I have new plants going that are about one week into veg. I am thinking of trying LST but not topping them. But why does LST increase yeild? With LST, I take it the plants stalk is horizontal and the bud sites grow up towards the light. But with no LST, don't the bud sites grow up towards the light anyway? I'm a little confused on why LST increases yeild. Been reading some articles on it, but most of what you read on LST is about how to do it, not why it increases yeild
I assume that it doesn't directly affect the yield, but I think it allows more light to the individual parts of the plant, allowing for a bigger yield in some situatations.
in a real rundown fasion. it dosnt increase the yield of the strain, it increases your yield by letting you grow a bigger shorter bush of fat colas cuz ur maximizing ur llight penetration pulling down ur branches so u can grow big buds on low branches, as to the straight up method with 1 main cola and side branches.
If you have ever grow a plant and let it grow by itself, you have seen that the top gets bushy and tall while the bottom gets less bushy and has little bud because it doesnt see light so much. with LST you have even light over al the plant and so you get bud growth all over the plant evenly : ) in other words yes, you could probably double yeild with LST
yes, it can increase yield. think of it as a scrog. you get more light penetration of the canopy. more light equals more bud...
Im not a experienced grower but in all the posts that i have read in OG, LST and SCROG maximize ur yeld for HID<400w. I found here in grasscity a very particular and interestying LST style- MAX-LST it's awesome!
lower parts of the plant when not using LST usually have 1/3-1/5 the THC and CBN content as the top, the middle is around 1/2-1/3, with LST you can achieve nearly perfect ratios from the top of the plant to bottom.. very good for a consistent yeild! This is due to light penetration and what the plant determines needs most energy.. if the top and bottom of your plant are gettng the same light your gonna achieve some sweet consistent buds at harvest.. not a whole buncha pop corn and some massive giant ones.. its more for consistancy than yeild!
Well, I just started LST. I'm in 8 oz plastic cups. I poked a hole through the side of the cup then the other side opposite. I used pipe cleaners to tie down plant. Can't beat them I thought. I anchored the lower stem with a pipe cleaner, then used a pipe cleaner through opposite hole and bent plant down horizontal. Is it ok to start this first bend while in an 8 oz cup? I will have to transplant to 6 inch pots and continue LST, then move to 3 or 4 gallon containers and start to flower and continue LST for first two weeks of flower. So I will be transplanting twice while doing LST. Does this sound OK
that sounds cool for right now.. might want to try and pick up some thin hemp string so you can adjust size when the plant gets bigger
So does the plant stem actually stay in this position after a few days, or do you have to leave them tied down?
No harm though in leaving it tied down. You may find that as a branch grows it needs to be re-positioned and re-tied periodically. Just check the string tied around branches for a long time, as the branch thickens you don't want the tied string strangling it. You can try pipe cleaners instead, much easier to re-position.
You should be fine as long as you don't transplant too early. From experience I can tell you it isn't really easy to fix a fucked up transplant and lst makes it much harder. I usually wait until after the plant has at least 3 seperate levels of leaves before I tie down and by then I've usually transplanted into gallon pots when they start getting taller than I want them to. LST is great if you have a limited amount of vertical space to utilize or if you're growing with CFL's because it helps to have the bulbs close to the plant.
how long does it usually take to preform an entire grow using lst? vs. sigle cola? What about growing straight for like 8 weeks and than tieing down for the flower cyle???
i tie down in late veg, early flower. i don''t like messing with tiny branches. it responds well for me...
how much growth do you deal with when in flowering? ANd do you still produce multi colas or do you just increase light to the bud sites making the lower buds bigger?
Veg or Bloom, Its all about keeping your canopy even, as one stalk starts to grow higher than the others, you need to somehow hold it down, holding it down, it produces more stalks all growing vertical... I use pipe cleaners and fishing sinkers... So not only can you keep your light evenly distributed, you also increase yield due to the stems of the main cola receiving more light... Thats what i do and i reckon it works.... outdoor or indoor ...
waddo is right. you want light in there. when you pull the top cola down beneath the other colas, there is now a race to see who will be the top cola. this is caused by auxins. i've had as many as 12 colas on one plant. it's funny to watch how the plant jumps through the hoops you set up.