So my plants are always freakin stretching so I'm lookin in to it.......now I've read that packin your tent out to much is a big factor and I've also heard that toppin my plants would stop this from happening....so any advice on this topic would be great"......(I alway grow big budda blue cheese....my tent is 2.3metres long by 1.5metres deep....there's 2 600 watt bulbs in there with about 20 plants in 10 litre pots)
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Opinions on stretching
- Thread starter kez
- Start date
M
MacGyver420
injure your plants and they will focus on healing instead of the stretch; topping can work well for some strains or you can just take the taller branches and bend them hard; i mean like almost snap them in half hard. or roll the stems between your fingers till they are bruised and kinda juicy. all those plant training techniques can help; you can even tie down the taller branches (to the side of the pot or rig something up) hope that gives you some ideas. peace.
agred with what mcgyver said that's what I do to my bonsi mom or just cut the top completly off I did a nice air layer to one few weeks back and had roots in 6 days transplanted in 7 that keept her streaching downOld Man River
New member
I would suggest more light, but 2 600w bulbs should be plenty.
Topping will keep them bushy.
OMR
Topping will keep them bushy.
OMR
nukklehead
Active member
My great gig ole 1k halide keeps the stretch down. You didnt specify what type of bulb but I assume hps.. Use the ole rub stem technique frequently too when a girl gets out of control. All good tricks of the trade
Topping causes a chemical response in the plant. Layman's version, the growth hormones are redistributed more widely across the plant, rather than just to the primary shoot. This lets smaller, less developed lower shoots catch up. Eventually you get a bush, instead of one main stem. So you get a lot less stretch in early flower because the hormones are redistributed evenly, to several branches, instead of just one. Actually, a similar amount of stretch, it's just distributed throughout several branches.
i'm running around 9 plants per square foot and they finish around 14 inches tall, sativa at that, c99. i wouldn't say stretch is caused by packing plants in, but having insufficient light will definitely cause it. my setup is kinda super overkill as far as lighting goes, around 100w per square foot, and i have a couple cfl's i turn on now and then(though i can't tell if it helps) that brings me up to 110w per square foot, this gives me a very low stretch but it takes some pretty strong ventilation to deal with the heat.
it looks like your tent is about 35 square feet and you have 1200 watts, thats a pretty big tent...you are looking at about 35w per square foot. in my opinion thats probably what is causing the stretch, a 600w light will perfectly cover 1 square meter, you have about 3.5 square meters. i would suggest grouping your plants together more next round, and lowering your lights, basically only use about half your tent space with those 2 lights. you will get denser buds, much shorter plants, and probably better flavor...because low light can delay ripening(and the terpenenes that come with it), low light can also cause, stretchier plants, looser buds, and higher likelihood of hermaphroditic tendencies. remember 2 600 watt lights will perfectly cover a 3 by 6 foot area, but will be fairly inadequate for a 5 by 7 foot area like the size you are using now, i would guess the plants on the edges are much farther from the bulb than the ones directly under it, with a light that size you want it between 12-14 inches of the canopy directly under the bulb, AND at the farthest edges of the growspace. to fully fill that space you would need 4 600 watt lights...
it looks like your tent is about 35 square feet and you have 1200 watts, thats a pretty big tent...you are looking at about 35w per square foot. in my opinion thats probably what is causing the stretch, a 600w light will perfectly cover 1 square meter, you have about 3.5 square meters. i would suggest grouping your plants together more next round, and lowering your lights, basically only use about half your tent space with those 2 lights. you will get denser buds, much shorter plants, and probably better flavor...because low light can delay ripening(and the terpenenes that come with it), low light can also cause, stretchier plants, looser buds, and higher likelihood of hermaphroditic tendencies. remember 2 600 watt lights will perfectly cover a 3 by 6 foot area, but will be fairly inadequate for a 5 by 7 foot area like the size you are using now, i would guess the plants on the edges are much farther from the bulb than the ones directly under it, with a light that size you want it between 12-14 inches of the canopy directly under the bulb, AND at the farthest edges of the growspace. to fully fill that space you would need 4 600 watt lights...
joe guy
Member
No kez I may have said it wrong when I chop the top I do the air layer tek. And wait few days to see roots I have a thread with pix that show pretty detailed info some dissaprove of how deep I go but the pix are proof and then I chop the top to bring her down to size of the rest of the girls... I belive the name of the thread is my go at air layering.. take a look and see if it would work for you
Wicked Budz
Member
how far is the light from the plants,if it is to far they will stretch like crazy
joe guy
Member
I feel you on the six footers I'm fightin with sholder high girls rite now what's awsome with air layer is u can cut the plant in half trans plant the gigantic clone and there is zero waste and u become a magican and turn one plant into 2 plants... with zero wait time she will take off like nothing happened to it... just started doin this and won't go back to regular clone teck.
Wicked Budz
Member
thats about right,how old r the plants and are they on12/12
