Testing 1-2-3-4, Testing

[Buds Buddy]

In the process of resizing pics for an update. Been busy harvesting. Anyway, I'm posting a question that I'm wondering about. How many of you defoliate ? How often or when do you defol ? I usually defol once in Veg. Once one week before the Flip to 12/12 & usually once more about 3 weeks after the flip. When the plants are in their final week I start removing a lot of the fan leaves to get more light to the bottom buds. To be honest, I don't know if I defol too much & if it hurts my yields or quality.
The reason I'm asking is I have 2 plants I haven't defoliated after the stretch. My first time ever not defoling after the stretch. Not sure if it's my imagination or if these 2 plants are actually doing better than the others. Sure would like to hear how & when you guys defol. It will sure help me figure some things out. Like what I'm doing right or wrong.... lol.

 

[Mayne]

should be an interesting Tuesday hot topic,

I try not to, i really do, but 14-18 days after flip, and total leaf strip last week before chop.

 

[InTheShed]

I think you already know my technique, yes?

 

[Buds Buddy]

OK, so I have a lot of pics to go through to get the best ones. So far I got the pics ready for the 3 plants in Fabric Pots so going to post those now. The rest later today.
Anyway, these 3 are all about to get harvested. I have one of them in the closet for 36 - 48 hours of darkness before harvest. I'll start chopping her tonight. The one I'm chopping was suppose to be the "MC & Cal-Mag"./ Actually, it is. They all are now. I'll take pics & get Trich shots before I chop tonight. These pics are 4 days old.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I think you already know my technique, yes?

I'm sure you've told me sometime in the past. But I don't really remember. But you have an LST tutorial so I'm sure your info is there.

 

[Buds Buddy]

And here is the SoHum plant that gave me hell.... lol. She's still the smallest of them all; but did OK considering.

 

[Mayne]

good job brother!

 

[Buds Buddy]

And the last plant for right now is the "MC Calculations Plant". She's got a lot of branches leaning heavy right now. All the mains are tied up so just letting it hang.

Got a doc's appt. in an hour so got to run. See ya soon !

 

[InTheShed]

I'm sure you've told me sometime in the past. But I don't really remember.

Oh I thought from your past posts that you used my defol methods before:

This grow, when @InTheShed taught me how to trim for large colas.

I believe the smallest one was 9.5 oz. & the largest was 11.1 oz. The other was 10. something. @InTheShed was the one who guided me through that process.

Anyway, a good place to start would be to read my post here, and this link covers a lot of the same thing but with some other info as well.

 

[bluter]

In the process of resizing pics for an update. Been busy harvesting. Anyway, I'm posting a question that I'm wondering about. How many of you defoliate ? How often or when do you defol ? I usually defol once in Veg. Once one week before the Flip to 12/12 & usually once more about 3 weeks after the flip.

once or twice in veg and once in flower about 2 - 3 wks in. it will depend on how long i veg. i don't plan it by date, more by how the plants look. i also lollipop, removing the bottom third. I strip all the fans at chop and try to hang the plant whole if possible. then do a final trim of the sugars at jar.

When the plants are in their final week I start removing a lot of the fan leaves to get more light to the bottom buds. To be honest, I don't know if I defol too much & if it hurts my yields or quality.

doesn't do what you expect. buds don't get bigger or mature faster / better with light hitting them directly. it's the leaves that drive it all. it's how the plant feeds itself.

The reason I'm asking is I have 2 plants I haven't defoliated after the stretch. My first time ever not defoling after the stretch. Not sure if it's my imagination or if these 2 plants are actually doing better than the others. Sure would like to hear how & when you guys defol. It will sure help me figure some things out. Like what I'm doing right or wrong.... lol.

there have been several side by side comparison grows. production etc is usually about the same, if the plants are left on their own, the non defol are generally a sliver better.

defol works best in tandem with a topping / training / or lst program. it will not induce any significant increase in production or quality on it's own.


for the most part you defol for your yourself, not the plant. i defol primarily as it cuts harvest trimming time and reduces the small stuff i need to deal with.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Oh I thought from your past posts that you used my defol methods before:



Anyway, a good place to start would be to read my post here, and this link covers a lot of the same thing but with some other info as well.

That was the grow from 2 years ago that I'm talking about. I haven't been able to get colas like that again, so I must not be trimming right. I think I'm leaving too many side branches or something to that nature. That's why I'd like to see some pics of a plant with before defol & after the defol & lollipop that produces those donkey dicks. Then I can quit questioning myself.... Did I take too much off?..... Do I need to take more off?

 

[bluter]

. That's why I'd like to see some pics of a plant with before defol & after the defol & lollipop that produces those donkey dicks. Then I can quit questioning myself.... Did I take too much off?..... Do I need to take more off?

there are more factors than that. genetics and lighting both have to be there as well. and some times it helps if you concentrate on just a few main branches.


from the last hempy about half way through flower ...

while i wouldn't claim them being dong de la donkey ...

the reason they stacked up like that is i only have 6 branches on each plant, so the the plant concentrates all the growth along those six branches. it's a sativa auto, normally you won't see the puff balls link up like that, it's way easier on an indica, but it's all how you encourage it to grow.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I'm back ! Did you miss me ?.... lol.
So here is my Big Bertha. Now this plant I'm extremely pleased with. I want all my plants to grow like this one... all the time. I'm so looking forward to growing 3 plants in these buckets to find out if this is normal or just luck.

Obviously, I can't say as much for this one. But this one had a lot of problems since I didn't use the SoHum soil correctly & It only got fed water for 1/3rd of it's life. Then it had issues needing nutes & the Recharge didn't really help. So for all it's been through I guess it's to be expected.

Back soon with the harvest & trich pics from the one plant I chopped down. Still have to upload them from my camera & resize them so probably get it done after work today.

 

[Azimuth]

I want all my plants to grow like this one... all the time. I'm so looking forward to growing 3 plants in these buckets to find out if this is normal or just luck.

You will likely find it is "normal."

A few months back I started an experiment with SIP'S (Sub Irrigated Pots, or self-watering containers as you call them) and was so impressed with the results that I converted all my plants over. And every plant showed remarkable improvement after the roots found the reservoir which took 7-10 days, and then another week or so to really get in gear. But from then they just took off.

It is a combination, however, of the pot structure and the soil mix, at least for an organic grow. I have another experiment going now comparing two plants in bland potting soil, one a SIP and the other just a regular pot with good drainage. The SIP plant looks decidedly better than the other but no where near as dramatic a difference as the others with a good mix.

I was kind of surprised at the incredible difference I got with that structure (and without exception) and so will likely only use this type of pot going forward.

 

[Buds Buddy]

You will likely find it is "normal." A few months back I started an experiment with SIP'S (Sub Irrigated Pots, or self-watering containers as you call them) and was so impressed with the results that I converted all my plants over. And every plant showed remarkable improvement after the roots found the reservoir which took 7-10 days, and then another week or so to really get in gear. But from then they just took off.

It is a combination, however, of the pot structure and the soil mix. I have another experiment going now comparing two plants in bland potting soil, one a SIP and the other just a regular pot with good drainage. The SIP plant looks decidedly better than the other but no where near as dramatic a difference as the others with a good mix.

I was kind of surprised at the incredible difference I got with that structure (and without exception) and so will likely only use this type of pot going forward.

Thanks for the info. So far I'm liking the results. I only have a 3 bucket set up so far, but just might be getting more real soon. The big girl in the pic is just FFOF. Started out feeding just MC & later started adding Cal Mag. I'm just going to repeat that process since it's going so well. I'll probably skip all the up-potting. Start in 1 gal. & then straight to a 5 gal. bucket.

 

[Buds Buddy]

OK, well between working 6 - 10's this week & harvesting there just hasn't been time to squeeze in an update. Off work today so let's catch up on things.
Actually, things are coming to a close in this journal. I've been harvesting a few of these plants also so let's get updated on things.
Here is the MC & Cal-Mag Plant. She got harvested about 10 days ago. She's now dried & curing. Just under 6 oz. from her.

The buds drying. I decided to just cut the 4 main branches off on this one since I was too busy to do a proper trim.
Wont do that again. PITA to trim after it dries.

 

[Buds Buddy]

Well unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of the MC Calculations Plant before I chopped her. But I got pics of the buds drying. She's still drying now. Should be ready to jar in a couple of days. So far, this one looks to be the smallest yielder of the bunch. We'll see once is dried & jarred.

 

[Buds Buddy]

And here is the SoHum Plant. She's got some nice dense buds on her. Came out way better than I expected.

Last night I removed most of her Fan Leaves & started chopping her this morning.

So now we're down to the 2 plants in the Buckets. I think they both have at least 2 weeks or more to go. I'll get pics of those 2 when I feed later today.

Got to get back to harvesting for now. See ya !

 

[Timhomegrow]

Congrats on the harvest! So hum looks like a beast

 

[InTheShed]

Nice harvests Buds, and this:

PITA to trim after it dries.

is truth! I hate trimming dry.