valyard

Hello Everyone, a happy & greener New Year to you all!

A question if I may? I'm looking for techniques that focus bud growth. I'm looking to maximise 3oz per plant but am idealy looking for methods/approaches that achieve this with the minimum number of buds per plant.

Would flowering the Ladies at a height of 12" help to achieve this?
Would prunning assist to this end?

As always your advice is appreciated.

Kindly Regards,
Valyard

farmergiles

More light usually helps.
LST (low stress training) will help increase yields but largely by increasing the number of bud sites- surely you want more buds not less?

Hydroponics will probably give the best yields, especially NFT or aeroponics.

What height you flower at depends on what strain you're growing, what lighting you have and how much space you have.

What do you mean by pruning? Topping may improve some strain's yields (again by increasing the number of bud sites) but may diminish other's.

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Dandaweedman

3 oz per plant?
Fewer plants under the light and go with hydro.

For soil extend the veg so they go in at a minimum of 16" and have the grow room dialed in for the plants.
Try and find something that yields well at the get go and learn to tie them down, like FG says...
more bud sites, more yield (generally)

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valyard

Hello FarmerG,

Prunning? I suppose that I am asking as to whether or not there are facets of a flowering plant that may be removed (prunned/manicured whatever the terminology may be) to promote or channel more energy into bud growth.

Cheers,
Valyard

farmergiles

Hey valyard

It can be worth removing lower growth from a plant before flowering if that growth is shaded anyway. This technique is more useful with bushy indicas than with open structured sativas.
A useful side effect is that this facilitates air movement around the bottom of the plants.

If pruning of the lower growth seems necessary it should be done no later than 1 week before you change to a flowering light schedule- this gives the plant time to get over the shock and redirect it's energies to the upper growth.
Pruning in flower will cause stress.

In any case don't remove too much- if you look vertically down at the plant you should see a complete canopy- if you trimmed so you can see through then you've trimmed too much.


Also- towards the end of flowering you may find that some fan leaves are getting tatty anyway and also obscuring light onto lower buds. You can trim them by cutting across the fingers of the leaf- this stresses the plant less than if you remove the whole leaf.
Remember though, the plant's leaves are used to obtain energy and to breathe- if you remove too much you are crippling the plant and causing stress.

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valyard

Cheers FarmerGiles!

Another query if I may - apart from 'staking' the main stem with a bamboo cane (to keep the plant essentially upright), how do you deal with the drooping lower, bud crammed stems? Mine are practically on the floor!

Thanks again,
valyard

farmergiles

Loop a cord around all the top of the lower branches, tie the loop to a suitable diameter. The branches will hold each other up.

If things get really out of control make a frame and hang cords down to support anything that needs it.

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valyard

Cheers again FarmerG - you're a star!