Removing fan leaves

[Hashsloth]

I've found that defoliation is fine most times,as long as your plant is old and healthy enough. Some strains can't take it but they will usually show you that once you first take a bit off, if they react negatively...stop defoliating.

I've had autos that I've defoliated heavily numerous times and they still produced alot of good bud.

I guess some people have had bad experiences with defoliating and now there mind will never be changed.

 

[420autoflower]

Strip them down!
I have to completely leaf strip ( schwazzing) my autos 2-3 times during flowering to grow SOG successfully, and not end up with any larf. Seems like after the leaf stripping the plants actually grows better. Maybe the energy is used towards growing colas instead of keeping all the leaves alive.

 

[ricklep1ck]

Isn’t most of what we do with these plants in an effort to increase yield?

I can't speak for others and I'm not saying you can't have both but I'm more concerned about quality over quantity. I'm not able to get high on most days apart from weekends and public holidays, so I don't need alot of weed and prefer smaller grows.

I do top my autos though, which some people say you shouldn't do. I top as I had mold problems with single main cola plants, the best way to fix this would be get my environment on point but I'm limited in what I can in my current situation.

 

[Gdiddydank]

Strip them down!
I have to completely leaf strip ( schwazzing) my autos 2-3 times during flowering to grow SOG successfully, and not end up with any larf. Seems like after the leaf stripping the plants actually grows better. Maybe the energy is used towards growing colas instead of keeping all the leaves alive.View attachment 1412875View attachment 1412876View attachment 1412877View attachment 1412878

yoooooo.... that’s one gorgeous den of dank! Super impressive!!! I’m very curious about your environmentals from mid flower to harvest??? Do you try to nail down a specific VPD value or let it ride throughout the day? What are your average temps and RH towards the end? Any issues with bud rot or PM?

share some of that magick, bruh!

 

[420autoflower]

yoooooo.... that’s one gorgeous den of dank! Super impressive!!! I’m very curious about your environmentals from mid flower to harvest??? Do you try to nail down a specific VPD value or let it ride throughout the day? What are your average temps and RH towards the end? Any issues with bud rot or PM?

share some of that magick, bruh!

Thank you!
The plants are all ILGM GG-4 autos.
I currently have all my tents set up in the garage with very poor environment. I’m running a dehumidifier but no A/C or heater. Temps in the winter have been ranging anywhere from 67-75 F and 83-93 F in the summer. In the winter I have no choice but to run the lights 24 hours a day to be able to keep the temperature up. My R/H during flowering is around 55% which is as low as I can get it down to. Haven’t had a problem with PM growing autos, but did experience a little growing photos. I usually have 2 or 3 turbo fans in each tent and haven’t had any bud rot issues either. The plants are growing in 3 gallon bags and recycled coco with organic slow release amendments. I do feed them basic N-P-K and cal mag during veg, but leave it all up to the amendments once the plants start flowering. I’ve been also growing autos on flood and drain tables and in soil, but found that the recycled coco has been easy and works well for me.
Most of the work has been all the leaf stripping.

 

[Gdiddydank]

Thank you!
The plants are all ILGM GG-4 autos.
I currently have all my tents set up in the garage with very poor environment. I’m running a dehumidifier but no A/C or heater. Temps in the winter have been ranging anywhere from 67-75 F and 83-93 F in the summer. In the winter I have no choice but to run the lights 24 hours a day to be able to keep the temperature up. My R/H during flowering is around 55% which is as low as I can get it down to. Haven’t had a problem with PM growing autos, but did experience a little growing photos. I usually have 2 or 3 turbo fans in each tent and haven’t had any bud rot issues either. The plants are growing in 3 gallon bags and recycled coco with organic slow release amendments. I do feed them basic N-P-K and cal mag during veg, but leave it all up to the amendments once the plants start flowering. I’ve been also growing autos on flood and drain tables and in soil, but found that the recycled coco has been easy and works well for me.
Most of the work has been all the leaf stripping.

Very well done, my friend. I’ve had a few grows where everything just worked extremely well with little to no effort on my part. There’ve been other times where I’m in full control of every parameter with shit dialed in right where I want it only to end up with average results or runs plagued by one problem after another.m

There is certainly a lot to be said about just staying the hell out of the way and keeping it simple!

 

[Gdiddydank]

I can't speak for others and I'm not saying you can't have both but I'm more concerned about quality over quantity. I'm not able to get high on most days apart from weekends and public holidays, so I don't need alot of weed and prefer smaller grows.

I do top my autos though, which some people say you shouldn't do. I top as I had mold problems with single main cola plants, the best way to fix this would be get my environment on point but I'm limited in what I can in my current situation.

Topping seems to be one practice in particular that’s heavily debated on autos and based on my experience cultivating cannabis in general; I can see how the timing Of when you top would Be crucial for autos. I’ve also seen breeders stating that certain auto cultivars don’t respond well.

it’s definitely a chore that needs done multiple times a day early on in VEG but I’ve had great results doing some creative LST. My 5 Gallon DWC buckets have adhesive hooks on the lid all around the Net pot as well as the outside edge of the lid. I use wire tie early on to bend the top down and then rotate the tie down location around the circle to avoid an extreme 90 degree angle on that branch. This effectively breaks that top cola dominance.

Worked on all Of my autos but one on this current run. The one that didn’t respond; I ended up simulating a super crop using wire tie downs withoutActually breaking or weakening the stem

 

[CannabisMingus]

Sounds like old news - I think the general consensus these days is that defoliating is sometimes (often) necessary.

 

[CannabisMingus]

Those plants have been topped and defoliated. Two things you’re never supposed to do.

Who says? I top and do a heavy defol if necessary. My current DWC grow (Blackstrap BE) I have been taking 5-10 fans a day during late stretch. My previous grow (AvT) same thing - ended up with a 1 lb. plant. If topping (<day 21) and defoliation (spread out as necessary) are done correctly it will increase, not decrease, yield (not to mention its beneficial effect on preventing bud rot, etc.). IMHO, YMMV, etc.

I try to cut fan leaves that make their way to the top from lower on the stem and leave the fan leaves around the edges like a skirt. My test is - if after defoliation you can look down from the top and see green (no gaps) it's safe to defoliate upper fans - idea here is that a photon will have to hit some leaf on its trajectory downward. Here's the Blackstrap after yesterday's defoliation:

 

[2budz]

Who says? I top and do a heavy defol if necessary. My current DWC grow (Blackstrap BE) I have been taking 5-10 fans a day during late stretch. My previous grow (AvT) same thing - ended up with a 1 lb. plant. If topping (<day 21) and defoliation (spread out as necessary) are done correctly it will increase, not decrease, yield (not to mention its beneficial effect on preventing bud rot, etc.). IMHO, YMMV, etc.

I try to cut fan leaves that make their way to the top from lower on the stem and leave the fan leaves around the edges like a skirt. My test is - if after defoliation you can look down from the top and see green (no gaps) it's safe to defoliate upper fans - idea here is that a photon will have to hit some leaf on its trajectory downward. Here's the Blackstrap after yesterday's defoliation:

View attachment 1414206

I always top and defoliate as well. But, when I started doing research about autos to get ready to start growing them just about everything I read said you’re not suppose to.