Where do i cut my plants, and when do i cut them?

[Godlike Godless]

i have heard of topping a plant off (which i guess is cutting the top off, am i right?) and i have heard of cutting off nods (stems coming off of stems) 2-4 inches from the end of the sub-stem. could anybody who knows wat they r talking about give me some good information on this because i have never read any good info on this topic. but i heard that cutting off nods and topping plants off increases yield, so 1, should i do it? 2, is it ok for my plant? and 3, when do i do it? is there anything else i should cut ? i am hoping to shed some light on this topic for myself and others.

[Underpantsman]

Well there is topping and fimming, topping is when you take the whole new growth off the top and you get 2 new growth branches. Then there is fimming, where you cut the new top growth on the branchn but you leave some growth there(like a haircut) and you get multiple growths, I seen a guy on IC Mag get 5 new growth branches. I dont know much about fimming, but I do top some of my plants, and I try to do it under the growlights before I take them outside, because it just doesnt re-coop fast enough it seems like when I do it outdoors, get a lot of cloudy days and it can take awhile. But I usually do it if I do after the 5th or 6th set of leaves, just take the whole new growth right off of it.

I got some photos here.

You cant really see the cut, but the 2 new growths you can see and the fan leaves expanded at the cut



another one



Those photos are like 6 weeks old above.

Edit: 4 weeks, my gallery says May 8th

Here is what one of them looked like a week ago on 6/1/08, notice how there are two tops now?


Same plant, probably a better photo



I can give you a better photo of where I actually made the cut on one when my lights come on tonight, I left one inside budding, its been flowering for 7 days, I'll try to remember to take a few shots tonight.



Edit: One thing I have noticed from topping plants is it makes them stronger and promotes more growth, the main stem gets thicker it seems, the fan leaves at the cut expand and get big and branches grow from all the nodes.

[Godlike Godless]

thanks for the input man

[Godlike Godless]

i just read the topping and fimming post, but i dont get it as much as i know i should. i understand topping, but is fimming just topping, but not cutting the branch of to make the "Y" pattern? wat happened to the idea of cutting off semi stems to make 2 more ? so i top or fem? WtF !~!~!~! PLZ HELP !

[patriofarmer]

Topping is taking the new growth by pinching the main stem causing two new main stems to grow from this site, understood by most. FIM method supposedly derived from "Fuck I Missed It" is when only the top 3/4 of the new growth, so really trimming new leaf growth and not stem. People who swear by this method say that it diffuses growth to more evenly throughout the plant giving it a bushier structure than traditional topping will do, thus more dominant colas.
I am suprised that there are not more supporters of tyeing down and training. A plant trained and tied down at an angle closer to the ground will encourage lateral growth letting many bud sites take over as well as help camouflage the identity.

[Underpantsman]

Originally Posted by patriofarmer

Topping is taking the new growth by pinching the main stem causing two new main stems to grow from this site, understood by most. FIM method supposedly derived from "Fuck I Missed It" is when only the top 3/4 of the new growth, so really trimming new leaf growth and not stem. People who swear by this method say that it diffuses growth to more evenly throughout the plant giving it a bushier structure than traditional topping will do, thus more dominant colas.
I am suprised that there are not more supporters of tyeing down and training. A plant trained and tied down at an angle closer to the ground will encourage lateral growth letting many bud sites take over as well as help camouflage the identity.

Exactly what this guy said about the fimming, sorry I never got back to you Godlike Goddess, I had some problems, broke my ankle, had a minor surgery on it and havent been up to posting about outdoor growing, a little bitter I cant visit my plants for a bit. FIM does stand for Fuck I missed, its like giving it a short haircut without taking the whole growth off like topping, promotes more growth sites.