Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas

i find some strains take to the 4 stem thing better than others. some will only give you 2. and some will shoot out the lowest branches afterwards.

my pre98 bubba for instance, im not sure if should have gone for 4 main stems on it. its growing so slow in veg now. its like its never gonna get as big as i want.

elkukupanda said:

Hey UB,
so what makes a plant thicker? i'm not expecting a straight forward answer but can you refer me to any book that might get me going... actually let me know of botany//horticultural books that i can begin with please.
Thanks

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Try using soluble Silica, this will give thicker stems and added strength and better resilience against pests. (builds stronger cell walls) this should add some thickness to your plant, also another way of getting more out of what you've got (yield) as a thicker stem will help transport nutrients and water more easily. to be used as early in its life as possible for best results.

When applying this technique the opposing branches will tend to get fan leaves colliding in the center, they tend to lay on one another and build up condensation where they are unable to breath... question is do you remove one of the two leaves for purposes of air circulation and to prevent mold or fungus? moisture builds up on the surface.

unsubbed....

WELL DAMN lol! Look what ya'll did hahahaha ^^^^^^^^^

UB, getting ready to top my girls. I'll keep you posted.

4 didn't suit me.. I needed 12

hhel11 said:

4 didn't suit me.. I needed 12

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Do it to it lol!!!

What technique did you use? What was that strain? And what was that yield like?!
I like the look of it! Nice work bro

You've seen the thread, its my Blue Dream. Link's in my sig.

Right on...My fault bro. You FIM'd it. And so do I...

Was thinking about Uncle Bens technique for this go around, but I'm gonna hold off until the next..

Topped the 2 girls this morning. Noticed almost immediate (positive) response to the lower branches/leaves that were covered from light. I have 2 strains here and I've grown both of these to full maturity. Looking forward to some nice colas.

Right on...My fault bro. You FIM'd it. And so do I...

Was thinking about Uncle Bens technique for this go around, but I'm gonna hold off until the next..

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- Funny as this may sound, I actually fucked up my FIM.. ( I know, the irony, I fucked up the fuck I missed method....ha) So ended up just topping after the 11th and 12th head, using a slightly modified version of this tutorial. I like to think of this tutorial as a guideline or a basic recipe. For anyone who cooks, being able to multiply the recipe is a handy thing. Ie- UncleBen showed us how to make 4 colas, I made 12. Without increasing space or lighting I couldn't really accommodate a larger plant, so I used this guide to get the maximum out of my grow armoire.

Obviously you have more things to take into account when increasing the number of main colas so exponentially, but with a little TLC, proper planning, and foresight, anything can be accomplished..

True story bro. Every grower starts with a blank canvas for his/her art

Great thread, thanks for the link to it in the 'fimming and topping 101' thread. Im slowly making my way through the 450ish pages in here, but something has popped up in my head and I don't want to lose my train of thought, so please forgive me if this is explained better in the next 400 pages.

Id like to touch on the topic of alternating nodes and asymmetrical growth:

regionaldragon said:

What if you have alternating nodes instead of pairs of nodes, where do you top?

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Uncle Ben said:

You can't. Nodes must be opposing for the double output thingie. If your nodes are alternating, you won't get the effect as the top node (leafset) will be at a point on the plant that has the greatest collection of auxins, the newest, highest tissue. Auxins control a plant's growing dynamics. When you pinch out the tip of a plant that is in a veg stage (has opposing nodes/leafsets) then basically the plant splits the auxins and sends them to the 2 dormant buds located at the axis of where the leaf petiole attaches to the "trunk". Viola, you get simultaneous output, two new leafsets as shown on page one of this thread.

Good luck,
UB

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Please keep in mind that I am new to this, and bear with me if my questions are redundant. Now, I understand the theory of why topping wont work in the traditional sense when working with alternating nodes. Is there a method of topping that will benefit those of us with clones that are asymmetrical? (Possibly earlier in the stages of nodal growth when the distance between alternating nodes along the main stem is negligible to allow equal supply of auxins to new growth sites?) Is fimming a more viable option to create a situation that will be conducive to multiple mains? Or are we really this limited in our abilities to encourage multiple cola growth?

Also, is the reason for alternating nodes dependent on the location the clones were taken from the mother, or will the clones eventually revert back to even symmetrical growth? Is it strain dependent?

Sorry for the dump of questions, Ive got some experiments of different methods going on in my garden, I'm just wondering which side of the room I should be cheering for lol.

edit: first post!!!

Uncle ben don't leave us! we'll tell jokes

Maybe if I put a little more effort in and explain a little better where I'm coming from.


Here is my one week old cut. Clearly you can see the alternating nodes beginning to grow. Not ideal for traditional topping methods, obviously.







Here it is a week later, even easier to see the asymmetrical growth. Would the plant view itself as being on its 7th node? or 4th? (1 and 2 being a pair, 3 and 4, 5 and 6...)





Here is where I "topped" it. It was the closest to a natural pair of nodes that the plant has generated yet. I'm sure once/if the plant gets a chance to stretch, the distance between the nodes would/will widen, but I'm hoping that 'topping' while they are close to a matching might produce the same or a similar effect as it would on a symmetrical plant grown from seed or taken from the main stem of the mother.



I fimmed a bunch and topped a bunch just to see what happens, and I'm fully aware that my efforts may have been futile. My thinking was that I may as well try, as the worst that could happen is I end up with one main cola or some unpredictable asymmetrical cola growth. Thoughts?

I'm awaiting results from your cuts bro Keep us posted! This thread don't have to die with UB lol.
The only thoughts I have are that it's a good idea by you to see what you come up with...

Sincerely420 said:

I'm awaiting results from your cuts bro Keep us posted! This thread don't have to die with UB lol.
The only thoughts I have are that it's a good idea by you to see what you come up with...

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I think everything has been said about this topping technique. If they don't get it by now...

Sincerely420 said:

I'm awaiting results from your cuts bro Keep us posted! This thread don't have to die with UB lol.
The only thoughts I have are that it's a good idea by you to see what you come up with...

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this thread wont die thats for sure since this thread is already sticky

Uncle Ben already gave the many answers in thread that you re seeking, you just have to read it all, a lot of goodies in this thread and try to read all of his posts what i did...i learned a lot from his posts.

Peace.