1st grow, is this gettin too crowded? (pruning help)

Hi there! This is my first grow, I currently have 4 big buddha bubble cheese and four crimea blue (just over 4 weeks old) and one kings kush and one himilaya gold (around 6 weeks old). These are squeezed into an area around 3' x 3', with the front four being the bubble cheese, the middle row being kings kush (bit of a runt), him gold (topped twice to slow it down!) and crimea blue, and the back 3 crim blue as well.

As you can see from the pics it is getting a little crowded in there, all plants are from around 12" to 18" tall, with some wider than they are tall. For this reason Im thinking of flowering very soon (they have been under a 600w hps with coolstar hood for a long time and flowering under this also, currently about 18" away). I am wondering what sort of pruning I should perform (if any), maybe something like lollipopping as theyre not gonna have much room for side growth, and to get better airflow. Height shouldnt be an issue with around 6' to work with, what do you guys think? Do I need to trim the fan leaves that are overlapping other plants or not bother? A big harvest is my main goal really so which method so I employ to get the most bud? Thanks in advance!

It looks pretty damn crowded in there. If it's crowded during vegging it's going to packed during flowering. You have to be prepared for the possibility that your plants will triple in size during flowering. So think how filled that space is going to be with 3 times the amount of plant material.

I think you have two options. Either remove a couple plants or remove all the lower growth and concentrate on a big, phat canopy. There is no way light will reach the lower branches.

Thats what I thought. Removing plants isnt really an option as I have no where suitable to put them, so this would just be a waste. So I should remove literally everything that comes off the main stem for the first 3rd right ? What about secondary branches that start higher than this, or will these just merge into the main cola? Also what about big fan leaves that overlap, shall I trim these so they are kept within theyre own space?

yeah just trim the lower 3rd. i use mine for clones or discard if i really have to. i hate to see waste but we all have to come to grips with killing of excess that would not grow/produce properly. this will also allow more growth to be directed to the canopy. also make sure that you have good airflow above and below the canopy height.

peace.

Ok thanks for the help. Just trimmed the bottom third, looks alot more airy in there now. I'm ok to jus leave the top half though yea?

Do not cut off your fan leaves. This is your life blood for your buds at harvest. If they overlap that is not that bad. Better than not having them.

Maybe try to LST them a little to fill in empty areas thus alowing the fuller areas to have more room. But from looking at your pics it looks pretty damn full in there.

Better yet, after looking at the pics a 2nd time I think you should hang your fan up and move that box out of the way. Then pull your pots into that area. Looks like it would give you a couple more square feet to work with.

dont worry bout it......yo just keep the plants rotated every day or so......try to clear up floor space for plants only..(ie hang everything if u can, fans, ducting, lights u get it).... Im using the 4ftx4ft by 6ft tall dark room and am flowering 16 plants in there as we speak......lollipopped the bottoms and put the focus on the tops.....Plus im running 1200w son with temps at 75 degrees boyyyyyy!! lol

cut nothing off them and flower now.
if you do that you will be able to double harvest them again once you have some nice top buds as they will be ready first.

LUDA.
(just message me again if you need anything else).

Man dont cut on any of them thats a good rep on the sea of green philosaphy man those look awesome that light will absorb enough in the top that it will help growth under neath just not quit as nice as the top colas man i would never trim on those plants those are some good looking plants love to see them once a few weeks in flowering

if anything get you afew cfls under neath in 2700k that would help you get some bud growth underneath your talkin maybe 3 or 4 42 watts just a idea tho