A few questions during the beginning of a new grow.

After a long hiatus, I have decided to begin a second grow. My first was sad-success story, in that the 7 out 12 females we had flowering had to be destroyed because of a nosey landlord.

My plan with this grow is two-fold:
1. Experiment with growing the best bud possible out of mids.
2. Begin growing mothers from a good Lemon G hybrid.

Initially, I'll be running 3 T12 48" 2-bulb fixtures with 4 Daylight bulbs and 2 Warm light tubes. Once I'm further into the vegetative state and with some more income I plan to switch to a HPS light system. I started 5 hybrid seeds and 20 middie seeds by soaking them in pint glasses of water Sunday evening, let them sink and transferred them into damp paper towels sealed in Tupperware in a dark area. Tuesday, I have 3 and 12 seeds respectively that have developed a solid root, and will be planting them in a personal soil mix consisting of top soil, vermiculite, and perlite, and peat moss this evening. This time I'll experiment with an 18/6 light cycle.

I'd like to try some different techniques and would like to receive some feedback from growers that have tried topping and/or LST.

Also, I haven't been able to find much, but is it really possible to attempt to force-sex a plant using different nutirents without harming the plant?

Any experiences, answers, or comments are appreciated.

I would LST if I were you. Big benefit for very little effort. As for topping...some strains like it, some don't. It's all up to you.

There are a few products out there that claim to be just for this. However I've never used them. I'd stick to the tried and true if I were you though. You can switch the light cycle to 12/12 whenever your ready and play the waiting game for sex, like I assume you did with your last grow. Or, you can take a cutting off of each plant once they are big enough, root the cutting, and sex it with a 12/12 light cycle. If you had your clones and "mothers" marked, then you'll know their sex without bringing them out of veg.

A little update on this grow: 21 seeds have sprouted. I figured out that the seeds were too deep, so I dug through the soil, found the seeds and left them a 1/4 inch below the soil, and they all sprouted within 12 hours. So, the seeds were started on Thursday, and the 21 sprouted on Sunday. Now time to wait and keep the kids watered.

In the meantime, I think I'll try LST this time. I was wondering if anyone has tried LST'ing their plants in a spiral shape to keep height down and increase the number of colas. I read about it once, but I don't know if anyone's tried it, so I wondered if I could get some feedback.

spiral lst is cool. just make sure the plants are watered before bending. usually i just keep my main cola weighted down once the plant has 8 or 9 nodes. this works great for me. but i have plenty of room.

Yes you will want a HPS lamp.

LSTing you ask? I say wait until you have a few grows under your belt... figure out how to grow healthy nice plants the natural way. Some plants don't respond well to LST and topping. I do just fine, and I usually won't LST or Top. All a preference though

I think I'll experiment with a few and go from there. It just seems like a good way to increase the amount of bud produced in a smallish area. Maybe I'll even try topping a few as well to truly experiment. This grow is all about experimentation because I'm growing mostly from bagseed anyway. More to come as I begin trying these different techniques. But that's a good ways in the future, but well worth the wait.:thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by razzapiggy

Yes you will want a HPS lamp.

LSTing you ask? I say wait until you have a few grows under your belt... figure out how to grow healthy nice plants the natural way. Some plants don't respond well to LST and topping. I do just fine, and I usually won't LST or Top. All a preference though

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You wouldnt happen to live in boston, would ya?

Never see people from Ma anymore :smokin: