I've been having lots of Discussions here on 420 and privately with TheCapn who has helped many a grower unlock their potential, including myself.
We have been talking a lot lately about Defoliation and the truths behind it.
I have received lots of good advice from him in the area of defoliation, and i have also heard a lot a bad theories from others. I am going to try my best to make this topic seem very clear and straight forward for everyone
What i am learning, is there ISN'T a whole lot of truth behind defoliation at all.
DONT DEFOLIATE!!!
What people think, is that defoliation is going to increase your yield. This is only partially true, but its not because of the act of removing fan leaves. This in fact stunts your plants growth and adds on vegetative growth time or flowering time.
We are all striving for that big yielding harvest. A whole bunch of tasty buds sitting in cookie jars curing up waiting to be smoked!
But how can i get a whole bunch of jars filled with tasty buds like that?
The bigger harvests all comes down to vegetative growth and how long you veg your plant for and has nothing to do with how many fan leaves you take off
We all know by now that a longer veg period will produce you a larger plant before flowering. We take a minimum of 2 months to flower out a plant, so why not veg it for the same amount of time?
The myth that taking off leaves helps produce a larger yield is false.
At no point during the vegetative stage, does removing fan leaves produce a larger harvest.
Remember that a cannabis plant NEEDS its leaves to photosynthesize properly and efficiently. Leaves take the light absorbed, and combine it with water and sugars and turn it into usable energy for the plant, with oxygen being the by-product of this process.
People use the excuse of defoliation to help their plant "breathe" better. Well by removing fan leaves, you are actually making it harder for your plant to "breathe" and in turn, grow slower as they use the leaves in order to create oxygen and energy
Another myth is that people think fan leaves are blocking "bud sites" Well, unfortunately for these growers, there are NO Bud Sites during vegetative growth.
People think that in order to get their lower branches to grow more, they need to remove fan leaves that block the nodes and lower branches. This is false again.
A branch near the bottom of your plant will stretch for the light if it is not receiving enough light energy. This is what we want! We want the branches to catch up with the main canopy. If we remove any fan leaves that are blocking these lower branches, the branches will stop stretching as they will now be receiving adequate amounts of light. This will keep those lower branches low and not producing much of anything
We illuminate our plants from above, similar to the sun, and in order to get a nice plant that will pull us in a big harvest, we want the biggest bushiest plant we can grow. The solar panels of the plant (leaves) are absolutely necessary for proper nutrient uptake and root growth. IF the plant does not have enough leaves to absorb light with, the roots do not grow as rapidly and dont take in as much nutrients and you are left with a skimpy looking plant that will never amount to nothing. The plant wont take in much water, and will look starved all the time.
Growing plants like this will give you a disappointing harvest after harvest.
The more light your plant can absorb through its leaves, the bushier your plant will grow. Roots will explode looking for more moisture because your plant will be taking in so much energy from being able to absorb all the light you give to it.
HOWEVER...
When it comes to branches that are not getting light, it IS okay to remove small branches that are near the bottom of the plant because these take away from the energy used to grow the colas at the top of the canopy.
IF you are CERTAIN that the branch wont ever make it to the canopy, take it off. Dont go ape shit and take off all the little branches, this will stunt your plants growth and you will add on veg or flowering time to your grow.
Take a few from a branch each day. Spread it out over time that you take these useless little branches.
Sometimes a full sized branch needs to be taken off cause it wont amount to anything. Even if its reached the main canopy, sometimes those branches just dont produce anything even if they are getting light. IF you feel comfortable taking a branch like this off, make sure its done as soon as you can, so you dont disturb the veg or flowering cycle of the plant too much. And never take any more off as a full branch can easily put a plant into heal mode and stall growth for a week or more!
When it comes to defoliation during flower, theres only a little bit of truth behind defoliation.
Yes removing fan leaves that block bud sites can increase your yield, but at the same time, the more leaves you have in flower, the more stored nutrients your plant has to feed on when you start to drop the amount of certain nutrients as harvest time approaches. Also, the more leaves you have on during flower, the more energy your plant can produce, which will help increase bud and trichome production
You can simply bend and tuck fan leaves out of the way without stressing the plant by taking them off. This will give you a better tasting smoke as your plant has had adequate amount of time to use up all the nutrients in the plant before harvest and flushing time.
For me Personally, i dont remove any fan leaves anymore in veg or in flower. I only clean up the bottom of plants that i'm certain will never amount to nothing, so that my plants can focus on growing the buds at the tops.
Whatever you decide is the best method of growing for you, take into consideration just what a plant requires for growth, and thats its leaves. Without leaves, a plant would not grow properly. And a plant that does not grow properly does not flower properly and does not yield very good.
If you want the best, biggest yields possible, give your plants the least amount of stress possible and leave those leaves on, your plant will thank you later!!
We have been talking a lot lately about Defoliation and the truths behind it.
I have received lots of good advice from him in the area of defoliation, and i have also heard a lot a bad theories from others. I am going to try my best to make this topic seem very clear and straight forward for everyone
What i am learning, is there ISN'T a whole lot of truth behind defoliation at all.
DONT DEFOLIATE!!!
What people think, is that defoliation is going to increase your yield. This is only partially true, but its not because of the act of removing fan leaves. This in fact stunts your plants growth and adds on vegetative growth time or flowering time.
We are all striving for that big yielding harvest. A whole bunch of tasty buds sitting in cookie jars curing up waiting to be smoked!
But how can i get a whole bunch of jars filled with tasty buds like that?
The bigger harvests all comes down to vegetative growth and how long you veg your plant for and has nothing to do with how many fan leaves you take off
We all know by now that a longer veg period will produce you a larger plant before flowering. We take a minimum of 2 months to flower out a plant, so why not veg it for the same amount of time?
The myth that taking off leaves helps produce a larger yield is false.
At no point during the vegetative stage, does removing fan leaves produce a larger harvest.
Remember that a cannabis plant NEEDS its leaves to photosynthesize properly and efficiently. Leaves take the light absorbed, and combine it with water and sugars and turn it into usable energy for the plant, with oxygen being the by-product of this process.
People use the excuse of defoliation to help their plant "breathe" better. Well by removing fan leaves, you are actually making it harder for your plant to "breathe" and in turn, grow slower as they use the leaves in order to create oxygen and energy
Another myth is that people think fan leaves are blocking "bud sites" Well, unfortunately for these growers, there are NO Bud Sites during vegetative growth.
People think that in order to get their lower branches to grow more, they need to remove fan leaves that block the nodes and lower branches. This is false again.
A branch near the bottom of your plant will stretch for the light if it is not receiving enough light energy. This is what we want! We want the branches to catch up with the main canopy. If we remove any fan leaves that are blocking these lower branches, the branches will stop stretching as they will now be receiving adequate amounts of light. This will keep those lower branches low and not producing much of anything
We illuminate our plants from above, similar to the sun, and in order to get a nice plant that will pull us in a big harvest, we want the biggest bushiest plant we can grow. The solar panels of the plant (leaves) are absolutely necessary for proper nutrient uptake and root growth. IF the plant does not have enough leaves to absorb light with, the roots do not grow as rapidly and dont take in as much nutrients and you are left with a skimpy looking plant that will never amount to nothing. The plant wont take in much water, and will look starved all the time.
Growing plants like this will give you a disappointing harvest after harvest.
The more light your plant can absorb through its leaves, the bushier your plant will grow. Roots will explode looking for more moisture because your plant will be taking in so much energy from being able to absorb all the light you give to it.
HOWEVER...
When it comes to branches that are not getting light, it IS okay to remove small branches that are near the bottom of the plant because these take away from the energy used to grow the colas at the top of the canopy.
IF you are CERTAIN that the branch wont ever make it to the canopy, take it off. Dont go ape shit and take off all the little branches, this will stunt your plants growth and you will add on veg or flowering time to your grow.
Take a few from a branch each day. Spread it out over time that you take these useless little branches.
Sometimes a full sized branch needs to be taken off cause it wont amount to anything. Even if its reached the main canopy, sometimes those branches just dont produce anything even if they are getting light. IF you feel comfortable taking a branch like this off, make sure its done as soon as you can, so you dont disturb the veg or flowering cycle of the plant too much. And never take any more off as a full branch can easily put a plant into heal mode and stall growth for a week or more!
When it comes to defoliation during flower, theres only a little bit of truth behind defoliation.
Yes removing fan leaves that block bud sites can increase your yield, but at the same time, the more leaves you have in flower, the more stored nutrients your plant has to feed on when you start to drop the amount of certain nutrients as harvest time approaches. Also, the more leaves you have on during flower, the more energy your plant can produce, which will help increase bud and trichome production
You can simply bend and tuck fan leaves out of the way without stressing the plant by taking them off. This will give you a better tasting smoke as your plant has had adequate amount of time to use up all the nutrients in the plant before harvest and flushing time.
For me Personally, i dont remove any fan leaves anymore in veg or in flower. I only clean up the bottom of plants that i'm certain will never amount to nothing, so that my plants can focus on growing the buds at the tops.
Whatever you decide is the best method of growing for you, take into consideration just what a plant requires for growth, and thats its leaves. Without leaves, a plant would not grow properly. And a plant that does not grow properly does not flower properly and does not yield very good.
If you want the best, biggest yields possible, give your plants the least amount of stress possible and leave those leaves on, your plant will thank you later!!
