A question about ideal light penetration

Currently, I have five plants on a 24h veg under a T5. They are roughly 2 months old, and are BEASTS. They are clearly ready to be flowered, but the 1000w is about 2-3 weeks away. Three of them are bushed out serious, almost 3ft wide. I've pinched and bent them throughout the veg cycle, which explains the massive outward growth. Ideally, they should have been trained a while ago, but that isn't the case. What I'm worried about is the lack of light penetration into the inner bud sites when flowering starts.

Basically, my question is: What is the best way to prepare them for flowering in a way that won't stress them out too much but will allow proper light into the middle and lower parts of the plants? Granted, they will still be ridiculous without any sort of alterations, but I want to maximize yield, especially considering how solid the genetics are and how proper they look right now. It would be a shame not to.

I was considering pruning the inner leaves, but I am worried about the possible stress that may cause, especially with the 12/12 cycle coming up very soon. Also, the temperature is in the low-mid 60's. I figured tying them into certain positions would probably be the best idea, but I've never done this, as this is my first indoor grow. I've grown outdoors a few times, but I've never really had to worry about this as space wasn't a factor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I would like to make moves relatively quickly in order to prepare for the weeks ahead.

Your best bet is to surround the plant with as many cfl lights as possible. Cfls have limited penetration so they should be in very close proximity to the plant, within 3-4 inches. This can sometimes be a hassle as you have to move them a lot but it is well worth it in the end. You also want to purchase 2700k cfls for flowering because this light spectrum helps to induce flowering as it is similar to the light spectrum the plant would recieve outdoors during late summer/early fall and you can use your T5 in addition to the 2700k bulbs as well. You also want to always make sure the bulbs are NEVER touching the buds. This can severely stunt growth and seriously fuck up your crop. They can touch leaves although this is not ideal either but not as detrimental to the finished product. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Sorry, I saw the word "penetration" in the subject line and was naturally drawn into your thread....



Consider me sub'ed!!

Akay said:

Your best bet is to surround the plant with as many cfl lights as possible. Cfls have limited penetration so they should be in very close proximity to the plant, within 3-4 inches. This can sometimes be a hassle as you have to move them a lot but it is well worth it in the end. You also want to purchase 2700k cfls for flowering because this light spectrum helps to induce flowering as it is similar to the light spectrum the plant would recieve outdoors during late summer/early fall and you can use your T5 in addition to the 2700k bulbs as well. You also want to always make sure the bulbs are NEVER touching the buds. This can severely stunt growth and seriously fuck up your crop. They can touch leaves although this is not ideal either but not as detrimental to the finished product. Hope this helps. Good luck!

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i agree with all of this. i wouldn't cut anything if i could at all avoid it. just watch the heat with the extra light. floro light eventually builds heat like any other light. you could also get t5 strips for side light and they are easier to manipulate and they don't concentrate the heat quite so much. depending on your setup they might work out best.

Prune the inner sun and fan leaves off and allow light into the plant. Don't buy in to that "don't touch a leaf" BS. Pruning releases auxin, and auxin encourages new growth, which in turn increases yields. Unless you are growing to harvest huge fan leaves, remove them. Remove any small branches or stems that won't be reaching the canopy for light. This is a great time to take cuttings for clones. Clean the plant out. You should see nothing but stalk and stems branching out, for the first several inches from soil to the bottom of the canopy. If you can't even see your main stalk, you have some serious pruning to do.

Pruning encourages new growth. It also prevents disease and discourages pests. Pruning allows the plant to respire better. I challenge all growers to learn proper pruning techniques. Those that tell you not to touch a leaf have no idea what they are talking about. They can cite the solar panel analogy all they want. The truth of the matter is, a well pruned plant will outproduce one that is never pruned, every time. I discuss pruning, higher yields, hormones and auxin in my current grow thread, linked in my sig. Check it out if you are interested.