Wanna Ask The Old Farts A Question?

[HempKat]

I have no experience topping multiple times but I have topped once before flowering.

So does topping allow better training or a better yield?

I personally like to see baseball bats coming put of the table.

Thanks in advance and I appreciate the effort you put into this thread.



-J

Some say yes, some say no, personally I lean towards the no side. It can look like it does because there are so many buds. What I find though is that if you top a plant you'll get multiple colas but when added up they'll weigh roughly what the one big cola weighs. Now with something like a ScrOG that might get you a yield boost because you're using the space more efficiently. If you're really looking for baseball bats then you're probably better off not topping. Of course it helps to also grow a strain that is also known for growing baseball bat sized colas.

I don't consider topping as training but it does have some training like benefits in keeping a plant short but wide.

 

[J man]

Thanks for your impressive response!

Right now im reading Teaming With Microbes, is there any valuable books that I can pick up at my local library?

Thanks.



-J

 

[HempKat]

Thanks for your impressive response!

Right now im reading Teaming With Microbes, is there any valuable books that I can pick up at my local library?

Thanks.



-J

There probably are but I don't know for sure. All you should need to do is add them to your first watering and then be careful what you're putting on your plants. There are products you can put on plants to fight fungus and pests but it will also kill off beneficial microbes. Most nutrients and things good for a plant are okay. They're really meant for an organic environment though. Chemical nutrients the plant can take up directly so I'm not sure if a beneficial microbe does any good or can even survive in a chemical nutrient environment.

 

[waveguide]

glad i posted, otherwise i'd not have got to read piddle pad that's really doing it for me this evening.

seeing better colour today.. pH adjustment and decided i was underwatering as i added more sand to my soil and containers feel heavier than i'm used to. thanks for having a think. crashed my plants before but never stalled them..

 

[JazzyGabs]

Hi HempKat.. I just wanted to say Hi!!! I know you probably won't remember me, but you helped me out with my one and only grow in 2010.. . You where so kind and helped me so much. I hope all is well in your world

Oh, I forgot my old user name.. So that's not the same I just opened up a new account here..

 

[HempKat]

Hi HempKat.. I just wanted to say Hi!!! I know you probably won't remember me, but you helped me out with my one and only grow in 2010.. . You where so kind and helped me so much. I hope all is well in your world

Oh, I forgot my old user name.. So that's not the same I just opened up a new account here..

Yeah, I'd need more specifics, I was giving advice out to guite a few people back then.

Well let's just say that in my world all is as good as can be expected given various circumstances, (health, income vs cost of living, etc).

Thanks for the kind words but I can't help but feel I didn't help you enough since that was your one and only grow. Unless of course it turned out so well that the harvest was enough to hold you these past 5 years?

 

[JazzyGabs]

Hahaha.. My two plants yielded more than enough to keep me happy for the last 5 years I still have a bit left in the freezer. I know I'm pushing it in the freshness department, so I've decided to use hempkats hash making method to use it up. I made a nice little plank last week and plan on using the rest up in the same way.

You might remember me by my pup. I thought I had some kind of bugs or worm on my plants cuz several of the leafs where all chewed up, turned out it was my little Scottish terrier Gaby that was sneaking in and grazing on my plants...

I wish I lived in a more friendly state, because I really enjoyed the grow..

Peace...

 

[HempKat]

Hahaha.. My two plants yielded more than enough to keep me happy for the last 5 years I still have a bit left in the freezer. I know I'm pushing it in the freshness department, so I've decided to use hempkats hash making method to use it up. I made a nice little plank last week and plan on using the rest up in the same way.

You might remember me by my pup. I thought I had some kind of bugs or worm on my plants cuz several of the leafs where all chewed up, turned out it was my little Scottish terrier Gaby that was sneaking in and grazing on my plants...

I wish I lived in a more friendly state, because I really enjoyed the grow..

Peace...

Well it can be a lot more difficult in less cannabis friendly states to grow safely but it can be done. The ideal scenario is if you have your own home with a basement and you are able to build a secret space behind a fake wall. If you can do that with solid odor control and good ventilation and good enough noise suppression then you're golden. I mean it's the old saying of out of sight out of mind. If something is not right it's your neighbors that are going to be looking at you funny. Now go outside and look around at your neighbors and ask yourself just how much you know about each one. If you're like most people the answer is surprisingly little. Back in the 40's and 50's people were more interconnected but in current times we are too often caught up in our own little world to notice what's going on around us unless it's right in our face. That can be put to good advantage by the careful grower. The big hurdle is money. It takes a fair but modest sum to properly outfit a safe and functional grow room.

If rule number one is "tell nobody about Grow Club" then rule number two should be something along the lines of "never cut corners on security."

Two plants for five years? You must only toke on holidays and special occasions. I'm like that too except every day I wake up is a special occasion. As for your situation 5 years ago, nope, still not ringing any bells, sorry. No biggy though, I suspect I've forgotten far more of my life then what I remember of it.

 

[JazzyGabs]

I didn't expect you to remember me, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated all your advice and support.. and what fun it was. Thank you, thank you..

Oh, and the hash I made the other day is so good. I made a mistake in my earlier post, I used Hoosierdaddy's ice extraction method. I plan on making more and using up my little stock pile.

Peace ��

 

[HempKat]

I didn't expect you to remember me, but I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated all your advice and support.. and what fun it was. Thank you, thank you..

Oh, and the hash I made the other day is so good. I made a mistake in my earlier post, I used Hoosierdaddy's ice extraction method. I plan on making more and using up my little stock pile.

Peace ��

Stock piles of hash I find difficult because it takes so much weed/trim to make anything that and I have a hard time just leaving any extracts alone except for special occasions. When you get in your 50's like me you gradually start feeling like every day you wake up is a special occasion

Well you are quite welcome. It's always good to hear from a satisfied customer. Lets you know that you're doing something right.

 

[waveguide]

so what about these self topping genetics? what's up with that, huh?

i heard one guy say he had a strain that did that, and now i've seen a strain do it for two generations... right after the 4th node (the famous "fim/top here" 4th node) the plant will suddenly grow a white, tiny retarded top then grow out from all the other branch sites.

i've never seen any discussion about it.. both strains were indica, but the idea that genetics could be encouraged to elicit this trait is kinda weird... who's got teh data on this?

 

[HempKat]

so what about these self topping genetics? what's up with that, huh?

i heard one guy say he had a strain that did that, and now i've seen a strain do it for two generations... right after the 4th node (the famous "fim/top here" 4th node) the plant will suddenly grow a white, tiny retarded top then grow out from all the other branch sites.

i've never seen any discussion about it.. both strains were indica, but the idea that genetics could be encouraged to elicit this trait is kinda weird... who's got teh data on this?

Well you asking about it is literally the 2nd time I've even heard about this. I forget where I saw it before but didn't feel it was worth it to me. If I grow from seed I want pure genetics with the plants growing to there full single cola potential. If I want to top it, FIM it or alter it in any way I'll decide where when and how. I prefer non feminized seed for the same reason. Not that I'm totally against it, I've grown a Feminized C-99 which turned out great. It's just that I prefer to have the chance to make seeds so that I can grow it later without having to maintain mothers. I got bored with that C-99 (smoked nothing but C-99 for a year. So I gave what I had away without expecting to get it back. About a year after I began to regret it but the grower I gave it to got busted and the C-99 was lost.

Anyway back to your question You probably know more then I do about that alleged strain. I've no idea who has the information you want, sorry.

 

[waveguide]

that's cool, maybe i ought to go bug Q about it. i don't really want to tho. anyone else?

 

[Granger2]

What's the advantage? Very easy to top plants, and you have control. -granger

 

[ColdSmoke]

Gentleman,

I a question for you, actually a couple. My setup is only suitable for 4 plants and I currently have 6. So I need to get rid of two. I don't know how to choose the ones to get rid of. I have a couple that are shorter than the others but they are bushy and healthy. All the plants are healthy. I have another two that are extremely leggy but they seem to be more advanced as they are much taller and seem to be setting buds already. I started 12/12 about 10 days ago. The tall plants continue to reach for the light and are around 48 inches tall. I'd like to stop moving the light up but they keep climbing to it making the distance from the light to the plant different between the plants. What should I look for in choosing what two plants to cut? If I dont move the light up will the plants burn themselves on it?

 

[TerpeneDream]

To those of you who had the opportunity to smoke the imported landraces from around the world…



Do you now smoke Hybrid Cannabis or the do you prefer the Originals?


Why?



Thanks

 

[ColdSmoke]

Pics:

Group shot: leggy guy in the back

Leggy guy from the side:

short guy:

leaning towards ditching the two tallest leggy guys

 

[HempKat]

Gentleman,

I a question for you, actually a couple. My setup is only suitable for 4 plants and I currently have 6. So I need to get rid of two. I don't know how to choose the ones to get rid of. I have a couple that are shorter than the others but they are bushy and healthy. All the plants are healthy. I have another two that are extremely leggy but they seem to be more advanced as they are much taller and seem to be setting buds already. I started 12/12 about 10 days ago. The tall plants continue to reach for the light and are around 48 inches tall. I'd like to stop moving the light up but they keep climbing to it making the distance from the light to the plant different between the plants. What should I look for in choosing what two plants to cut? If I dont move the light up will the plants burn themselves on it?

Yes the plants will grow even to the point of them burning themselves. That's why you have to keep adjusting the lights. The good news is that after about three weeks into flower most 8 week strains stop growing taller. So if you're 10 days into flower you have a little more then a week of those bigger plants growing taller (unless they're Sativas in which case it will be longer). Based on that you have to ask what's better for your space? Now I've assumed that the plants are already sexed and therefore the size difference is due to two different strains. It may be for the best to keep the plants that are shorter. From the way you describe things it sounds like the taller ones are going to make it hard to get good light to all the plants evenly. Either the tall ones will get burnt or the shorter ones will not be getting optimal light. Unless you devise some sort of stand for the smaller ones to sit on that makes them more even with the taller ones.

 

[HempKat]

To those of you who had the opportunity to smoke the imported landraces from around the world…



Do you now smoke Hybrid Cannabis or the do you prefer the Originals?


Why?



Thanks

I find myself longing for the strains from the 60's and 70's. Not that they were really so much better but there are so many fond memories associated with them. Life was way different back then.

 

[Granger2]

Yes, different. One of the most important growing skills is height management. It's not always easy, especially when you haven't grown strains before, and you don't know what to expect.

That's with any strain, but with multiple strains, it can be tough. I like fewer plants, that are put into bloom while short and bushy, with the number of bloom sites I want for the space. I want about 36 in a 3x3 with a 600w. Doesn't have to be exact. Plant count doesn't matter. Four plants would be about 9 bloom sites per plant. Six plants would be 6 bloom sites. I stake as needed. At harvest, I'm hoping for a cannabis hedge that's about 30+ inches below the lamp. That's what I try for. I top fearlessly during veg, then I break stems when needed in bloom to keep height where I want it. I also lollypop if needed in bloom. Good luck. -granger