Well the nutes I use were very cheap. They are a 3 part fertilizer system called PH PERFECT, which I paid only $39 for, for 3-1 liter bottles. There is grow, micro and bloom, that you add in equal proportions(I use an eye dropper and give the plants 1 ml of each per qt. of water. It's chelated, so you don't have to use as much as say, miracle gro, which isn't. And the plants absorb it much better than miracle gro, which means you can use much less and the plants absorb it much better. This not only saves money, but saves the plant from getting a toxic dose and burning the plant, possibly killing it. I got that from an article I read from someone who GROWS POT FOR A LIVING! That's what THEY said, and I believe it! But photosynthesis stops when the plant starts to make buds and directs it's energy to that. So you are WRONG, AGAIN! The leaves have no bearing on the buds. What DOES have bearing, though, is the shoots that come up between the stem and fan leaves, where the buds grow. THAT is why you defoliate! Besides the fact that now light and air get into the center of the plant. Why do you think they use light stress training then? It's for the exact same reason, to bend the stems down, so the light and air gets in the center, stimulating shoot growth and ultimately, bud growth. I use both light stress training and defoliation and let me tell you, my plant is starting to fill up with buds, are yours?