My First Grow - Should I Top?

[ChefKimbo]

Virgin grower here. Pot is 7x6 deep. Day 24 since she broke ground.Full outdoor grow and using homemade compost/worm castings and regular water(not tap water). Been a rough ride, seems to be growing a little slow but she looks ok. Started to smell yesterday, whew smells so damn good!!! Anyway i see slight yellowing in the leaves and im not sure if its the sun (Full Florida sun) as she tends to point up during the hottest part of the day, or is it nutrient burn. The first true leaves had a lil tip burn after i transplanted into this pot. Also would like to keep this plant small as possible because of nosey neighbors, but she keeps growing tall and i keep adding soil. At a lil over 8 inches now. Been looking into topping this plant but im not sure if shes ready and sturdy enough yet. Not sure what strain its a bagseed. Lemme know what you think guys/gals.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Nope, no topping or fimming yet. You need to let it get quite a bit bigger and develop more internodes before you top, otherwise it'll get stunted.

The first set of leaves on the bottom usually get old and die off, allowing new fresh growth from the tip to replace it. It needs more internodes before topping.

 

[ChefKimbo]

Thanks a bunch man. I'm glad I asked first I would have been mad as hell to see more stunted growth. I watch this damn plant like a hawk!!!

 

[Lester Freeman]

Thanks a bunch man. I'm glad I asked first I would have been mad as hell to see more stunted growth. I watch this damn plant like a hawk!!!

You may need to consider that this could turn out to be a male plant. Males tend to smell a lot in veg and are leggy/stemmy specimens.

We try not to put all our eggs in 1 basket.

 

[ChefKimbo]

Unfortunately i've already accepted that possibility, well i have a seedling about 4 days old so maybe i can go 1 for 2 and scrap the male!!!

 

[OldMedUser]

High ChefKimbo

I'd top it myself to keep it shorter and get the side branches growing out. I like my women long and lean but not my plants.

 

[ChefKimbo]

Lol yea i here you, but idk she just seems too young. With only 3 internodes it just seems risky. Maybe another set of mature leaves then ill top or fim the next pair. We will see she just seems to fragile to me.

 

[415friendly]

You could always think of doing some LST to bend her over some, too, while her stem is nice and supple

 

[nibec]

i have seen great results with lst, or topping. As long as she is healthy, you can do it whenever. some people top on the first node with success. (look up main lining)

if its your first time however, i would experiment with lst first. Less to go wrong from human error

 

[ChefKimbo]

Yes LST looks like a good option for my plant, shes been thru a few things and i dont want another setback lol. I looked up mainlining awhile back, ill definitely try this when i get more seedlings looks promising for my stealth setup.

 

[ChefKimbo]

So, I finally built up the nerve to LST my baby girl. After all this is my very first grow, gimme a break.

Found some old wiring and did it first thing this morning after dawn, was nervous as hell my nerves are terrible. Checked back about an hor later an she turned her nose up to the sun. YES! Looks like we are headed in the right direction.

Quick question, is it com mon to see crystals on the leaves at 26 days old? If they're not crystals I know its not mist or anything but I see it on all the leaves.

 

[Canna Montana]

Ok, so here is my .02 on topping. We wait until the 4th set of true leaves are there, then remove the 4th set of leaves. You also said you want to keep it short, so as soon as you can take the 4th set of true leaves, I would. That would stunt her for a little while anyway.
Another way to keep her short is to keep the light closer to her. I know that's not an option with them outside. Maybe some supplemental cfl's to keep it short. That would probably require an extension cord, if you are able to. Nis made a DIY supplemental cfl light for our grow. I don't think it's up yet, but I'd be happy to share pics of it if you would like.

 

[triggz2k15]

hey there dude,

ye iv also heard lst is a good one to go with I have a few bag seeds that I started off about the same age as your, check my pics. I wanted to try out my new set up as I too am a first timer . I also wanted to try out a few methods like lst and topping.

the 2 biggest are the bag seeds and was topped on the 6th node and then tide down to the pot for LST. you can see with the both methods combined how quick the side braches have caught up and formed multiple so to be colas with big buds ( if their girls that is ) .

Triggz.
Peace Love and Respect.

 

[ChefKimbo]

Thanks for the reply guys. Canna Montana I couldn't imagine this plant getting anymore light than its been getting. The above pic is sat her on the stool to get a good vantage point for the pic, and to check her out. I usually keep her in a hole where she gets a good 10 hrs of blazing hot sun. I LSTed her on the 10th of July, I thought she would be stunted for awhile but after the procedure she was pointing back up again. A couple leaves seemed to get burned tho, not sure if its contact with the soil or not. Watered her yesterday and notice she has roots coming out the bottom so its time for another transplant. As far as light goes I'm building a grow box atm so maybe we can experiment with this. I love to see those pics as soon as they are available.

Hey triggz2K15 thanks for the reply, where do I find your pics? Since LSTing her I haven't seen much new growth up top, but I suspect her roots are developing nicely because they are starting to grow out of this 7x6 pot she is in. I hope to see more development soon, but she smells great at this point.

Hey guys check out my Journal thread, I can use some different perspectives on my progress. thanks

 

[LittleCat]

Hey there, cute looking girl you got there, my first advice would be to water her a little on the light side, one of mine went a bit slow because of that, and she also smelled quite early, but 2 days ago she popped wispy hairs so dont loose hope...in the worst case if its male it will gain you at least experience I can see so far its taking bondage well so keep up the good work and happy growing

 

[triggz2k15]

Hey again mate,
Sorry I thought u would be able to click on my name and go through my profile dude.
Here's a few pics of the 2 plants as I mentioned above Hope you can see what I mean about the new growth on the nodes, tried to include a closer image of it.

I know mine are indoor, but I believe the basic principles are the same .
Triggz.
Peace Love and Respect.

 

[ChefKimbo]

Thanks LittleCat, its so hard not to water the damn plant in fear of coming back home to a dead plant lol. In contrast, the weeds around her hole seem to be doing just fine without water go figure! I'd like a female but if its a male he will make good use as well. Been looking at the curing process for leaves and it looks interesting!

 

[ChefKimbo]

Nice looking plants Triggz I'm jealous! Today I happen to run across a brand new unused HPS bulb, but I have not lamp for it. I think ill eventually incorporate it into my grow, I got some time before flower so ill be experimenting with the cfls for now.

 

[LittleCat]

Thanks LittleCat, its so hard not to water the damn plant in fear of coming back home to a dead plant lol. In contrast, the weeds around her hole seem to be doing just fine without water go figure! I'd like a female but if its a male he will make good use as well. Been looking at the curing process for leaves and it looks interesting!

Haha yeah i had the same attitude, and was always panicking if they have enough water until one day i went nuts soaked them and sprinkled at the same time, and ofc they complained by stunting and leaf damage...since then im more laid back with water and they got huuuuuuuge compared to what they were and they are flourishing