K0jin thank you for your time here. Youve helped so many people out. Well done. I tried to read tge entire thread, but skipped most of the 30's, as many questions were redundant. I hope i dont ask another redundant question as a result.
First: trying real hard to believe the no flush assertion. I mean, i do, in theory. Ive done the research, i seen your arguments, i understand the science. Now why, in spite of all of this, do i still think im going to do a final water and 1-2 days of rest just before i take my "A" buds? I feel like a supersticious Old fool. Ha! I wont be doing any extended final darkperiod either. This is impossible anyway due to daytime temps.
Second: can you talk a little about sugars? Many nute programs add a final sugar type product, others do not. Im running GO in soil in a greenhouse. The GO line does not include a "sweetener", per se. my questions are.... Should i add an additional sugar product? If so what? What kinds of sugars are best utilized by root zone organisms? Do any sugars actually get absorbed by the roots, or do they soley feed these organisms?
What is the science behind the sugar?
Third: I would like to take the upper branches, colas and some of the lower terminal buds, letting the lower inner stuff fluff a little. what should i do to the stem where i take the cola? Duct tape? Cloning gel would seal it, but would the hormones screw with my girls? Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
I have several ladies coming in hot and will probably post some pictures soon re: trichs. And again, thank you for all of your time and patience here.
"90% of weed growing knowledge is monkey see, monkey do"
Thank you for your kind words.
I guess it does come down to tradition and routine for some people, it can be hard to let go of things you've done for a long time, and certainly the brain can easily be taught/fooled into taking fiction for facts even when faced with evidence.
I don't personally have anything against people who pre-harvest flush, the only thing I ask is that people don't claim it's scientifically proven to work and/or try to teach it as fact/evidence to impressionable people.
Regarding sugar/molasses (or even honey which some people use) I would say that we need to make a distinction between the fictional, subjective fantasy part of the argument and the scientific.
The discussion surrounding sugars is very muddled and has as much to do with personal preference as it has to do with science, which is why the distinction is important to make.
Some of the things these formulas are mentioned to help with include; hardening the buds, growth spurts & flavour improvements.
I would argue that these three topics are highly mythical and subjective, some have to do with the conditions of the grow, some have to do with genetics & strains and some are just flat out myths.
I would not use any sugar additive to achieve any of these things since I personally see it as fairy stories and placebo/marketing successes.
What I mean is there is no concrete science backing up the claims.
I do think however that molasses & sugar formulas can help with stimulating the enzymes and beneficial bacteria environment in the grow medium.
This subject is not really up to debate (in contrast to the three previously mentioned), it's scientific fact that these sugars have their uses in soil and/or mediums which have an active living root system (presence of -and thriving Mycorrhizae).
In basic terms: The sugars & carbohydrates feed the bacteria which helps maintain a thriving root environment which in turn produces healthy plants.
If you do have access to molasses for example I would give it a go to see if you can improve the general well-being of your plants.
The root environment is also stimulated, however saying which exact formula works best is difficult as it depends on a lot of variables.
I would go with the basic molasses though and not fall into the marketing trap of the huge companies trying to make a quick buck.
I hope that explained it well enough.
If you do want to cut off parts of the plant while leaving the rest to flourish a bit longer I would just make sure the equipment used is as sterile as possible and then make sure you do not touch or add anything to the "open wounds" for at least 24h-48h after cutting, to reduce the chance of diseases.
You always run the risk though, you can never be 100% sure of no diseases setting in, but as long as you keep a clean environment and don't purposefully try to infect the plants with bad crap then you would probably be surprised at exactly how resistant some strains are to diseases etc.
Just try to cut off as little surface area as possible.
You're welcome, I hope the info helped
