SD's First Grow - 600w HPS

mcpurple said:

i would top and not FIM all FIM is, is a fucked up toping attempt and topping is easy. i like to top before lst, i top using UBS method for four maintops witch is topping at the second node, the after it shoots up 4 main tops tie those down ina x shape and then let those grow up a bit and you can continue to lst or top each shoot again

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SmeLLyTreeZ said:

Couldn't have said it any better, I attempted to FIM and it didn't do shit.. Topping is very simple and turns out pretty bad ass!!

Thats exactly how I did my kandykush mcpurple with 2 toppings and a couple branches needed lsting to even out the canopy. Shes turning out sexy as ever!!

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It looks like topping is the preferred method around here. I just read through Uncle Ben's guide so I think I'm ready to do it. I'll post some pics when I do it.

sfsurfer said:

They look awesome man, very healthy! I would definitely start LST when they're this small. I started around this time and couldnt be happier (check my thread if you want a week by week LST from clone) I would recommend that when you do LST them, that you bend the main tip one direction and the second largest branch on the opposite side of the stem the other direction. This way your plant will spread out evenly instead of growing on just one side. I made this mistake, check out the difference

This plant hadnt grown a second branch for me to LST out and ended up being the smallest of my 5 (this was my first LST grow so I learned the hard way). You can see how it has not completely covered the pot.
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This plant I trained in both directions by bending the main tip one direction and a secondary branch in the opposite. You can see how I started the LST and the way it finished completely covering the pot. I also noticed significantly more growth spots on this one because it grew in 2 directions.
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Thanks for all the picture comparisons, they help out alot. You can really see the difference that the LST'd second branch makes.

I finally set up my HPS and tested it. I still have a few more weeks until it gets used but I wanted to see how the light worked in the space.




As soon as money gets right, I want to pick up a new reflector. Any suggestions for a decent one?

I should've got square pots to maximize the space in my veg chamber. Now I know

I finally gathered the courage to top my plants. I tried Uncle Ben's method for 4 colas. Being that this is my first time, I hope I didn't screw anything up.




I also tried LST on one plant. This particular plant has just begun to grow it's side branches. Now that it I've tied it down it doesn't look like those sites are getting much light. Do you tie down depending on the leaf growth or will the plant adjust naturally and grow up to the light regardless?



I gave them a pretty heavy feeding Friday night and I noticed slightly burnt tips on some of the plants. Nothing major though so I'm guessing that I barely over did it with my nutes. Should nutes be stepped up weekly or can I step up a little whenever they get fed?

Your going to love the results of the topping, looks good! Uncle bens technique is how I learned too.

The new light setup is sick btw!!!

Thanks, I'm glad that it looks good because I was nervous as hell while I was doing it. I wasn't sure if I had gone down far enough or if I had gone down too much.

I had planned on having some plants under the HPS by now but I decided to let them veg longer. Winter is officially here so I'm not in a rush. I figure I'll have something to smoke around Feb.

How far are you keeping the light away? Its the 600 watts right?

Yea, its a 600. I have it about 16" above that 5 gallon pot that's pictured. My plants are in 2 gal containers now so that distance is more like 18-20".

While we're on the subject, should I be gradually increasing the distance of the CFL's on my veg side? The plants are all doing well with minimal stretch but I'm sure that they're supposed to grow upwards even a little bit.

SkunkDunks said:

I finally gathered the courage to top my plants. I tried Uncle Ben's method for 4 colas. Being that this is my first time, I hope I didn't screw anything up.

View attachment 1256271View attachment 1256272
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I also tried LST on one plant. This particular plant has just begun to grow it's side branches. Now that it I've tied it down it doesn't look like those sites are getting much light. Do you tie down depending on the leaf growth or will the plant adjust naturally and grow up to the light regardless?

View attachment 1256275View attachment 1256274

I gave them a pretty heavy feeding Friday night and I noticed slightly burnt tips on some of the plants. Nothing major though so I'm guessing that I barely over did it with my nutes. Should nutes be stepped up weekly or can I step up a little whenever they get fed?

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Nice job with the top! As long as you did your research (as you apparently did, uncle ben's method id one of the best) you should have no problem. The LST you did looks pretty good also! I would suggest tying a counter string to the stems base to make sure it doesnt bend completely flat against the ground tho (puts a little more stress on the plant) The whole point of LST is to move the main tip below the secondary tips tricking the plant into thinking its main tip was cut off or blocked. It will then focus its energy on growing out the secondary tips in order to replace the main tip. Then you tie those down and so on until you end up with a super bushy plant! It doesnt matter so much how far down you pull the main tip, just that it is shorter than the others. I would definitely use LST on your topped plants once the new tips grow an inch or two. Looks great man keep up the good work!

Oh and if the smaller growth spots arenet getting too much light, just tie the fan leaves off to the side (DO NOT cut them just reposition them!) I had to do that a lot on my current grow but it works like a charm.

You know, I was wondering about how low to take it. I'll cut a notch in the lip of the pot and use string to get the stem up a bit. I'll also reposition the fan leaves to get more light to the new growth. Thanks for the tips.

Keep your cfl's 1-3 inches away. They will stretch when put into flowering.

SkunkDunks said:

You know, I was wondering about how low to take it. I'll cut a notch in the lip of the pot and use string to get the stem up a bit. I'll also reposition the fan leaves to get more light to the new growth. Thanks for the tips.

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Anytime! If you have any questions about LST feel free to ask, I spent a few weeks filling my head with LST info before my current grow and feel like ive got it down halfway decent.

sfsurfer said:

Anytime! If you have any questions about LST feel free to ask, I spent a few weeks filling my head with LST info before my current grow and feel like ive got it down halfway decent.

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You definitely sound like you have it down I've done my fair share of lst so far but more topping and they both work great, even better together!!

SmeLLyTreeZ said:

You definitely sound like you have it down I've done my fair share of lst so far but more topping and they both work great, even better together!!

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That's what I'm hoping for. I'm not expecting a monster yield for this first grow but I want to get good growing habits/techniques established for great grows in the future.

BTW, I finally made it over to your Kandy Kush grow, awesome man.

nice move on skunk... keep up the gains. cant wait to hear about your progress over the next few weeks aye. wicked!

SkunkDunks said:

That's what I'm hoping for. I'm not expecting a monster yield for this first grow but I want to get good growing habits/techniques established for great grows in the future.

BTW, I finally made it over to your Kandy Kush grow, awesome man.

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Thanks skunk! You should be well on your way to having a healthy yield but like you said this time around its more a trial run to see what type of techniques you will use and perfect in the future..

SkunkDunks said:

I finally gathered the courage to top my plants. I tried Uncle Ben's method for 4 colas. Being that this is my first time, I hope I didn't screw anything up.

View attachment 1256271View attachment 1256272
View attachment 1256270View attachment 1256269

I also tried LST on one plant. This particular plant has just begun to grow it's side branches. Now that it I've tied it down it doesn't look like those sites are getting much light. Do you tie down depending on the leaf growth or will the plant adjust naturally and grow up to the light regardless?

View attachment 1256275View attachment 1256274

I gave them a pretty heavy feeding Friday night and I noticed slightly burnt tips on some of the plants. Nothing major though so I'm guessing that I barely over did it with my nutes. Should nutes be stepped up weekly or can I step up a little whenever they get fed?

Click to expand...

looks good man. did you top at the 2nd node?
and if you need any help with lst i have a whole thread of pics and info and other helpfull tips in the thread inthe link below, just post any Q you have theri and theri will be a numerous of responses to help you out if needed

mcpurple said:

looks good man. did you top at the 2nd node?

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Thanks, that's where I did it. It's been a day or so since I've topped them and I can already see the side branches beginning to shoot out.



I also took sfsurfer's advice and tied the stem up a bit on the plant that I LST'd.



It's already started to reposition it's leaves toward the light. I still need to move the fan leaves around a bit to get light where it counts.

I'm heading over to that LST thread now to read up on it.

you did a nice job topping, but you did it on the 3rd node, 1 more down is the second, but it will be fine either way. and having light on the bigger leaves is where it counts the most

Ah, I guess I've been counting nodes wrong this whole time then. You count down from the top though, correct, and each set of leaves is a node?

you count from the bottom up, so the first node is where the single leafs are and where the small branches are coming out right above the cotyledons. if you look at pic number 2 the 2nd node is right in the middle then above that is the 3rd. and yes pretty much eahc new leaf set is a node it is where the branches will come out. it actually appears that you topped on the 4th node now that i looked closer, but like i said it is ok and will still work to your advantage

Ah I see. If I topped at the 2nd node, can anything be done with the top that's taken off, like reroot it or is it not worth the time?

I'm guessing that I'll just end up with 2 instead of 4 colas then.