Now you say 1/2. I have been looking at my tall plants and saying I probably should have pruned them 1/2 up instead of 1/3. Four weks flowering, should I make the adjustment or live and learn this time? VV
VV, we're talking in proportions. Because of the uneven bud production habit of cannabis (biggest buds on the tips of mainstems and branches), most of the yield, even from a SoG plant, does come from the tip-top of the plants, but because they are shorter (mainly due to having been flowered immediately after the clones set root), the avg bud size and density will be much higher. Removing the branches from the lower 1/3 of the stem does get rid of the very smallest buds, but it's more useful an exercise in improving air circ around the plants.
Keep pruning the lower 1/3.
check this out though, I have lollipopped the last few harvests to get smaller one cola plants. That idea I think comes straight from this thread. I thought it sounded good, and i decided it is easy.
It is easy, but a number of factors have to come together in SoG to make it work properly.
I am not using an overabundanve of clay pellets, just a smattering, as well as not a bunch of the cocfiber.I may be fooling myself, but no real harm in trying. I can make it work just like nute less soil.
Well, the nut is that the pellets and coir are simply extraneous in soil. The only way you'll get it to work like inert media is to
use inert media- and a nutrient solution... which we in the biz call hydroponics.
Noobs often guess there's some special plant growing characters contained in hydroponic media. The fact is that hydroponic media is inert- no nutrient value at all. The job of hydroponic media is to give the roots something to grab on to so the plants stay upright and also to hold some moisture while not permitting total saturation, which removes airspaces from the media. No air in media = poor root development, slow growth, etc.
I gotta tell you, 97% of the reason why I bother to talk about this with y'all is because there's so much mis- and disinformation out there about growing cannabis, even amongst the cannabis growing community.
Too many noob growers have succumbed to buzzwords- with 'help' from anti-drugs campaigners. Hydroponics, properly done,
will grow more plant material faster but
won't affect the potency, despite the anti-drugsters' claims that hydroponics yields cannabis which is 10-1000% stronger than cannabis from the 1960s and 70s.
If you grow in soil, you just get less weight. Incorporating hydroponic media into soil won't grow you more or better dope than plain old soil alone. Using hydroponic nutes in soil is a bad idea because hydro nutes include certain micronutes that are already present in soil.
The reason hydroponics does better than soil is because you are watering with an oxygenated nutrient solution. The more O2 to the roots, the better the plant development. Soil won't let you do that because it generally holds too much water to permit frequent watering. You may only be able to water a plant in soil a couple of times a week before symptoms of overwatering occur.
Is there any harm in trying hydro media mixed in soil? No, nothing that is
particularly evil- coir & pellets in soil won't hurt your plants. However, you
could have had more compost in your soil mix in the space occupied by the inert material. If you want to do soil, ask some of the soil guys on here how they do it- and copy the competent folks' grows, to the letter.
There's absolutely no shame in mimicry in this pursuit! If you see any monkeys growing great weed, monkey-see-monkey-do ought to get you some great weed.
I have some perlite I am going to try.What do you think of it?
Perlite is a natural volcanic glass which contains a small amount of water. When it is heated to about 870C, it puffs up like popcorn, and for the same reason. The combination of the glass material becoming softened from the heat and the flash evaporation of the water causes the puffing.
Of course, perlite is inert. No nutrient value. It makes a pretty good soil conditioner because it holds some water but won't saturate. Used alone, it's a good hydroponic medium, only problem is it is granular and will fall out of pot drain holes. Packing RW floc in the bottom of the pots solves this problem.
If i can get to the point where i can afford a full hydro system to do sog in, I will be doing that as well, I do like soil though. But if I ever can get a nice one, I am going sog all the way.I do think sog is possible with dirt, its just going to take a little longer.
If you are deadset committed to doing soil, this thread probably won't help you much. Hydroponics is more expensive to start up but the ongoing operation costs are not much more than a good soil op. The difference in hydroponics' greater production pays you back, many times over.
And i admit it grows faster in water. its not fair thought to take taste away. Ever tried hydroponic fruit? Taste like water sacks.
Apples and oranges, man... Hydroponic tomatoes are tasteless for two basic reasons, but neither have anything to do with hydroponics. The strains used are bred for high production, not good flavour and hydroponic tomatoes are harvested while still green but then forcibly ripened by exposing the fruit to ethylene gas. This turns them red but does not break down complex carbs into simple sugars as happens when you ripen a tomato on your windowsill. Give this a go- ripen some hothouse/hydroponic tomatoes on your windowsill for a week- you will be amazed at the taste improvement.
Hydroponics doesn't alter the flavour of cannabis one whit.
I dont care what you say AL, Me and you are going to work out this soil sog thing.
If you don't care what I say, why are you here?
It won't be
me & you working out a soil SoG- it'll be you. I have given numerous reasons throughout this thread regarding why soil isn't the way to go for a SoG op. Any further discussion from me is just repetition- and I'm now officially bored with repeating myself!
LMAO...tried. didnt work.
[...]
you should be learning this technique if youre in here....
Yeah, it just knocks me out how many ppl have it in their mind that they are going to grow a certain way, then come to me asking if something will work... In fact, they're usually
already doing it they way they have imagined it will work, but then come to me looking for validation or approval. More than one person has gone away disappointed when I can't give them the validation they want. A few even go away and tell others that I'm either totally nuts or just plain mean when I don't give them the approval they seek. In either case, I'm OK with the fact that folks like that, who are not really looking for information, just an ego prop, simply go away!
My op and techniques are not something I just worked out yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock. This particular op is the product of 8 years of continuous refinement out of my 20 years growing weed in various ways. I've arrived at my methods as a compromise between high volume production and low labor input. I've got a good reason for every aspect of this op. If you mimic my op, you'll get what I get out of it, it's that easy.
There are some variations one can employ that won't make much difference in production, but will generally increase the amount of work involved. I really have pared this all back to suit a lazy stoned slacker, cos that's wot I am!
Thanks president douche bag, that stimulous check is going to good use.