Can I top after first sign of gender- still in veg

[bench123]

Greetings all,

This is my first real grow. Growing almost pure indica strain. They are 27 days old and looking great. Of course they are short and bushy. They are about 8 inches tall and have 5 or 6 nodes. I went to top them and was surprised to see early signs of gender. 2 boys and 2 girls, 1 not showing yet. Very definite pistils on 2, pods on 2. Boys are gone to a better place.

Here is my question: Is it ok to top after the first pistils show? I want to veg another 3 to 4 weeks and then go to 12 and 12. I have limited grow height and want to top before flower.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tead]

Absolutely.
I have some OGKs that show VERY early. To my knowledge and experience, early signs of sex have nothing to do with topping.

 

[bench123]

Thanks, just didn't want to shock them and screw up.

 

[Tead]

Be sure to give them a week or two to grow out before to take another swing at topping her.
I topped this baby and let her veg out nicely. She's about to reward me greatly....

That's a Bic lighter hanging out in her branches for reference.
Happy growing!

 

[bench123]

Holy crap, she looks great. Hope I can pull off anything close to that.

 

[Tead]

Of course you can! It's easy baby.... just find a grow method that works for you and take a bit of care as you tend her. You'll be growing great plants soon.
You're already on a good path. Many folks here are very helpful and can give you some good advice. Not to toot our own horn, but we are a very helpful and friendly group as a whole. Just drop a line and post a photo when you have a problem or a concern.

 

[bench123]

Thanks, I have been reading this forum for the last 2 months. Tons of great info. I would not be this far without this board. I am only 27 days in and it feels like a lifetime. I am driving my wife crazy checking the babies every few hours. I did a few closet grows under shop lights in the past and got a few little buds. This is my first shot with good equipment and top quality seeds.

 

[Tead]

I would not be this far without this board.

Music to our ears. Thanks!

Patience is a common issue. You think it's bad now, just wait until you're mid-flower.... it'll kill ya.
You'll eventually get used to it.... mostly. Try not to touch too much. Feel free to peek and poke in your plant and buds to check things, but the less you can touch, the better. Same with seeds.
Have you considered starting a grow journal? You can document your grow with words and photos. Other experienced growers will chime in with advice and other words.

 

[bench123]

Here they are at 27 days

 

[Tead]

Ahhh.... I see. They look VERY similar to my OGKs that show sex so early.
I'm quite impressed. Those are GREAT lookin babies!
What are your pot sizes... they look small. I use 5 gal containers when I grow in soil. I'll assume you have plans to re-pot them into larger containers.
One of the largest issues, especially for growers lacking patience, is watering. You appear to be doing a good job in that department. The front right one might look a little droopy, but it's upper/newer growth looks great.
You might want to find another fan to blow over your plants. They'll grow much stronger with some gentle agitation from a fan.

 

[bench123]

Thanks, the front right one is 5 days younger and was just repotted this morning. I only water when the pots are light. Using ffof from the start. Got a little burn early. Started in solo cups, potted up to quart, then to 1.5 gallon. 2x3x5 tent so gotta keep em small. Was thinkin about stayin in the 1.5 gallon pots?
I have a carbon filter and vortex 4in fan pullin air out. Passive intake. Temps stay between 72 an 77. Humidity around 35%. PH at 6.5 and runoff 6.5.
No feeding yet. I may add a second fan. I am running 250 watt cfls due to heat. I have to vent into the room with the tent. No holes in the wall for me.

 

[Tead]

Wow!

This is my first real grow.

You're doing great!
1.5 seems way small for any real plant. I'd at least find some 3's. 5's are the standard... and standards usually exist for a reason around here.
Also, it seems like time to start feeding. Disclaimer: I've never used FFOF (great choice!). I do know that FFOF (or any soil) can be a bit hot out of the bag. You want to flush it, let it dry, flush it again before you use it. A small early burn is often the result if not properly flushed.
Any chance you can run a vent out a window? Putting the heat outside will really help if you have any high heat issues... or even if you're regularly running an AC unit. Some folks get really creative and vent out their sewer system.
You'll get plenty of good bud off those lights. Many folks do the same. I use a 400w HPS cool tube system. I think it's actually cooler running than my CFs (veg in CF), but it's vented outside. I'm shocked at how effective it is.

 

[bench123]

Thanks for the info. 5 gallon pots are a great idea. If you use them and grow such nice plants, how can I not follow your advice. I was worried about space. The plan is 2 plants so the small one may have to go. I can squeeze 2 5 gallon pots in. I have been very happy with the cfls so far. Will do the 2700k for flower.
Heat has not been an issue. The room only has 1 window, have a window fan blowing cool outside air into the room, right down to the intake. The forced air furnace pulls the heat out of the room. Thanks again for your help. It is cool to get good help when I really need it. You rock!!!

 

[Tead]

You're quite welcome. Best 'o luck!
Next grow, you might look at some low space options. Perhaps a screen of green (scrog) option would work.
I do hempy pots. You can use smaller pots that way. I've been doing 3.5 gallon buckets, tho I'm switching to 5 next time.

 

[Antics]

Tead has you covered with great info.

But just to add my own experience, I also had a couple plants show sex early while still in Veg with 18/6 lighting. I continued to LST, and Top/FIM them as normal, with no problems from it.

And it's not difficult growing a nice plant.

This is my third grow just a couple weeks into Flower:

The basics are just using LST (low stress training), and Top or FIM them. Good lighting and nutes of course help, but the training is a breeze.

Check out this link, there's a ton of helpful topics that cover everything from beginners, to advanced growing techniques: How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

As for the heat issue, consider upgrading to an LED when you have the extra $. I bought a smaller panel from one of 420's sponsors, Mars-Hydro for about $100 USD, (which was less than the cost of all the CFLs and fixtures I used) and it's been great to grow with!

 

[bench123]

Thanks Antics,

I was going to do 400watt mh/hps in my tent, then read the posts from people with heat issues. LEDs look interesting. Are you getting good results?
Heat has not been an issue with cfls. I can't do any "modifications" to my house so have to be creative. My main concern was the pistils and if I could top after they first showed. I know not to top after flowering starts. Nice plants by the way. Thanks for the info, very helpful. I may step up to LED at some point. This is actually a test run. I did not expect to have any success. Pleasant surprise, I might get buds ☺

 

[Antics]

I think I'm doing pretty good with the LEDs.

My plant was sick for a while, due to a PH that was way too low. I was growing in soil originally, and switched to coco, thinking maybe my soil was bad.

Anyways, my new PH meter arrived January 28, which is the same day this picture was taken:

This is 4 days later under LEDs:

This is 8 days later:

And this is 11 days later:

With my LED on, a small circulating fan running, doors closed, and no exhaust on (I vent into the attic), my temps don't go over 81F 27C

Don't expect to fail brother. It's a test grow, but still give it your best shot. You could end up with a decent amount of Cannabis. A lot of beginner grows will see 7-14 grams pretty easily without even trying (That's a quarter, to half ounce free). Obviously if there are problems this yield can be reduced greatly, like the one plant I grew that didn't even yield 1 gram lol. It ended up around .85-.9 grams if I remember correctly. This plant didn't receive enough light, and was overwatered.

Now if you spend more time reading and learning than I did originally, you'll increase your yield and can see an ounce or more.

I had 3 plants my first grow, my other two plants yielded 8.55g, and 9.07g. A little over half an ounce. It wasn't bad, but I could have done better.

My next grow, I spent a lot of time looking at LST (low stress training) and increased my yield to a little over 3 ounces from 2 plants.

On my current grow, I set a goal of 3 ounces from ONE plant. And It looks like I might be able to do it. But I'm starting to wonder if I'll see even more.. possibly 4 ounces if I can keep things perfect and keep her happy.

Just keep trying on that grow, you might surprise yourself in how much you can yield from a test grow! I'm hoping the best for you bud, you can do it!

 

[2clean]

Don't top. For that strain if u do u will regret it. It will b super bushy and will shade light

 

[Antics]

Don't top. For that strain if u do u will regret it. It will b super bushy and will shade light

With good LST and some defol, you can top most any strain, and have a successful grow.

 

[bench123]

I am not worried about failure, more about success. This was supposed to be a test run with bag seed. Silly me, thinking 12 year old seed would sprout. Had to buy good seed and now it is doing well. Now I really want this to produce and feel like I have a great shot. I would be thrilled with 1oz from the 2 plants. 2clean, you have a good point. They are already bushy, topping could be an issue. Maybe I should flip the lights to 12 and 12 now and see what I get? Or wait a couple more weeks.