Devil Dog's first grow Progress

[Stone420]

@DevilDog_0651 - looking at your pics in post [HASHTAG]#103[/HASHTAG], you have done a great job with this grow. You asked if you should continue to LST, and in my opinion (this is an opinion only), it seems you have balanced the colas nicely at this point. My goal with LST is to prevent one central pineapple cola from dominating, and it seems by your pics this has been nicely accomplished.

If this were my grow, instead of looking at additional LST, I'd open up the plant some by selective foliage removal. For sure, some airflow under the canopy will be a preventive measure - this can be a lollypop if you want to clean up the bottom some. Then I'd slowly but surely over the coming days, remove some of the big inner fan leaves to allow light and airflow into the central area of the plant. I believe by doing some slow and selective defoliation, you'll see a nice spurt of growth and bud development.

Lastly, as some of the folks have mentioned, I personally wouldn't up-plant at this point. If you choose to try one more up-plant that's cool, but I would not expect to see a huge yield improvement if that is your main goal. Why risk messing up the plant and root system if all is well as is?

 

[DevilDog_0651]

Ok good to know, i have decided to leave it in the 3 gal pot. Next time i will go for 5 gal though. So can i selectively pick individual leaves off, or do i need to cut the whole set of leaves?

So open this area up?

 

[Stone420]

Ok good to know, i have decided to leave it in the 3 gal pot. Next time i will go for 5 gal though. So can i selectively pick individual leaves off, or do i need to cut the whole set of leaves?

So open this area up?

One of your biggest plusses is that outside, your plant is exposed to light at ever changing angles as the sun rotates. I still like to keep my plants nice and open to prevent shading out, so I like to keep those areas clear. I start by trimming the bottom of the plant so it is basically bare at least 3 or 4 inches about the medium. This is going to allow good airflow to prevent moisture issues. Then I stand above the plant and look down. If I can see dirt from the top, this means that light and airflow can penetrate the canopy too. If not, then foliage is blocking the light trying to feed your plant. I'll try to keep the plant open mainly during veg until the buds really start stacking up into flower, then I only take a few leaves from time to time.

I just nip off one fan leaf at a time (not a whole node) pretty close to the main stem so there is not a large stub. I use Chickamasa trimming scissors with curved blades that help me with precision trimming. I dip the blades into alcohol to sanitize, then use alcohol to clean resin when finished. Good trimming scissors are your best friend when it comes harvest time as well, and worth the time to look for quality products.

 

[DevilDog_0651]

One of your biggest plusses is that outside, your plant is exposed to light at ever changing angles as the sun rotates. I still like to keep my plants nice and open to prevent shading out, so I like to keep those areas clear. I start by trimming the bottom of the plant so it is basically bare at least 3 or 4 inches about the medium. This is going to allow good airflow to prevent moisture issues. Then I stand above the plant and look down. If I can see dirt from the top, this means that light and airflow can penetrate the canopy too. If not, then foliage is blocking the light trying to feed your plant. I'll try to keep the plant open mainly during veg until the buds really start stacking up into flower, then I only take a few leaves from time to time.

I just nip off one fan leaf at a time (not a whole node) pretty close to the main stem so there is not a large stub. I use Chickamasa trimming scissors with curved blades that help me with precision trimming. I dip the blades into alcohol to sanitize, then use alcohol to clean resin when finished. Good trimming scissors are your best friend when it comes harvest time as well, and worth the time to look for quality products.

@Stone420 thank you for the detail. I can't see any dirt when looking at the plant from above. 4 inches from the bottom, got it. My wife has garden trimmers, i will check those out. She goes to town on her tomato plants lol. I keep telling her she needs some leaves for photosynthesis.

 

[DevilDog_0651]

It's a fucking male, or a hermie...i am so beyond pissed right now. The seeds were femenized, i must have caused it to hermie somehow.

 

[Beerhunter CDN]

Unfortunately they look pretty ballish from here, sorry dude. Get another seed in for germing!

 

[Stone420]

Some of the early life stresses she (he) (it) had must have caused it to hermie. That plant has a real nice set of balls...LOL. Consider practicing some deep defoliation before you toss it. Have you ever tried super-cropping? Try that too since you have an expendable specimen to practice on.

 

[DevilDog_0651]

Ok good idea, i will try some defoliation. Not sure what super cropping is, i will check that out

 

[Stone420]

I had a plant that was supposed to be a quick growing auto, but I mis-labeled it and was actually a White Widow photo. It grew tall and lanky, so I started fimming, topping and super-cropping just to experiment with a plant that was "expendable" in my summer growing plan.

Super-crop is a form of training (like the LST you did) that the stem is crushed so the top can be manipulated easily. The crushed area heals and forms a hard knot that is very sturdy and often stronger than the normal stem. This is likely the highest stress training a plant can receive, and I'd only do this on photo plants in long veg - not fast auto plants as they don't have unlimited recovery time.

I crushed the stem too hard, and when I bent the stem 90 degrees, the stem opened up like a busted drinking straw. I left it bent 90 degrees, but used duct tape to support the stem as it repaired itself. Plants are more resilient than many think, so your hermie plant may provide a good "test lab" for you to see what a plant can endure. As you can see from my pic, she is recovering from super-cropping and actually doing quite well.

Remember not to leave the hermie around good female plants unless you want some funky hermie seeds. There's pollen in them thar balls. LOL

 

[DevilDog_0651]

Well i may as well try all of that out @Stone420

Maybe i can use the seeds too? Or would those just make hermie plants?