noticing same thing as you dude....my best yields are when,,,bend em over let em go...I def spread em out whole time with metel rings..works nicely..or sticks...def not topping that often...I seen what happens myselfI just finished up my second grow which consisted of 3 topped and 1 untopped lady. My first grow I grew 2 topped plants out.
After leaving a plant to do its own thing untopped, I noticed that the buds on my untopped plant were overall much more dense and yielded a significant amount (around 25%) more than my plants that were topped. Even the secondary branches fruited much more dense buds than the ones on the other 3 plants. It's important to note that this untopped plant was left to flower a week longer (9 weeks as opposed tothan the other plants due to the trichomes maturing slower. I also did a staggered harvest due to the height and gave the popcorn buds a bit more than a week to ripen up (10 weeks flowering total) and was impressed with the results although I probably could have left the popcorn to go even another week. All were sprouted from seed and were pineapple express feminized by G13.
Considering what I experienced, I am thinking about leaving all 4 of my plants to grow naturally this next grow to see if my results are consistent.
I see everywhere that people recommend topping to increase yields, especially with scrog grows... could the extra week of flowering been what really did it or is there any truth that untopped plants yield more dense buds?
ya..gonna go with blue dream in my next run...was gonna try critical 2.0...need a few pounds real fast...anything standout to you?so many dam seeds choose from...lol...jus got new 1000wer...goin for 6 big girls..probably critcal kush from demifem seeds...3 blue dreams def
Everyone wants the best and yet very few can find the time to actually GET there!
I was having a convo about this the other day. And I think years ago when I started growing the best advice I got from an old timer was,
Love critical kush. But ive only tried barneys critical kush. One of my favorite strains.
This is the advice I was told when I first started. I definitely cut my first crop a week or two earlier than it could have gone.
I see lots waiting till the whole thing turns Amber and I prefer to pull when it basically stops growing, drinking, and all cloudy with just a dash of Amber.
Had they basically stopped putting on mass. The water uptake thing is easy for me in hydro but that to me is a good indicator as well. Hairs basically all withered up and cloudy triches all tell me that they are ready, not individually, but as a whole, that the plants are done then it's a matter of when can I do the trimming, with my lifestyle it's a huge factor. Can't go walking around smelling like pot plant lol.
LOL, I have to mention, in my area I'm sometimes forgetting to bathe before going to the corner store or bar after a long day during harvest. I bring my patients/trimmers (all locals) drinks or out for a cold one......Oh the looks we get! everyone is a local in our tiny "burg" so acceptance is a given for the most part, the girls behind the bar will mention that we had better sit in the game room!
.but will take more vedge time, almost twice for same plant height as an untopped one i prefer more plants less vedge and it depend on the genetic too plants giving too big colas is better to top them to make bud site little smaller usually ending up with more tricome and genetic that already small golf ball buds isn't a good idear to top them that's about the main idear behind topping ...
