I am growing 4 Barney's Farm blue cheese in a 10 gallon Rubbermaid tote under a 250 W HPS, unfortunately I let them grow till they were about a foot and a half tall before I changed my lighting schedule to 12/12. I did however tie them down at that point but they still have grown considerably standing at almost 3 feet tall and very bushy. My cab is only 2 foot wide by 1 1/2 foot deep by 6 feet tall and the plants are pushing all four walls. My question is can I prune some of the leaves to thin out the plants? I'm not talking about the tops but more towards the middle of the plant's it doesn't seem to be getting much light. Or should I just focus more on the colas I am trying to put a couple of CFL's to supplement lighting. Thanks peace
Don't prune unless absolutely necessary. If the plants looks just fine and healthy leave em alone or at best try to tie/bend leaves to let more light in. More supplemented light is the way to go
Start from the very bottom and work your way up. Remove only unhealthy leaves, and only if more than 50% looks bad. Some gardens do require a little pruning to prevent mold. Only take what you absolutely have to, no more than 10% of the leaves, and let it recover several days after.
I would say this. However, don't prune unless you have to. You're still going to have some nice bud growing. However 250 watts for 4 plants is pushing it, some CFLs would definitely help. Just make sure you have adequate air flow, and you should be fine.