Nutes and Nugs
Well-Known Member
i actually retired the metal halides i had because the plants respond better to CFL.
MH was keeping them a little too short for my likes and internode spacing was too tight, which made trimming later a bigger pain in the ass.
with CFLs, they grow a little lankier which works for my growing style.
after they establish roots as clones in the tray, i transplant and let them get really tall in 18 oz dixie cups with little sidebranching at first. then they get topped hard (and the tops used as clones) when they get transplanted to N1 containers.
that's when they really start to sidebranch out. after a week or two, i usually prune and chuck the bottom 3-5 branches, leaving 4-6 really nice branches up top. those develop until it's time for flowering.
the end result is a nice bare stem for the first 12 inches or so and a vigorous bunch of tops which go crazy once they get under the HPS. after about a week or so in flower, after they stretch and get the "neckbeard" look and i start to remove any useless plant material too low down on the plant.
the end result is a beautiful canopy, no popcorn buds, and no wasted light. efficiency is key in indoor growing.
Well, you get a Gold star for the day.