cool beans
Registered on
Jul-08-2004
More User Info
|
Message #84442 posted by cool beans (Info) February 29, 2008 19:36:56 ET
In Reply to: topping bending and pinching posted by yummie (Info) February 29, 2008 19:00:04 ET
Wow, thats a big Q, and it takes practice to get each method down pat. I did a good amount of whats nowadays called "pinch & bend" some time ago, so i'll try and help with that. It used to be called "supercropping"
I'm not sure how LST {low stress training} fits in the category either, but its also a good method to use.
For P&B, we used to let the girls grow in veg mode 20/4 until they got to about 3ft tall. Then we would flip into bloom {12/12} mode. After a week, when the "stretch" began, we would crush the lower stem with a pair of pliers. The "pinch" would always be above the lowermost 2 branches. Generally about 1 foot abouve the soil line or top of media. Dont cut anything, just squeeze it until it pops and cracks and flattens You may need to move up or down the stem slightly to expand the pinch area.
The idea is to make the stem soft so it bends over to nearly horizontal. Hold the stem in that position with a stake, tape, ziptie, string, or whatever works to hold it in place.
The hormones in the plant will then redistribute, and make all the branches grow upward as a main cola. Done right, it can really increase the amount and size of all the branches.
One tip with this method is to ALWAYS keep the main top slightly higher than the branch tops at all times. We found that if the main top grew below{horizontally} the branch tops, it seemed to limit the bud size in both the maintop, and the branch tops.
All the methods you ask about involved redistributing the plant hormones {Auxins,i think} from the main top, to the branch tips. They all work fine, and like growing methods, its whichever way works in your garden.
|
