Fimming + Flowering ?'s

A

Artofwar87

Member
I see alot of guides on it but no explanation why to do it? Keep them short and bushy? If thats the case then I want nothing to do with it.

Moreless I got 5 plants. (Yet to find out if male or female kinda hard to tell)
1) 8-14" tall
2) 400w HPS
----2a) 18/6 light schedule
----2b) 4'x4'x9' closest
3) Fox Farm Ocean Forest
4) Bagseed
5) 8-7-6 NPK Food
6) 3 quart pots

Should I consider fimming since I have a decent size area?(What exactly does it do)

When should I consider turning them to a 12/12? (It doesn't matter to me if they grow 6' or not)

After switching 12/12 how long does it usally take till harvest? (8 weeks?)

With nutrients do I have to flush them and then add this 10-52-8 nutrient's I have before or after turning to 12/12?


If someone could help me on this i'd insanely appreciate it. I pretty much know the basic's after reading till my mind got crammed but still.


Thx for any help

Ill be posting pics in about 4hrs when lights come bk on.
 
There are scads of topping techniques, fim is but one. The Auxins at the top suppress side growth. When you remove the top, you remove the growth hoemones and you launch the lower side branches in addition to creating more growth sites at the tip. I personally use the "uncle Ben " method to create a vasiform 4 cola top. I would def transplant into 5 gallon pails, one of my cabs is exactly your size with 400 watt. You can go 12/12 anytime, the closer your plants are to pre flower the sooner they will start to bud, but this will all be at the expense of yield. I just put 4, 3 ft plants in my space. into flower, you can pm me anytime an Id be glad to help with what little I know. Good luck bro.
 
chickengutz said:
There are scads of topping techniques, fim is but one. The Auxins at the top suppress side growth. When you remove the top, you remove the growth hoemones and you launch the lower side branches in addition to creating more growth sites at the tip. I personally use the "uncle Ben " method to create a vasiform 4 cola top. I would def transplant into 5 gallon pails, one of my cabs is exactly your size with 400 watt. You can go 12/12 anytime, the closer your plants are to pre flower the sooner they will start to bud, but this will all be at the expense of yield. I just put 4, 3 ft plants in my space. into flower, you can pm me anytime an Id be glad to help with what little I know. Good luck bro.
Click to expand...

What a well thought out post,your explaination was perfectly worded and spot on,its good to see another Detroiter on the forums.

Keep up the good work in helping the new growers,plus rep.
 
So if I put them into flowering sooner it will be hurting the yield? And wouldn't 3ft plants getting put into flowering be like 8-10ft tall by the time of harvest.

Whens best time to put the uncle ben technique into effect? Right before flowering or? They all have every bit of 10 branches coming out from the stalk. Its just that the bottom branches are so close to the soil and every bit of height it gets it produces more of them at the bottom. Its becoming a pain in the a$$ real quick.

And last but least what about the nutrient switch. Flush with non-nutrient phed water then add nutrients(For flowering) to the water and repeat?
 
It will make the two top branches shoot off and give you two colas instead of one. I personaaly trim all the bottom branches and leaves off.
 
I would give u exact height for each one but outside ones are 14" -/+ give or take an inch. And Mid one is about 8 inches.

If you look at the front right one in all the pictures which is almost identical to all the outside ones you'll notice that the bottom is growing stems out.

And u think i should put the "uncle ben" fim/top technique into play?

(Front Right Plant)
First level: small leaves
2nd level: big fan leaves
3rd level: small leaves
4th level: small leaves
5th level: small leaves
6th level: big fan leaves

(All pics hosted and able to be seen here as well http://imageshack.us/g/851/060611021301.jpg/)
(Click to Enlarge)





 
I start topping when the plants have 5 nodes, not counting the milk leaves. This should give you 4 main colas. There is a great DIY right here on RIU. Go to, Grow room> Newbie central> Uncle Bens topping technique. Before you start hackin and slashin, give it a read. Ur plants are ready, read up, and butcher with confidence,lol
 
Artofwar87 said:
So if I put them into flowering sooner it will be hurting the yield? And wouldn't 3ft plants getting put into flowering be like 8-10ft tall by the time of harvest.

Whens best time to put the uncle ben technique into effect? Right before flowering or? They all have every bit of 10 branches coming out from the stalk. Its just that the bottom branches are so close to the soil and every bit of height it gets it produces more of them at the bottom. Its becoming a pain in the a$$ real quick.

And last but least what about the nutrient switch. Flush with non-nutrient phed water then add nutrients(For flowering) to the water and repeat?
Click to expand...

Ahhhh! The plant height. I am a devotee of the scrog method. I just keep pushing those growth tips under the screen and keep increasing my yield while, keeping my plants at a more than manageable, 4 to 5 foot height. Cannabis is Gravitropistic. This not only plays a part in the developing seed knowing which way to send a root, (up or down), it also involves the unequal distribution of auxins. These growth hormones, (While in every fiber of the plant), supress lower growth tip spurts. When a scrog is done properly, the bud tip, or what will become a bud, is pushed down under the screen. This dissrupts the Auxins causing the next lower tips to shoot up through the screen. I put my screen anywhere from 10 to 18 inches above my tote. any budsites that caan make it above the screen gets life, anything below gets the snip. I take all my clones during the first week of flower and at 30 days of flower. This gives me time to trim up all the bullshit and increase the real growth on top. I would much rather have those few extra grams of airy schwag turn into an extra 8th of rockhard ganja. Uh, you dont have to flush anything when you change nutes to flower, Unless you have a 20,000 watt grow going, you are not going to notice any difference in yield, or fuck up your plants.

As Cannabis is a
 
chickengutz said:
I start topping when the plants have 5 nodes, not counting the milk leaves. This should give you 4 main colas. There is a great DIY right here on RIU. Go to, Grow room> Newbie central> Uncle Bens topping technique. Before you start hackin and slashin, give it a read. Ur plants are ready, read up, and butcher with confidence,lol
Click to expand...

I seen the thread but I would have a hard time chopping my plants in half. Say my plants are 14" tall and the 4th or 5th node is at 6" and I decided to chop it right there in an attempt to get the 4 main kolas... how long does it take for the plant to get back to the height it was before it was chopped? You're adding at least an extra 2-3 weeks or more of veg aren't you?
 
lol, NO! I didn't explain it well enough. You do all this cutting when your plant gets to the 5th node. And if your plant is 5 nodes and 14 inches tall you have other issues, like major stretching. You always top, at the top. If your plant is 6-8 inches and you top it, you will be back on track, between a week an two weeks, on average. Its hard to say though, different strains behave differently. For me, I like to do the four cola topping method on medium height plants if Im growing in soil, but since i've been growing DWC for a while I just fim everything with any height to it. I like to top plants that tend to have a large main cola, like Red Cherry Berry. or some Blurberry Crosses. While one large, 7 inch thick cola looks cool. you have an awesome chance for mold in the inner bud. I like to opt for 3 or 4, 3inch buds, with very little chance of mold. As summer is upon us here in michigan, the ambient moisture goes from around 7% in Jan. to around 14% in August, and that my friend can bring mold. I had a Blueberry x northern lights go moldy last year, I was forced to turn half the plant into hash. I'm trying to think of the downside of that one,lol. God it don't take me long to get off subject, does it?
 
ADD lol All good, I'm the same way.

I think I'm done with cutting anything off my plant for my first time around. If I end up doing more bad than good I'm fuct bigtime. The only thing I have to counteract with mold is a 70 pint dehumidifier. I've been keeping the room around 50% humidity, give or take +2 -2. The problem with running that in the room is it adds more heat which I do not need. I've found that if I run the humidifier outside of the room, near my intake fan for the hoods, it ends up lowering the humidity without adding the heat. It's kinda ghetto but it does seem to be working.

There is a product in the Humboldt line I have been looking into. It's called HUM-BOLT and it works as an immune booster. Check it out and tell me what you think? I would love to hear your opinion of the stuff.
 
This is a really bad year for spider mites too. They thrive at lower humidities, so keep an eye on that. Hum bolt im guessing is a humic acid additive. Im useing FLORALICIOUS which has a bunch of shit in it including humic acids. I just started using it, fucking smells just like soy sauce. I only bought it cause I was standing in the hydro store with nothing in my hands. There are sooooo many additives, it would be easy to burn up 500 in nutes per grow but.... I still have a ppm to contend with so I can only add so much magic shit. And magic or not, im still only goin to get so much out of each 400 watt light. My set up was originally supposed to allow me to spend a minimal amount of time gardening. But, secret gardens have a way of eating up time. I'm thinking of simplifying in the fall, the Lucas method was doing just fine for me.
 
What is a lower humidity to you? Right now my room is at a steady 52-56% when light & fans are running. When they sleep the humidity climbs to 61% but I have yet to see it above that. I was told to be more worried about powder mildew.

I know what you mean about eating up time. I spent 3 hours in there today while trying my hand at LST'ing for the first time. I had a blast though so it was time well spent!
 
Wow! your grow room is def dry. Most of the rain in Michigan comes in Jul, Aug, Sept. As warm air hold more moisture than cool air, in these months its not unusual for mold to blossom. I have to keep a constant eye on the heat and humidity because it effects the finishes that I use, as well as movement of wood. This is why doors that stick in August, open and close freely in February. Even in my conditioned shop, I get swings of 30% when the doors are opened and closed all day. With all the rain an shit, Im probably at 70% relative humidity.
 
2-1.jpg
This is one tote with 4 plants, 2.5 weeks flower.
 
It wouldn't be unusual to see mold in my basement either. It leaks when it rains so I'm hoping we don't get too much... There's a few corners in the basement that are moldy but not in the grow room. That's the last thing I need to be fighting with. I'm starting to foresee other issues on the rise and mold is not one of them (yet).

So if I keep the humidity between 50-57% I should be ok?? I keep hearing about spraying neem oil on the plants before bedtime but then I hear it smells like shit and not to use it. Can't everyone just agree on one or the other?? lol
 
lol, fuck neem, If you get mites, use the "triple threat" predator mites. They eat them spider mites like crazy, and multiply twice as fast. If you grow, it's not a matter of "if" you get mites, if you grow long enough you will get em. They can hitchhike in on your dog or your shoe. They can be blown in by the wind or crawl in through a hole no bigger than a pin prick. They may be living on that Begonia in the living room, right now. Just keep an eye out for em, and when they hit, sick the predator mites on em.
 
haha, you should see my basement. I have it sealed up like fort knox! I don't have a dog or flowers anywhere in the house. I have a cat that's never been outside and I take my shoes off at the front door! hahaha Bring it on!!
 
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