Two Grows In One: Defoliation vs No Defoliation & Skunk #1 x Blue Dream Feminized Cross

[CigNv]

Yeah, there will be a few here and there I will trim up and keep, but with the almost 2 lbs I have now between the Skunk tops and the NG420 Blue Dream and GoG Blue Dream I think I am going to be good for a while lol. It just depends on how much of the Skunk I smoke first and how much effort I feel like putting into it!

Next up is going to be a rerun of Dark Devil auto and C4 so I can cross them and also a True Purple Haze auto in the tent the NG420 Blue Dream were in and 1 each of Do-Si-Dos, Black Domina, Joanne CBD in the Skunk tent. Seeds just popped today and got put in soil and should be sprouting soon.

My SP250s got put in my 3x3 tent over a single big Gorilla Zkittlez under a SCROG.

 

[CigNv]

Sadly though the Blue Dream did not reveg. Here is hoping I will have better luck with the two selected Skunks.

I may also try to take some clones from all of the photos and setup 1 or two more 4x4 tents. I just signed on a couple of patients so my legal plant count will soon be 36. Might as well try to take advantage of it and get their medicine stocked up!

 

[CigNv]

Here is the Gorilla Zkittlez 1 week into flower and ready to spread her wings and fly. She is in a 27 gallon tote that I used for my Outdoor this year.

 

[cr8grow]

Here is the Gorilla Zkittlez 1 week into flower and ready to spread her wings and fly. She is in a 27 gallon tote that I used for my Outdoor this year.

CigNv, A very fine plant....I like how you go big on everything. Congrats on the new patients...they will be getting some good medicine. Looking forward to seeing this beast in full flower.

 

[CigNv]

CigNv, A very fine plant....I like how you go big on everything. Congrats on the new patients...they will be getting some good medicine. Looking forward to seeing this beast in full flower.

Thanks! Yeah, one thing I tend to do when starting a hobby is just go all in on it. I have been back into growing almost a year now and wow the technology has come a long way since I was last trying it. I also really enjoy doing things numerous ways and etching out that process that works most efficiently for me. My decision on lights is going to be a tough one though. I will likely stick with Mars-Hydro, but even with them which lineup to pick from is still daunting, just want to buy them all and compare them!

 

[cr8grow]

CigNv, I have a very nice LED won here that is perfect technically for my 3x3 cabinet. I just cant change from my CMH315 sunshine bud engine.

 

[CigNv]

Yeah that CMH315 has done a great job for you. Same here with my TSL2000. They have just done a great job for how affordable they are.

 

[CigNv]

For those that were interested, here is the Gorilla Zkittlez at just over 4 weeks flower. Just starting to frost up under the 2 sp250 and single sp150.

 

[CigNv]

The Skunk seem to be reveging quite well.

If the Skunk continue to grow well, they should be in a decent condition to grab a few clones from in a few weeks. I will then likely use some of those clones (along with a few clones from my new grow) in my soon to come new setup. I am thinking an 8x8 or two 4x4 with either 4xTSL2000 or 2xTSL200 and one FC6500 (because I want to compare them!)

With the Blue Dream not reveging, and me covering the growth of my Skunks in my new journal, you can feel free to head over there to follow along and the mods can close this one up if they want to.

Link to my new grow at the top of the list in my Signature.

Happy Growing all!!

 

[cr8grow]

CigNv...Filled up the tent with a nice canopy of tight buds...looks really nice.

 

[CigNv]

Thanks. This is really my first actual attempt at a scrog. I could of let her veg a bit more to fill out the corners better, but she is doing ok. Didn't stretch as much as i thought so the top screen was likley not really needed.

 

[Sangmang]

Great job! So many people swear by defoliation but have never done a side by side. Just about every journal I can find that has done it gets similar results to what you've got, that defoliation ultimately hurts the yield. Thanks for following through on that.

 

[Rider509]

I will echo Sangmang and say thank you for following through on the experiment. I’m especially happy to know that defoliation doesn’t produce the highest yields (at least in this case) because I’m getting lazy and don’t want to do it. Still, when I get home from Phoenix my plants are going to need some serious intervention to open up the canopy, and I see some supercropping in my near future.
Awesome journal, @CigNv! I read through it in one sitting!

 

[CigNv]

Thanks! I think the one big take away from this is that removing any fan leaf the plant is not ready to drop itself does 1 thing, reduce the total amount of energy the plant can convert. Sometimes it is good trade off by introducing a bit better light penetration and air flow. Also the removal preflower did tend to make a higher concentration of higher quality top buds, but it is always appears to reduce total harvest amount. Tradeoffs you have to decide for yourself if they are worth it or not.

I do plan to repeat this in the near future with clones. The pheno differences skewed things a bit too much for my liking. The next go round I will leave one untouched. One lillipopped to the last node and left untouched after, and the third I will leave all fan leaves and remove all bud sites before flower except for the tips. Then also remove bud sites that do not reach the top canopy.

 

[Rider509]

I am stubbornly holding to the “hands-off” approach on this grow. I think the stretch is over and I still have some headspace before I have to get creative with the lights. I really want to see how these plants perform without any intervention, and am not concerned with maximizing the yield.

 

[CigNv]

woah, that is a beast you have going back there!

 

[Rider509]

Five of them. The tallest are pushing five feet. I reeeeally hope they stop stretching. This pic is from a few days go, and they put on another foot since then, but between today and yesterday not so much upward growth.
As of today they are two months from breaking ground.