Training for trees?

[caregiverken]

You tube is full of info!

 

[caregiverken]

Good supercropping video! ^^
Thats what I do!

some of us call it " breaking necks"

 

[tj Wise]

that is a solid set of tubes, thanks. i understand the techniques, book-knowledge, but im just not sure how to best apply them. My friend had problems with his trees getting top heavy, and collapsing or tipping over. So i want more weight LOW, and STRONG branches. Or do I? I can speculate, but without experience I might screw things up pretty badly.

 

[caregiverken]

You really dont want much low stuff..
You want tops! We all want strong branches.. I just read a post about weighing them down while in veg to make em strong..
But its best to plan on supporting them with a net or sticks
I learned everything from watching the farmers here..and from trial and error
this is one of my Favortie seedlings this year.. :)

Im ready already with this one
It makes it harder to prune..But its necessary!
I will end up with more hortanova netting on there too.. And that makes it even harder to prune and harvest..But Ive learned the hard way, Gotta have support

 

[tj Wise]

Your pic above was what I was aiming for before I talked to my friend who had the weight problems last year. He now uses 2 layers of horizontal netting, white plastic netting with a 6 inch grid. Horizontal might make grooming easier (?) He is using 8 ft T-posts and zip ties the nets, tight. You went vertical with 1x2 wooden posts. That would be cheap & easy for me, my first choice. Hmm. I asked "why not keep topping and spread out" and he thought his "clumping" and weight and tipping issues would become much worse. When I say "low" I know they would need their own sunshine -- I was hoping for width to get a wide pyramid shape. I guess lollipop low branches -- on a slant. Probably crazy, idk.

 

[tj Wise]

Ken, how do you decide when to stop super-cropping? Do you top also? How do you know when you've topped "enough" and why don't you keep topping until September?

 

[caregiverken]

They are lots of ways to do this Bro. And im far from an expert (4th year)
I plant to run horizontal nets near the top

I was hoping for width to get a wide pyramid shape..

Like Christmas tree shape?o_O
Most pot plants will grow that shape if you leave them alone...no topping :)

Or, others (hybrids) will look like this one i have not topped

I top most plants just once..and if they seem to like it and arent getting real busy..they I top em again. The one in post 24 i topped at least 3 or 4 times

Have you read about "Main stemming" ? there is a great thread here about that

 

[caregiverken]

Here is another untopped plant I have going

Inside

That one didnt need topping^^

 

[caregiverken]

these are smaller ones I have flowering..The two on the ends were not topped
the one in the middle was topped once

 

[bareftfarmr]

Try reading desert squirrels Isa pruning techniques.its In the Under current section of tree farming. Should help

 

[tj Wise]

I suck at searching here. Main stemming remains elusive, but at least I found that desert squirrel is "desertsquirrel" and then I found https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/isa-pruning-techniques-for-the-uc.37275/ -- reading it now. Thanks!

 

[bareftfarmr]

Lol, sorry my description wasn't linked. Got ya there non the less. Hope it helps!

 

[caregiverken]

I suck at searching here. Main stemming remains elusive, but at least I found that desert squirrel is "desertsquirrel" and then I found https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/isa-pruning-techniques-for-the-uc.37275/ -- reading it now. Thanks!

https://www.thcfarmer.com/community/threads/main-line-topping-best-method.60224/

 

[tj Wise]

thanks & thanks

 

[tj Wise]

Wow, that mainlining thread was fantastic. I'll reread that a few times. Do you supercrop the initial 2 "tee" stems and maybe each of their 4 "Y" branches?

 

[tj Wise]

Mainline Technique. Once the 6th node appears, remove everything above and below the 3rd node. Gently tie down the remaining 2 branches to train them to be parallel to the ground. Top the coming growth from these two main stems. When growing outdoors it's best to have 8 or 16 total nodes to take advantage of the light of the sun and allow your plants to grow into huge bushy monsters. This means you will top the plant a total of 3-4 times. Train these new branches to remain symmetrical, imagine a pie/clock/circle when you look straight down, and you want 8 main branches to slice 8 equal pieces of pie. Or 16. For most setups, 8 or 16 main colas is the optimal number. Use a wire rim to define the circle, and tie each main stem to it so the structure is precise. (my summary... look about right?)

 

[caregiverken]

thats it..works great. But it can slow down some (pheno dependent)
The plant probably wont get a large..but with just main stems..it could probably produce more than a larger plant.

 

[tj Wise]

Maybe late next winter I can prepare a crop of main-lined manifolds in the grow room... and get them topped & super cropped, long before May.