Cutting Plants In Half When Harvesting — Fact or Myth?

I was browsing the the ether of freedom (internet) yesterday and stumbled across something interesting. In a nutshell: When you harvest, the lower part of the plant is usually a little underdeveloped due to insufficiency of light, so the lower buds are less dense and smaller. The usual methods of harvesting are to cut the plant down right above the soil or cut off the big branches, and hang them upside down. Now, what I came across is that someone actually only cuts the most developed part of the plant (like the top 2/3) and actually leaves the low 1/3 to ripe for a linger longer. All you have to do is lower the lights?

Has anyone tried this....is this a fact or a myth?

I've heard of many who do that. It seems to be a sound idea. I wouldn't know how true it is, I lolli-pop mine and have no undergrowth to speak of, so i'm probably not the best source for a definitive answer,

While I have not done this myself, I know others that have and there is a precaution that you should take as you cut off the larger colas. Go to your local hardware or garden supply store and get some tree wound sealer or pruning sealer and apply to the stubs to prevent insects, dry air, and disease from entering directly through the now open hole in the stem. As always good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out, Larry

CaretakerDad said:

While I have not done this myself, I know others that have and there is a precaution that you should take as you cut off the larger colas. Go to your local hardware or garden supply store and get some tree wound sealer or pruning sealer and apply to the stubs to prevent insects, dry air, and disease from entering directly through the now open hole in the stem. As always good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out, Larry

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Sound idea actually

it works....not sure if its worth the extra 3-4 weeks of taking up good space under the light but to his thier own...the lower buds will never get much larger than they already are they will just fill in a bit and ripen a little more. i use all the undeveloped popcorn buds for experimenting with hash, oils and edibles. also good to give away to them "friends" who need something for nothing.

RetiredMatthebrute said:

it works....not sure if its worth the extra 3-4 weeks of taking up good space under the light but to his thier own...the lower buds will never get much larger than they already are they will just fill in a bit and ripen a little more. i use all the undeveloped popcorn buds for experimenting with hash, oils and edibles. also good to give away to them "friends" who need something for nothing.

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Well, I thought I'd only give it a week or so. It still must be better after a week than without it.

I have done it and the buds do mature but not necessarily grow. At that stage they have finished swelling, any growth will be minor at best. They do mature though, so there is a reason to do it. The negative is, your weight is in your top cola(s). All that scrub below isn't going to make much difference in the end anyway. Is it worth it to spend an extra week or two on maybe 1/10th of your total yield?

I generally just cut it at the same time, and the little marble buds underneath are my sample buds or to give to people pestering me for a bud.

Hah, after I typed this out I actually read the post 2 above that said basically the same thing I just did. I am with him.