What's your style

[SinsemillaScientist]

I wanted to get people talking amongst one another because everyone has a separate growing style! I want to hear what you do in your growing process, something you consider unique to your own grow. For example, I grow my girls in several ways. But the one I think is more if myself is when I top at the third node like I'm about to begin manifolding. I let the growth tips grow out after removing all others below (I leave all fan leaves). After the two new main Vilas are growing voraciously I remove all lower fan leave and tie down at a 45° angle. I then let them grow another 6-12inches and flip to flower. I like breaking the apical dominance for better branching and larger yields but don't like the extensive Topping needed for a full manifold. I hope to hear from everyone!! I feel knowledge is power and power becomes a movement!

P.s. it's a beautiful day for a strong sativa where I live!!!!

[D.A.A.S.69]

I would say my style is very similar to others except I talk out loud and communicate with my girls by telling them how pretty they are and they really seem to like that ,but most ladies do.

[SinsemillaScientist]

I've heard this before! My aunt (god bless her ) suffered dementia at an early age but she grew amazing plants and told me her secret was talking to them!! This of course happened before her dementia set in.

[alltatup]

I talk to my plants every day and tell them how beautiful and miraculous they are. And when the lights go off in the grow boxes, I say Night beauties.

[GanjaGed]

This just rushed to mind

[alltatup]

Preeeeeee cisely. I had a cat that I said that to on a regular basis and he grew to be 3 feet tall and 85 lbs. With tons of trichomes.

[GanjaGed]

Only thing I can really think of that I do that I don't see many others do is that as part of defoliation and clearing bud sites I will trim off part of the leaf instead of weaving them out of the way or completely removing the leaf. Kind of like some do for clones.

I don't think it improves much on anything, it's just easier for me to trim a part of the leaf to open space then try and get my old fat hands in there and start basket weaving, lol. God bless Fiskars and other micro-pruning shears.

[GanjaGed]

I AM NOT ALONE!!

Yea, esp. during flower. I don't have any evidence but in theory it should help with low nitrogen as flowering progresses. But I really do it just because it's easier for me. Have you noticed anything "special" about this?

[SinsemillaScientist]

I have noticed that it works almost as well as defoliation when it come to light penetration. I also pick leaf petals to put spacing in between the fan leaves so light penetration is more up to participate if you will. Still technically defoliation, I just feel it doesn't stress the plant nearly as much as removing 10+ large fan leaves. So so overall it keeps growth rates more consistent, it allows you to leave foliage, and also adds your own personal touch to your style if you ask me!

[GanjaGed]

I resoundingly concur with the gentleman from a secret location!

[Flockshot]

I don't use glass in my hood.

[SinsemillaScientist]

Interesting, is that by personal choice? And if so do you mind if I ask why?

[Flockshot]

From my study, I understand that glass blocks about 10% of your bulbs output. Also with a MH bulb it blocks the UV.
I use 600W MH/HPS. Light is my biggest expense, so therefor my most important commodity to use efficiently. I grow in 1/m2 out of a 8x8 room. The larger space helps me with temperature and I also use a light mover to move the hot spot on the canopy. I put 6 inch ducting booster fans (one on each side) on my hood to pull air up into the hood and out both ends I run 3 other fans in the room with outside exhaust fan running on low.
I live at 42 N so my spring grow starts out in cold weather and I use 24 hour T-5 light for veg, just to keep it warm. Then the 600w for final veg and flower and the cool temps allows me to discard the glass.
Does it really help? I really don't know, but it is the best information I have found. I just finished a strain that advertises 400-500 g m/2 and I got 407 with 600w. I don't think I would have gotten more with the glass, but I can't say I would have gotten less either.

[SinsemillaScientist]

I don't use a glass either but that's because I use a winged hood for my grows right now. A lot of people say they create hot spots easier than a cool tube or hood w/glass. I think the right amount of air circulation disrupts this though. And it sounds like you've covered all your bases!! Thank you for sharing I love seeing what others do!!

[berrypilot]

🌱 I feel like the Sea of Green style is under utilized. People love manifolding and intensive training, which is great if you have plant limits for example some medical marijuana patients, but if you can grow as many plants as you want I feel SoG might be better when it comes to yields for the time and electricity. The idea is to grow a bunch of untrained plants, that each get just 2-3 main colas each, instead of growing just one or two big plants that are trained to be spread out with many colas per plant.

The reason is it cuts down on the vegetative stage (it's faster for 8 plants to fill a grow space than 1 plant, especially without any training besides maybe a quick topping in the beginning) so you can completely fill a 4'x4' tent in just a month or so, and then start flowering immediately. I haven't tried it with photoperiod plants, but I tried it with auto-flowering plants earlier this year and it worked really well. I ended up getting over 2 oz/plant with 8 plants under a 600W light, so over a pound at harvest! The only training I did was snip the tip of the 5th node off around week 2 or 3, and then when they started flowering I removed the big fan leaves, and removed all the big fan leaves again at about week 6. Other than that I left them alone.

Before that, I've typically grown just two plants at a time, and manifolded them. Although the yields ended up being about the same in the end, I feel like I need to take an extra month in the vegetative stage to get the plants big enough, so that ends up being a month's worth of time and electricity wasted compared to a SoG grow!🌱

[SinsemillaScientist]

I like the SOG method as well and think it's unerrated, I just think that letting the plant go untrained is a waste of yieldings, but you cut that out of the equation with topping(which I do as well). I always enjoy your input Berry you have a knack for putting things into words and being exemplary with your writing! Thank you I appreciate your post!!

[Tazard]

I prefer the SOG but I have a paranoid wife that is a wreck anytime I have over 4plants (like now 😎)

[D.A.A.S.69]

I agree with you on that Berrypilot , that's the way I mostly did it outdoors, top em a time or two or three and mostly leave em alone ,I was trying to get weight , not paint a Mona Lisa. Dylan said these times they are a changin. Not that there's anything wrong with painting a Mona Lisa

[Tazard]

I use a 3.5x3.5" trellis net supported horizontally about 2-3" above my DWC. I supercrop when she is just above the net (usually 3-5 nodes) then when the heads from the lower branches and the supercropped top are tall enough I tuck them back under the net. I use House and Garden flakes + the supplements. First 2weeks I use a MH and give about 20k lux 24h a day then 55k lux on 20/4 for a week then switch to HPS at 50-60k lux on 18/6 for a week then switch to 12/12 with as close to 75k lux as I can based on the cooling (light is A/C cooled). I defoliate as needed and to promote "repair" instincts.

[SinsemillaScientist]

I like how you adjust your light cycles along with the strength of the bulb. Makes me think of mimicking the suns movements how it's direct but more gentle in spring and during summer very direct and strong. It's definitely something I need to try!! Thank you for your input as well!

[Tazard]

Mostly just a compilation of methods I have seen and tried. By the time 1 of my plants recovered from super crop (about 3days) she had (all nearly same height) 4 branches from lower nodes 1 from the node at super crop (I broke the other node super Cropping) 2 from the node above the super crop and the original top so 8 total from 1 super crop when she was 4" tall.

[Tazard]

Couldn't add pic to reply.

[Sheesh]

Really cool having the net so low. I also scrog and set my net around 11" above the medium. My technique has a gap for a couple of weeks. I need something to train to while waiting for the plants to reach the net. I used to use tomato rings but it seems that right after I add the tomato rings, the plants take off and are hitting the scrog two weeks later. Sort of a waste of time adding the rings and then need to untangle the growth and remove the rings 2 weeks later. The grow I just started is 3 weeks in veg, just topped and I will be training soon. I'm skipping the tomato rings this time and will figure out ways to tie off to the fabric pots and long plant wires to the scrog anchor screws.

[South Sierra Dude]

I do as little as possibl; I never react. My solution for almost every issue is the same. Stay calm, fed on schedule, and always Ph to 6. No secrets just a little flower gardening to help me focus on something living besides myself. The secret is relax and stop killing your plant with all the energy its never going to need.

[berrypilot]

🌱 I know what you mean! That's a really good point, you just got to focus on making things right and letting the plant do its thing. I feel like besides bugs it's almost always PH, Watering/Nutrients, Environment and good old fashioned Natural Variation (sometimes the plant just does its own thing!). I agree about how nice it is having to watch over the plants, they're a lot more forgiving than people, and it's nice to just spend time with them sometimes. I think there's something about plants that make you feel at peace. Having a garden is like having a pet that's even lower maintenance, brings you a calm quietness, and then gives you weed in the end! I always feel a little sad at harvest because you get to know your plants and it's sad that they're gone, especially when you only grow a few plants at a time. You see your plants in old pictures and think, "I remember you!" 🌱

[South Sierra Dude]

KRV is not pinpoint accurate but it seems you have me at a disadvantage.

[GanjaGed]

Was guessing because of the name

Went to Wallace and KVHS

[SinsemillaScientist]

You are all great!!! I love seeing the diversity In this growing forum, it's wonderful how people who have fine tuned to completely different (yet equally the same) growing styles and methods, and the best part is the end result we all look for! I'm really glad I started this thread, it's been very eye opening, informative, and overall fun!!

[Flockshot]

Some of the diversity is from personal preference or personal experience. However, since we are from all over the world, some of the diversity is just coping with local conditions that others don't need to consider. The good news is that the plant can adapt too.

[berrypilot]

🌱 Exactly! There is no best way! What works best in one grower's environment might not work as well in someone else's environment! And in my opinion, if you make it to harvest you grew it the right way! 🌱