
• Jun 12, 2019

6.3 ounces and Plant of the Month!

Questions welcome.

Thanks for the information, I already do this but wasn't familiar with the term .
Thanks again

 

[Carmen Ray]

Post removed.

 

[InTheShed]

Hi @InTheShed,

I am posting these here because our work shouldn't be lifted and monetized by unscrupulous Youtubers! At least this person has followed up with citing your work after he was called out.

I'm in two minds about this post. Please remove it if you'd rather.

If you don't mind taking it down that would be good. The less attention to his channel the better!

 

[Ganja Droid 420]

Final post... Grow is complete and hung up to dry... The white widow came out average. Ive made 2 batches of oil and started my cancer treatment with rsio...
The critical and gorilla is amazing... 2 pounds to trim and the hard yakka is underway... Trimming the GK right now!

Next round is underway however posting has been a bitch so im taking a break frim 420mag... We have 4 Autos... 3 Dos Si Dos and and Critcal 2.0+ amd one Whale Whale photoperiod to clone then flip 9nce the autos are complete. Everyone grow hard and take care!

 

[Absorber]

Final post... Grow is complete and hung up to dry... The white widow came out average. Ive made 2 batches of oil and started my cancer treatment with rsio...
The critical and gorilla is amazing... 2 pounds to trim and the hard yakka is underway... Trimming the GK right now!

Next round is underway however posting has been a bitch so im taking a break frim 420mag... We have 4 Autos... 3 Dos Si Dos and and Critcal 2.0+ amd one Whale Whale photoperiod to clone then flip 9nce the autos are complete. Everyone grow hard and take care!

Nice well done

 

[InTheShed]

Final post... Grow is complete and hung up to dry... The white widow came out average. Ive made 2 batches of oil and started my cancer treatment with rsio...
The critical and gorilla is amazing... 2 pounds to trim and the hard yakka is underway... Trimming the GK right now!

Thanks for stopping by with the update! Looks like a nice harvest to get you up and running with the meds. and I hope they work out well for you.

Next round is underway however posting has been a bitch so im taking a break frim 420mag... We have 4 Autos... 3 Dos Si Dos and and Critcal 2.0+ amd one Whale Whale photoperiod to clone then flip 9nce the autos are complete. Everyone grow hard and take care!

New start looks terrific!