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Pinching?

Mojave Dave

Mojave Dave

Member
Yep...I have another question for you all. If I "pinch" my clones, which are all about a foot high now, will they stop growing any taller...which is something I definitely don't want to happen? I want to pinch them to force multiple branching, and thus more big "top" buds, or so I'm told that's how it works.

I have enough room in my grow tent to let them grow to five feet. These are the AK-47 clone's and the Biddy Early clone I'm talking about here.

Does it really make two tops out of one, and then you can pinch those and get four and so on? Is that the best way to get the most yield from my plants...and also, will it lessen the THC production or potency at all?

Thanks again!

Mojave Dave
 
G

Guest

i believe cruching it is supposed to redirect auxins to promote side branching im not sure though.

another way is low stress training it seems to be better as it redirects the auxins without damaging the plant and makes your side branch buds almost as big as colas.

if you want multiple colas (top buds) you could top your plant and produce multiple colas.

im sure some of the more expeirianced people will be more helpfull.
 
G

Guest

the best way to get the most yeild out of your plants may just be......





P.S. not my pic, got it off another site, was and still is one of the better scrogs I've ever seen
 
G

Guest

or you could go LST. These are my plants from an old grow. the last one was the best, she gave a little over 1/4 lb dried and cured, a sativa bagseed. There is 1 plant in each bucket, veg'd until I could no longer see dirt thru the canopy, about 45 daze. For LST details, do a search for Caprichoso, the LST master....






 
G

Guest

For sure, I pinch mine all the time. Pick a point below the tallest branch, and roll the stem in between your fingers lightly until the stem is loose, and then it will simply fall over. You can tie it to the stem if you want to keep it down, or just let it grow back up. This will help all the other branches catch up, and make the plant canopy more even. Pinch as much as you need to obtain the desired shape and height, it won't hurt 'em one bit. I wouldn't go overboard at this point though, they still look pretty small. All it really does is help keep the canopy even, which can help increase yields among other benefits. It can create huge 'knuckles' in the branches which help create bigger buds too. :wave:
 
S

smokejaguar

New member
You should have pinched the top before now.I pinch as soon as there are 2-3 sets of branches.By the time I switch to 12/12 they have 4-6 new main stem colas.Beware of getting carried away.When you get to pinching the branch tips to double grow sites,you can reach diminishing returns.It seems at this point pinching may only give you more,yet smaller buds.Forget about FIM.You may grow all your life and never see any example of this.Its an ART not a SCIENCE.-usdi Agaluga
 
Dr Watt

Dr Watt

Who What
Pinching, tipping, topping .... ultimately need for different techniques depends on the breed a lot. Today many hybrids and popular breeds branch very well on their own.... and generally mostly Sativa will be taller.

Pinching alternatives are using Ties or a Screen. Ties can be made to the pot/medium container can be moved from the Generator area. Screen use is limited to your Bloom chamber.

You can top most breeds once and they will branch sufficiently from there. You should clone this top cut - which backs up your seed while the mother flowers. You can clone the mother at least 10 times if you use the top cut - but depends on breed from 3 times to more than 20. BogBubble mothers well.

During Vegetation the best size for cloning is when plant has 4 to 8 internodes. The plant is usually 1 to 1.5ft tall. You can clone early at 2 internodes but plants have better size from 4 internodes and branch out better.

Pinching later in plant life is basically limited to the first week of 12/12. More technically pinch PRIOR to the growth of bud that occurs from 2 to 3 weeks of 12/12(clone, seed). Pinchining during bud growth tends to slow them down at the wrong time. If you pinch when there is some bud growing you should remove that bud completely so bloom continues from the next nodes.

The aim is to have some stem growth before committed calyx production - so that the buds don't crowd which causes a loss in light penetration and airflow.

You should top mothers before 12/12. When you don't have to TOP/pinch clones they can Generate with good side branching without topping.

It has been found that plants elongate less when they are tied down compared with pruning. You can use tie-ing methods very early in seedling/clone life

http://www.overgrow.com/growfaq/1245

:rasta: :bandit:
 
Mojave Dave

Mojave Dave

Member
Hi all,

I thought I should post some pics taken last night of my current grow to show the technique that I finally decided on after reading all of the advice given to me by you good people.

I ended up going with the FIM technique because it sounded challenging and interesting. The results? My Biddy Early clone exploded like a huge firework, throwing branches out in all directions. It's truly an amazing-looking plant now with a zillion, already-starting-to-frost-up bud-sites!
And my three AK-47 clones (placed in the NFT tanks in the same tent at the same time) are doing amazingly well with extra branching (I think, anyway, from the other pics I have seen of AK-47's in a similar setup without FIMing at the same age) and lots and lots of just-starting-to-frost bud-sites as well.

The pics show my results. Thanks again for all the help!












 
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