SCHWAZZING AUTOFLOWER

DISCLAIMER
I'm just getting a topic going and If you decide to try it and don't like the results then don't be blaming me lol

But ive done it & others have too and have liked the results
I see that a lot off people is interested in learning about the method of heavy Defoliation at certain points of a grow. (SCHWAZZING)
So I would like to get a thread going regarding this so people can see the benefits off it and how this method is used to increase yeild and to also help out in other factors too.

I copied and pasted the info below from the THREE A lIGHT Google post
to help people out​

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SCHWAZZING
WHAT IS SCHWAZZING?
A Schwazze is essentially an extreme defoliation. Where 100% of the fan leaves are removed from the plant during specific times of the flowering cycle.

How can trimming and pruning a cannabis plant possibly increase its yield? It’s kind of Yin and Yang if you think about it. On one hand we take away, and on the other, we receive!

Our favorite comparison is working out at the gym. When you break down your muscles through constant repetition and heavier weight, your muscles grow stronger and larger. By removing fan leaves from the plant, we are creating more space for airflow, light penetration, and most importantly, we are refocusing the plant’s energy where it matters most: flower development.

WHY USE THE SCHWAZZING METHOD?
One word: Yield. We’ve found that we can dramatically increase our total yield with just 2 Schwazzes at key points in the flowering cycle. The industry standard yield without Schwazzing is around 1.5 to 2lbs per 1000 watt bulb. With Schwazzing, we’ve been able to consistently produce 3 pounds per light and are seeing results north of 4 pounds per light as we continue to optimize the process.

This leads to savings on all fronts, you can generate the same amount of cannabis from a smaller area, meaning you need less space to grow. Energy is saved as you’ll produce so much more per square foot.

If you’re looking for a corporate board room description: Schwazzing allows the plants’ resources to be more effectively allocated. Think of it this way, every single leaf and bud on the plant is pulling nutrients from the soil, using more water, and requiring more light. With a good Schwazze, you reallocate these resources to provide them where we want them most, in the buds.

WHY DOES SCHWAZZING WORK?
Schwazzing works for multiple reasons. The more you think about why this is helping, the more it makes sense. It seems counter-intuitive and destructive at first, but it’s a process that naturally trains the plant to produce more.

A Schwazze will provide the optimum light penetration through the canopy. This increases airflow and light to the lower nodes on the plant. You are essentially eliminating all shade spots. Allowing the energy to focus on the tips instead, where it needs to be focused for more flowering.

The increased airflow provides the plant with a much stronger O2 and CO2 exchange. Basically, it lets it breathe!

In addition, Schwazzing eliminates homes for pests and mildew that can ruin your plants.
IS SCHWAZZING THE SAME AS DEFOLIATION?
Although the idea is similar, defoliation is almost never taken to this extreme of a level. Defoliation is a process that has been used for centuries for many different plants and helps to achieve higher crop yields, it’s even used to produce cotton.
SCHWAZZING IN A HOME GROW SETUP
Schwazzing began in a home grow setup and can be used very effectively on a small scale. Schwazzing has also been scaled up to accommodate larger commercial grows as well.

The only tools you will need are a sharp pair of scissors and patience.
HOW DO YOU SCHWAZZE?
Before we go too deep here, let’s get a little disclaimer in. Schwazzing is a method that can either help you deliver your highest yield ever, or cause plant lock and hermaphroditic plants. Please proceed with caution!

You probably have the basic idea now, trim away the fan leaves. Be advised timing, approach, quantity, and nutrients all play a huge part in this equation. If these exercises aren’t executed properly you can ruin your crop.

You can use this method if you have a hydroponic setup.

If any one would like to add any pics or info to get this thread going then your more than welcome to.
 
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420af: here’s a candidate for schwazzing. Do you think the time is right? Thx
38615A9C-3F05-4E1B-9402-F0D31ED97F0E.jpeg
38615A9C-3F05-4E1B-9402-F0D31ED97F0E.jpeg
 
Have any of you actually schwazzed autoflowers though?

I've schwazzed countless photoperiods commercially (I have mixed feelings about it, yes it definitely brings back the new growth, but are the plants really showing better growth than had they not had the deep strip? That I would debate (coming from growing thousands upon thousands upon thousands of plants.)
with auto they have a set time frame for harvest - with photo's you can extend grow time's in veg, ect - with autos too short of time for the plant to "adjust"
 
A good read! I may try this, but my variables are:

‘Custom Organic’ Dry Inputs = *Amended* FoxFarm HF/OF blend..(not ‘salts’)
Regular beans.. (nuthing agsinst autos, just been on the rego-path for this section of my journey)

So, based on the gist im picking up.. in theory: when its time to flip - i can give her a dry feed, and in the next 7-10D hit the ’swz-tech’ and hope the nutes are available when they start bouncung back and uptaking nutes aggressively to fix the shock of the heavy defol?
And then potentially in week 3-4 (21-28 days in) of flower repeat the dry feed 7-10D ’swz-tech’ a final time?

im in 1 Gallon fabrics btw..

after smushing the tent past capacity last run: I can see this as a great way to increase my flower density (yes yield) depending obv on plant/flower structure.. and etc…

but am fishing for an answer from an ‘organic amended’ soil grower who schwazzys…and loves it.
 
A good read! I may try this, but my variables are:

‘Custom Organic’ Dry Inputs = *Amended* FoxFarm HF/OF blend..(not ‘salts’)
Regular beans.. (nuthing agsinst autos, just been on the rego-path for this section of my journey)

So, based on the gist im picking up.. in theory: when its time to flip - i can give her a dry feed, and in the next 7-10D hit the ’swz-tech’ and hope the nutes are available when they start bouncung back and uptaking nutes aggressively to fix the shock of the heavy defol?
And then potentially in week 3-4 (21-28 days in) of flower repeat the dry feed 7-10D ’swz-tech’ a final time?

im in 1 Gallon fabrics btw..

after smushing the tent past capacity last run: I can see this as a great way to increase my flower density (yes yield) depending obv on plant/flower structure.. and etc…

but am fishing for an answer from an ‘organic amended’ soil grower who schwazzys…and loves it.
I just tried this tech for the first time on two of my plants. So limited but recent experience. I run 10 gallon no till soil pots that were on their 2nd run. I top dressed vermicompost with dry nutrients. I did the first top dress the day I did the first big defol ( around 35 days, when the bud sites are pushing nice clumps of pistils). I repeated the top dress routine once a week until about two weeks before harvest. If your applying dry amendments without a good live carrier like compost or castings, I would do the first top dress a week or more earlier, because it will take longer for the microbes to start breaking down the dry ferts.
This is the same schedule I use regardless of defoliation style or tech. Ie, I didn’t do anything different when trying the Schwazze tech and I had great results. The thing I liked was using the Schwazzed tech required 10x less time than what I usually spend doing defoliation and extra fussing.
BTW thank you to all the contributors here! It was really fun and very educational trying the techs from this thread.
hth
cheers
os
 
Thanks Organic Sinse.

I do a top dress mix wk or so before I send to flower. I probably could have done the swaz last time i defol’ed but i was just getting some big fan leaves for better light penetration and what not.. last grow was not a run for weight. This time i am trying for some stash. In theory this swaz should be a perfect fit for my developing cultivation toolkit.

I am planning to train the current seedling girls a little heavier once the time comes. So hopefully i can get these girls on the training for cross fit games shape. Other than that i should be okay i would think. depends on if the extra training equates to them chewing my soil battery faster as a result (if i notice deficiency of some sort) .. that will determine any swzy tech i do next run…

oh and your recent and limited exp is two rungs higher up the ladder than I am: cause i sure am here asking lol! And I totally agree, the roots (peeps) and nutes (vast 411) in this ‘AFN-soil’ is greatly enriching! Cheers!
 
So, is this technique considered a good idea for outdoor plants?

I have four autos growing on my deck and to avoid offending the neighbors I try to keep them short and spread out. But the Purple Kush 1:1 is getting pretty leafy now (day 37). I’m going to do some defol anyway just for the sake of good airflow (Midwest summers can get humid) but now I’m wondering if I should just go for broke on it.

Thoughts?
 
@Feo
my thoughts: if u have more than one plant, and more importantly if this is NOT your first run or second maybe, then you can test ONE out and see if the ‘Mega-Air’ defol aka Swazzy Swaz is worth your time in the future.

As for me, in my current run. i went more for training canopy and pinning or tucking leaves for this run’s ‘cross fit games’. ( in part due to a podcast feat Jeff Loenfiels (sp?) his theory is dont cut ANYTHING cause the more ’solar panel’ surface, the more energy can get into/through the plant(s).. the better it can uptake and ‘move’ nutes and other ‘energys’..was what i got out if it. Because in theory the plant will use (X%) energy to heal and grow back leafs… that ‘theoretically missing’ energy could be going to flower power production..which would result in better product. At least i think that Koolaid was tasty enough to try out. Ill post if it was good in my blog entries eventally.

I have an F1 that is kinda leafy that is a good Swazz candidate, but im done training and am satisfied with the canopies i trained up. Lab is getting good-stinky and I think my stretch phase will be done nxt week.. then they just need to put some weight on.

Im sure I will try it eventually but im in need of headstash before i get into runs for extras for S’s n G’s (or extractions)…
 

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