Deliberate Stretching

Comparing apples to oranges.
Dirt is always slower than hydro growing.
The stretch in veg is useless, ideal plants have nice tight nodes, the tighter the better.
If you are worried about height of plants when you flip to flower, buy some bushmaster, stops stretching during flower.
As far as trimming fans, many people have their opinions on that.
I trim my fans off when growin SOG, plants lose all the big fans off the main stem and main branches. I cut em off at day 25, I leave enough leaves for no ill effect on the plant.

jollytime said:

IS a 85 watt clf enought to germinate 8 seeds and veg to 20 inches?

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This isn't really the thread for that question.

Look at my CFL Tutorial link at my signature, and there is a section on the first page of HOW MUCH LIGHT?

I guess if you are using CFL's it makes sense. Any lighting from strictly the top this won't hold true. You aren't going to get more light penetration by INCREASING the distance from the light source which stretching will do.

No one said it was a complicated concept, it just doesn't make much sense is all. But then neither does the ridiculous closet full of CFL's and wires and shit everywhere so I guess this explains where the logic came from.

Roseman said:

Contrary to what a lot of other growers get, mine do not STRETCH hardly any at all during Flowering.
I keep my CFLS one or two inches close at all times, VEG or FLOWER but expecially during FLOWERING. But with lack of penetration with CFLs, I STRETCH them at two weeks and again at three weeks of VEGGING, then use SIDE LIGHTS to get in between the nodes during FLOWERING to tighten my buds.

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actually this is same for me! third grow i am on...first two grows i did not get very much stretching other than the colas growing....this time i did not touch two plants as far as topping or fimming and both plants center cola jumped up 10" higher than the rest of the plant.

thanks

Peace

BudFreak420 said:

Wow i dont see how this is so hard to understand but i got exactly what he was saying the first time
its very simple . u streach ur plants for a short period of time for air circulation and some more light penetration to some lower leaves = bigger harvest. try it then complain people!

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Thanks BudFreak420, I am glad someone gets it.
Try to help some poeple and I get attacked and criticised for something they never even tried.
Three times I said
"It works for me."

I 'm giving you +REP and adding you to my friends list today.

Roseman, for as long as you've been around you've NEVER stopped CAPITALIZING every other WORD in all of your POSTS? And have you ever tried HID's? Why the huge mess with all the CFL's? This isn't an anti-cfl post either, just curious if you've ever run HPS?

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, When a large FAN leaf starts yellowing, say it is half yellow, that means in the photosynthesis process, that leaf has ate nutes, sucked in some LIGHT and made food for the plant and buds and NOW, half of that is gone, or used or consumed. Well, what about the other half? Can it not it's energy still be used or consumed?
AND when it is ALL consumed or used, that leaf will naturally just fall off.

AND you say it is blocking LIGHT?
GREAT and GOOD, that means it is getting the LIGHT it needs and deserves more than the other leaves do, to do it's job.


Years ago I tried removing lower fan leaves to allow more Light to penetrate in. When i did, the plant went into shock for a day or two, and quit eating or only ate half as much, and just went on "stand by" mode. Then, after a day or two, suddenly, I saw that big fan leaf replaced by a new leaf, and I saw my plant use the energy to replace that leaf, more than it used it to grow bigger and make more buds or bigger buds.

I now believe that removing fan leaves is pointless, and that a leaf has a purpose and will serve that purpose until it is dead. Then it will fall off.


Don't ever remove fan leaves before harvest for several reasons.

1. The fan leaves MAKE AND STORE energy for the plant. The fan leaves are doing a process called photosynthsis, and it is the most important part or task or job the plant does, to make it grow. They make the FOOD, the sugars and carbs needed to grow.

If you remove a FAN leaf, the plant will stop growing taller until it can replace that removed fan leaf.

Removing a healthy fan leaf is a big waste of time..they are rapided replaced,, unless you are in the last few weeks of flowering.


2. Even if the fan leaves are yellowing in late bloom I do not remove them until they are almost ready to fall off. The yellowing in the fan leaves at late harvest is the plants metabolism at work. She is transferring all stored energy in the fan leaf to bud production. It is the easiest source of energy she has late in life.



From the Growers Bible by Jorge Cervantes:
Leave leaves alone! Removal of healthy leave hacks up a healthy plant. Removing large or shade leaves DOES NOT make plants more productive. This practice DOES NOT supply more light to smaller leaves and growing tips. Plants need all their leaves to produce the maximum amount of chlorophyll and food. Removing leaves slows chlorophyll production, stresses the plant, and stunts its growth. Stress is a growth inhibitor. Remove only dead leaves or leaves that are more than 50 percent damaged.

just zip tie 2 leaf sets on top of each other for more node spankin' light.

We use this method when our plants are just shorter than they need to be for instance someone like me that topps alot to get larger yields works great for me topping keeps the plant short and it might need to be taller at what stage of growth their in..I use this method for that

laserbrn said:

Roseman, for as long as you've been around you've NEVER stopped CAPITALIZING every other WORD in all of your POSTS? And have you ever tried HID's? Why the huge mess with all the CFL's? This isn't an anti-cfl post either, just curious if you've ever run HPS?

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I guess capitalizing is just my style, I have no real answer to that one.

Simply, in 2007, I read and read and read and read about growing indoors, trying to get my courage up to try it indoors. After about 6 months of reading, vasilating in indecision, being wishy washy, procrastinating, I decided on a STEALTH grow, a small grow, a SOG grow that was short VEGGED a week or two, in a small closet, just 3 plants. I was ignorantly paranoid about helicopters finding my HID lights, (LOL, I know, I was naive and dumb too) I kept reading that CFLs were the New and Inovative Alternative to floursecent tubes and HID lights. I was also ignorantly paranoid about an electric bill being too high and being noticed.
I also decided $60 for lights or $150 to $250 for lights? Hmmmm, easy decision there for a novice first time newbie indoor grower.
After my research, I decided on two 65 watt bulbs, one of each spectrum or kevin, for my small grow, and to stay stealthy. Then, in early 2007, a 65 watt CFL was the largest made. Two weeks into my grow, I saw the new 85 watt CFLs on the market so I added two 85s. Then they were $40 each. I thought I was big time growing with 4 bulbs. 300 watts, oh wow!

But I still had little heat, NO venting, small closet and I got about 6 and half ounces of dried well manicured buds from my three females that I vegged for 5 weeks instead of 2 or 3.

Next grow, I added two more bulbs. Next grow, I saw 105 watt bulbs on the market and had to try them. Next grow, I found 42 watt bulbs at Lowes, with a Y spliter to use two in a reflector, as I saw Ed Rosenthal suggested and recomended.
and I just evolved or added more and more and more bulbs.

I saw newbies here, growing with only one or two 23 watt CFLs, and I decided to see just what could I do or get with CFLs, and so I added more bulbs.
Last grow, I rediculously used 1400 watts of CFLs in one closet, giving me about 8000 lumens per square foot of grow space, not counting the side lights. It just evolved or grew to be more and more bulbs. I still do not have to VENT out HEAT. And, LOL, I guess I am still capitalizing !!!

It just happens.

I do love helping newbies figure out how to determine how many CFLS, how to calculate lumens per sq foot, and how to use cheap easy to get CFLs to do their first grow.

I ordered a VENT Fan this week, and am borrowing some HPS lights soon, for next grow.
And the left hand just hits that SHIFT key and I don't know WHY!!!

LOL

Preace, bro

sorry man, i have to say this, but by stretching the plants you DO get more light on ur internodes, but thats because your using CFLS they dont penetrate but maybe a foot or so for the plant, thats why you have alot of side lights, stretching ur plant in veg wond do anything for you expcept make ur plant triple that size in flower, the only reason they stretch is because the grow towards the lights, sativa indica it doesnt matter, it will STILL stretch in flower, so what ur doing is just getting space between ur leaves so ur little cfls can shine thru, if you use a HID light you wouldnt have this problem, and a 600w HPS would only cost about 25$ on ur electricity bill, i use a 400w and its only 20$ more on mine. and the ONLY way you would get detected is if u vented out a window. Therefore stretching is REDUNDENT. regardless what what you THINK that stretching in veg is gonna keep from stretching in flower, ur dead wrong man, u say u keep ur cfls 2 inchs from the plant at ALL TIMES well there ya go. thats why you stretch ur plants, and if u got a better light source your plants would produce ALOT more than those cfls could ever and you wouldnt have to stretch them, the only thing ur doing by stretching them is causing urself to have more cfls around them because they will need it as the lack of light penetration. you got some good info sometimes roseman, but this one...this kinda contradicts itself a bit. hope i wasnt too much of a dick anywho nice plants man lol

sirbudmaster said:

actually this is same for me! third grow i am on...first two grows i did not get very much stretching other than the colas growing....this time i did not touch two plants as far as topping or fimming and both plants center cola jumped up 10" higher than the rest of the plant.

thanks

Peace

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thank you for the AMEN! + REP for you!

thanks 4 rep, i'd return the favor, but spread too much around, i've seen people clip leaf sets together for more light penetration, probably a lot better than trimming healthy sun leaves.

Roseman,

Yeah, you do love that shift key and I understand as I have some bad habits myself... (dot dot dot, I always do that...see)

I just can't believe that you run THAT many CFL's and I think that once you see what an HPS will do for you you won't go back. The widespread acceptance of your bubbleponics system has been amazing. It just seems strange that after all this time that is still the areas you focus so much attention on. Get a 600w HPS in the closet and see what we're ranting about.

I was going to +rep you, but I gotta spread it around...(there's the damn dot dot dot again).

I appreciate that you are always respectful.

can't you just feel the love? what difference does it make to you what light he uses?

indianaman said:

can't you just feel the love? what difference does it make to you what light he uses?

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It doesn't. When I see that grow room I don't know whether to laugh or to cringe. What a freakin' PITA, but then some people need a lot of interaction with their plants and managing all of those lights would definitely give you something to do.

yea no matter what lighting we all tryin to acheive the samething

indianaman said:

can't you just feel the love? what difference does it make to you what light he uses?

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I think Good Folks just want BETTER EXPERIENCES for other GOOD Folks.

PEACE