First Time Grower (Sgt. White)

[Aberration]

No problem.

Now get with the pictures.

 

[Sonzor]

Look like you off to a great start. With those lights the way they are those ladies are going to stretch up to the roof. Plants look green and healthy, great job and + rep for a little luck on your grow...

 

[Sgt. White]

I'm now having to make more room for my plants. I'm also constructing a new lighting system, instead of fluorescent tubes I'm switching to cfls to flower.

 

[Sonzor]

Maybe you could top those things if you have the time to let them recoup. And the CLF's will help. Plants look green and healthy so I am sure they will bounce back with new growth pretty quick. Just a suggestion. Great job again.

 

[Sgt. White]

You know I have never topped a plant before, believe or not.
I was told that if I did that around the tenth day of flowering then I would get two shoots of bud from the top. Would that still happen if I top them now? and.. just so I get this right. Do I cut right below the first or second nodes?

 

[dfw-guy]

First of all when you top it's best to always do it in veg stage, at least a few days before switching to 12/12. New growth doesn't form very well in the flowering period. I found this page to be very helpful.

 

[LiveTour]

Yep I agree with DFW-Guy, if you're going to top, you'll want to do it during veg. They will sprout two shoots in veg, as this is their natural response to the topping. Looking great, I like the pics with our flag as a backdrop.

 

[Sonzor]

You know I have never topped a plant before, believe or not.
I was told that if I did that around the tenth day of flowering then I would get two shoots of bud from the top. Would that still happen if I top them now? and.. just so I get this right. Do I cut right below the first or second nodes?

Yes, definitely do not wait until flower. Now is the time or even sooner would have been nice. You want the plant to heal and grow new shoots.
Clip the top of the plant just above the last branch formation. Now your plants are so tall I am not sure if you could Clip the stem a little further down. I hope someone in here can give you some advise on this one.

You could also super crop the plants. Which is squeezing the branch between your fingers. They say that this method could prolong veg growth for as much as 4 to 6 weeks. I am not to sure about that but hopefully someone with more experience than I could chime in and tell us this is fact.

You can google either of these methods or in the grow part of this site. There is tons of information on this. Good luck...

 

[Sgt. White]

Ok! Majority rules on that topic. Thanks for the info everyone. I'll do that now, cause flowering starts as soon as the new light sockets come in.
(dfw-guy) thanks for turning me on to those lights brother, can't wait for those to get here

Thanks again everyone for the help

 

[herbsiah]

your plants still look great. love how healthy they look.

 

[Aberration]

Go for the topping. They are looking good.

 

[Sgt. White]

OK! The plants are topped, the light sockets are on the way. Now all I have to do is wait This is the part I hate.
Thanks everyone, I'll have more pics in a day or so.

 

[Sgt. White]

Just a quick update: After topping the plants, I can already see them coming back. The Alpha plant is at 40'' now and I made plenty of room for them. I'm also still waiting for my light sockets to come in. I don't have enough light now as it is, so I don't think I want to start flowering until I do. Tomorrow is day 56 and I'll have some more photos.
Until Then

 

[Tead]

On the subject of topping...
I actually top all the large stems on my plant in order to form a uniform top across the top of the plant. The main stem get topped early on and the other major stems get topped as needed to form a nice flat top across the top.

Here's an example photo....

Notice the 6 main blooms across the top. Hopefully, I'll see 6 large colas when she's done.

I think most growers top their plants in various ways to improve final production.

Cheers

 

[Sgt. White]

On the subject of topping...
I actually top all the large stems on my plant in order to form a uniform top across the top of the plant. The main stem get topped early on and the other major stems get topped as needed to form a nice flat top across the top.

NICE! That' one plant? How tall was it when you first cut the main stalk?

 

[Tead]

I don't recall the timeline... you might be able to derive that data from my WW grow thread.. but I think I'm too twisted to figure it out right now.

Cheers!

 

[Tead]

Ok... I was curious and dug thru the thread.
First topping on 9-11, then some side stems on 9-13, then a final time on 9-21. After the final topping, I sent her outside to flower.
All of my toppings were done with the intent of providing a nice uniform canopy.
Proof's in the pudding of course, but it sure seems to be working well so far.

Cheers!

 

[Tead]

Oh... and another note... you could use this method for quite a while while your plant is vegging and create as many main branches across the top as you wish. I stopped at six because of time issues. I've seen photos of plants with many more.

Cheers!

 

[Sgt. White]

Believe or not I just finished reading your thread.

 

[Sgt. White]

Greetings All, and good morning. Today is day 57 and my plants are screaming to be flowered already. I dare not start until I get more light tho, but they are ready! Alpha is a whopping 43'' now and is bouncing back nicely after being topped.

So far all is looking good, I wonder what kind of yield I'll get.