CLOJ Goes Coco! Mandala Speed Queen - Drip to Waste

[ConqueringLOJ]

the look lovely can see crystal already great job

Thanks for stopping by Smokey!

 

[Setting Sun]

Beautiful plants CLOJ!

very healthy looking.

That male/female ratio may work for the best if it gives your remaining females more room to bloom.

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Beautiful plants CLOJ!

very healthy looking.

That male/female ratio may work for the best if it gives your remaining females more room to bloom.

Setting Sun!

Thanks for the kind words

As for the m/f ratio, I have definitely been looking at it as a bigger space for the remaining ladies...I'm a 'glass is half full' kind of guy.

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Hey all, I got question that needs answering...please feel free to 'weigh in'

My girls are about 1.5 weeks into flowering...and no real pistil clusters yet. It is ok to trim some of the lower branches that will never really develop more than 'popcorn' buds?

I've heard that it diverts more energy into the top bud development. Has anyone had experience with this? Will the stress of pruning lengthen my flowering time??

Any and all advise is welcome!!! Thanks

 

[Propa Gator]

I harvested unmarketable popcorn along with top buds recently, and severely pruned this time. Since I care not a whit about this GWS strain that I foolishly committed to, I'm going to learn an answer to your question soon. I suspect that the food/energy that goes to a bud originates locally on that same branch. Hydration from the roots didn't seem a problem, just crowding in the bright zone. Also, the mitey attack that I fended happened in the lower stuff. Now that is gone. I cut alot of budded branches, now there is air-flow. I'll learn something, but only a side-by-side can really prove hypotheses. My side lighting encourages side branching to a fault.

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Thanks for the reply Propa-G!

I went ahead and lightly pruned a few of the very smallest bottom branches. It didn't really make any difference though...these girls are super bushy. Just makes it easier to get to the base of the plants.

We'll see what happens...

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

UPDATE: 14 days flower...

Ok, so things are growing along. The plants are 2 weeks flowering and just starting to show some pistil clusters. So far, the Speed Queen isn't too speedy...hopefully they'll kick into high gear very shortly!

Here's some pics:

the 5 queens..

queen #1..

a top..

jungle shot..

That's it for now. Comments welcome

 

[Setting Sun]

Beautiful plants!

nice pics too

 

[Dr.McNugget]

Beautiful! I love the DIY setup too! Makes me think about something similar for when i leave for a few days next month... these pics remind me how much i love the symmetry of plants from seed...

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Beautiful plants!

nice pics too

Thanks SS! The coco is a little bit more work, but I am really liking the results so far...and I think my plants are too.

Beautiful! I love the DIY setup too! Makes me think about something similar for when i leave for a few days next month... these pics remind me how much i love the symmetry of plants from seed...

Thanks McNugget...I like doing the DIY stuff, it's more hands-on, custom, and cheaper(usually) to do yourself.

 

[SanibelGreen]

Looking good brother

SG

 

[Setting Sun]

Thanks SS! The coco is a little bit more work, but I am really liking the results so far...and I think my plants are too.

In what way would you say the that the coco's been more work?

Yep, your girls look *very* happy

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

In what way would you say the that the coco's been more work?

Yep, your girls look *very* happy

Well, it's only a little bit more work than my previous grows...mixing more nutrient batches, making sure they get watered every day, and emptying the wastewater bucket....just the little things that I have to every day now, instead of every few days with the soil grows. But like I said, having happy plants are definitely worth the little extra attention.

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Looking good brother

SG

Thanks for looking in Sanibel!

 

[Munki]

Lookin' good CLOJ. Don't worry about removing males as you should of been planning to remove half the plants to make enough room for the rest to fully mature.

Regarding trimming, I had good success with doing so in early flower with my 3 x 3 ScrOG. I really chopped up the plant good and it roared back with growth. Some may say that the plant had to replace what was removed so it had to slow development while doing so, but I was happy with the results and did not have to deal with much of any popcorn buddage. It was all good!

 

[Setting Sun]

.

 

[Setting Sun]

Well, it's only a little bit more work than my previous grows...mixing more nutrient batches, making sure they get watered every day, and emptying the wastewater bucket....just the little things that I have to every day now, instead of every few days with the soil grows. But like I said, having happy plants are definitely worth the little extra attention.

Cool, thanks for the info.

Trimming and pruning is controversial.

Read something interesting recently that explained that the root system gets fed mostly by the lower fan leaves, so removing them before the root system is well-developed is counter-productive.

This article claimed that it shouldn't be done until about 2 weeks before harvest, if one was going to do it, unless the circumstances called for it being done earlier, as in a SCROG.

I do like to remove the bottom growth that gets in the way of watering, or that's resting on the media, because that can lead to mold issues, but I'm not currently "lollypopping" my plants.

I like to have some popcorn buds to pinch and smoke before harvest .

If I was growing for a collective or something like that, I probably would lollypop, because I think that makes the main colas look better, but not because I think it increases yield much over not doing so.

 

[Aberration]

Trimming and pruning is controversial.

Read something interesting recently that explained that the root system gets fed mostly by the lower fan leaves, so removing them before the root system is well-developed is counter-productive.

This article claimed that it shouldn't be done until about 2 weeks before harvest, if one was going to do it, unless the circumstances called for it being done earlier, as in a SCROG.

Wooo. Any chance you can reference that source? Even a paper citation is welcome. Science is good.

 

[ConqueringLOJ]

Cool, thanks for the info.

Trimming and pruning is controversial.

Read something interesting recently that explained that the root system gets fed mostly by the lower fan leaves, so removing them before the root system is well-developed is counter-productive.

This article claimed that it shouldn't be done until about 2 weeks before harvest, if one was going to do it, unless the circumstances called for it being done earlier, as in a SCROG.

I do like to remove the bottom growth that gets in the way of watering, or that's resting on the media, because that can lead to mold issues, but I'm not currently "lollypopping" my plants.

I like to have some popcorn buds to pinch and smoke before harvest .

If I was growing for a collective or something like that, I probably would lollypop, because I think that makes the main colas look better, but not because I think it increases yield much over not doing so.

Thanks for the info SS! Yes, I initially posed the question because I had read some conflicting reports on the pruning issue...some say it's ok and helps yields, and some say don't do it because it's bad for the plants. In the end I just lightly trimmed some of the very bottom stuff that was receiving little to no light and/or touching the coco. I don't think I'd have the guts to 'lollipop' my plants...I'd be too worried that I was cutting too much.

Thanks again for the reply! I always appreciate comments and advise from the seasoned growers

Wooo. Any chance you can reference that source? Even a paper citation is welcome. Science is good.

Hey AB! Thanks for stopping by!

Yes, I agree. I'd enjoy reading that article too. Sounds very interesting

 

[Setting Sun]

Here ya go:

Maximum Yield - Indoor Gardening

Lots of great stuff in the archives here.