My Final Grow Of The year - Need Advice

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello everyone!

So my 8 seeds have finally germinated and are on there first set of true leaves, they are 4 Northern Lights & 4 O.G. Kush.

They will be in 20L pots, coco/perlite 60/40 mix, vegged for 8 weeks from today, in a 4x8 tent, under 3 600w HPS lights.

What i will say is i cant put them into the 4x8 until my other plants have been harvested which is 8 weeks from today.

Airflow and temps are more than fine in my gardens, so with it being later in the year things will cool down even more.

What i need to know from you guys is, what should i do with them? train them? dont really want to be topping them as i find you can still train a plant great without snipping them.

By 8 weeks time im hoping they will be taking at least 3-4L of feed a day then 5-6L a day in mid flower, there for im using a lot of root enhancers in there feed.

So basically i need 50oz if not more once i harvest these come October, so 6oz a plant i would say is easy doable but could i get more and if i could, let me know so i can get things put into prospective!

Thanks guys!

 

[farm420ok]

Following for reference. Were these fem seeds? If not, then make sure to account for that. With the strains you have, your expecations sound dooable to me, but I know nothing.

 

[Blew Hiller]

Are you growing them outside in the sun? What are the approximate temps you are concerned about 2 months from now?

What are your hesitations against topping? To me, topping is another aspect of training, especially if you are trying to keep height controlled.

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

Are you growing them outside in the sun? What are the approximate temps you are concerned about 2 months from now?

What are your hesitations against topping? To me, topping is another aspect of training, especially if you are trying to keep height controlled.

Maybe one day I wont top a plant just to see what results I get but ME personally I see no benefit to not topping a plant unless you're going SOG style. Yer you can get great results just bending them about. But you'll get a more even canopy of more equal branch length and thickness quicker and easier. Dont be scared of butchering your girls man. I wouldn't be able to fight like a skinny rampage jackson if I hadnt had my face beat in so many times lol. Your girls will be stronger for it trust me. Ive split 2 girls straight down the middle of the stem and all it did was make em go into beast mode and theyve ended up pulling their training cages from around their pots.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello all.

So im growing indoors under 3x 600w HPS lights, sometimes 2x 600w HPS light depending on temps, 4x8 tent.

So the reason why i dont like topping is iv had some great plants that iv topped once or twice, then they have turned into hermi's due to the stress and this being my last grow of the year as i may not be growing next year i cant afford for any problems and for me topping and putting the plant under stress at an early stage is just to cautious for me.

So i was thinking of maybe scrogging them but iv the only form of scrogging they will get is the net will have to go on them at 8 weeks old rather than earlier on.

Undecided as you can see, they are starting there first nodes today, so if i can get them to around 1m tall then fold the branches down to around 70cm (when is say fold all i mean is slightly bend and tie down the branches with velcro tape) so the remaining 30cm can fill the majority of the screen, then the first 3 weeks of 12/12 should fill at least 90% of the canopy up, or should i just leave them as tall untouched plants?

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

Hello all.

So im growing indoors under 3x 600w HPS lights, sometimes 2x 600w HPS light depending on temps, 4x8 tent.

So the reason why i dont like topping is iv had some great plants that iv topped once or twice, then they have turned into hermi's due to the stress and this being my last grow of the year as i may not be growing next year i cant afford for any problems and for me topping and putting the plant under stress at an early stage is just to cautious for me.

So i was thinking of maybe scrogging them but iv the only form of scrogging they will get is the net will have to go on them at 8 weeks old rather than earlier on.

Undecided as you can see, they are starting there first nodes today, so if i can get them to around 1m tall then fold the branches down to around 70cm (when is say fold all i mean is slightly bend and tie down the branches with velcro tape) so the remaining 30cm can fill the majority of the screen, then the first 3 weeks of 12/12 should fill at least 90% of the canopy up, or should i just leave them as tall untouched plants?

Ok that's a fair personal reason. I cant comment on it as this hasnt happened to me (fingers crossed) and as I said I basically put my girls through the dungeon lol. But yer if you aint topping Id get the scrog on earlier rather than later otherwise you'll get uneven growth and the scrog will be kinda pointless unless you start tying down early. You will get an even canopy but not even bud size and density because the branches will be different thicknesses and node spaces (thicker branch fatter bud)

 

[Smeegol]

howdy mr.HtH , I read your 1st post but I've never done one before, but I was going to say you should checkout mr.B and @Asesino85 and his quad line which is also spot on if you thinking long those lines...

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello all again!

Yeah im still undecided on what to do, but i am planning on buying tomato cages with 3 rings.

Im also planning on taking 9-16 clones from my plants i have in flower now, giving them either 3 rows of 3 or 4 rows of 4, so if i take them in the next week or two, then 2 weeks in the aero cloner, 2-4 weeks veg,this will fill a 4x4 tent to top this years growing off too.

So there is a possible chance i could get 60-70oz to end the year off, as long as all goes to plan.

 

[Smeegol]

Hello all again!

Yeah im still undecided on what to do, but i am planning on buying tomato cages with 3 rings.

Im also planning on taking 9-16 clones from my plants i have in flower now, giving them either 3 rows of 3 or 4 rows of 4, so if i take them in the next week or two, then 2 weeks in the aero cloner, 2-4 weeks veg,this will fill a 4x4 tent to top this years growing off too.

So there is a possible chance i could get 60-70oz to end the year off, as long as all goes to plan.

Sounds like you've got your game on, please post some pics when you get going..

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Yeah i will bud, got 8 seedlings going real good, iv just taken a look at the plants i have in flower and ill wait another week of stretch before i take any clones, just so they are bigger than they are now.

I do plan on topping these then maybe scrogging them, this is probably the best way of getting yield from them, id be happy with 2oz per plant giving me a good 18-20oz.

So i think i will be running only 9 in 10L fabric airpots with a screen 10" above them, then i will weave and took them in the trellis netting tied down with velcro above a 600w HPS.

So thats the 9 clones sorted, its just the other 8 that need plans.

 

[flashmp3]

Maybe one day I wont top a plant just to see what results I get but ME personally I see no benefit to not topping a plant unless you're going SOG style. Yer you can get great results just bending them about. But you'll get a more even canopy of more equal branch length and thickness quicker and easier. Dont be scared of butchering your girls man. I wouldn't be able to fight like a skinny rampage jackson if I hadnt had my face beat in so many times lol. Your girls will be stronger for it trust me. Ive split 2 girls straight down the middle of the stem and all it did was make em go into beast mode and theyve ended up pulling their training cages from around their pots.

I share your point of view and experience. When I started topping I realized how easier it was to train the plant and how it makes it better for canopy management and equal bud size. This also helps later to trim it cause with a good trimming of the down sites you can avoid popcorn nugs which take so much time to trim after harvest! Even in my current grow which should be a SOG without much training, I plan to top before putting to flowering as @800W-GROWER have had great results using this technic to have even canopy without any training. Goal of all of this is about even canopy and maximizing space used, to improve yields

 

[Bilbobudkin420]

I share your point of view and experience. When I started topping I realized how easier it was to train the plant and how it makes it better for canopy management and equal bud size. This also helps later to trim it cause with a good trimming of the down sites you can avoid popcorn nugs which take so much time to trim after harvest! Even in my current grow which should be a SOG without much training, I plan to top before putting to flowering as @800W-GROWER have had great results using this technic to have even canopy without any training. Goal of all of this is about even canopy and maximizing space used, to improve yields

Precisely my friend

 

[HigherTheHigh]

So i know i said no to topping but what if i top at the 5th node, giving me 10 branches, then i top them to give me 20 main colas, do you think that could work?

I will pit them in tomato cages so the branches have support enough support including easier to spread across when tying.

So in theory of yield, if there are 20 main colas, i think 1/4oz colas is very possible but what about them being 1/2oz colas? giving the plant is healthy under the 600w lights (4 plants to 1 light) could they be 10oz plants?

There on just starting there second set of leaves past 1st node, so there still really young but as always quick to plan ahead.

Also should i try to keep the plants as tightly inner noded as possible then top and then induce the stretch after they have recovered, by week 8 of veg once these are ready to flip i would also like thick stems, not just for bigger buds but me knowing the plant is strong and healthy.

 

[Calvados]

My last grow (my second) I topped and LSTd the plants. I got the shape and COLAs that I wanted, but they weren't tall enough. They didn't stretch as much as I thought they should (about a foot and a half short). I think that was because of the lighting, but I'm not exactly sure why. Either too strong and/or not far enough away. Or they didn't veg long enough.
I will definitely top them again. That part worked well.

Why do you think topping them hermied the plants? I was under the impression that stressing the plants during veg (bending, fimming, topping) wasn't a problem. If anything, it makes them more robust. Environment (light, temperature, humidity, and air quality) cause a plant to hermie. Or so I thought. Other than reading and having one of my plants hermie through multiple screw ups on my first grow (all environment), I have little experience with this.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello all!

So does anyone have any advice on training? should i top at 1st 2nd or 5th node?

If i top at 5th node i only have to top 1 more time to get 20 colas, but im open to ideas but remember i need to flip them in 7 weeks, so the bigger the plants the better.

 

[Calvados]

I topped at the 3rd based on everything that I read. I ended up with 4 nice COLAs per plant. I'm not sure how it would have worked with 8. 8 sounds better than 4. Do you have a current journal?

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Yeah i need at least 8 colas, but i did say i wanted 20 colas but i think 16 could work well.

If i could get them 1/2 oz colas that would get me a nice 8oz a plant, but the least times i top the better for stress relief.

So if i kept the plant very low and tightly noded i could top at the 4th node and top one more time to create 16 colas but the most important part of it all is keeping them all the same height.