maybe it's just me but the funniest response from the massive defolers is that "well the leaves just grow right back". WTF? then why cut them off just to have them grow back?
The logic is you get rid of the big leaves to grow back smaller leaves, and while they are growing in you'll to get light to the lower bud sites causing them to catch up. I could see how that seems silly, and there is a possibility that it is, but doing it in veg makes no sense at all.
i figure mother nature is a better grower than me and i just follow along. all my lower larf gets made into hash so win/win
I'm considering not lollipopping this time. I'm still on the fence of the "refocusing energy upwards" debate.
It’s not about refocusing energy imo. It’s about trimming and dealing with massive amounts of larf. every 3rd or 4th crop I’ll leave a bunch of bottoms for hash making.
The last bunch of cycles I’ve ended up with pretty much no larf, and the buds that did grow on the lower branches were solid. So I’m thinking am I just eliminating a bunch of decent hash material to gain nothing other than making it a little easier to harvest. I’m not sure though because I’ve lollipopped every single grow.
We have completely opposite growing styles , you like the small, I like them big. Whatever works in your set up, probably will be opposite in mine
That's what she said! Sorry couldn't resist
I don’t like them small, just low. Part of my thinking is why defoliate if I’m getting rid of everything below the scrog net anyway? My current grow will be closer to a sea of green, but I think I’m going to try to do everything in moderation for here on out.
Looking forward to following along the husky hut to see which way you decide to go
I'm not sure it's really debatable. The fact is that sucker pruning (what we like to call lollipopping) is a standard practice in the horticulture industry, for many many crops. You have to remember the "sink and source" analogy. Of course the leaves provide us with the source for energy, however new shoots are a sink. The small lower branches take a lot of energy to grow and produce, thereby taking away energy from the rest of the plant. At some point, once the new shoots are established they shift from a sink to a source, but you have lost a lot of progress along the way.
Agree with shoots stealing energy
Keep in mind that I schwazzed my plants this past run, so I took that concept to the extreme. I left a few plants with some activity down below, and it didn't seem to affect the tops compared to the schwazzed plants. It felt like I just threw away decent nugs. I also took off almost every side branch and shoot, and the few that were left produced buds the same size as the main colas. The problem is this was a (very) less than perfect grow due to experimental blunders, so I can't confidently make any claims.
FWIW, I'm using the scales and the run-off fluctuates, a lot! Have Ada monitor the run-off between naps.
Nah. I’m fine with a little nute waste. I can catch the last fertigation of the day during the week so I always monitor that one to make sure I’m getting some on every plant.FWIW, I'm using the scales and the run-off fluctuates, a lot! Have Ada monitor the run-off between naps.
