Wattze: Grow 3

[Wattze]

You're so awesome, thank you!! I have plenty of big fan leaves, I also trimmed a lot of the bottoms tonight, so I'll wait to see how she reacts, then take those bigger leaves!
They don't need those for anything? For building the buds or anything? Or does the plant just do that naturally all on its own? My tent is extremely thick, so I just wanna be sure I'm taking the right amount 😅
Thank you so much for your help Nebula!

 

[Tika]

I agree and its hard to do-I am filling a can everytime I feed. I worry about shocking them in flower-but they gotta go
Nice post...thanks

 

[NebulaHaze]

That's actually the great debate about defoliation. Some people say it can't work to increase yields because the plant needs those leaves to make energy. And it's true that a plant won't grow as fast if it has few leaves. However, there's something about the flowering stage where defoliation early on causes the plant to focus on colas, and those colas get really thick and fat compared to if the buds were covered by leaves. It's not just cannabis that does this. Other commercial crops like cotton need to be defoliated early on in their flowering stage order to produce the best yields and quality.

It makes sense in a way because in the wild there's no reason for a cannabis plant to grow buds that don't get wind, and cannabis is a wind-pollinated plant. But even if we don't exactly understand why they developed this tendency, for some reason cannabis plants only seem to fatten the buds that get direct light and a breeze, and defoliation is one way to accomplish that. But once the plant has developed the bud sites and it's just fattening them, I feel like defoliation doesn't help much if at all as long as the buds remain exposed to light and air.

Some growers disagree with me, and you'll find that if you ask 10 different growers about defoliation you'll get 10 different ways to defoliate! There is no one right answer, and you'll see lots of different ways to approach defoliation get great results. But for me, defoliation is more about "telling" the plant what it should focus on right at the beginning of the flowering stage when buds are forming during the first 3-4 weeks, than after that I mostly let it do it's thing. That's what I've found that growers do with other types of crops like cotton and cowpeas, and at least some commercial cannabis growers, and that's what's worked well for me!

I wrote a little bit about my thoughts on defoliation here if you're interested! http://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum...gest-question-about-growing?p=76103#post76103

 

[Wattze]

Very very wonderful! And I can agree with both sides, maybe it just depends on genetics, growing environment, equipment (fans), etc., it's like you said, it's the great debate!
It is only my third real Grow, so there's lots of time to experiment and see what works best, and when. I do gotta say, your site is what taught me and brought me to where I am, so you haven't done me wrong! I appreciate the help so much, and thank you for your time! I hope you'll stick around to see this one finish!

Side note, I did remove more of those bigger leaves (there's quite a few, actually) so hopefully that does help in the production of the buds! I do like a little defoliation lol

 

[Wattze]

Found myself doing the same, was going to take a few, but ended up filling up a plastic bag lol but I gotta remind myself, I'm plucking from 5 plants 😅 Either way, gotta go! Lol so glad to have you, Tika 😊

 

[Wattze]

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Just a sneak peak for tomorrow's update, today is day 20, tomorrow marks 3 weeks flower!

 

[NebulaHaze]

Great bud development so far!

 

[Wattze]

Thank you, NebulaHaze! That means a lot! 😊😊

 

[Tika]

" yours are bigger" I think! Really looking super Wattze! I am feeding today and. STILL filling a can and cutting the non producing stems. I really hope to back off shortly. If anything it will be an interesting experiment although I loathe low yields....
Already planning to germinate the next grow...no more down time for weddings! Totally delighted for you

 

[Wattze]

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Today Is day 23 of flower!
These pictures were actually taken Monday and Tuesday, But it can get crazy here at night lol so here they are currently! Loving the light today!

 

[NebulaHaze]

Absolutely lovely!

 

[Wattze]

Thank you so much, NebulaHaze!
I'm so glad you're sticking around for this one! 😊

 

[Wattze]

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My white Lavender and Aurora Indica this beautiful morning.
Day 25 flower

 

[NebulaHaze]

Yes they are!

 

[Tika]

Beautiful!

 

[Wattze]

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I ran out of rope ratchet room, but I ended up just bypassing the rope ratchets altogether, and hung the light straight up! But it's perfect now, because my Aurora will stop blistering, and the light is waaay more evenly spread to everyone!

Nothing new here beside that, the ladies are looking great!

 

[Wattze]

Thank you very much, ladies! 😊😍

 

[Tika]

Indeed they are

 

[9fingerleafs]

Ay caramba!! That's a frosty plant my friend looking great

 

[Wattze]

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I think I actually got the pictures labeled, but here are a few of the ladies on the after hours.
Day 32 of flower.