Outdoor stems cracking

[Chizy]

Outdoor grow, 20 gal smart pots, unusually hot summer in CA. Over a month into flower, platinum og clone has splits in lower stalks that just opened up. Noticed while inspecting after watering, could feel moisture coming out of the largest split. Water daily in the morning due to 100 degree temps. Feed 2x a week, gh flora nova bloom and floralicious, Cali magic every 2-3 weeks. Used grotek pro silicate during veg. 5 other plants on same regimen but different strains, no issues. Plant appears healthy but splits just started. Any ideas on what I’m dealing with or advice would be appreciated. She’s over a month from harvest and already super frosty so I don’t want to lose her.

 

[GroBuddy]

Do you use sillica? If not grotek sillica would help that from happening. I grow in southern new Mexico desert same dry heat no rain. Sillica helps plants grow in that condition and strengthens cell walls.

 

[Ckbrew]

Blue painter's tape wrapped around the splits.

 

[desertdan]

One of the reasons it is not good to defoliate an outdoor plant. The shade leaves are there to shade the stalk.

 

[Chizy]

Thank you desertdan, makes perfect sense. I guess I got chop happy in veg trying to eliminate the branches that would eventually be larfy useless buds. I need to find that line between useless and useful growth, and not cut it.

 

[GroBuddy]

Larf outdoors stop lol I don't think I've ever had boof weed from a outdoor plant. Growing with a lower end grow light that didn't penetrate my plants canopy I've hard larf never from the sun that I can remember