Low Stress Training

[Sashasrs]

At what node should the plant be for LST? And is it a necessity for white widow? I didn’t do it to my last plant, the one I accidentally killed all the buds . The plant was 5’ tall sativa. Would it be beneficial for stopping the growth by LST? I don’t want another really tall plant! Any opinions?

 

[Old Salt]

Start LST as soon as the plant is big enough to bend the stem or branches. Very often a photoperiod plant will be topped or FIMmed one or more times to get more branches, These branches are guided into their final form using LST. Take a look at Quadlining and NugBucket's Mainline/Manifold methods to see how this works.

If you don't get the training done soon enough high stress measures such as supercropping are used. Supercropping involves squeezing the branch until it's soft and then carefully bending it.

The final control you have with a photoperiod is the flip, or change from 18/6 to 12/12 lighting. Indicas will double and sativas will triple their size during the stretch. allow for 20 - 30% more growth after the stretch. To get your current size, measure from the soil, up the stem, and along the branch(es) to the furthest tip. Next measure the distance from the light at its maximum height to the top of your plant. Subtract the room you need between the canopy in flower. Then run the numbers.

So, as an example, let's take a 6' tent, with an LED light that can be raised to the top of the tent. The height available for your plant will be

6' (tent height)
- 1' (soil level from bottom of the tent)
- 1-1/2' (light and distance to canopy)
---------
3-1/2' or 42" (available for your plants)

So, let's take a sativa that's 8" tall. and the distance from soil to the furthest tip is 12". We expect another 24" of growth during the stretch and up to 30% of that after the stretch for a total of about 31". Adding in the current height of the plant, we expect the height at harvest to be about 39", which is a little less than the 42" available.

Use these figures for new to you strains. When you've grown a few out, you'll be able to adjust them.

Autoflowers are different, and usually only LST techniques are used.

 

[AdaminCO]

It looks about time to top if that’s what you plan on doing.
I have a good writup explaining the techniques in my signature.

 

[AdaminCO]

For reference...
Clones topped and LST 3 months in.

Clones not topped at 3 months in

 

[Sashasrs]

WOW! What a difference . I can’t believe it! So should I top first than LST? She only has 21/2 nodes on her. Should I wait until she has 5? That’s what I thought I heard someone say.

 

[Sashasrs]

It looks about time to top if that’s what you plan on doing.
I have a good writup explaining the techniques in my signature.

Hi. How do I get to your signature? I’m very interested in your teachings. Yes I’ll top her. Than LST. Correct?

 

[Sashasrs]

Start LST as soon as the plant is big enough to bend the stem or branches. Very often a photoperiod plant will be topped or FIMmed one or more times to get more branches, These branches are guided into their final form using LST. Take a look at Quadlining and NugBucket's Mainline/Manifold methods to see how this works.

If you don't get the training done soon enough high stress measures such as supercropping are used. Supercropping involves squeezing the branch until it's soft and then carefully bending it.

The final control you have with a photoperiod is the flip, or change from 18/6 to 12/12 lighting. Indicas will double and sativas will triple their size during the stretch. allow for 20 - 30% more growth after the stretch. To get your current size, measure from the soil, up the stem, and along the branch(es) to the furthest tip. Next measure the distance from the light at its maximum height to the top of your plant. Subtract the room you need between the canopy in flower. Then run the numbers.

So, as an example, let's take a 6' tent, with an LED light that can be raised to the top of the tent. The height available for your plant will be

6' (tent height)
- 1' (soil level from bottom of the tent)
- 1-1/2' (light and distance to canopy)
---------
3-1/2' or 42" (available for your plants)

So, let's take a sativa that's 8" tall. and the distance from soil to the furthest tip is 12". We expect another 24" of growth during the stretch and up to 30% of that after the stretch for a total of about 31". Adding in the current height of the plant, we expect the height at harvest to be about 39", which is a little less than the 42" available.

Use these figures for new to you strains. When you've grown a few out, you'll be able to adjust them.

Autoflowers are different, and usually only LST techniques are used.

THANK YOU so very much for sharing your wisdom! She only has 3 nodes but I’ll top her and tie her down. Thank you again

 

[AdaminCO]

Topped

Topped LST

Full LST

LST-Supercrop / Topped-Supercrop / LST-FIMM-Supercrop

... if I remember correctly.
Honesty like full LST, no topping, then super crop. No other reason than it was cool to see. These two yielded the most.

 

[AdaminCO]

Hi. How do I get to your signature? I’m very interested in your teachings. Yes I’ll top her. Than LST. Correct?

Below my post.

How I perform low stress training on my plants: Lots of pics!

Greetings all! I've had members ask about how I do my LST (low stress training) on my plants so I thought I would do a pictorial on it. My pics are of two different plants but don't let that confuse you. It's just easier to demonstrate that way. Let's discuss the theory behind LST for a...

www.420magazine.com

 

[Solaris420]

I personally top after the 4th node, then LST the two branches that take its place, rinse and repeat. I have a couple of plants in my journal if you need some more examples of LST and topping

Best of luck with your grow bud