Photoperiod Gorilla Glue #4 & White Widow

[tronN00dles]

Thanks @Death The Cultivator !

The net is around 8” from the surface of the coco, so there’s not much there lower than 6” from the net. I’ve been removing leaves that are stacked one on top of the other somewhat liberally, just on account of how many there are. Maybe a few dozen or so. tomorrow I’ll remove some of the lowest ones on the white widow either way - they’re pushing up against the tent walls, and there is an element of “stackage” to some of those as well.

It is now Sunday for me, and Wednesday will be the end of the 8th week. My intention was to not let these veg longer than 8 weeks so it looks like we’re days away.

I’ll post some front-on shots tomorrow for reference.

-tron

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Thanks @Death The Cultivator !

The net is around 8” from the surface of the coco, so there’s not much there lower than 6” from the net. I’ve been removing leaves that are stacked one on top of the other somewhat liberally, just on account of how many there are. Maybe a few dozen or so. tomorrow I’ll remove some of the lowest ones on the white widow either way - they’re pushing up against the tent walls, and there is an element of “stackage” to some of those as well.

It is now Sunday for me, and Wednesday will be the end of the 8th week. My intention was to not let these veg longer than 8 weeks so it looks like we’re days away.

I’ll post some front-on shots tomorrow for reference.

-tron

Take inventory of the stem thickness of every branch, thinner than a pencil won't produce. The net may need to be moved up as well to around 12" and that will let you see if anything else needs to be pruned. Your going to have branches stretch that are spindly that need to be pruned, you can cut them now or 10 days into flower.

 

[Suki]

Take inventory of the stem thickness of every branch, thinner than a pencil won't produce. The net may need to be moved up as well to around 12" and that will let you see if anything else needs to be pruned. Your going to have branches stretch that are spindly that need to be pruned, you can cut them now or 10 days into flower.

This has made a huge difference for me since I started doing it! Kicking myself for not on my girl that is about to finish cause I'm seeing lots of spots that were just wasted energy.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

This has made a huge difference for me since I started doing it! Kicking myself for not on my girl that is about to finish cause I'm seeing lots of spots that were just wasted energy.

Grow enough and you're enable to envision how you want the plant to grow similar to bonsai. It doesn't even really matter per strain as the qualities you seek are the same plus thicker branches grow better buds.

 

[tronN00dles]

Here's some under-the-net shots before trimming:

After a little haircut:

White Widow:

GG#4:

From Above:

My original intention was to give these a pretty serious de-leafing on the day of a flip. Maybe not a full 'schwazz' but maybe a 'half-schwazz'. My last Canuk grow was also super bushy and I feel I was too conservative with my leaf removal.

As for the 'removing branches that are more narrow than a pencil'... what is the timing like for this? Is this something I should be doing now, at flip, or after flip?

-tron

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Here's some under-the-net shots before trimming:

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After a little haircut:

View attachment 1443498

White Widow:
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GG#4:
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From Above:

View attachment 1443502

View attachment 1443503

My original intention was to give these a pretty serious de-leafing on the day of a flip. Maybe not a full 'schwazz' but maybe a 'half-schwazz'. My last Canuk grow was also super bushy and I feel I was too conservative with my leaf removal.

As for the 'removing branches that are more narrow than a pencil'... what is the timing like for this? Is this something I should be doing now, at flip, or after flip?

-tron

I do an initial pruning at day 10 to gently clean out bushy areas at the lowest point then at day 21 I remove anything that hasn't reached the canopy.

When I was at the grow, me and the Director really vibed because we both believed in really low stress growing. We were able to save and produce some really gorgeous plants. I say all that because being conservative keeps stress to a minimum so by sequentially removing plant biomass the plant never really gets stressed. In the event that you make a mistake or an infestation occurs, your plant is healthy and happy cause genetics are gonna do what they will so being gentle pays off.

I would do the deleafing at day 21 with the final prune, removing leaves from the main branches but not schwazzing. It's still a lot of side branches in there that could be pruned but I would wait until day 10 of flower so you know that what reaches into the canopy is good to keep. Anything spindly below the net will be removed, imagine the final form of the plant and see where quality bud will develop versus not.

I made some videos on how I prune before going into flower if you're interested.

 

[tronN00dles]

Thanks for that.

I think I'm in agreement with you. A lot of the posts I've been reading online recommend doing a massive defoliation and then flipping, but I think it probably is better to wait 7-10 days after flipping, and then doing a more conversative trim based on how it looks then. The plant is going to stretch and open itself out a bit anyways, so why bother thinning it out immediately before triggering the stretch...

I'm going to leave this thing as is for the next couple of days, and flip sometime between now and Wednesday I'm thinking. I'll play this by ear and decide in the next few days.



-tron

 

[tronN00dles]

Day 2 of Flower….

 

[Death The Cultivator]

Day 2 of Flower….

View attachment 1445461

That looks really good. Sorry I missed your reply. That is going to fill out exceptionally well. You might hit a 1lb or higher in this process. As much as I hate nets the yield speaks for itself, over never gotten less than a 1lb+ when I use nets. Color is fantastic but they look so happy. Good job!

People like to strip leaves for some reason but it burns me up. Growing several thousand plants daily, defoliation was used as a mechanical method of increasing airflow while decreasing the amount of foliage that pest could hide in or humidity build in. We only did this in flower at day 10, 21, and around day 40.

We did it so lightly and specifically that after the last prune leaves were removed just slightly above the net but only on main stems. We didn't do it for yield but plant health. I think what people are seeing or believing to be the sauce is that removing a lot of foliage in veg creates a stress response that stimulates a vegetative effect. Leaves are desirable throughout the whole grow but when done well, leaves will make it to the end of harvest and fade.

 

[tronN00dles]

That looks really good. Sorry I missed your reply. That is going to fill out exceptionally well. You might hit a 1lb or higher in this process. As much as I hate nets the yield speaks for itself, over never gotten less than a 1lb+ when I use nets. Color is fantastic but they look so happy. Good job!

People like to strip leaves for some reason but it burns me up. Growing several thousand plants daily, defoliation was used as a mechanical method of increasing airflow while decreasing the amount of foliage that pest could hide in or humidity build in. We only did this in flower at day 10, 21, and around day 40.

We did it so lightly and specifically that after the last prune leaves were removed just slightly above the net but only on main stems. We didn't do it for yield but plant health. I think what people are seeing or believing to be the sauce is that removing a lot of foliage in veg creates a stress response that stimulates a vegetative effect. Leaves are desirable throughout the whole grow but when done well, leaves will make it to the end of harvest and fade.

Thanks pal!

This is definitely the smoothest grow so far. It's also been the most conservative in general - lower PPFD, lower ppm/EC, less cutting, less stress, etc. I'm also taking a bit of a preemptive approach to gnats this time around. Got some nemotodes in my pots and some mosquito dunks in places where I have standing water, like my drain saucers and waste bucket.

This "pre-flowering" or stretch period is definitely the most exciting. Yesterday was the first day of 12/12, and I say the plants grew at least an inch overnight. I did more tucking today than I've done since the net has been put on. Super exciting

Cheers,

tron