1 week from flower- any tips?
Hi guys,
I intend to flower next week.
My plants have been vegging for 3 months, but I have not been able to flower earlier because giving them the 12 hours of pitch darkness hasn't been possible so far. I can now and intend to flower next week.
I'd appreciate any tips you guys can share with me, to help my plants get ready for flower.
-3 months old
-400w HPS currently giving them about 16 hours light.
-good ventilation and fresh air. slightly warm temperatures (82F) at the tops of the leaves because of the hps bulb
-i haven't tried any CO2 and don't think i intend to from what I read on the forums.. sound ok?
pruning:
i read about pruning, asked some questions and no concrete only one way type of answer.
I pruned off the bottom really rubbish colas. i'm not pruning fan leaves. i'm leaving some of the lower colas because i will give them a 12000lumen CFL hanging vertically in addition to the 400wHPS from the top.
any tips on pruning in this last week before flower? any tips on pruning during flower?
i will add pictures tonight
1 week from flower- any tips?
should i be picking 4-5 main colas and pruning the rest?
1 week from flower- any tips?
1 week from flower- any tips?
the plants are maybe 3.5-4ft tall. should i fim these guys, they are getting quite big.
during flower i can give the 3 plants the 400hps from the top, plus add a vertical flowering 12000lumen 250W CFL in the centre, so i don't think light is an issue for the lower leaves if the plant is tall. i'm more concerned about the plant spending too much energy on getting nutrients up and down...
1 week from flower- any tips?
more pictures.
any advice at all is helpful. even if its to tell me to read about x,y and z!
1 week from flower- any tips?
looking really decent, Timer.
I keep the lower branches clean of new growth all through the bloom. It seems like every week I'd find a twelve inch branch stretching out from a bottom node or branch. I feel that I have to nip 'em in the bud, Ang. I let them grow in earlier days but it didn't provide quality material, so why bugger with it?
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st timer
the plants are maybe 3.5-4ft tall. should i fim these guys, they are getting quite big.
during flower i can give the 3 plants the 400hps from the top, plus add a vertical flowering 12000lumen 250W CFL in the centre, so i don't think light is an issue for the lower leaves if the plant is tall.
Nice job, the plants look good. :thumbsup: Certainly on the large side for a 400!
Do you know what strain these are? What are you using for a reflector?
They look more sativa-leaning and could stretch significantly, going into flower. If it were me I'd probably super-crop the highest tops, rather than fim, or top them.
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shovelhandle
looking really decent, Timer.
I keep the lower branches clean of new growth all through the bloom. It seems like every week I'd find a twelve inch branch stretching out from a bottom node or branch. I feel that I have to nip 'em in the bud, Ang. I let them grow in earlier days but it didn't provide quality material, so why bugger with it?
thanks! can you explain though? I have seen these colas (even the lower ones) and all the bud develops along the cola. do you want me to lollipop the bottom colas? not lollipop the stem, but lollipop the lower branches, so that there's only a head?
thanks! i will do better lst'ing them next time. and also, i nearly killed them twice. they take alot of time to recover from that. otherwise the grow has gone very smooth :)
or atleast i think. first grow, nothing to compare against
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilCartman
Nice job, the plants look good. :thumbsup: Certainly on the large side for a 400!
Do you know what strain these are? What are you using for a reflector?
They look more sativa-leaning and could stretch significantly, going into flower. If it were me I'd probably super-crop the highest tops, rather than fim, or top them.
thanks evil! i've been rotating them and it varies day to day, but i give them about 18 hours sunlight, so i think that's helped the size. i made ridiculous jumps when i switched from a 250WCFL to 400Whps.
i'm looking at super cropping now, doing a little research. looks like a great tip! i hadn't even heard of it. only know fimming and topping
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilCartman
Nice job, the plants look good. :thumbsup: Certainly on the large side for a 400!
Do you know what strain these are? What are you using for a reflector?
They look more sativa-leaning and could stretch significantly, going into flower. If it were me I'd probably super-crop the highest tops, rather than fim, or top them.
i don't know what they are. one was a autoflowering haze- a very good quality seed.
other 2 are hybrids- one called nepali and one hybrid which was predominantly sativa. i have forgotten the name. i can find out. these two were average quality seed.
i'm basing quality on price. one was like $10 a seed, one was $3 or something i think.
i'm using something ''better'' than mylar. entire walls coated in it. its 95% reflective vs mylars' 90% i think.
it was cheap, worth the investment i feel. i also have a hood on the hps (i guess that';s expected)
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st timer
thanks! can you explain though? I have seen these colas (even the lower ones) and all the bud develops along the cola. do you want me to lollipop the bottom colas? not lollipop the stem, but lollipop the lower branches, so that there's only a head?
thanks! i will do better lst'ing them next time. and also, i nearly killed them twice. they take alot of time to recover from that. otherwise the grow has gone very smooth :)
or atleast i think. first grow, nothing to compare against
I don't expect you to do anything at all. I'm just saying what I do, If you visit my grow logs I wouldn't have to explain any further. A picture is worth a thousand werdz.
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st timer
i don't know what they are. one was a autoflowering haze- a very good quality seed.
Hmm, is that plant in one of the pictures? I don't see anything flowering, and an auto-flower would be well on its way by 12 weeks. :confused:
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st timer
other 2 are hybrids- one called nepali and one hybrid which was predominantly sativa. i have forgotten the name. i can find out. these two were average quality seed.
Where'd you get the seeds? :wtf: The cheaper ones just may surprise you. :)
Reason I asked about the reflector is if they really stretch like crazy, you may get better results hanging the bulb vertical, like you mentioned with the CFL. No sense getting ahead of things, though, lookin' good.
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st timer
the plants are maybe 3.5-4ft tall. should i fim these guys, they are getting quite big.
during flower i can give the 3 plants the 400hps from the top, plus add a vertical flowering 12000lumen 250W CFL in the centre, so i don't think light is an issue for the lower leaves if the plant is tall. i'm more concerned about the plant spending too much energy on getting nutrients up and down...
I wouldn't worry about the nutrients "going up and down", the thing is, a 400 watt lamp will not have enough light for the bottom buds being 5' or more distance (18" from the canopy then 48" of plant, plus the stretch).
FIM is done early, early on, like the first couple of nodes. I FIM at the third node and then again at the fifth or sixth node. That's it. If you have room maybe you can LST by tying the tops of the plants down to the edge of the pots. Keep up the good growing!
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilCartman
Hmm, is that plant in one of the pictures? I don't see anything flowering, and an auto-flower would be well on its way by 12 weeks. :confused:
Where'd you get the seeds? :wtf: The cheaper ones just may surprise you. :)
Reason I asked about the reflector is if they really stretch like crazy, you may get better results hanging the bulb vertical, like you mentioned with the CFL. No sense getting ahead of things, though, lookin' good.
I mixed up the seeds when they were germing, so i don't know which is which.
The autoflowering is supposed to be 'Advanced Seeds Haze Mist'. Bought in the UK of I don't know which site.
It would be nice to hang the HPS vertically every alternate day. I bought the HPS with the hood, so that's the only socket I have for it..
I super cropped the tops like you mentioned. It went well, they are moving upright and strengthening the stems despite making some solid bends and not just light twists.
I killed one bit by supercropping it too 'hard' the plant didn't recover that part, it just sealed off the exposed tip. there's already new growth around it
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shovelhandle
I wouldn't worry about the nutrients "going up and down", the thing is, a 400 watt lamp will not have enough light for the bottom buds being 5' or more distance (18" from the canopy then 48" of plant, plus the stretch).
FIM is done early, early on, like the first couple of nodes. I FIM at the third node and then again at the fifth or sixth node. That's it. If you have room maybe you can LST by tying the tops of the plants down to the edge of the pots. Keep up the good growing!
but 50,000 lumens at the top of the canopy from the 400hps and then 12000lumens from the CFL vertically for the lower buds should be plenty for 3 plants right?
Either way, after i supercropped the tops like cartman recommended, i waited a day and then trimmed the lower stems like you suggested. i looked in your pictures at the way you did yours.
1 week from flower- any tips?
Thanks for the tips guys. I will go into flower end of this week and keep you updated.
Cartman, i didn't know what supercropping was, but i had been pinching my stems throughout the grow.
shov-i don't have space to LST anymore as the plants are taller than any bamboo i could tie them too :)
1 week from flower- any tips?
LST has nothing to do with tying to bamboo, my friend.
1 week from flower- any tips?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shovelhandle
LST has nothing to do with tying to bamboo, my friend.
if not tying to bamboo, then tying the top down so new colas grow on the side? that much stress in flowering? doesn't make sense to me. am i missing something? what else is lst if not tying to stuff (bamboo, or exposing the sides by tying down)?
