I've never LST'ed before but I'm going to try it. Are the two seedlings below ready for it? The one on the left is about 4.5 inches tall and the one on the right is about 3.25 inches tall.
When to start LST is up to you but those should probably wait awhile longer. Using LST to create a bend under the lowest node is basically just moving the whole plant over. You usually want to start the bend at least above the very bottom node and you don't yet have enough plant above that node to do so.
For example, take one plant that was bent below the bottom node and another than was bent above the same node. Looking at them, one in front of the other in your field of vision, they both bend to your right. Now move the plant that's bent below the bottom node to the left until the lowest nodes of both plants are inline with your point of view. If the tops were both bent down to the same height, the only difference between them will be that the bottom node on one plant will be a very tiny bit higher than the other. Otherwise, they'll be exactly the same. By bending below the bottom node, you basically move the entire plant to one side. If you want that, just slide the pot over an inch and bend above the bottom node. However if you want to move it by bending rather than moving the entire root ball, you can do so and it won't actually hurt the plant.
Those look like some fine little plants man.. very compact node space.. Id say the taller one looks about ready, maybe wait till the other one reaches the same height
i tried to lst the shorter one. its about an inch taller since that pic was taken. i carefully bent the stem above the second node and it snapped. i made a sort of a splint to support it but im not sure if that will help. or should i just snap it off fully and leave it as a topped plant. there are 2 nodes below it so i guess that is sufficient. i didnt think the stem would snap that easily.
[quote name='"drstevo"']I've never LST'ed before but I'm going to try it. Are the two seedlings below ready for it? The one on the left is about 4.5 inches tall and the one on the right is about 3.25 inches tall.[/quote] Curious, how old are they? They are about the same size as my big bang auto and I was going to ask this exact question. Seek and you shall find. Gotta love GC!
its not really "leggy"/"stretchy" enough yet. close, but give em another week and you should get some more growth to work with. when the plants are too small like that they don't bend very easily.
Glad i read this.... I was gonna try to start my LST around the same size as yours. Im gonna wait for it to get around 6" i guess.
Thanks. I keep them on 24/0 right from when they germinate. This slows down any stretching that occurs during the darkness. I never trained before which is why i try to keep them short and compact. And they are indicas too. They would have been about 1 week into veg. I grew from seeds. Probably took about 2 weeks from germination until veg. Therefore about 3 weeks from when i first put the seeds into the paper towels.