Quadlining

[Doubledealing72]

I have had a few people asking me about how I've been training my plants, so I figured I would make a thread that goes through each step. Most of my journals are just focused on if they are healthy or not, and pics of them every week.

I'll cover the two terms I will be discussing, and then it will be story time lol.

QUADLINING (I previously referred to this as a "double mainline") - Leaving just 2 nodes on when the plant has about 4-6 nodes. (I normally leave the 2nd and 3rd node on, but I see people on other sites leave the 3rd and 4th nodes on with good results).

MAINLINING - Leaving only a single node on when the plant has about 4-6 nodes.

Story time!

I started mainlining autos after seeing green75's thread on how to do it. He also has YouTube videos on how he does it, so if a video helps you get the idea better than pics, then YouTube green75 and I'm sure you'll find what you need for mainlining an auto.

My yields slightly improved using this technique. I was ranging anywhere from 2 to 5 oz per plant, and was pretty happy with it.

The reason I bring up mainlining an auto is because it is what brought me to quadlining an auto. On a previous grow I decided to leave an extra node on to see how the plant would grow. I ended up with 9.8 oz off one auto, and I was ecstatic.

I couldn't be sure if it was the strain, the seed, or the quadline that got me those results, so the next grow I did an experiment. My experiment seemed to agree with my guesstimate that quadlining indeed gave better yields than mainlining.

So far I have quadlined 3 plants. My yields have been 9.8 oz, 4 oz, and 24.78 oz (this last one was a freak of nature. I wouldn't expect a 1.5 lbs per plant every time lol).

It just so happens that I'm starting training for 2 of my plants, so what a good time to show everyone the process step by step.

I have already removed the first node (coytledons do not count as a node), and I took the coytledons off too. I have heard that you aren't supposed to take off the coytledons, but I have done it on every single plant and have never had anything bad happen to the plant because of it.

Today, I took the top node off of the White widow CBD. She's a bit bigger than the bubba cheese, and the timing seemed right to take the top node off. Once the 3rd nodes branches get a little bigger, I will start training them down. So all that's left on the White widow CBD is the 2nd and 3rd nodes. Eventually, a birds eye view of the plant will look like an x.



I use 14 gauge electrical wire to stake the branches down. Make sure they are long enough to grab hold of the coco, or soil if thats what you're using. Sometimes I hear them ripping through roots as they are going in, but it doesn't seem to affect the plants overall health.

I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH TO BE GENTLE WHEN BENDING AND STAKING DOWN BRANCHES. Otherwise you might end up with a triline lol. Just lightly bend them back and forth until they feel more pliable. Then gently stake them down.

Here is where I am currently with these 2 plants. I'll update through the whole training period so people can see how it turns out.

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!


This is before any cutting on the White Widow CBD

After taking the coytledons and the first node

Before taking the 4th node

After taking the 4th node

Now it's a waiting game for a bit.

 

[Cronk]

Hey, great info. This is what I've done with my latest grow. and so far, so good. I have about 4 weeks to go and each plant has about 12 to 14 main colas. My only problem is that I should have trimmed a lot more down low so i have a lot of bushiness and some minor branches that will be larf. I'm ok with this as I'll make a tincture with that stuff. I need to be a bit more decisive and disciplined when trimming early on to avoid a messy bush. next time

overall, though I think it will be a larger yield than my previous 2 grows.

 

[Weed Pharma]

I have an ONYX which I was planning on giving the quadline a try- she is only 1 week old.
Nice looking plant and thread!

Yeah on the cotyledons.
They are part of the seed- a "pot placenta",lol which unlikely serve any futher function once you have a plant.
I don't think it matters what you do with them and superstition is often what causes growers to leave them on.

 

[Cloud]

Great info ty

 

[Cronk]

BTW, I also got here from Green75 and his methods, as well as the tutorial here by NebulaHaze.

 

[Canuck147]

Thanks for this info - how far away do you hang you cobs?

 

[Doubledealing72]

During seedling/veg stage around 24 inches. Once they hit flower, I go about 18 inches. They've been as close as 12 inches before, but I don't like them that close if I can help it

 

[Doubledealing72]

I also need to work on trimming lower stuff early on so the main colas can be the focus of the plant. I am always just afraid of hurting yield lol.

 

[Doubledealing72]

Very cool! Feel free to post pics on this thread as you go along too!

 

[Doubledealing72]

You're welcome! I hope it helps at least a few people!

 

[FlyingDutchPaddy]

hi mcubed,

i've currently got a plant that a quadlined
borrowed your idea

trimmed it yesterday...

 

[Doubledealing72]

That's a nice looking plant FDP! Keep us updated on how she turns out from here!

 

[Cronk]

you know. going back to the beginning of my grow post I see that I left 3 nodes on each plant. 3, 4, and 5. then I topped each one of those, A few of those I topped again. I thought I had done the X but for some reason I did this and kind of forgot about it. It's been tough to manage because they've gotten bushy after I defoled but I count upwards of 16-18 colas. No idea what will happen.

 

[Doubledealing72]

Interesting! I feel like that's how a lot of people do it. If they top at the 3rd, then they are left with 3 nodes.

I personally don't do any topping after I cut everything off. Once I have my 2 main nodes, I just train the branches and let them grow out.

I plan on updating here shortly. Just had a busy week so I didn't have too much time to post lol

Curious to see how yours turns out!

 

[Cronk]

I took the 1st, 2nd & 6th, keeping 3rd, 4th & 5th. It was a 5 to 6 week thing, though

 

[Doubledealing72]

Keep us updated on how she progresses! Are you doing autos or photos?

 

[Cronk]

photos. I have some pics from today up on my grow thread
https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/275331-3rd-grow-pics

 

[Doubledealing72]

Your plants are looking great Cronk! Eager to see how they finish!

 

[Doubledealing72]

Today was a great day to post some before and after pics. I opened the tent to find a few of the girls branches that were staked down had pulled themselves up. This happens when the stake isn't far enough down in the coco to get a good bite, and/or when the plant is really strong (and they certainly can be!)

On the White widow CBD, the branch on the bottom that I had pulled itself up, and it was already really stiff. This took a good 5 minutes of slowly bending this branch to get it close to where I wanted it.

I took a close up of where it meets the main stem, and it's really hard to tell, but it started splitting from the main. It's a very small tear, which happens sometimes and I'm not too worried about. I imagine it will be a slightly bigger tear when I check on it tonight, but as along as it's still mostly attached, it should be good.

I started training the top 2 stems on bubba cheese. She is looking really good overall.

In the next few days, I will probably end up removing the really big fan leaves on both of these plants. Just something I have always done when they get to be around this stage of growth.

Have a great day everyone, and stay warm.

Bubba cheese Before

Bubba Cheese after

White widow CBD before

White widow CBD after, along with close up of split from main stem

 

[Cronk]

thanks