First Time Grower - Hydro Grow - Tips Welcome

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

A lot of people do different things and we all do it our way so dont want to advice on chopping it too much. If it was me I take the pans that are covering tops. I cut some and tuck like you say because not all covering pans need chopping off because if you tuck them under a new top the top will soon overtake the leaf and the leaf can stay. Its up to you really how you do it and will find the way that works for you best after a few grows. Until then experiment a bit.

 

[Lurch Farmer]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

When your looking at the top of your canopy all you can see is tops and bud sites which obviously you want, but all the very small branches at the very bottom that will never break through the canopy, remove as they will not recieve light indoors and will just take energy from the rest of the plant.

I bucher my ladies, each branch gets 4 fans 2 full 2 in development, plus at day 30 of flower I lower my lights right to the canapy , then I supper weed wak- if light don't reach a bud site it's out, triming pop corn ain't fun but watching my ladys explode is great fun

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Well i weed wacked under the canopy with the exception of my runts i left them alone since they have just recently had a huge growth spurt i didnt want to chance anything since they are almost at the canopy. And left all the fan leaves at the top alone except for 1 plant were i put wire around the main stem and some of the leaves to hold them down. Each cut i made was like . So hopefully this will help to make a heavy yeild!

 

[Lurch Farmer]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Duuuuuuude What did you do............................................... they look like extreamly happy ladys with they leaves all did and shit..LMMFAO

In 4-5 days it will look like you didn't do sh@t

 

[Lurch Farmer]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

If you feel bad for what you just did take a look at my journal post 9 or so .

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Hey maverick, If I were you Id just cut them leaves off you have tied to the stem. I will block air flow and they not catching light there anyway and may even die there and rot, causing problems to your stem. If your going to tuck any leaves then just tuck them under other leaves . Cut them off mate , let that stem breathe .

 

[Tokeman1]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Okay im hearing alot about trimming. Do you mean trim as in shorten the length of the pedals on the fan leaves or trim as in remove entire leaf from plant closest to branch?


These pictures is everything below my canopy, are you saying to remove all of the little leafs and what not?

Remove this completely so it is just a branch correct?

Welcome to 420 Mav....this is a great place to meet some truly innovative and masterful growers. I too am doing my first hydro grow and have spent a shit ton of time going through and reading journals from experienced growers. You get lots of different opinions, but you will also see consistent recommendations from seasoned growers - and to me that is the information you pay attention to.

Your grow looks nice great job!!

The biggest lesson I am learning quickly is to not overcrowd the tent and to make sure you get as much open air flow underneath the canopy. A lesson I have learned the hard way is that with RH above 50%, crowded conditions with fan leaves overlapping and touching, and underneath the canopy being crowded to inhibit easy airflow will lead to powdery mildew - almost guaranteed

I have always been nervous about trimming hard, but now I make sure that light can penetrate easily down to the top of my pots (and I make sure to have reflective material to help get more light to the underside) and I defoliate to give my plants as much room to grow and reduce the chance of budrot or powdery mildew.

Once you have either of these shitty things hit your garden, you will become a believer. Damage can be severe and extremely fast, and often you don't catch whats going on until you are in flowering when your RH will usually jump considerable. My RH is much lower in veg and during flower I don't go over 50% - ever. Of course I am using more lights and have bigger heat issues to contend with, which usually means more RH issues, but it will be interesting to see how you do with the computer fans.

Regardless you are of to a great start. Subbed and wishing you big buds!!

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Tuesday I'm switching to 12/12!!!!! So far they all look like ladies! The pre-flower is still a bit immature on 1 plant but still stoked! They all took well to the weed wacking . Il do another photo update once I switch to 12/12!

Happy Growing!!

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Well turns out that 3 of my plants were male, didnt really upset me though . So right now in the picture you can see below i have just weed wacked my awesome looking female, mind you since 12/12 i have been doing it just about every morning because i wake up to stare for about 30min and its a god damn jungle in there. Il take pics tomorrow and show you what i mean. Scroll down

This picture below im experimenting with, trying to make it just a solo stick so hopefully it will produce just 1 fat gigantic bud that i can play swords with . This plant was one of the weakest of all 6 plants but is doing supurb right now and its root system looks healthy as can be.

This one was also one of the runts. Havent LST'd or anything like that. Just a natural grow with minute defoliation.

This is obviously the most mature of the plants. I count 18 Top nodes ( and stopped and smoked and forgot what i was doing). Its hard to tell with the pics and the HPS bulb but the canopy is pretty much perfectly even, like i said before i defoliate next time i will take a pick so you can see how bushy it's really getting in there and how equal everything is, im quiet happy.I have been continuing to LST and when i ripped out the 3 males i obviously was able to use all the room and produce more nodes. The stem of this plant measured to about 3ft, took me a while with the bends and what not but i got it done.

And heres what all the plants are covered in, even Mr.Stick

Before i switched to 12/12 i was on 24/0 and flushed the entire contents of the Emilys Garden to ensure there was no mold buildup or any sort of left over nutes or bacteria(obviously with a DWC this is going to happen regardless so the more flush's you do the better). I think it was 6 or 7 days after i put them into flower is when i gave them there first dose of Flora Nova Bloom Nutes . Like i said the plants are doing exceptionally well, i finaly dialed in my nute balance and flushing time and since then i havent had any more burn. Im looking foward to them starting to Bud up nice and thick/dense hopefully and sharing the pics with yall!. Thanks for stopping by and Grow On.

 

[Green Knight]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Hey Maverick, plants look really healthy mate, you're doing well.

A couple of questions/comments/suggestions which are meant as that, it's your grow so take everything with a pinch of salt, weigh it up against your knowledge and experience and decide, but don't treat it as a must do or gospel (the are so many ways of doing things there is no such thing as a right way)

I've never seen your type of hydro system before so I'm not familiar with it but is there a reason why the plants are so low down in the pots and the hydroton only covers the bottom few inches? It might be a bit late for this grow as they're now in flower and to lift the plants and change it could damage roots and cause issues but for future grows it could be worth thinking about filling the pots much nearer the top and having the plant higher in the pot - this will encourage better root development as the roots will be able to take advantage of the entire pot, rather than the bottom couple of inches.

With defoliation I tend not to take it quite as close to the plant as in the photo above. If it's too close to the stem infection can set in and infect the main plant. I pinch the leaves about halfway down their stalk, leaving an inch or so (sorry smoke2js, I disagree with you here). The remaining stem dries up over a few days to a week and drops off naturally. I've never had issues with mould and the healing process is very clean. Taking it too close to the main stem can not only result in infection affecting the main plant but can also result in damage to the bud sites, which will affect later yield.

These plants are massively resilient so you can throw a lot at them but I'd be tempted to see how the one you've taken right back to the main stem does in the long run before doing it to any of others. Whilst defoliation from what I've seen does a lot of good, when bud sites are developing they do need the leaves to feed them initially, at least until they've developed as buds and have a few of the smaller sugar leaves developed to feed the bud. I'm not sure how those lower bud sites will develop as they don't really have a lot left. My personal opinion is that defoliation is about removing fans to allow greater light penetration, but the bud sites do still require some leaves to provide energy and allow them to develop.

For defoliation tips and advice I would highly recommend checking out Bassman's journals, and Jon705's - they are very experienced using defoliation with excellent results to their names.

I hope I haven't just waded in and come across as critical, it's not meant that way at all - your plants look fantastic and healthy so you're doing a lot right, and I'm a big believer in smashing these plants to shit to get the best out of them - I just saw the photo above and that's a level way beyond what I think would be helpful for you overall, if that makes sense?

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Sorry mate when people are saying all is good and all is not good I have to say something, its not fair not to.

how come you have took all the branches off your plants. I know we take the bottom branches off to give power to the top but not half of the plant. A defolation like that will cut your yield more than in half. The bottom branches only need taking if they are not receiving light. But in a tent like that and a HPS bulb the light doesn't get lost and bounces everywhere.

Every branch is a bud site, they might as well be there own plants. If you strip all the branches you have no where for buds to grow from. The one your trying to lollypop will not lollypop it will just have one nug at the top , maybe a cola and 2 smaller nugs below.

Sorry not meaning to say bad things about your grow as your experimenting which we all do and is how we learn. But ill save you a little time here and say taking everything off a plant leaves nothing.

When people defoliate they take pan leaves not branches, maybe a couple from the very bottom or more if there a full canopy blocking them. But you have so much space there was no need in taking them branches off.

Your plants look healthy and will still be a nice harvest but not as much bud as if they still had all their branches and bud sites. Defoliation works and people who do it right end up with LOADS of bud sites but only by leaving the bud sites on. Sorry for putting it this way I dont mean to coma across a Pr*ck , I just think you needed a couple of pointers there.

You will still end up will a load of bud so dont sweat , just learn how to chop stuff up before you take off the branches.

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Hey Maverick, plants look really healthy mate, you're doing well.

I've never seen your type of hydro system before so I'm not familiar with it but is there a reason why the plants are so low down in the pots and the hydroton only covers the bottom few inches? It might be a bit late for this grow as they're now in flower and to lift the plants and change it could damage roots and cause issues but for future grows it could be worth thinking about filling the pots much nearer the top and having the plant higher in the pot - this will encourage better root development as the roots will be able to take advantage of the entire pot, rather than the bottom couple of inches.

With defoliation I tend not to take it quite as close to the plant as in the photo above. If it's too close to the stem infection can set in and infect the main plant. I pinch the leaves about halfway down their stalk, leaving an inch or so (sorry smoke2js, I disagree with you here). The remaining stem dries up over a few days to a week and drops off naturally. I've never had issues with mould and the healing process is very clean. Taking it too close to the main stem can not only result in infection affecting the main plant but can also result in damage to the bud sites, which will affect later yield.

Its called Emilys Garden its a DWC system that obviously holds 6 pots and 6 gallons of water.

Reason they are so deep inside the pot is due to a error when i planted the seeds in the rockwool. Instead of watering the top of the rockwool and setting it higher, i put it down to the base of the water level. Noob error

Sorry mate when people are saying all is good and all is not good I have to say something, its not fair not to.

how come you have took all the branches off your plants. I know we take the bottom branches off to give power to the top but not half of the plant. A defolation like that will cut your yield more than in half. The bottom branches only need taking if they are not receiving light. But in a tent like that and a HPS bulb the light doesn't get lost and bounces everywhere.

Every branch is a bud site, they might as well be there own plants. If you strip all the branches you have no where for buds to grow from. The one your trying to lollypop will not lollypop it will just have one nug at the top , maybe a cola and 2 smaller nugs below.

Sorry not meaning to say bad things about your grow as your experimenting which we all do and is how we learn. But ill save you a little time here and say taking everything off a plant leaves nothing.

When people defoliate they take pan leaves not branches, maybe a couple from the very bottom or more if there a full canopy blocking them. But you have so much space there was no need in taking them branches off.

Your plants look healthy and will still be a nice harvest but not as much bud as if they still had all their branches and bud sites. Defoliation works and people who do it right end up with LOADS of bud sites but only by leaving the bud sites on. Sorry for putting it this way I dont mean to coma across a Pr*ck , I just think you needed a couple of pointers there.

You will still end up will a load of bud so dont sweat , just learn how to chop stuff up before you take off the branches.

The only plant that i removed branches from was the back right, just as a little experiment out of curiosity. like i said it was the only plant in which branches were removed for a experiment cause i have never seen it.

The biggest plant has plenty of budsites and new growth, no branches or anything like that have been removed from this plant. The only think that has been removed was the undergrowth that will get no light and only become popcorn buds, doing this re-directs all the nutrients sugars and energy into the top of the plant which light is received most and is more desired. It seems as though the plant is almost naked but i assure you it is not, its the angle of the camera and the light. Let me clarify a little more, Defoliation only took place on the big plant and only the undergrowth...Mr.Stick is a Purposely done experiment of removing branches, however Mr.Stick is full of white hairs from top to about 3 inches from the base of the medium more than the biggest plant, wanted to see if i could make it into one huge bud lol. I will try to get better pictures

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Yeah man I understand about the angles of the pictures and giving more nutes to the top but doesnt matter how big that top will get it will never be bigger than the one next to it. Yeah there are some beasts in there not doubting that. Just reckon there could of been a lot more on them.
But you seem to know what your doing so i'l keep ma opinions to myself. Only what I thought mate, just an opinion. Sorry if it came across bad.

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

No not at all your opinions are welcomed!! Just wasn't sure if you thought I removed all branches from all plants so just had the feeling you thought I did it to all plants

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

No not at all your opinions are welcomed!!

Ha , nice. Sweet carry on. That stick going to be a beast. You'l do good taking a little advice like that.

Unsubbed

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

I hope so..grr I wish I had a better camera so you could see it better...have you ever seen that done before? If so what happened? It seriously looks like its going to be one massive bud cause of all the bud sites

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Well i weed wacked under the canopy with the exception of my runts i left them alone since they have just recently had a huge growth spurt i didnt want to chance anything since they are almost at the canopy. And left all the fan leaves at the top alone except for 1 plant were i put wire around the main stem and some of the leaves to hold them down. Each cut i made was like . So hopefully this will help to make a heavy yeild!

What was with the branch tying? And where are the other 2, then buthered another, you obviously got this, ill leave you to it, my opinions not welcomed, just you title says tips welcomed, but looks like they not needed. This will be a success

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

What was with the branch tying? And where are the other 2, then buthered another, you obviously got this, ill leave you to it, my opinions not welcomed, just you title says tips welcomed, but looks like they not needed. This will be a success

The other 3 turned out to be males so I yanked them. The pic were you see that wire, I was tucking the leaves at a early stage cause I just wanted them to get as bushy as possible without any stress such as cutting. But I would tuck and check back later and obviously they would be back right were they were. So I decided to tie them down however someone posted that by tying them down like that would cause the stem not to breathe so I removed it and decided to cut the leaves off. I hope I'm not sounding dismissive am I? Just explaining why I did what? But I'm not doing any more defoliating for a while, some say it will stress the plant to much during flower and others say it won't..what do you suggest? ( can't spell lol sorry)

 

[JB42]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Look mate, I said when I game my opinion , it was my opinion , nothing more. I'm not saying I know all or anything close to that. The person who gave you the advice about the tied branches was me earlier in your journal, I been giving you advice all the way.

I said I wasnt slating your plants and apologized if I came across an idiot, it wasnt my intention. I was only trying to help. But if you get something like " No not all your opinions are welcomed" then I aint going to give them.

I said they was nice plants from day one and never said anything bad, I only picked up on a few things I thought you might like to know. This site is all about info sharing and thats how we all are where we are in growing. We help each other . If you dont like someones advice thats more than ok as everyone's advice is not relevant to everyone elses setup. I think you have massive light penetration in that tent as you have the light passing straight through that gap in the middle.

The one with all stems removed will be budding fastest as its got no where else to send its power but it will never be like the one to the left of it, not even close. Its not bad you tried anything, I've messed things up many time testing this and that but thats how we learn.

We all have our own ways and my defoil advice will be different to someone elses and so on, so like your doing testing is the best way, I was just giving my opinion. You are best with loads of different peoples input so you can work out which is best for your setup. There is a lot of good info here and a lot of bad as well. Like I said yours are nice and healthy and will be a nice harvest, just I think it could of been more, but again that me.

If your into flower say 2 weeks and you think there are some blocked buds, then yeah let them see the light and also remove the bottom popcorn like you have done. but IMO some people take it a bit too far and stress the plant to a point it never has the same power it did at the beginning. One thing I KNOW is if you stress a plant too much during full veg growth slows and never gets back to where it was initally.

Sorry for confusion ,its hard to type what you want to say sometimes.

 

[Maverick420]

Re: First Time Grower, Hydro Grow, Tips welcomed

Ya i know what you mean on the type/confusing thing..its like when someone texts you or your trying to text someone and its completely out of left field LOL. Why cant people call anymore? anyway lol here is Mr.stick hooked up the magnifying glass to the camera and it worked!
This is the Top of Mr.Stick

Underneath the top and all the way down

And on the Big Girl just about what every branch looks like

"The one with all stems removed will be budding fastest as its got no where else to send its power but it will never be like the one to the left of it, not even close. Its not bad you tried anything"

@JBC420 I got the idea when you said i should defoil the lower portion to send energy up top, and i thought ah its just a runt might as well use this one for a experiment. I know it will not produce the amount of which the big one would, but in theory it seems plausable to be able to produce a massive thick dense bud? Cause if it only has one place to put all its "juice"..seems like it would be turbo charging it. In the sense of just creating 1 thick bud, Like say Mr.Stick produced idk uhmm just to make it easy a 10g bud. And say you get 30 or 40 of these Mr.Sticks. You could cram it all in that little space and have a insane turn around time/yeild and by doing that the buds would be more potent? idk its just something i was thinking about, ive been doing so much reading about how a plant works etc its starting to make me think of crazy stuff like, surround 1 plant with 5 400w MH lights somehow and just let the damn thing grow with no touching at all. That would be insane, maybe thats going to be my next grow. Obviously heat will be a issue but AC can fix that