Start out with good horticultural lighting, rich soil and pinch the tops as they grow while they're young. That's it... J
Top em young. I take the 5th node, and make sure to have a fan blowing on them. The air movement will encourage strong stems/stalks. Get em movin a bit!
I'm gonna use a t5 for veg im just using bulbs from home depot. Should I invest in ones for growing? Once there tall enough I'll switch to mh/HP's 600w
I'm planning to add a Silicon supplement to my next grow for that very purpose....stronger stems and branches. Can't speak to experience with it yet, but it gets great reviews on Amazon. I'm using the Dyna Grow feeding schedule, and their Silicon supplement is called Protekt. From their description: "Silicon is an element that is often overlooked in plant nutrition. Pro-TeKt® provides supplemental potassium and silicon in an easy to use liquid concentrate. Benefits of silicon include greater tolerance of environmental stresses and mineral toxicity or deficiency. Silicon deposited in cell walls forms a Pro-TeKtive barrier, defending your plants from water loss due to high temperatures. The increased strength of cell walls also results in drastic improvement of stem and branch strength. Since, silicon is rapidly bound in leaf tissue and deposited in a non-translocatable form within 24 hours of uptake, a continuous source of soluble silicon throughout the plant's life is very important."
So many people overthink things. Keep them fed and happy. Trim (top) them a little. Be good to them and you will be rewarded with huge yields. Don't get too complicated. They are plants. With loving gentle care they will thrive.
well as opposed to making it colder when lights out, keep them at the same temps consistancy is key, like if 75 lights on keep it at 75 lights out too... the best plants are kept in the best controlled environment.... also get indica dom strains,, they are short bushy in stature and are quite built and thick... also keep the humidity levels right 60-50 veg 50-40 flower, and 40 below last couple weeks..
Indicas will naturally be bushier plants than sativas. Worth mentioning I think, especially if you plan on obtaining seeds/clones. Also, Scrog or other forms of LST.