Running out of room vertically... need advice

I'd thought I would post an update and let you all know how it worked out doing the bends and super cropping after over a month in veg. That part of it worked out really well, I ended up with plenty of vertical growing room and all the plants healed nicely with big fat knuckles. It's not the way I would do it again certainly but i think it helped save this first grow.

As a few of you pointed out my lights were way too high off the tops and everything stretched which I think was the root of the problem.

If I wouldn't have super cropped it measures out that a couple plants would be over 6' tall. They vegged for about 6 weeks before going 12/12. I wouldn't have gone so long but I didn't have a fully light tight room until after 6 weeks.

2 weeks into flower I noticed that one of the plants ( a lemon Kush ) turned into a hermaphrodite I am guessing as I found the banana like seeds along side a few branches of flowers. So I removed it immediately from the grow room. The funny thing is that plant I never tied down as the 2 lemon Kush plants didn't stretch like the other breeds. I had staked it long time ago during veg but that's all. It seemed to be one of the healthiest plants as well. So I'm not sure what turned it, I am crossing my fingers that it doesn't happen to any of the other plants.

Thanks so much for everyone's help and suggestions getting me off on my first grow and saving the day.

Yes

Katie M. said:

Hotshot, caught something.. Ive been having the lights way too far away. I got burns on them when the light was about 20" and also thought I had read 400w MH averaged about 24" from tops and to go 1000w it would need double the distance or 4' above the tops. I just saw that light chart.

Maybe burned cause they were little babies freshly transplanted. So Ive already started lowering the lights. And only need to allocate 10-36" with 1000w according to chart. So that helps. Maybe thats why they are so stretchy and not bushy. I do have a fan blowing the heat up away from plants as well as an outtake right next to the light, and an AC. I've had no probs with getting it the temp it needs to be. Thinking I would get a glass enclosed hood for the 1000w I havent bought yet.

I was also curious about sunshine's response... Is there any reason why I cant chop the tops off the tall ones and make them clones ? Will they bush out if I do this as well as super cropping them and LST them? Or will topping them just give me lower yield as there are lot less nodes, given they are already so stretchy, tall, and lanky? Maybe top them and SC them and then Veg another week or 2?

If my tent is 80" tall, and I use a 1000w HPS, what is the maximum height I can let them go to before switching to 12/12? Is that irrelevant after I SC them and they start to grow horizontal?

Thanks all!

Click to expand...

You can top still and take them as clones. I would advise this oversuper cropping. Your plant will double or more in height from the start to finish of flower. So last day of veg the plant is 42" it will finish at least 84".