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

A node is the bulbous region where fan leaves and possibly secondary branches protude from.. Topping promotes secondary branch protrusion/elongation from nodes below the cut..

born2killspam said:

Miracle gro is the only one I'm sketchy with for this stuff in pots.. Never seen a problem with basic ground gardening, or potted low-appetite flowers etc, but I found that things tend to go downhill after a time, while other plants getting non-MG flowering food did much better and required much less flushing..
The kind I had did contain every bit of its nitrogen in urea form though, and I do like nitrates, both in my soil, and in my food.. Also, not all urea is necessarily equal either, there is a contaminant form called biuret whose concentration can increase via bad storage and incompatibilities.. Maybe thats the reason, maybe I'm off, but there are alot of options so WTH..

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Yeah man, it seems like I've had to flush after every mir-gro feeding, from the 30-10-10 for veg and the 15-30-15 for flower. No matter how much I dilute it (1/2 tsp to 1 tbsp per gallon), I end up having burnt leaves and a noticeable decline in the plants' health! I've just been giving them water and they've been doing much better. I've decided to use Peter's organic liquid for the next grow. Damn the $4 box of salts from mir-gro!

im from canada... never heard of canadia a... sounds like a nice place.... eh

IndicaFatnHeavy said:

im from canada... never heard of canadia a... sounds like a nice place.... eh

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What is your deal? 279 posts and this is the best you can come up with?! Maybe you should smoke a little and then come join us...

Please, no rude posts or fighting allowed in this thread fellers.

Thanks!

Yeah, low biuret urea is what you're after but that is usually not revealed on the label. I use foods whose salts are so pure they literally dissolve by themselves. One of my favorites is made in Canada, name is "Plantex". Usually has 3 forms of N with no salts that can burn.

UB

if you have some plants ready to top and dont know the sex, can you just clone the tops you cut and throw them in flowering to see what is what and be able to tell which plant to destroy so not to waste time veggin the ones you just topped not knowin the sex prior?

djcottonsocks said:

if you have some plants ready to top and dont know the sex, can you just clone the tops you cut and throw them in flowering to see what is what and be able to tell which plant to destroy so not to waste time veggin the ones you just topped not knowin the sex prior?

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The issue is whether or not you can get a cutting to root better under 12/12 or 18/6. Me, I'll take the latter. Shortcuts don't often pay off in the long run in the plant kingdom.

Hi guys when i topped my plants useing this method i used all of my tops for clones and some side branches aswell and the majority of them are flowering now and looking good, Also once that the clones rooted i put them all into my flowering room and now they all have 6 nodes of their own and have just started flowering but these clones im not going to top because i want to compair the yeild from topped and untopped. out

dont let the buds touch when hanging it causes rot and didease.

Question.....

Does starting the seeds from 12/12 effect topping? I read the whole thread twice and maybe I missed something but I'm not sure that was mentioned.

Practical example would be that I have 2x baby sativas started and are going straight to 12/12. Now if I wait till the 5th or 6th node to appear am I getting into flowering phase and is this too late in the plants cycle to top it?

Can't have your cake, and eat it too.. Topping won't be affected, but the only thing I let happen in 12/12 is bud growth..

The Reverend Rob Rock said:

Question.....

Does starting the seeds from 12/12 effect topping? I read the whole thread twice and maybe I missed something but I'm not sure that was mentioned.

Practical example would be that I have 2x baby sativas started and are going straight to 12/12. Now if I wait till the 5th or 6th node to appear am I getting into flowering phase and is this too late in the plants cycle to top it?

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Not sure why you'd want to do this. Exactly what sativa are you growing? Landrace (pure), sativa hybrid - no indica or sativa/indica hybrid?

The intent of topping is to redirect vegetative growth.

UB

Uncle Ben said:

Not sure why you'd want to do this. Exactly what sativa are you growing? Landrace (pure), sativa hybrid - no indica or sativa/indica hybrid?

The intent of topping is to redirect vegetative growth.

UB

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Sorry for not being more specific. The plants are Sativa/Indica hybid but the sativa is the dominant growth characteristic. These plants also are really slow to start flowering. Grown with a 2 week veg period they took 14-19 days after switching to 12/12 before showing the first signs of flowering on a previous grow. The main reason I want to try topping on these is to control height and maximize yield. These plants can be really leggy.

Will topping help me control height and get yield on a plant like this? And will the fact that I have started this at 12/12 effect whether I can top them or not? I understand what you mean by "topping is to redirect vegetative growth" and since I am going straight to 12/12 I won't have much vegetative growth. But there still will be some, the plants don't flower on day 1 and this strain especially has a slow start to flowering.

Thanks,
The Rev.

The Reverend Rob Rock said:

Will topping help me control height and get yield on a plant like this?

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Yep, the main reason why I decided to play with it years ago, to control height. I've grown mostly sativas indoors.

And will the fact that I have started this at 12/12 effect whether I can top them or not?

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Don't know as that would not be my strategy and like I said in the previous post, "The intent of topping is to redirect vegetative growth." Try some of each and see for yourself. Experimentation is what's important. I would top, wait a few days and then go 12/12.

BTW, for the lurkers (visitors) writing me I'm not ignoring you, I technically can not make a reply in the "Visitors" section. When I click on your post it redirects me to my profile for some strange reason. Feel free to send me a PM instead.

Uncle Ben

Thanks for the input guys. I definately appreciate it.

I have a little time to really think this through before taking any action so thats what I'm gonna do. Poor planning on my part got me into a plant that will outgrow my space. No need to continue screwing up LOL

Hey please tell me if this can be done with an auto flowering strain!

ToucanSam said:

Hey please tell me if this can be done with an auto flowering strain!

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Yep...........

I'd reaearch the particular auto via grow journals for expected dates, there would be a tight window if they start flowering at like 3-4 nodes..