Plants are too dense! Help

[jackson1988]

First week of flower and everything is great except that growth is so dense I cannot even get to the main stems. It's insane really. I try to tuck massive fans but don't really want to trim because I don't want to stress them out. I did this in prior grow and hermied a few. Ended up with strong product but also have about 1000 seeds! Haha. No biggie because it's my own meds for pain etc.
Should I leave them be or ?

 

[jackson1988]

 

[jackson1988]

This was first day of flower. They have doubled in size in one week

 

[jackson1988]

This is 6 days later

 

[Chew]

If they were mine I would remove some fan leaves. You don't have to go mad on them, just a little trim up inside the canopy to allow some light through.

Ideally, you should have trained them before you flipped 12/12.

 

[Amadeus Forzin]

Try and thin them out a bit and spread them out. pull branches down and out and tie them back so they stay there. Maybe raise the light a bit so they stretch a tad.

 

[Conradino23]

Second that, thin out fan leaves inside starting from the bottom and then work your way up. Don't go overboard, make sure that bud sites get enough light exposure and then start LST, which is stretching the branches horizontally.

 

[newbudder]

Don't touch them. They look great.
As long as theyre green and beautiful they get everything they need.

 

[jackson1988]

Thanks all. I topped them once around 20 days in then super cropped also before the flip. I also have them tied down about 4 places each but you can't really see that in pics. I think I'll pull a few fans here and there every 3 days or so. I just don't want to stress them too much. I've never had this kind of growth and I attribute this to the chilled water and hydroguard and silica blast. The main stems are thicker than my thumbs. Can't wait to see how thick they get. I must be doing something right

 

[jackson1988]

Don't touch them. They look great.
As long as theyre green and beautiful they get everything they need.

I agree and believe mother nature is perfect, however, there are so many possible bud sites covered by a multitude of fans that I feel I have no choice

 

[jackson1988]

Ok next issue. One plant seems to be female but toward lower stems on plant there seems to be some balls. What should I do? Keep an eye on her, pull the balls off, or cull this plant? So confusing

 

[Amadeus Forzin]

Pop some pics up.....

 

[Conradino23]

Cull the plant, you're risking heavy pollination later on.

 

[jackson1988]

I'll post pics later today. Thanks brothers

 

[newbudder]

Don't touch the leaves. Let them be..

 

[Sgtvdub]

People always say don't do this it will stress them out etc. This is absolutely not true. At about three weeks into flower you SHOULD defoliate indoor plants that are very dense, as long as the plant is healthy. It will increase your yield, and create more airflow, lessening your chances of getting PM. definitely trim, and try plucking them out using your fingernail to sort of twist and yank them out quickly. Studies have proven that it's less stressful than a sharp razor blade. Sounds wrong but you gotta believe me it's true. The old hand knows.