28 main stems on an 18-inch tall plant in veg: A tutorial on training and topping

[Metal Halide]

Hey everyone.
I have here a real beauty.
StrainHunters: Moneymaker
At a quick count ive seen aprox 28 main stems and counting.
18 inch tall and 14 inch wide
coco/perlite
partly organic
28 degrees celcius
70% humidity
T5 early to LEDs mid to 400w MH growth to 600w MH late

I top as early as possible without stressing it and without removing so much that it ceases to uptake. Sometimes i cut 2-3 nodes down depending on multiple factors like how much is it stretching, how far is it from the smaller branches below, How far the branches below have grown, how healthy she is and many other small factors. Sometimes i don't need to for ages or just top a single node. If the strain is really bushy and grows wide instead of tall i may not even need to top at all. White lemon comes to mind as one strain a rarely toped early.
After it has plenty new regrowth, i then very lightly begin to push the new stems apart a bit, opening up spots for light to penetrate. Once its fully healthy and growing lots of new stems i then defoliate about 20% to allow for more light to penetrate the nodes below. Continuing to top any stem that decides to shoot while gently training and trimming.

Heres some snaps of that done early with white widow and #1 skunk

Notice i keep lots of foliage on the bottom since it wont be hindering any bud sites but will help it grow quick.

After a couple of weeks of that, they should look something like this

When getting close to transition, cease all topping but continue to pinch, train and defoliate. When you stop these things is totally up to your discretion and experience but beware, too much stress just before transition all the way into bloom can cause many irreparable problems with your plants including hermies, reduced yields, stunted plants and even death.
Check out this any many other techniques in my current journal as i grow from clone to harvest multiple times in a perpetual.
Thanks for stopping by

 

[Nunyabiz]

Looks very nice.
Have you ever tried just straight LST with no topping?
You can get the same outcome with less stress plus get to keep the original top.

 

[Metal Halide]

Looks very nice.
Have you ever tried just straight LST with no topping?
You can get the same outcome with less stress plus get to keep the original top.

Firstly great job on the white widow. Im growing it currently for the first time in almost a decade.
Geeze im getting old.

Yeah, that's a great point you make and having done that in the past and in side by sides, I've def found this the absolute quickest way to get stems early on. See I'm able to top while she's basically still a twig with roots on roids
and then again as soon as the first nodes appear, well before I'm able to even tie or pull them apart. I find it a quicker method too, especially in larger grows where time is an issue. tieing down a lot can be back breaking. After those initial tops, once again defoliating is very quick and easy, a few seconds at best.

After that tho. tying down is a great option but for me, i much prefer the pinch method.
Firstly it strengthens that stem, especially at the pinch point, this has great benefits down the road when colas become so supermassive that they collapse and need to be steaked, which is once again time-consuming and frankly they get in the way. I've almost poked my eye out a few times. Scrogs don't work for me due to my perpetual grow and setup.
Secondly, As that stem rises, the new growth that came up after the pinching also rises but at an angle now due to the pinch. that angle works perfectly in once again pinching or just training to the side. it wants to go that way cause it grew angular as the main stem rose back up. Once the main stem rises up again. I sometimes top or depending on how late it is just keep training

I reckon your way is the go for a scrog hands down or for just a few plants.
Cheers for stoping by