Crop and Cutting

Well im -and by me i mean WE :thumbsup:- currently flowering and i have a big concern.
When i will be ready to take the flowers (50-60%amber) i dont know HOW to cut the flower without cutting the whole thing down. I want to keep my plants but dont want to take the WHOLE main stem.
I was thinking in cutting half the main stem and leave some fan leaves in the bottom and carefully cut the button buds so i can leave the leaves on so they keep getting light and re-vegging one more time (my idea is vegging 2 months after croping while the other chics are flowering)

If i could get some pics that would be awesome because im really having a hard time with clones (i cant get rooting gel where i live.... and making some aeroponic thing is really a pain in the ARS also :S )

Help=:stoned:

Check the links in my signature. :thumbsup:

I read ur re-veg thing. Thanks btw
I still gotta ask if you HAVE to transplant after you crop the chick OR if you can just get the buds etc... and just leave her there with the 16/8 light instead of the 12/12.

I wouldn't leave her till 40% amber. You'll risk getting nanners from overripening her. (overripe stress) 5 to 10 % will usually sufice before you reach the risk factor. Nanners at this stage are painful, as the nanners can form inside the buds. This means you might end up with buds full of those little tiny seeds that explode when you light 'em, and it only takes a few days for the seeds to form enough to explode. (they keep maturing after harvest, till too dry to continue :()

I like starting them with fresh soil surrounding the rootball, after the root trim. Less problems down the line, than just leaving them in the same container they were flowered in.

If you only trim some of the buds, when you re-veg...those 'buds' that are left will do three major things.
First...I believe the flowering hormones present in the buddage delays the process of reverting back to a vegetative state. (delays fresh, vegetative growth)
Second...as it starts to re-veg, the bud structure itself, morphs into a provider of fresh shoots. It's no longer a 'bud'.
Third...although the old buds may have been there to begin with, after a month of reveg, it has stretched-out to resemble a fat, hairy, leafy stem with mature/overmature trichomes that will really stink the place up.

Moral: Try both ways, and see which you think is better, but until I can find a better technique...I'll continue to pluck all of the buds prior to putting her back into veg.

Doubtful I need to tell ya good luck, as it's really not that difficult. :jointsmile: (but good luck :thumbsup:)

Rusty is such a helfull dude :cool:
Hmmm.... to root-trim should i just take the "extra earth" that is not totally clustered by the roots and place some new one? Or should i cut some roots?(this doesnt sound too good IMO)

I will try to cut the buds CAREFULLY and the biggest amount i can so i leave her totally bud-free. Never EVER cropped yet, but this will be interesting. After that i think i will leave everybody in their same pots and cut their main stem at 50% of height. Then leave them re-veg for a month or two and place them to flower again.

BTW: im flowering under 240W 6400K CFLS's. NOTHING i can do.... wanted to get my 250W HPS BUUUUUT for some F****CKN! reason there are NONE where i live untill late april... 1 month of wait :S

The reason I wrote the Bonsai log was to help newbies avoid the same mistakes I've made. But if you still insist...

You'll lose a lot of your yield unnecessarily, by leaving buds on the plant, plus the buds will prolong the time it takes to revert back to a vegetative state. All she needs is a few baby fan leaves, and she'll offer plenty of new shoots.

If you continue with the same pots and soil...flush well before replacing them into veg, or nutrient and salt build-up will start affecting your ladies, in no time at all.

Also, keeping them in the same pot...they will become rootbound fairly quickly, and you'll start seeing ph swings.

Keep all this in mind if you have any developments down the line, but ask for assistance before blindly treating her, just to make sure you are treating the right symptoms, properly.

Let us know what happens. :thumbsup:

Il post results ASAP. Plus ul prolly see a grow log soon also. Im a month away from cropping ;)