I am on my first grow, an indoor grow. I am using CFL's in a stealth growbox that I built. Dimensions on the box: 3' tall, 20" wide, and 2' deep. All pictures are from day 18. My question is, is it too early to start LST? ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I'm using three of these for light at the moment and so far they are working fantastically: ... ... ... ... The reason it is so tall is because it wasn't getting proper light for the first 4 days of it's life. I just bought a fourth CFL from Home Depot yesterday and will be throwing it into the mix tonight. Anyway, thanks for any advice
You can definitely start the LST now by pulling the whole top down. Once side branches start developing, you can LST them down and really get the bushing out started. Good job with the plant so far, keep it up.
Thanks man! It is great to get some feedback as I have not posted any information or pictures up to this point. Glad to hear that I appear to be on track I am using organic soil and Fox Farm grow formula. There is this great hydroponics only store (no joke) 30 minutes from me. They have everything from ready built hydroponic systems to rooting solutions. All the FoxFarm stuff, everything, its been really helpful. I'll probably start playing with LST tonight. Time to review the LST threads I bookmarked here at GC...
I frequently wait until 12/12 stretch time before I LST. I don't have room for super-bushy plants, but I like to control the final height. There is probably no "too early" or "late", all depends on the outcome you are looking to achieve. I like to play around with my plants a bit, they don't mind. My recent trials indicate that LST is more productive than supercropping, at least with AK48. Results may vary with different strains.
That is good to hear, thanks for your advice! This being my 1st grow everything just seems so...fragile. The goal this time around is to control height because my growbox is only 3 feet tall. That has to encompass the pot with soil and plant. I've learned so much in the past 2.5 weeks
+2, its the greatest hobby, commitment Ive ever had. You'll be hooked once you smoke something you gave life to. Good luck with everything!
Thanks man! I LST'd the plant on Friday. I'll try and post pictures tomorrow when I'm able to visit her again. I checked in on it on Saturday, the day after I attempted my first LST, and it was looking great! In fact, it was sprouting several new leaves (nodes?) on the side of the plant. I'm guessing because the side of the plant is now what is facing "up." It was very interesting. I was shocked at how much growth there was in one day. Oh and I added another 27 watt (100 equivalent) CFL to the box for a total of 4 27 watt 6500k CFL's for this one plant. Anyway, pictures tomorrow (hopefully).
pics tomorrow, sweet deal man. Sounds like you did a fine job with the LSt if it is respondng so well to it.
Going to be taking pictures in the next hour. I have to do some work on the box so it will be a good time
Ah damn, couldn't take pictures today and I will be on vacation until Monday. I will get some pictures then. By then there will be some significant differences! I got a lot done on my box though
your stem looks a little bit scrawny, you may want to put a fan in there or atleast work out your stem by bending it a little bit for a few seconds in a couple of places. Either than that, it seems like you have been doing a good job. Can't wait to see the new pics!
Thanks man! I should have pictures this Thursday. I ran into some bad luck. I had to leave for vacation Thursday-Sunday. I watered on Tuesday before the trip. When I returned on Sunday the plant was looking pretty withered . There are two dead leaves down low where the light is having trouble reaching due to the recent LST. Heat was running too high too . The good news is I watered (with nutrients) Sunday late and by this afternoon (Monday) it had perked back up to normal. Wow that was fast! One of the leaves got burned because it perked back up so fast it ran right into one of the CFL lights. Thankfully they are low heat so it's not serious. I will trim it off when I am next able to do some maintenance. Thanks for sticking with me guys. Pictures can be hard to get because this is a stealth grow and I cannot reach the growbox as needed. Pictures on Thursday though. I'll make sure of it
Plant has really perked back up since my return on Sunday. It's back in full swing, 100%! It's amazing how resilient these plants are. They really are weeds . I think this little stint lost me about a weeks worth of progress that could have been made, but at least the vacation is behind me now and I will be around for the rest of the grow and flowering process. Pictures tomorrow
I started a grow journal which contains updated details and pictures: http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/258378-first-grow-good-times.html Now on day 35
Nice LOL you have the same light i have lol but yea u can usealy start Low stress training at the third leaf set or 4th but i dont reccomend starting at 4 because when the plant gets its third set of leaves the stem will start to harden so its easyer jus to start at 3 to prevent breaking your plant at 4
Now that I am a few weeks past the first LST attempt I have to agree with you. The stem really does harden after that fourth leave set . I am really glad that I decided to dabble in LST. I'm going to continue experimenting with it for the life of this plant. Height is a major issue with only 3 feet of height clearance. It really does seem to produce a "bushy" plant too