I'm using a closet tent where I could probably fit three plants but have decided to simply start with two, for legal reasons too. My question is though, how can I get the most out of this? The dimensions of the tent are as follow: 36x20x63 inches. I've read a bit about topping or the FIM technique. Would these be what I would want to do to get the most out of my grow?
Make sure that you have a proper environment for them. Ventilation, root space, food, etc. If you can run your 600w in the closet with stable temps then your best bet would be to get 2 big and wide containers (I like fabric ones because they tend to be wider than tall), 5-10 gallons depending on space and preference. As far as plant training goes, I would focus on getting a very wide horizontal canopy during veg. Try to get all the corners filled with foliage, it doesn't have to be that tall because when you flower it will explode with growth. Easiest way to do this would be scrog, but you can manage it with topping and LST if you are consistent. Personally I don't like fimming because it has inconsistent results, even on the same strain. To get 4 even tops what I do is top at the 5th node, then once the next two grow in it's place I will top both of those at the first node. This will give you 4 nice tops every time. If you are consistent with the training and you have done your reading and know the process of growing the plant, then you could definitely get great results if you put 100% of your light's footprint to use.
Oh no worries about the environment. There is an inline exhaust fan with the reflector being aircooled and breathing fresh air from outside. Temperatures are pretty nice here ranging from 22c to 27c depending on the time of the year, but that is still the average. That's what I was thinking, trying to make them wide from the beginning and leave some space overhead (height) so that when I flower the plant doesn't hit the reflector glass due to being too tall. After some more reading I think with simply some LST I could get much better results than just letting it grow without having to go the ScrOG way, rather avoid having even more stuff in my tent.
Excellent. Definitely going wide rather than tall before flowering is a good idea, especially for a strain you're growing for the first time. Sometimes I get little stretch, but usually they have massive vertical growth after 12/12 so I focus on a wide even canopy during veg.
Very good advice morange you have to get the most out of what you have if the lights on your paying for it so use all of it
I like to start out with LST and introduce my SCROG screen right around light cycle change. I used to always top the plants, but I only train the girls now. Combo of a screen and maybe some pipe cleaners give me a nice wide canopy by the time I flower. I definitely recommend looking into LST or SCROG, it has changed the way I grow.
Yup, gonna do some LST once I get everything ready. Should start about 1st of november, will probably be asking a couple of more questions down the road.