First time grower ☘️ is it really necessary to do LST ?

I've got three Purple Haze seeds that I'm going to be planting here soon... And as a first time grower even though I have grown other vegetables and what not I just wanted to make sure that I'm going to have a good experience I don't want to have to do anything that would really put my plant at risk although I do see that low stress training when done probably can really help I'm just honestly concerned about you know losing my first plants and my first grow.

So what would happen if I just let it grow naturally and do nothing to the plant except just take care of it and don't worry about any sort of cropping or defoliation or topping or low stress training?

I mean I'm not against the idea of doing LST, although maybe LSD is better. ️

So I just like to get some more input about this before I even begin to go on my growing journey which is looking to be about March 1st right now.

Thank you.

You don't need to LST.. what happens if you don't? You'll lose some yield. The reasons people do it is
1. For space reasons
2. Keeps and even canopy which results in equal light across the canopy which equals a higher yield.

I've used clones and done one plant LST and one not. The one was wasn't LST grew one cola that was taller than the rest. That one naturally got more light and blocked some light penetration to the ones around it. Also, bigger buts = more changes of mold.

That's interesting so if I want a really tall plant versus a wide plant then I should just leave it alone?

Because I have a lot more height to work with than width In my windowsil.

At the same time I do want to have more bud sites.

I want my window to be basically filled up with trees and branches and hopefully it will reach the top.

I have about 6 ft of total height that I can use including the three gallon pot from the base of the top of the pot.

And my width total inches across for all three of my plants is going to be about 38 in

I'm growing in 3 gallon pots

ShawnSunshine said:

That's interesting so if I want a really tall plant versus a wide plant then I should just leave it alone?

Because I have a lot more height to work with than width In my windowsil.

At the same time I do want to have more bud sites.

I want my window to be basically filled up with trees and branches and hopefully it will reach the top.

I have about 6 ft of total height that I can use including the three gallon pot from the base of the top of the pot.

And my width total inches across for all three of my plants is going to be about 38 in

I'm growing in 3 gallon pots

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Your growing in a window?

So LST allows you to fill the space better too. If you're looking for tall plants with good colas I would try a little LST because it is a good tool to have but I would recommend topping. The one I topped got me A LOT more yield with just one topping.

Also do you have a plan when they bud big? They top over and I found planning for that easier than trying to fix it when it happens. Kill two birds with one stone and make a scrog on your windowsil. You can train them and add support for the buds later

I was thinking of bamboo poles for each plant.

I don't want to put any netting in the window necessarily.

McShnutz said:

Your growing in a window?

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I will be

Your neighbour's are gonna see that growing.

Also, they will stretch alot due to lack of quality lighting. Looks pretty dim from the photos. Is this your main grow space?

Ps. Let it grow naturally in your window if that's where your growing. LST won't be very useful in this situation.

I'd really recommend building a Mini grow cabinet, use LED Lighting & overall your gonna have a better end result

ShawnSunshine said:

I will be

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Any plans on the implementation of supplemental lighting?
I honestly am very skeptical about the height of that neighboring building and how low you are compared to the top. More direct light, more bud. It's that easy.

CADMAN said:

Your neighbour's are gonna see that growing.

Also, they will stretch alot due to lack of quality lighting. Looks pretty dim from the photos. Is this your main grow space?

Ps. Let it grow naturally in your window if that's where your growing. LST won't be very useful in this situation.

I'd really recommend building a Mini grow cabinet, use LED Lighting & overall your gonna have a better end result

Click to expand...

Oh I'm aware of the lighting situation!



I only get about 1 hour of direct light during the spring and summer in this window and the rest of the time is kinda dark and I get just a bit of indirect light.

I'm going to be watching my heating and my temperature and the overall light that the par/umol needs of my weed.

I will have everything on a timer and during the time that sunlight does occasionally get through to the window, in a small gap (right now 15 minutes of direct sunlight),
I'll be making sure to keep the lights off during that cycle and then turn the lights on again of course with the timer.

I know for sure I don't want to have the lights on and also then sunlight scorching down for 1 hour during the midday hours.

So...
I have a 2000 w light that I just bought...

These pictures were taken about a month ago before I was even considering my LED lights.. I was still shopping around at the time since I'm a first time grower.

And as far as my neighbors go?

That's a residential hotel next door in San Francisco and most of the people don't mind at all.

I want them to see.
️️

McShnutz said:

Any plans on the implementation of supplemental lighting?
I honestly am very skeptical about the height of that neighboring building and how low you are compared to the top. More direct light, more bud. It's that easy.

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Oh yeah!

I have this in my house now as we speak!

MAGLONG Upgrade M2000 Led Grow Light - with Samsung LED Chips & Mean Well Driver, Quantum Board Plant Grow Lights and Dimmable Function for Hydroponic Indoor Seeding Veg and Flower Greenhouse https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08C9WFNTM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_J3FSPJX8G8KZKMBDF1GN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

ShawnSunshine said:

Oh yeah!

I have this in my house now as we speak!

MAGLONG Upgrade M2000 Led Grow Light - with Samsung LED Chips & Mean Well Driver, Quantum Board Plant Grow Lights and Dimmable Function for Hydroponic Indoor Seeding Veg and Flower Greenhouse https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08C9WFNTM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_J3FSPJX8G8KZKMBDF1GN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Click to expand...

In the description of the light you liked shows the wattage as 220W total, which is still gonna grow some good Cannabis.

It's not 2000w as advertised just so you are aware.

ShawnSunshine said:

Oh yeah!

I have this in my house now as we speak!

MAGLONG Upgrade M2000 Led Grow Light - with Samsung LED Chips & Mean Well Driver, Quantum Board Plant Grow Lights and Dimmable Function for Hydroponic Indoor Seeding Veg and Flower Greenhouse https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08C9WFNTM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_J3FSPJX8G8KZKMBDF1GN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Click to expand...

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your light isn't what you were sold on. It will grow plants but not very big. Light penetration is minimal, the further from the diode. It's also not a true 2000w. Definitely a good beginner light and the price was right.

CADMAN said:

In the description of the light you liked shows the wattage as 220W total, which is still gonna grow some good Cannabis.

It's not 2000w as advertised just so you are aware.

Click to expand...

Yeah I know it's it's the 2000w equivalent.

I know those conversions are based on like HPS and CFL lights or something like that.

This light was recommended to me.

I really love the fact that there's dimmable control and it has Samsung chips and the full spectrum is there plus it has a 110% boost mode which increases the red Spectrum during blooming.

ShawnSunshine said:

Yeah I know it's it's the 2000w equivalent.

I know those conversions are based on like HPS and CFL lights or something like that.

This light was recommended to me.

I really love the fact that there's dimmable control and it has Samsung chips and the full spectrum is there plus it has a 110% boost mode which increases the red Spectrum during blooming.

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I got it for a discount as well!
I was given a coupon code as well as the $10 Amazon takes off.

I ended up paying something like $84 for it!

I'm speaking from decades of experience. Don't Grow Trees in your window sill, you'll be disappointed. I'd grow a small bush and keep that canopy level. Grow out 6 branches and cut off the top of the plant. Those 6 branches all just became main tops. All the same distance from the light. The plant will devote more or less nutrients to buds based on their proximity to the light source.

McShnutz said:

I'm speaking from decades of experience. Don't Grow Trees in your window sill, you'll be disappointed. I'd grow a small bush and keep that canopy level. Grow out 6 branches and cut off the top of the plant. Those 6 branches all just became main tops. All the same distance from the light. The plant will devote more or less nutrients to buds based on their proximity to the light source.

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Well this is something that I wanted to do especially since it's my first girl and I have such a tall window that I thought it would be good because see I'm going to be growing other things on the other side of the window on the outside ledge with the same light since it can penetrate pretty well and give me a good par for my alpine strawberries and a few other wildflowers and whatnot I'm going to grow inside and outside

I'm pushing over 1500 actual watts to power the lights (3). Further into flower I add 2 more for a total of 5 lighting systems. I'm well over 2000w equivalent and to the tune of a couple grand in cost.

It would be perfectly fine to skip lst on your first grow, but it will help you in the long run to start looking into canopy management. Keep in mind the optimal distance from your light to the canopy-no matter how tall your plants grow, you will need to maintain that distance. You run into problems when you raise your light all the way to the top of your tent and your plants keep growing-if they start creeping into that optimal light distance, you'll start seeing light stress/burns, dried out tops/leaves, etc. The second reason is, for optimal yield, you need to make the best use of your light footprint. That means, a perfectly even canopy full of nice colas-that way, every cola is on an even field receiving the optimal amount of light. That doesn't need to be a first grow goal, but learning some LST, topping a single time, and/or learning how to supercrop are all simple techniques that will help you get to that perfect even canopy eventually.

McShnutz said:

I'm pushing over 1500 actual watts to power the lights (3). Further into flower I add 2 more for a total of 5 lighting systems. I'm well over 2000w equivalent and to the tune of a couple grand in cost.

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Huh